“Don’t worry, Kitten. You’ll still get your punishment.”
My stomach churned. What was my punishment involving his tail going to be?
I hated the thought that fear was creeping back in—not from his strength, not even from the unpredictable nature of his power—but from the possibility that he sensed something I didn’t want him to. Something I hadn’t even admitted to myself.
I clamped down on the emotion rising in my throat and forced a scoff. “So dramatic. You act like punishing me is the highlight of your eternal existence.”
“It’s certainly the most entertaining thing I’ve had in centuries,” he said dryly, though something in his tone had softened—just slightly.
His steps were slow, deliberate as he carried me back toward his sanctum. I didn’t fight him again. I wasn’t sure if I was too drained, too confused, or just…too aware of how close we were. I kept my hands pinned to my lap, refusing to touch him, even accidentally.
My skin still burned in places I didn’t want to acknowledge.
As we reached the door, I dared a glance up at his face. His expression wasn’t smug. It wasn’t cold, either. His brow was furrowed, his mouth a tight line.
I frowned. “Something happened.”
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he set me down on my feet gently, too gently for the monster he was supposed to be.
“I took care of it,” he said at last, cryptic as ever.
That didn’t ease the tension brewing in my chest, but maybe it wasn’t from danger. Maybe it was from something far more confusing.
Something I couldn’t escape, even in Hell.
“My family,” I started, and his head bent. His large horns strangely caught my attention as I asked. “Are they why you keep disappearing?”
“They’ll never be able to enter,” he said plainly, jaw ticking slightly. “Do you need another opportunity to say goodbye? I feel like you’ve had a lot.”
“Don’t you worry about my goodbyes. There’s no need,” I said defiantly. “I’m more curious about what you’ve been doing.”
His shoulders stiffened. “Your family isn’t the only one trying to get in.”
“Harvest?”
“I’m showing you a mercy my creation never will if he gets ahold of you.”
Yes, but why? Why was I stuck with the Dark One? If Harvest was trying to get to me and the Devil was preventing it, why? The idea was confusing as it was unsettling. Why would Harvest going after me upset the Devil?
“A mercy?” I wanted to laugh.
But my voice caught in my throat. I was too aware of the heat he radiated. And worse? How none of it hurt. How his presence quieted my curse. How easy it was to breathe around him, when everything inside me should’ve been screaming.
He finally looked at me, those ember-red eyes watching too closely. “Yes. Mercy.”
“Right. Because dragging me to Hell, locking me in a cell, and threatening me with your tail is merciful,” I deadpanned.
“I haven’t even begun to show you what I’m capable of,” he said, not as a threat but as a grim fact.
I narrowed my eyes. “You want control. That’s it.”
“Harvest doesn’t ask for permission. He takes. He’d kill you without batting an eye. So,yes,I am a mercy.”
The way he said that name… It was the only time I ever sensed something close to true hatred in his voice. Not annoyance. Not amusement. Just cold, ancient loathing.
“So, what? You hate him more than you hate me?” I asked.
The Devil was silent. Then, in that slow, impossibly low voice, he answered, “He wants to ruin what’s mine.”
