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“I believe we were talking about the abomination lurking around Hell Hold,” the weasel to my right, the man who stole my seat, says.
“That creature needs to be put down. It killed an entire village. We can’t trust that it won’t take more innocent lives if we try to do the mundane thing and capture it. Some risks are simply not worth taking,” another of the village masters says from across the table. His crooked nose twitches as he sniffs and sits back in his chair.
“It’s a monstrosity,” the only woman around the table says. Her seat is next to my father and she reaches a hand out to place it on his arm. “Surely you understand, my king. We can’t have some uncontrollable monster loitering through the realms.” Her long talon-like nails curl around Lucifer’s forearm and instead of shrugging it off like I expect him to, he simply stares at it.
I’ve never seen this bitch before and I’m not sure what village she comes from, but I don’t think it matters. There’s never been a single woman besides Alice who’s been allowed to sit in on these meetings. Considering most of the men for the village Luri attacked are gone, maybe she’s filling in until they can designate a new village master. If so, I admire her for standing up to take on the role, but the lords won’t go for it and the village masters might be okay for the moment, but it won’t last.
She’s got some balls to lay a fucking finger on my father, but he has more to let it happen. The others around the table will see it as affection, and will ultimately think her ‘wooing’ will give her more power over them. It’s partly why the lords are so closed-minded to allowing women to sit on the court.
I bite the inside of my cheek to distract myself.
“This isn’t just some creature,” I say, looking over the table and meeting the eyes of those seated around it. I push power through my voice and based on the way one man recoils, it’s enough to get their attention. “I’m not sure if you’ve been told all the details or not.”
My father’s head slightly shakes side to side, telling me not to continue. It’s a movement sharp enough to go unnoticed by most, but not to me.
“It was attacked by the villagers for merely existing,” I continue, watching the village master’s eyes widen in shock. “It only went after those that tried to hurt it first. It was self-defense. Not to mention that it’s the familiar of my betrothed, and an attack on it is an attack on the crown.”
The room hushes, and gaping mouths and vacant stares fill the faces of the masters. My father hasn’t said a word, nor moved an inch since I spilled the family secret. It was bound to come out, anyway. Alice deserves to be able to spend time with her animal and not have to hide her cat away in the woods. It’s a part of her, and therefore it’s a part of us.
“I believe we’re willing to look past the village’s mistake,” I say, eyeing my father. “But I don’t believe the animal should be punished. I know Alice, and they share a bond that connects them on a deep level. They share characteristics of each other. She wouldn’t be capable of something like that, not unless it was her life or theirs.”
One of the village masters starts to speak, and I roll my head to the right, finding the weasel man ready to say his piece. Again.
“If that’s true, thenyour betrothedis just as much of a threat as her cat. They both should be removed from the realm, whether that’s through death or by being thrown into the prison world.” His violet eyes meet mine in a silent challenge and my fingers tighten into fists. My knuckles threaten to split, turning ghost white as the skin pulls over the bone.
“Your majesty, with all due respect,” a man says. I know him, he runs the greenhouse district. Pushing back his long white hair, he continues, “I don’t think any of us want to repeat the dark years–”
I cut him off. “Alice is nothing like Asmodeus.”
“I’m sorry, but last I checked, you weren’t even alive during the dark years, so how would you know?” The crooked-nosed fool pipes in.
He turns to my father, ignoring me like a child. “She could already have her claws in the prince. And to think, Asmodeus was only a nephilim. He didn’t have witch blood in his veins and you barely were able to correct your mistake. It took everything you had to banish him and if I remember correctly, you almost lost. Now add someone with the same abilities, but who can siphon magic too? Not even you could control her if she went dark. I think all of us would be lying if we didn’t admit to being worried.”
I’d give anything to fucking break his nose against the table. Hell, it already looks like it’s been done once. Power itches beneath my skin as I wring my fingers, pumping them into fists. It’s taking everything I have to remain calm.
The crooked-nosed man stands, crossing to the small table where hors d’oeuvres and coffee have been placed out for them to enjoy during the meeting. “She’s a monster locked inside a cage. All it takes is one wrong move to let her out, then we’re all dead.”
“That is my wife you are talking about, and if you wish to keep your tongue, I’d change course,” I seethe through my clenched jaw. The hinge hammers along with my pulse.
“Fiance,” the weasel man corrects. “Which means there’s still time tochange course.” My head snaps toward him, and darkness takes over my eyes. A sinister grin splits his face as he twirls his hand like an aristocrat on a high horse. “Maybe we can avoid the mistake.”
My arm flies out and my fingers grip tight around his throat as he squeals. I stand from my seat, dragging the man up with me. Power radiates through every vein, my hands and arms blackening, my claws jutting through my fingertips and forming razor-sharp talons. The man’s fingernails dig into my skin, desperate for me to release my death grip, to allow him to breathe, but this is a lesson. If I allow him to live, he’ll fucking know his place.
“Well! I think we’re going to take a break and reconvene in a few hours. I’ll send the details to your rooms,” my father speaks quickly, and I can hear the screech of his seat flying backward as he rounds the table.
“Kai! Let him go.” I barely register the words as the midnight streaks of power swirl down my arms like snakes slithering from me and onto the man’s throat, branching into a complicated web. His eyes roll back in his head and the peachy color of his skin pales.
“Kai!”
My father’s hand grips my shoulder, yanking me backward, and I release the man, letting him drop to the floor. He gasps as the color returns. The dark lines disappear from his skin, vaporizing into the air.
“He almost killed me!”
“And you’re lucky he didn’t,” my father snaps down at him. “Had you been talking about my wife, you would be.”
My head snaps toward the Devil as my eyes flick over his form. If that’s the case, then why the fuck did he stop me?
“Get out, Terron. Be happy you’re still alive.”
