The image dissolved, and I blinked my eyes open, expecting to find myself nestled in Belial’s bed. Instead, I found myself staring up at more than a dozen curved copper bars that met at a point above me.
Everything came rushing back like a maelstrom. I wasn’t in Belial’s castle anymore.
No, I was in the care of his brother Leviathan, the scaley motherfucker who’d been the most aloof of the demon brothers who’d attended the masquerade.
I rose up on my knees, feeling too light-headed to stand. I was in a giant cage, one that didn’t appear to have a door of any kind—likely sealed with magic.
But the lack of a door was the least of my problems.
I was completely fucking naked.
My arms flew up to wrap around my exposed body. I frantically searched the cage for my dress, but I knew it was gone. He’d taken it and my boots.
My boots. Fuck!
I’d already lost them once, but something told me they were gone for good this time. I definitely wasn’t doing any sexual favors to get them back like I had in Belial’s hedge maze.
Panic clawed up my throat, and my heart pounded so hard in my chest, I thought it might explode.
There was only one thing I trusted about Leviathan, and that was for him to be no worse than Asmodeus. Maybe that was giving him too much credit.
Frantically, I grabbed two bars and tried to pry them apart, but they wouldn’t budge.
“Don’t hurt yourself, pet,” a voice said, making me jump. I turned to see Leviathan sprawled out on a bed next to the cage, his scaly head propped up on one hand. He was smoking a hookah, smoke ringlets puffing out of his slitted nostrils periodically as he ogled me like I was his most prized possession.
“I’m not your fucking pet.” I did my best to cover my chest, though it didn’t matter. He’d already seen all of me if he got me out of my dress. Still, I felt gross with his eyes on me.
He hissed a laugh, the noise snaking through the cavern. “I’ve got you trapped in a cage. I’d say that makes you my pet, don’t you?”
I scowled, hot anger flashing through me. “Where’s my dress?”
“I burned it.” He took another drag from the hookah’s mouthpiece before exhaling a cloud of winding smoke. “I’m surprised Belial kept you clothed at all. Pets don’t wear clothes, especially considering what he used you for.”
A chill worked through me at the way the snake demon eyed me. “I’m surprised he didn’t keep a prize like you naked and chained to his bed around the clock. But then again, he’s always been reckless with the things he didn’t deserve.”
Understanding suddenly clicked into place. “You’re the Lord of Envy, aren’t you?”
If he was surprised by my guess, he didn’t show it. “Clever girl. I suppose I’m not surprised the Lord of Bones likes showing you off.”
With another puff on his hookah, he blew an enormous cloud of smoke. It morphed into the shape of a snake, twisting and coiling through my cage bars. After a few seconds, it dissipated,and he sent me a sly smile. “Entertain whatever delusions you have in that pretty head of yours, but you’ve only just met Belial. I’ve known him for centuries…”
“So?” I hissed, my hands gripping the bars of the cage.
“So,he tires of his toys and moves on quickly.” He chuckled dryly, shaking his head. “Once he resumes his duties, I’m sure he’ll forget all about you.”
I knew he was lying—there was no way Belial wasn’t coming for me after what he’d seen in the mirror—but the words still stung. It was true; I’d only known the Lord of Limbo for a short amount of time, but he owned my soul. Helovedme.
Wherever he was right now, I knew he was looking for me. The feeling sank all the way to my bones, making them ache.
He would come for me, and he’d punish every one of the demon lords who had anything to do with kidnapping me. He’d turn the nine realms inside out—anything to get me back.
I had trust issues with the King of Limbo, but if I trusted him to do anything, it was that.
“Youthinkyou know Belial,” I countered, turning my back to him. The cavern Leviathan used for a bedroom opened to reveal a cloudy sky over a jet-black ocean. White crests rolled onto a beach, and in the lulls of conversation, I could hear the water crashing. “How long has it been since any of you gave a fuck about him? People change, even demons.”
Another smoke snake slithered in through the bars of the cage, wrapping around me. Its mouth nipped at my exposed nipples before I swatted a hand through it, diffusing the smoke.
“You’ve seen so much for a human yet know so little.”
