The words made something sharp twist in his stomach. But he found himself wandering forward, moving slowly across the long room until he stood at the bottom of that lovely staircase, until the throne took up all of his sight, until he could see the dull glow surrounding the white bones.
He wondered if Leviathan would sense if he walked up the steps, if he laid his hand on the arm of the chair. Wondered if he would be able to sense Leviathan’s power through it and if it would pulse with demonic magic…
He inhaled slowly and turned away, fear flickering in his chest as he moved away from the dais. He was nearly to thedoor when a heavy patch of shadows exploded in front of him, making him leap back with a cry of shock. After a few tense heartbeats, he let out a nervous laugh and stepped forward, his mouth opening to ask Leviathan why he couldn't just wait five minutes for him to come back to the bedroom. But the question died away when he sensed the presence on the other side of the shadows. He took a few quick steps backwards, his body tensing for a fight. There were two dangerous, ethereal chuckles–and then two men stepped out of the portal together, both of them looking very tall and…deadly.
One had long black hair, his skin dark as well, almost the color of ash, and little cracks in it revealed what looked like glowing fire. His features were sharp, his eyes slightly upturned and the pitch black of demon eyes, glittering like jewels in his face. He was shirtless, wearing little more than a loincloth which didn’t quite cover–
Cullen darted his eyes away, his face growing warm, and they instantly fell on the blonde man beside him. His skin was unnaturally white, almost pearl-like, a stark contrast to the other demon’s. He looked…human, though his eyes were also dangerous black pearls. A short blue toga wrapped his frame, exposing part of his chest and his thighs. Cullen looked away again, stumbling back another step.
They were both almost unbearably beautiful.
“Who are you?” He demanded, shifting uneasily as they eyed him. “What are you doing here?”
The man with the ashy skin chuckled again. It reminded Cullen of the eerie sound of a hyena laughing. But much more terrifying.
They slunk towards him at the same time, their body’s moving disturbingly fluidly, and Cullen stepped back again–and thumped into a heavy chest. He blinked in shock and spun around, his eyes popping wide at the sight of the blonde man smirking down at him. He’d vanished–faster than Cullen could have ever tracked, even in this body–and reappeared behind him. The man’s smile grew more dangerous as he stepped towards him, forcing Cullen back a step closer to the dark skinned man. Cornered again. But this time the fear burned in him, intense and mind-numbing, and the desire was non-existent.
“My, my,” the blonde man murmured, his voice like honey and ice, smooth and cold and sweet. “What a pretty little toy.”
His hands began to tremble; he curled them into slow fists to control it. “I–”
“You were not given permission to speak.” The blonde man’s voice dropped, edged with anger, and a wave of malice rolled off him. Cullen gasped softly at the strength of it. It felt just as intense as Leviathan’s.
These men…they couldn’t be…
He opened his mouth to call for Leviathan, panic clawing into his chest as he realized who exactly he was facing. But the blonde man was instantly in front of his face, his hand coming up in a lightning fast move to brush a strand of hair back behind his ear. He blushed and stepped backwards, but he could sense the dark haired man close behind him now, so he froze.
“I was wondering why everyone was going on and on…” The blonde man mused as he began to circle him. Cullen tensed when he disappeared and twitched nervously when the silent man circled in front of him. He felt very much like a baby deer being herded by two massive wolves. Something told him death at the hands of these two monsters would be quite similar to that scenario, as well. “You really are a beautiful young demon.” He continued, his hand brushing along Cullen’s back.
He sucked in a breath, his legs beginning to tremble as a strange heat rolled over and through him. The darkness settled over him, leaving his mind fuzzy and impatient, more intense than it had ever been before, as if the man had shot liquid desire into his blood. He shivered and shook his head, trying to push it away, knowing he didn’t want them, that he didn’t like being cornered by these two as he had by Leviathan, that it was not even his body’s true reaction this time–
“Asmodeus.”
The circling men froze, their heads snapping up, and Cullen looked up with a dull sort of hope, his terrified gaze falling on Leviathan.
He watched them circle Cullen with wide eyes, panic–panic–squeezing his chest so tight he found it hard to breathe. He might have remained frozen forever if Asmodeus had not brushed his fingers against Cullen’s back, if he had not dared to lay a hand on what belonged to him.
Their heads had all snapped up at exactly the same time, Mammon’s lips falling into a frown while Asmodeus only smiled at him deviously. Cullen’s gaze was full of terror and confusion. Leviathan’s eyes narrowed at the desire he could smell from here.
Not that he could blame Cullen for that. The moment Asmodeus had touched him, his power would have begun flowing into him, confusing his body and taking it over. A completely involuntary reaction.
Cullen mouthed his name–and Leviathan was instantly across the throne room, his hand curling tightly around Cullen’s wrist to draw him away from the others. He tucked him into his side and Cullen’s eyes dropped to the ground, his face red with guilt and embarrassment. Leviathan kept his face carefully blank, not giving away his anger that another man had made him look like that, magic or no magic.
“We were only playing, little brother.” Asmodeus chuckled, his eyes not moving from Leviathan’s. “You know we’ve always shared toys.”
“This one,” he said quietly, his arm tightening around Cullen. “Is mine.”
“Oh?” The smile on his face changed into a challenging smirk that had Leviathan tightening his grip on Cullen’s shoulder, a gentle tensing of his arm and fingers he hoped his brothers would not notice. “And why is this one so special?”
“I made him.” He told them truthfully. “Can’t you smell my blood running through his veins?” There was the slightest widening of Asmodeus’ eyes, the only sign of his surprise. Beside him, Mammon’s lips tightened. Leviathan raised his chin. “Lucifer’s rules dictate we do not lay hands on lesser demons that were created by each other.” He ignored the way Cullen tensed beside him, his eyes flickering between his brothers. “Blood of my blood.” He added quietly, repeating the words Lucifer had said to them all those years ago. The promise that they had all understood without being given the direct order. “Unless you’d like war to break out for a little fun.” He blinked, letting those farce human eyes he’d learned to wield for Cullen vanish in exchange for his demonic ones.
Asmodeus smiled and held up his hands. “Blood of my blood.” His eyes flicked to Cullen’s face. “My apologies,brother. I hadn’t realized you were a little more than afucktoy.”
Leviathan snarled softly and Asmodeus chuckled. “If he’s to stick around, he better get used to our teasing.” His head tilted curiously, his eyes moving down Cullens’ body. “So, whyishe staying? What are you keeping him for?”
He hesitated, a split second of deciding how to explain without admitting the whole truth. And then he sneered. “Whatever I damn well please. He is blood of my blood and this is my realm.” He stood a little straighter, hating the half inch that separated their heights. “You know better than to come here without permission.”
Mammon snarled softly and hissed, “As if you haven’t popped up in our realms without warning and brought a hell of a lot of trouble with you.”
