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“I mean, her pussy isn’t hiding an anaconda, but I doubt it's like any other pussy on the block,” I voiced and farther leaned in so I was practically hovering over him as I looked down into his eyes.“But you’d never get a chance, Prince Arthur, first son of Lucifer.”
“Wow,” he gasped in horror and then looked utterly excited. “You figured it out?! You’re the first fucker to figure that shit out! What gave it away? Was it the scythe? It has to be the scythe!”
“No,” I huffed and already regretted setting this fucker off. He went from a sinister mastermind to a hyperactive boy with daddy issues in two seconds flat. “I’ve heard of your existence plenty of times, but it was the usage of ‘puppet’ that gave you away.”
“Puppet?” He pouted like I’d ruined some sort of diabolical plan. “How could the word ‘puppet’ give me away? I bet you if I asked Father himself, he’d disagree.”
“You can go ahead.” I was already done with the conversation—which he noticed.
“You want to bargain, don’t you?”
I didn’t respond. He laughed, and suddenly an arm was around my neck as if we were best buddies. The mere side-glance I gave him actually prompted a nervous chuckle from him before he loosened his grip but made sure to remain in “close contact” with me.
“C’mon. It would be fun. Entertaining. You love a good game. Don’t lie.” My silence only encouraged him to continue. “Your confidence in your mate intrigues me. I know enough about your past mate from Father ‘Doesn’t Know His Place’ over there so there’s no need for recaps, but the fact that you boldly decided to leave a scorching mark upon these lands simply because your woman died for a few minutes has baffled my mind immensely.”
I shrugged his arm off me as I distanced myself for the sake of my sanity. This guy’s excitement was dangerous because it influenced me far too easily in this form. I was sure it had to do with the fact he was Lucifer’s first son and would one day take his throne in hell—which means one day we’ll be running the realms of hell and the underworld together.
That was the true reason why I knew who he was. Only Lucifer had any effect on me in this form.
And maybe Willow and Willa. I’ve yet to really try out that theory. At least…not yet.
“She has to be worth the potential punishment you would have experienced if Father actually gave a shit about Earth, Hades wasn’t on leave of absence, and God wasn’t on vacation with the four horsemen in some other paranormal universe attempting to figure out how a wolf shifter goddess managed to get two roles that are the polar opposite of one another,” he commented and laughed. “I swear. We thought our world was crazy. If I told you all about —”
“What’s the bargain?” I had to cut him off or I’d lose my fucking shit.
“I’m glad you asked,” Arthur hummed, and before I could react, I felt the dull sharpness of his blade now behind the back of my neck while it managed to tug me forward slightly without slicing right through—thanks to my demon’s alertness to shift the back of my neck’s flesh into black scales in an act of protection.
We were facing off again as the façade of excitement washed away into combative seriousness.
“I want to see this woman with my own two eyes,” he hissed with his hot breath that almost charred my own lips. “Not just unconscious, but wide awake. To witness if this woman is truly worth all this hype that every villainous chess piece of power has its eyes on. If she’s worth you losing your fucking shit, then I want to observe if she’s truly deserving all this effort and sacrifice.”
His eyes glazed over while his grin couldn’t be more devilish.
“I want her to see your true Dark Lord form,” he declared loud and clear as he was right in my personal space to further intimidate me. Our eyes were locked upon one another with no way of looking away as our auras clashed dangerously together in hopes we’d give up on this staring contest and fight.
Or whatever would deal with this boiling, tense anger bouncing between us.
“Surely if she’s your mate and worth being vanquished from this universal plane, she should be strong enough to face this demonic side of yours.”
I held my tongue because truthfully, I wasn’t sure. I had no fucking idea if Willow could survive confronting this side of me. Not in the weak state she currently was in. I knew what our Blossoming Flower was capable of, but after all this bullshit, how much more could she take?
It had to be that slight thought of uncertainty that twinkled in my eyes that gave me away.
“She hasn’t faced the true Dark Lord in the flesh.” His haunting laughter would have been music to my ears if I wasn’t the one on the receiving end of its mockery. “Excellent! Fucking excellent. Let her come here, to this very cathedral filled with these worthless sinners who believe God will save them after forsaking you. I want them all to witness her. To witness the confrontation between you and your apparent mate!”
I clenched my fists but stood my ground. All I could think about was Willow’s frail body in Loki’s arms. They were expecting my return, not a sudden challenge that could potentially put Willow in more danger than she’d already experienced.
Yet, I can’t back down. There’ll be harsher consequences that I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself for falling into because of my apprehension.
“Do that, and I’ll back off. In fact, I’ll drop working with the Vile Queen. What do you say?” His glimmering white-toothed smile told me I was simply agreeing to an uneven bargain that would only give him freedom.
That needs to change.
“If she accepts me within these stained-glass walls of the cathedral in front of these betrayers, not only do you ditch the Vile Queen for good, but you’ll have to fulfill one request from my Blossoming Flower.”
“A request?” He seemed intrigued by the idea before he casually shrugged. “Fine. A request is easy. Short- or long-term, I don’t fear the consequences of my actions, for I’ve already analyzed the playing field, and it's not looking good for you, Dark Lord Alexander.”
We’ll see about that.
