She whimpered.
“Go on.” Leviathan insisted, pulling on her hair again. “Give me some suggestions.”
The woman started crying more loudly and a part ofCullen felt a little tinge of sympathy. But only a small part. The rest of him was thinking about what she had been doing to him, what she’d been planning and would have done with glee in her rotten heart. A dark part of him that he had been keeping at bay for a long time came to the forefront of his mind. He hoped Leviathan killed this bitch.
“No suggestions?” Leviathan hissed, edging closer to her. “Fine.” He paused, examining her coolly. “You know, you’ve always looked terrible with this braid.”
She cried out in terror–but he had already given a hard yank, tearing her skin from her scalp. Cullen gasped, shocked and horrified, but her screams overrode the noise. The demons kneeling around the room shifted uneasily, but nobody made a sound.
This is what it meant to be a Prince of Hell, he supposed, his body trembling at the sight of the torn skin clutched in Leviathan's hand. They were all terrified of him. Terrified to the point where they would kneel and remain silent while a woman was tortured in front of them.
“Do you think that’s enough of a punishment?” Leviathan demanded, his quiet voice still carrying across the room. The woman–Gehenna–only sobbed and curled in on herself, her trembling hands hovering above her bloody head.
“Anyone?” Leviathan snapped, raising his gaze to the others in the room. “Would that be enough of a punishment if she touched something that belonged to you?” When nobody gave a response, he turned back to Gehenna. Cullen watched with wide eyes, his mind still reeling. Blood had flooded his senses, resting on the tip of his tongue and settling deep in his chest as he inhaled and he could feel the darkness creeping in, promising terrible things.
“Raise your hands.” The order was soft–but an order. Just for Gehenna. Her body obeyed even as she trembled and sobbed, her hands raising and turning palm up, as if she were offering something invisible to Leviathan.
He wasted no time, taking a tight hold of her wrists–and yanking hard, tearing them from her arms. Her screams pierced the air again and Leviathan’s face twisted in disgust.
Without missing a beat, he drew back his foot and kicked her hard in the ribs, sending her sprawling down the stone steps. Blood splattered and bones cracked; Cullen flinched, hating that the sound made him hungry in some far away place in his mind. The woman’s body came to a standstill after she bounced off the last step. She did not move again and it fell mercifully silent.
Leviathan threw her another disgusted look and chucked her hands down at her body. They landed with two heavy thuds that made Cullen flinch again.
“Party’s over. Somebody get this piece of shit out of my sight.” He vanished from the dais and less than a heartbeat later he was standing in front of Cullen, his eyes blazing with rage and two thin lines of blood smeared along his cheeks. Cullen gaped at him–and then stumbled back in terror, unsure if the lingering anger was for him.
“And you,” he breathed, rage still seeping into his voice. “Your punishment will be private.”
Cullen made a soft sound of objection, but Leviathan was already pulling him through the crowd and into one of the long hallways that led out of the throne room. He let Leviathan drag him along, stumbling as the floor dipped and swirled under his feet. Leviathan ignored the few panicked questions Cullen forced out, his hand so tight on his wrist he was sure he would have bruises.
Panic tugged at him, but he had little time to consider what his punishment might actually be before they came to a stop in front of his bedroom.
Leviathan slammed the door open without preamble, half shoving Cullen into the room before he kicked it closed again.
Cullen stumbled across the room as he let go of him, spinning to face him and his hands coming up in defense as Leviathan advanced on him.
“Wait…” He gasped as he backed across the room. “Leviathan, please! I didn’t…” He broke off as the world spun again, making him dizzy. “I didn’t do anything with her…” He choked out. “She touched me and I said no, but–” He flinched when his back hit one of the tall windows, the icy glass making him jump and fall silent.
Leviathan slammed his hands so hard into the window the glass trembled, his thick arms caging Cullen in as he pressed close to him. Cullen winced away from the proximity, his head spinning more as the scent of the demon prince washed over him. Fear curled in his stomach, making him tremble, but Leviathan only brought a slow hand up to brush his fingers along his jaw. Cullen gasped softly at the gentle touch, but kept his eyes squeezed closed, waiting for the strike. Or the screaming. Or–
“Are you sure she did not hurt you?”
The soft voice startled him enough that he opened his eyes, his face flushing when he realized how close Leviathan was. His eyes were still burning, but with something other than rage now. Whatever it was calmed Cullen enough that he could breathe again.
“Answer me.” Leviathan ordered softly, the tip of his nose hitting his.
“N-no.” He choked out finally. “She didn’t hurt me. I’m fine.” Though the edges of his vision were still blurred and he could feel that blanket of darkness settling over him slowly.
Leviathan was frowning, his own gaze glassy, as if he’d drunk the sparkly drinks too. “You said you felt ill. That you drank something.”
“I feel better now.” Not quite the truth, but not quite a lie either.
Leviathan anchored his forehead to his with a soft sigh. “I told you not to drink those.”
“I…I got upset and I…” He shut his mouth before he could admit the truth, admit the reason he’d taken those sparkly drinks.
“What was it that upset you?” He asked softly, not moving away from him.
“Nothing.” He lied, dropping his gaze.
