There were two conflicting thoughts that crossed my mind almost immediately after I found out that I was pregnant.
The first was that Luc was using the cuffs to ensure that I could carry the child to term.
The second was that I was going to die because of his actions.
My life was runner up to that of a child that had yet to be born.
Part of me was not bothered by that, purely because I wanted my child to live even if it was at the expense of my own life.
What I was torn by was that Luc had not told me. He had sequestered me away from any threat that I had not directly approached myself. He had not informed me of why he had chained me. He had not given me the choice.
Regardless of if Luc knew that I would chose the life of my unborn child over my own, it did not excuse that he did not think it prudent to inform me of the reasoning behind his actions.
Lucifer hovered by the doorway as the doctor ran through a list of things that I was and wasn’t allowed to consume.
Dr. Porter looked up to the Devil and must have felt the cloying hostility that radiated from his still form because the doctor gaped. It was uncommon to see waist length hair on a man in the modern age, and Luc was very much the Norse warrior. Leonine but taut with muscle.
My master smiled and slouched as if to put the human doctor at ease, but the damage was done. A few seconds later, we were left alone.
Luc’s fists were by his side, and when I looked down to his knuckles, I saw they were white. Clenched so tightly. At odds with his easy-going expression.
“What do you want me to say?” Luc asked with a sigh as if he did not grasp the true gravity of his actions. He was always detached; his smile never reached his eyes. It had never bothered me before, but in that second I couldn’t focus.
I wanted to grip him by the shoulders and shake some empathy into him.
Luc hadn’t changed, but I had.
I rolled over in my hospital bed and tucked my legs to my chest. I felt the hard skin of my small bump and I wondered how I had ever been so stupid as to not see.
I knew that it was impossible for me, so I never allowed myself to dream of the possibility.
I turned my back away from the Devil and hoped that he would leave.
I needed to be alone.
I heard his footsteps drift away when The Devil saw that I was not going to speak to him.
Even though I hated his deception. Even if I ached from his betrayal... I couldn’t help the spark of joy that burst inside of my chest.
I was having a child.
Luiz and Meesha, my hellhounds, arrived at the hospital later that day whilst I was being discharged from the ward.
I had missed my personal assistant, Luiz, and his bouncy but serious personality. Luiz was a bundle of contradictions wrapped up in a seemingly Hispanic package, with hazel eyes and unruly black hair.
Meesha shared the same colouring as Luiz but their heritage was very different. Meesha’s appearance was of Indian descent, though Hellhounds were created and not born.
Luiz had no fear of me and would speak his mind whenever the situation asked for it.
Meesha had mastered the disapproving stare, which she employed in full force as she stood in the corner of my hospital room.
Luiz had brought my Louboutin’s. I placed the stilettos on the floor and stepped into them, finding my mobility was hindered by my small bump. It must have been primarily psychological.
Luiz chirped on about office gossip, whilst Meesha was silent. Her gaze only left mine for one moment and that was to eye my belly with calculation.
Despite my newfound maternal status, which was the only thing that I could think about at that moment, I still wanted to feel the comfort of my favourite designer shoes.
I tucked my hand into the crook of Luiz’s elbow and allowed him to lead me out of the hospital and to my chauffeured car.
I had missed London.
Due to my lack of Demonality, I was experiencing the City on a new level as we drove through the stop-start traffic from Hampstead to Knightsbridge.
“Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?” Meesha bit out, looking out of the window as if to give the impression of aloof disinterest. That was just her way. If Meesha was bothered enough to ask the question, then her impassive expression was a mask.
“If that is a subtle insult about my size, then kudos. Clever.” I said.
“I am expressing legitimate concerns about your maternal instincts.” Meesha shrugged.
“Eloquent, especially from someone that uses the word bae on a regular basis.”
I could not deny that her words stung and I rubbed my stomach protectively.
“Thought I would use flowery words so that you’d get it.” Meesha licked her bottom lip and turned back to the window. Attempting to dismiss me. That hound liked to have the last word, and I did not allow her to.
“Its fortuitous that you are no longer my personal assistant then, isn’t it?” I laughed harshly but there was no humour in the sound. “You no longer have the right to try and advise me.”
Meesha flicked her eyes to Luiz; her smile was mocking. “And does she often take your advice, Luiz?”
Luiz's expression was sedate as he put his arms up as if to show that he was unarmed. He said nothing.
“I’m just a hellhound,” Meesha spat. “What do I know?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed heavily. Meesha and I had slept together once. She thought that it meant more than it did. She was unable to continue her work by my side when her vitriol started to spill into the working environment. The only time she would willingly share the same space as me was when she was beating the darkness out of my body, or when Luc had ordered her presence.
“I only require one guard. Luiz is perfectly suited to that role. You can leave, Ms Bahra.”
“Unfortunately, the Devil, your baby daddy, has been pretty clear about his instructions. Protect his bitch and his spawn.” Meesha said.
“Jealousy is a beneath you,” I tapped my finger against my bottom lip absentmindedly.
“But it still fucking stings.” Meesha snarled.
Both hellhounds deposited me at my Knightsbridge apartment, with instructions not to leave. I puttered about my minimalist home and cleaned as if my life depended on it.
Only when the dusty smell that had taken up in my absence finally abated, did I feel like I could rest.
I downloaded all the books about pregnancy and labour that I could find. I had plenty to read as I waited for Luc to return to the Human Realities. If he intended to.
Although I was away from Lucifer, I did not feel alone. I would never truly be alone again. But then a sobering thought occurred to me.
“One way or another, you’ll die.” The Seer’s words echoed through my mind. My heart clenched.
I felt the shockwave as Luc arrived inside of my home. His presence made my ears pop as I adjusted to the sheer magnitude of his being. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, but they often did when I was around him. It was the reaction that all humans had to Purebloods.
I felt his hard chest against my back. I matched his height and I felt his cock though his trousers as it rested against the small of my back. I tried not to squirm, determined not to show Luc how much he still affected me.
Luc clasped the top of my shoulders.
“You tried to kill yourself.” He said. His voice had the air of practised ease, as if he had spent hours rehearsing them to himself so he could get it right.
“I want you to tell me the truth.” My voice was harsh and demanding, but I tried to hold back judgement even though it pained me to do so. “Now.”
Luc exhaled heavily; his shoulders were stiff with tension. He let go of my shoulders as if I had burned him and stepped around me as if I was furniture.
I found myself rubbing my pregnant belly as if it could offer me comfort. Now that I knew about my child, it had become a habit.
“Two hundred years ago, I was made aware of the last line of the prophecy.” Luc’s voice was barely audible.
“The prophecy about the child?”
Lucifer nodded; his lips curled as if he was struggling with his words.
“What did it say?” I probed, walking to his side and sitting down on the edge of my velvet armchair. I watched the Devil pace, his loafers suck into the plush carpet and left a trail as he worked his mouth to gather courage to say the words.
“Two Roses. One thorn. Bloody and infected. Lucifer will come to claim her. A child will be born. More powerful than fallen.” I prompted, knowing the words better than any other piece of literature. I had spent hours lamenting the damn prose.
“The child shall remain. The Mother will die.” Luc finished, wringing his hands as he refused to look into my eyes.
“Vinca said as much.” My chest burned but I kept calm and did not allow my distress to show.
“I sent you away for that very reason. I could not allow you to die.” Luc sat down on the edge of my bed, as he leant forward his sheet of hair obscured his face. His shoulders shook as if he was sobbing.
I raised my hand to comfort him, but found myself unable to move.
“If you were the mother of my child, you would die.” Luc raised his hands as if they were a pair of scales. “If you were away from me, then you would live.”
“But there would be no child.” I acknowledged.
“I survived over two hundred years, Dahlia.” Luc sounded so defeated. “But Ba’el is missing, the King of the Leviathan is encroaching on the other circles. My power is stretched. I ache. I am tasked beyond my limits and Hell is resting on my shoulders.”
I carefully hid the sharp pain that crossed my face, but it still flashed for him to see.
“I did not need your power, Pet.” He smiled sadly. “Otherwise I would not have leashed you.”
I fiddled with the cuffs but found myself unable to speak. I waited patiently as Luc gathered more courage to speak.
“I needed you by my side.” Luc said fervently. “You make me half mad, but I could no longer be noble where it concerns you.”
“Why Samuel?” I croaked.
“You did not know him. I thought it unlikely that you would forgive me right off the bat, if I could endear myself to you, even slightly, then you would be less likely to kill me.” Luc’s lips twitched into a smile.
I nodded in agreement. “I would have done it.”
“I would have let you.” Luc rubbed his face, and hung his head. “Sending you away made no difference. In fact, it was what allowed the prophecy to come to pass.”
“How so?” I cocked my head to the side.
“I have a theory that you would have never allowed yourself to become disconnected from Hell whilst in my presence. The prophecy was clever. It’s very wording allowed the events to come to pass.”
“Self-fulfilling prophecy.” I mulled over the notion.
“I believe so.” Luc leant back on the bed and spread his arms like a starfish. The movement was remarkably childlike. It had been an age since I had seen the carefree Lucifer, making angels out of the white ash snow to make me laugh.
“Nora Bleu is Samuel’s mate.” Luc admitted, he placed his hands on his stomach and eyed the ceiling as if it would reveal life’s mysteries. His brow furrowed. “I broke their bond so that I could enter his body.”
“Was she important to him?” Some residual part of me harboured feelings for the man that I have come to know as Samuel Rose, even if he had not existed as I knew him.
“They healed each other. Unfortunately, he has no memory of this now.” Luc admitted.
“She is still in a coma,” I said. “I can’t heal her while I am wearing the cuffs.”
“That is correct.” Luc said.
“Why were you in the visitor’s log from over five years ago?”
“Lenora found that she was pregnant with a Cambion as the result of a Seventh Circle coercion. I helped her abort the foetus.” The Devil remarked casually.
I swallowed the lump in my throat but I had no adequate response to Nora Bleu's tragedy. I had put the woman in a coma due to petty jealousy.
“Do you wish to remain disconnected?” Luc asked.
“Are you asking if I want this child?” I brushed my hand across the top of my small bump. “If I am willing to die so that my child can live?”
“Our child,” Luc noted.
My chest fluttered, and I pushed myself to my feet. I approached Luc with delicate steps, as if he was a wild horse. I placed my hands on his thighs and leant forward until I was straddling him. I brushed a tendril of hair away from his face; his eyes sparkled up at me. Our lips shared the same breath.
“I want our child.” My voice was quiet and filled with wonder. I placed a tender kiss on his lips. His breath was cold, as his hands rested on my waist. My stomach brushed against his hard chest, and I sensed the flutter inside of me. My child kicking. I had no idea if Luc felt it or not.
“I will do everything in my power to ensure that you live.” Luc’s gaze burnt like a brand. His jaw was clenched and his gaze was determined.
I stroked his chest and nuzzled into his shoulder. His strong arms came around my body as he held me.
“I know you will,” I replied in a breath. “Nothing can keep us apart.”
We both knew that I was lying, but we allowed ourselves to believe it. If only for a minute.
Lucifer’s presence was required back at the Ice Castle, so I was left alone in London.
Pouring through old contracts, I tried to keep myself busy. I placed my phone inside of my Hermes bag, and slipped on the comfortable armour of my Louboutin’s and red lipstick.
I walked the short distance to Morgenstern and Clark, tailed by Meesha. My constant guard. After our verbal altercation after I had been discharged from hell, we had not spoken to each other.
I arrived at the office to unexpected fanfare, the other human brokers congratulated me on my pregnancy.
Their corrupt and reptilian nature was apparent when I noted the gleam of ambition in their eyes. Pregnancy was weakness to the sharks. They wanted to take my place at the top of the totem pole. Poor men had no idea that I was the same Clark that had founded the business over two hundred years previously, not some precious princess that had inherited the mantle. As was the public appearance.
Luiz had kept the office running smoothly in my absence despite Luc’s constant demands on his time.
That man deserved a raise.
Walking through the door to my corner office, I hooked my handbag onto my coat rack and exhaled.
I saw Samuel Rose's silhouette, framed in the bright autumn light from my window. His Auburn hair was wild but his hands were in his pockets and his demeanour was full of self-assurance.
“I've tried to make an appointment, Ms. Clark. But you are notoriously difficult to pin down.” Samuel Rose planted himself in my ergonomic office chair. His smile was cold and did not reach his eyes. He trailed his hand seductively against my wooden desk, as if he belonged there.
It was only when looking at the way the incubus held his body, that I realised that everything about him that I had been attracted to had been Lucifer. The sparkle, the cocky arrogance.
Samuel Rose was a walking pheromone, but he did not wake my body up. He did not stir my curiosity. He was an angry man. Tenacious. Difficult for the sake of being difficult. I saw all of the small clues in his micro expressions and the way he held his body.
“Mr. Rose.” I nodded curtly, my lip twisted in distaste at his audacity. He was sitting in my chair.
“Do you mind?” I cocked my head to the side and stared pointedly at the sex daemon.
Samuel eased himself from the chair slowly and swaggered around my desk until he stood directly in front of me.
“Is that mine?” Samuel licked his lips and his eyes flicked to my belly. “I must say, pregnancy looks good on you.”
I quirked a brow. “Why are you here?”
“I came to see the reason why my body was used as a puppet.” He caressed the side of my face but I slapped his hand away.
The threat was clear.
I was virtually human, and heavily pregnant. If Samuel Rose chose to hurt me, it would not end well for me.
His eyes flared pale ice blue as the hell magic inside of him responded to his emotions. Samuel stretched his fingers out and surveyed his hand as if he had all the time in the world.
With an unsaid threat left on the air, the incubus was strolled from the room as if he had all the time in the world. When he reached my side, Samuel leant in and inhaled my scent deeply, like a predator.
I kept my back straight and my eyes forward. I would not show fear. Instead, I bared my teeth and snapped them.
The sound of Samuel Rose's laugh as he sauntered away told me that he did not find me threatening in the least.
Despite my many years of existence, I had never cooked a meal before and I had no immediate plans to become a chef. Luiz had taken it upon himself to ensure that I was well fed, busying himself in my kitchen.
He grabbed a bottle of white wine and lifted it to the frying pan. I held out my hand to stop him.
“I can’t have alcohol.” I explained.
Luiz smothered a laugh. “The flame burns the alcohol.”
“Even so—”
Luiz begrudgingly went to my fridge, which was an aesthetic purchase when I had purchased the apartment. He had brought over ingredients, pulling out vegetables to make sauce. I waited with interest.
Luiz began chopping onions. After a few moments, he started to cry.
“Why are you leaking?” I stood by his side and ran a finger down his cheek to collect the tear. I popped it into my mouth. Salty.
“Onions make me cry,” he sniffed.
I furrowed my brow. “Is that some kind of medical condition? I was unaware that Hounds suffered from such ailments?”
A laugh from behind the kitchen island made me jump.
Lucifer had arrived. His eyes shone silver as he stared at the hellhound by my side. Did I detect a hint of jealousy?
“Have there been any incidents?” Lucifer asked.
“Samuel Rose came to the office, but he made a threat and then left.” I shrugged, picking a sizzling piece of meat from the pan. I popped it into my mouth.
Luiz tutted and waved me away from the frying pan.
Luc sauntered over to where I stood and took both of my hands in his own. He studied my face as if he was searching for a hidden message.
“He did not say anything to upset you, did he?” Luc rubbed his thumb against the inside of my palm.
I snorted a laugh. “No, I am not that fragile.”
The hound bowed towards Luc, his curly black hair fluttered into his eyes and he blew it away with a puff.
“You may take your leave. Meesha is guarding the perimeter.” Lucifer said stiffly.
Luiz turned off the hob and wiped his hands on his robe. “I’ll just... Get out of your hair.” Luiz couldn’t leave fast enough.
Plating the food that Luiz had prepared, I settled at the kitchen island as I watch Lucifer peruse my human space.
He trailed his finger along the sideboard to collect dusk. He would not find any. I had a very thorough cleaner.
“Would you like to discuss Samuel Rose?” Luc sounded disinterested as if that was the last possible thing that he wanted to do.
With my mouth full of pasta, I debated it and nodded.
“What do you wish to know?” He sighed, taking a seat on the other end of the kitchen island.
I swallowed my mouthful and took a deep sip of water. “How much was him, and how much was you?”
Lucifer smiled to himself. “I was around much more of it than you realise.”
“Watching me?”
“Picking you up in bars,” Luc smiled slowly and seductively. It caused a ripple of warmth to spread from my chest and it made my lips tingle with the need to be kissed.
“How did it feel to touch my body whilst wearing someone else?” I replied, huskily.
Lucifer licked his bottom lip. “An incubus had innate advantages,” Lucifer drawled. “But I prefer our true forms.”
I cocked my head to the side and nodded in agreement.
Luc stood up and walked slowly to my side. I pushed my plate away and gripped my chin with his fingers. My lips puckered against my will and I was forced to stare directly into his eyes.
There was no escape from my master's scrutinizing gaze.
“You called him your mate.” Luc said with inflexion.
“And yet, everything that attracted me to him was because of you.”
“Is that so?” Luc ran his thumb along my bottom lip. My tongue darted out to greet it.
“Would you like to experience my attraction to you?” I asked.
Luc smiled in response and I rose to a standing position. I put my hand on his chest and pushed him towards the living room. I put enough force behind it to lead him, but as disconnected as I was I could not have hurt him even if I tried.
When the back of Luc's knees hit my velvet sofa, he sank down into the plush furnishings. His legs were spread wide in a dominating manner. I gripped his thighs and knelt before him, easing his fly open with practiced ease.
“Do you know how much I worship you, Lucifer?” I whispered, reaching forward I attached my mouth to his cock and used my tongue to trace the define vein that ran up the centre.
His answer to my question was a low groan of pleasure.
My dinner was forgotten as I found something more interesting to do with my mouth.
Heavenly establishments had never interested me; I had never ventured inside of one. They radiated the stench of happiness and stagnant joy. London was a Daemon infested city, but there were still small places that you could reach one of the Lord's Chosen. If you knew where to look.
Exulted. The name gave the impression of a prestigious nightclub. Instead, it was a hole in the wall that could have been mistaken for a crack den.
Luc had gone back to Hell, and it would be several hours before he came back. I had decided to make myself useful.
I stepped over the threshold with caution as if I would catch fire. I looked around the bare floor boards. White paint was splattered across the stairs and a lonely dank mattress was pressed against the wall. The name of the establishment was spray painted in black on the front door. The dead bolt was broken so it was not possible to close it properly.
I brushed off my business skirt and fitted maternity blouse, as if I could catch a disease from proximity alone. Someone stood at the end of the corridor, leaning against the door frame. It was a bronze haired male. Bare chest with glittering white scars that swirled to form Enochian battle symbols.
“The Queen of the First Circle,” the man said, as he surveyed me with mild curiosity. He crossed his arms over his broad torso.
“I would reply in kind, but I have no idea who you are,” I cocked my head to the side and watched him.
A hacking laugh caught my attention in the next room and I zeroed in on an angel, with mottled grey wings spread on the floor; he appeared catatonically drunk.
A woman slowly rocked back and forth in the corner. Human.
“That’s Daniel. He can pull sadness from a subject and turn it into joy.” The stranger cocked a brow.
“He doesn’t look like he is sharing.” I said pointedly as Daniel rolled on the floor, laughing hysterically.
The stranger rolled his eyes. “What do you want?” he asked.
I studied him for a moment. “I need a Seraphim feather.”
Whatever the scarred stranger expected me to say, that was not it. His golden eyes widened and he did not blink. His brow furrowed as the cogs in his mind got to work.
“You should not attempt angelic magic.” The Stranger snarled.
I eyed him shrewdly. “I need the key to the ice prison.”
His shoulders tightened and the stranger pulled himself to his full height. “You don’t say.” He mused.
“Listen...”
“Uriah.” He supplied helpfully.
“Listen Uriah, I will trade for the feather. Just tell me what you want.” I tapped my foot impatiently and eyed the rundown walls with distaste.
The sounds of the woman’s sobbing gradually drowned out as the Angel in the other room took her feelings from her.
“I know all about your deals, Ms. Clark. I have no interest in that.” I swear Uriah grew ten times in size as a dark shadow crossed over his expression.
Great. I'd offended the angel.
“What’s your Choir? Third Tier? Second?” I asked in an exasperated fashion. “I can give you Leviathan Saliva. Devil's Silver. Sand from the Desert of Wrath. All fine ingredients for Angelic Magic.”
The Angel raised one brow; he had expected me to barter. I curled my bottom lip and stared down my nose at him. After a few seconds, I shrugged and turned away. I took one step before the angel cleared his throat. Our stand-off was silent. I reached into my pocket and produced a few Lydian coins that I had had knocking about.
His eyes widened. “Coins for the Ferryman?”
I smirked and used my knuckles to move the ancient coins from one finger to the next with the skill of a practiced magician.
“Any soul that you want from Purgatory.” I said in a wistful tone.
“Anyone?” Uri asked hesitantly. I had his attention.
I nodded and flicked a coin towards him. He caught it with two hands as if he was afraid that he would drop it.
His golden eyes surveyed the coin as the angel raised it to his lips and bit down the corner to test its authenticity.
“We have a deal.” The angel slipped the coin in his pocket.
I nodded smugly. “When will I have my feather?” I asked.
Uriah's wings materialised from the space between worlds in a burst of light that caused me to flinch. His wings were the same pure yellow gold as his eyes. Unlike the grey, pigeon angel in the other room.
“Now,” Uriah plucked one feather from his plumage and did not flinch even though I knew it had to have hurt.
I kept my expression cold and emotionless. I had made a deal with a Seraphim. One of the First Tier of Angels.
The Lord's personal favourites.