Elizabeth leaned forward.
“Cas made it his mission to amass as much wealth as possible and build this place.” Asmodeus nodded at the high vaulted ceilings above them. “He returned to his village and sought her out. She refused him and said no matter what riches he had now, he was still the son of a poor farmer.”
Asmodeus shrugged, looking slightly baffled at the intensity with which she listened. “So, he came home and broke almost everything in that room and forbade any of us from touching it. Not much else to the story.”
Her lips parted in understanding. The ballroom must be a constant reminder that even if he had amassed riches to rival kings, he would never be of noble birth.
“If that’s all it is, how come Iago said he’s forbidden to speak of it?”
Asmodeus laughed. “Cas gets furious whenever the ballroom is mentioned. Breaks whatever he’s holding and is”—Asmodeus pursed his lips—“less than his usual cheerful self. Most servants have become terrified of bringing it up.”
“I just find it hard to believe he was in love before,” she said slowly, still unable to process that the cold and unfeeling demon she knew had been hopelessly besotted over a woman.
Asmodeus nodded, grinning. “Yeah, he was a bit of an idiot about the whole affair. Most demons lose the ability to connect like that with a human when they are turned. Most demons speak of love as sappy mortal stuff, something only the weak or the foolish fall prey to.”
“Remind me to never ask you for advice on love or feelings,” she said, raising her brows. “How does a mortalturn intoa demon? Fiza told me she grew up in the Underworld. I assumed she was born there.”
Asmodeus chuckled. “Demonsareborn in the Underworld, but they rarely exist in their true forms here. They have to either change their shape or possess a human.”
“Possess a human?” Elizabeth repeated weakly.
“Yeah,” Asmodeus said, seemingly oblivious to her horror. “You just find someone with a form you like the look of and slip into their mind. Then, you have a little mental tug of war and devour their soul.”
She wrinkled her nose. “That sounds horrible.”
“Not really. Wearing my own form here itches. And I’d constantly expend energy trying to change my shape to blend in. Much easier to slip into the body of a human. I possessed a human and was living in this body when I was cursed.”
Elizabeth recoiled at the idea that she was sitting across from a human corpse that Asmodeus was possessing. She eyed his form warily and couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Why don’t you change your shape like Fiza does instead of possessing people?”
“Fiza and Maud are shapeshifting demons. It comes much more easily for them.” Asmodeus gave a loud laugh. “Water demons suck at basically everythingelse, but some of them are really good at changing their shape. Even their eyes are brown instead of black, and their pores have texture.”
Elizabeth furrowed her brow.
“Well, of course,youwouldn’t know the difference, but if a demon like me changes their shape to look human, it would be obvious. We’d be all poreless and glowy at the edges. Mortals would be able to tell immediately that we are not of this earth.”
A certain angel came to mind, his form perfect with poreless, glowing skin.
“What do you really look like underneath?” she asked suspiciously.
“You probably won’t like it.” He shrugged. “Most mortals find our natural forms … a little unsettling. Unless you’re into that kind of thing.” He gave her a roguish wink.
She ignored him. “So, Fiza is a shapeshifter demon, and the rest of you that look human all had to possess a human?”
A firm nod. “Basically, yeah.”
Finally understanding, she grew excited. “And you call us mortals. Does that mean you never age?”
“Yep. Immortal. I will stay gorgeous like this forever.”
“But you need to drink blood to survive?”
Asmodeus rolled his eyes. “Yes, we drink blood to feed our power and to anchor us to this plane. If we do not, we will lose our power and slowly fade into nothing.” He sipped from his goblet and gave her a wry smile. “We are not meant to be here, after all.”
“So, er, once someone becomes possessed, they become a demon and thirst for human blood?”
“Yeah, we prefer blood as the purest form of energy. The power rush from drinking human blood is … something else.” Asmodeus’s eyes misted over.
“Asmodeus,” she said sharply, for he had started gazing wistfully at her neck. Asmodeus shook himself lightly.
