AllFreeNovel
Share Us
So, Elena’s had hours to seethe. That doesn’t bode well for me.
I’ve witnessed Elena’s fierce protectiveness of Callie before; it is impressive, and in a roundabout way, it’s how she ended up mated to four of My incubus Sons. Now that ferocity is aimed at me, and Samsher is right: She will murder me if she gets to me.
“This is bullshit.”
Before I can stop her, Callie plane shifts past Samsher, outside the room. I mutter a curse as I warp the space around me and shift to follow her. I can’t let her face her sister alone.
“Father!”
Samsher’s shout reaches through the closed conjured door, but Callie and I are already atop My Throne. Power hums through the air as Callie raises an infernal shield around the throne. Even with her magic at full force, Elena shouldn’t be able to get through it.
“Shouldn’t” being the operative word.
In a more violent mimicry of Callie’s entrance to Hell, Elena marches into My Domain, fireballs blasting left and right. Rather than stepping around the writhing bodies on the ground, she steps over and onto them, her motorcycle boots leaving blocky prints on the backs of the damned. Thankfully, My Children know enough to get out of her way; incubi and succubi alike scramble out of the warpath, dodging flaming balls of magic energy.
Elena’s seen better days. Her face is red and blotchy, her eyes teary and bloodshot, lids baggy. She looks as though she hasn’t slept. Her normally smooth, straight blonde hair is a greasy, tangled mess.
Callie gasps at the sight of her, and I place a hand on her lower back for comfort. If it’s a shock for me to see her in this state, it must be doubly so for Callie.
“Jesus, she looks like shit,” Callie whispers as Elena approaches.
“Asmodeus! Get Your filthy hand off my sister.” A fireball lands at the base of My Throne, close enough to scorch the bodies that make up My Seat of Power but not close enough to cause it to fall. She doesn’t want to hurt Callie, most likely. I doubt she’s pulling her proverbial punches on my behalf.
Callie takes a step forward and summons her own ball of flame. “Back off, Lena. Az hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Elena stops a few yards from where her last fireball landed, crossing her arms over her chest. “You can’t tell me that. I know what He did last night. Fucking Christ, Cal, I sensed it way back on Earth!”
“A, I don’t give a fuck what you sensed; He still didn’t do anything I didn’t want Him to. And B, it’s none of your damn business. You wanted me to learn carnal magic, didn’t you? Well, here you go.” Callie holds her arms out wide, as if issuing a challenge to her sister. “You can’t have it both ways, Lena. You can’t tell me to carry on the family magic then bust my ass for doing just that.”
“He’s a fucking Hell Prince!”
“And your four boyfriends are His incubus Children. What’s your point?”
At that moment, Samsher appears between Elena and My Throne. He takes a guarded stance against his mate. Kamran, Aistan, and Arman materialize next to him, encircling their woman. Samsher nods to his brothers and faces Elena. “Lena, my love, please stop this. As you can see, Father hasn’t harmed Calliope.”
“That’s debatable,” she mutters through clenched teeth. “Are you four all against me in this?”
“Lena, look at her. She’s fine. Father hasn’t hurt her, and she’s clearly standing with Him.” Arman extends a hand to his fearsome mate. “Please take a moment to calm down and see that she’s okay. Doesn’t that matter most?”
Elena visibly shakes with her rage, but having her four lovers square off against her in this seems to be at the very least giving her pause. She looks at each of them in turn, then up to where Callie and I stand on the throne. It’s hard to read any emotion on her face but anger, though her eyes betray the hurt she must feel. I imagine it’s not easy to have everyone you love literally standing between you and your goal.
Even if that goal might be my death.
Her eyes flit to Callie, looking her up and down before briefly leveling another glare at me. The fireball in her hand fizzles, and she relaxes her stance. “Fine. She’s not hurt. I still don’t think this shit is right. He is eons older than you, Cal. Who knows how many women—and men—He’s been with in that time? Just because He’s a hottie doesn’t mean He’s worthy of what you gave Him.”
“Isn’t that kind of up to me to decide, Lena?” Callie disperses her own magic and takes a few cautious steps down the stairs of the throne. “I mean,Ishould get to say who is and isn’t worthy of me, shouldn’t I?”
Elena grumbles but doesn’t immediately answer.
“Well?” Callie takes a few more steps. The farther away from me she is, the more concerned I grow for her safety. I can’t protect her from up here, so I start to follow her down the stairs. Better to risk Elena’s wrath than to leave Callie alone against any foe.
When I start after her, Elena’s eyes narrow, and she clenches her fists. Callie stops and glances back, as though to see what her sister is looking at. She smiles at me, a bright beacon of light in Hell, and turns back to her sister with a triumphant glare.
“See? He won’t even letyouhurt me. That’s gotta count for something.”
The tears brimming in Elena’s eyes spill down her ruddy cheeks, and she collapses to her knees. My Sons gather around her, offering comfort, though for what I’m not sure.
“You’re scaring me, Cal,” she says between sobs. “You’ve grown up and moved into Hell, and for some strange reason, you’rethrivinghere, and I don’t understand it at all. What happened to my little sister? What happened to the sweet little kid I grew up with?”
