They could all be dragged down to the ninth layer for all I cared.
From the chaos, a skeleton hurried forward. “Lord Belial! You’re scaring the guests!”
My attention snapped to the woman, the purest anger snaking through my veins. “You. You were supposed to watch her! That was the entire reason I rescued you from Asmodeus’ clutches in the first place!”
I reached for Holga, but instead, I snatched the collar of my librarian who’d darted in front of her, using his skeletal body as a thin shield. “My Lord, please! We thought she was with you!”
Training my flaming gaze on Cecil and his toothy eye sockets, I released my hold on him. I nodded, my hatred turning inward. He was right. I was supposed to be watching her.
It was my job to keep her safe, my job to protect her from anything that could do her harm aside from me, and I’d failed.
“W-we can find the other demon lords, My Lord,” Holga stammered from over Cecil’s shoulder.
“No…” It was useless. I knew they weren’t here. They weren’t anywhere in my realm. They’d kidnapped her, and I was the fool who’d left her alone long enough for them to do it.
“Tell the guests to get out. The party is over,” I said as I slowly backed up toward the entrance. “I…I have to go.”
Cecil looked puzzled, his head tilted to the side. “Go where, my Lord?”
“Down.” I turned my back on both him and Holga, unholy fury once again bubbling in my veins. “I’m going to bring my queen back and make these thieves pay for what they’ve done.”
Chapter Twelve
Rayven
My senses bled backinto focus as I slowly regained consciousness. I’d blacked out once Belial’s brothers had caught up to me, but I had no idea how long I’d been out of it. It could have been minutes. It could have been hours.
An unnatural cold prickled over my skin, slowly leeching down to my bones and making my marrow ache. I forced my eyes open with a groan, and as my vision focused, an unsettling feeling pulled under my gut.
I didn’t recognize the sharp stalactites stretching down from the dark ceiling. They looked like weapons threatening to fall and skewer me.
The dank smell of dust and decay shoved its way into my lungs, the cold air making my chest seize. I blinked a few times,listening for any movement in the nerve-rattling silence, not keen to let anyone know I was awake.
I swallowed hard. My throat was dry.
Where the fuck am I?
The question repeated over and over in my head, even though I was afraid I already knew the answer. The jagged, unfinished walls didn’t belong to Belial’s castle. Neither did the icy air, nor the putrid stink of decay.
This must have been a lower level of Hell.
A numbness spread through my insides as the demon lords’ plot came slamming back into my mind. They wanted to kidnap me and hold me prisoner until Belial resumed his duties. Did they really expect that he’d just get back to work when he discovered I was missing?
By kidnapping me, they weren’t removing a distraction. They were provoking a monster.
Belial…At the thought of my demon lover, an invisible fist squeezed my heart, making my whole chest ache. He was probably still searching, tearing his castle apart to find me.
My hand flew to my throat, a tiny gasp escaping my lips when I found it bare. His collar was gone, and while I’d always imagined the relief of its absence, I felt naked without it. My physical tether to him, the constant reminder of his ownership, was gone.
What would he do when he discovered I was missing?
He definitely wasn’t going to go along with his brothers’ plan of making him judge every soul in Limbo before giving me back. That would take forever.
I sprang up onto my elbows, head swimming a little, and instantly regretted it.
The bed I was in looked like something straight out of a murder scene, with crimson stains smeared over the ratty old sheets.
It was fucking disgusting, having so much blood everywhere, but whoever called this bed theirs was into it, if the white substance crusting the blood stains was anything to go by. My stomach heaved, and I quickly scrambled off the mattress to the floor before I could add a vomit-colored puddle to the mix.
