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For some reason that had incited his wrath, but Asmodeus wasn’t quite sure why.
“Just let me win,” Soraya pleaded with him, taking a step back and nearly stepping on her broken wing.
It was concerning that it wasn’t healing.
Lilith would destroy him if he permanently damaged one of her lilim, but especially one with wings.
“Let me run away and tell everyone you lost, just this once,” she whispered, flinching when a raindrop fell on her face.
They both looked up to see heavy clouds moving to cover the full moon like the sky knew what tragedy was about to befall a daughter of the night and was trying to keep the goddess of the moon from witnessing such a horrible thing.
Raindrops fell from the sky, slowly at first, and then it became a downpour, soaking his shirt instantly.
Asmodeus looked down at the pitiful creature before him, wishing he could do this one thing for her, but the repercussions would cause him more problems than he cared to deal with.
“No one would believe I lost a fight with a lilim,” he reminded her, spreading his wings wider when he saw her tense like she planned to make another run for it.
Soraya was a lot faster than he’d expected. Fast enough he almost hadn’t caught her in time. She’d forced him to strike her hard and fast, damaging those gorgeous wings.
He wished she wasn’t so reckless.
“You didn’t specify how I had to win,” she reminded him. “There are plenty of other things I could beat you at besides fighting.”
It was delightful how clever she was. Asmodeus found himself smiling again, and he didn’t know what to make of it.
She was right of course. He didn’t have to beat her in a fight necessarily, but she hadn’t asked him to clarify that point.
At first, he’d thought she was naïve and reckless to even think of agreeing to this deal, but the oath she’d made him swear made him rethink that. Now she wanted to twist the deal to her favor which meant she’d always planned to use this in one way or another to benefit her instead of him.
Such a clever demon.
“I can’t let you win,” he told her as gently as possible.
The rain sparkled on her skin, hiding the tears he could see spilling down her cheeks once more. Why was she so distraught over all this?
“It’s my job to care for the demons,” he explained, taking a step closer to her.
This time she didn’t flinch, but her shoulders slumped, which made her wing scrape along the cement in a way that set his teeth on edge.
“I can’t take care of you if you’re here or in another realm. It would be my responsibility if you died – if another mortal bound you to them.” When he reached for her, she shied away and he sighed, taking her hand anyway. “I will not let one of the seraphim find you, Soraya. You don’t belong to them. You belong to me. To Lilith.”
She let him take the double-sided scythe from her lifeless fingers, but she wouldn’t look him in the eyes. Her gaze was fixated on his neck like she could slit his throat with nothing but her mind.
For a second, he thought maybe she could, but Soraya didn’t resist when he pulled her closer so he could take them both back to hell before she managed to get another step closer to Nox Aeterna – to one of the few places he couldn’t just go and get her.
Not without permission.
And if she managed to make a deal with a vampire, it would be his job as the Keeper of Contracts to ensure she kept it.
Infuriating little demon.
“What happened to your angel wings?” she asked, finally looking up at him when he wrapped an arm around her waist.
“I gave them to Lucifer.” Asmodeus wasn’t sure why he told her that, but for some reason, he felt compelled to do so.
“You…gave him your wings?” The incredulous look on her face made him smile.
Such a precious little thing, wasn’t she?
