CHAPTER
TWELVE
KRAX
Ukobach recovered before I did.“I won’t let you kill her.” His words were soft, but there was a steel in them that told me he’d take on Lucifer if he tried.
I stood beside her too, my tentacles wrapping around her and placing her behind us. “Nor will I.”
Sighing, Lucifer sat down. “Once upon a time, I would have had you all eradicated and felt nothing about it. Fortunately for your mortal, I am getting a little softer in my old age.” By old, he meant from the birth of the universe. A time immemorable. “And the gargoyles told Estrella before they told me, and Rella told my consort, and now she basically has impenetrable protection in the form of the most powerful females in Hell. How’s that for solidarity?” A joking Lucifer was as terrifying as a frowning Lucifer. “The real question now that death is off the table is if I should return you all to Hell or let you stay up here and raise what is possibly an abomination in the mortal realm, or if I should wait for the infant to be born and send it back to be raised by Krax in Hell.”
Only one of those plans sounded like a happy ending. Elsie was pale and silent. “Elsie doesn’t deserve to be in Hell for my mistakes.”
Lucifer rolled his eyes and pointed at Ukobach. “Elsie has been knowingly fornicating with demon spawn for several years. Trust me when I say she was going down anyway. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”
Her jaw set firmly, Elsie narrowed her eyes on the devil. “Are you? Sorry, I mean?”
Lucifer laughed, throwing his head back and chuckling at the ceiling. “You’ve got me there. I love giving bad news. Honestly, it’s my favorite thing. Besides, you were damned for love, and Hell isn’t that bad for people like you. Way more partying and significantly less piousness.” He cleared his throat. “That’s neither here nor there. I’m leaning toward option three. Krax and the infant can return to Hell. The child would be happy there, you have my word. I know the demonesses would love to have a grandchild to dote on as well.”
I looked at Elsie, trying to judge what she wanted. Did she even want this? “There is another option. You could, you know, get rid of it. I know this isn’t what you wanted or planned or whatever.” I tried to keep my voice neutral, because ultimately, it was Elsie who’d have to give birth to a baby krakubus, an event not for the weak of stomach.
Holding a hand over her abdomen, she frowned. “I don’t…” She swallowed hard. “It might make me a fool, but I want to keep it. It deserves a chance.”
I let out a shuddering sigh of relief. “Okay, and me? I can stay here and support you, or I can return to Hell and come back for the birth. You’ll need me then, but the child and I can leave straight away, and you can go back to your life.” My stomach was swirling into knots. Elsie looked at Uko, who gave her an expression I couldn’t decipher. Even the imps looked solemn on his skin, soft and stagnant. Whatever silent conversation they were having, they must have come to an agreement.
Holding her chin high, she gave Lucifer a confident expression. “We’d like Krax to stay with us. Permanently. This way, Hecto won’t cause any more drama. He’ll be happy.” I thought she meant me and not my dick in the last part, or at least I hoped so.
“I could always just chop his dick off and throw it into the fiery pits. Problem solved,” Lucifer replied, and all the blood drained from my face.
Elsie cleared her throat. “I think I like my idea better.”
I couldn’t help but respect her courage. There were very few beings in this world or the other who’d speak so casually to the Lord of Hell. Love had definitely mellowed him.
Lucifer shrugged. “I assumed you would. Fine, Krax can stay. You can keep your love child and live out some kind of bizarre, happily ever after up here.” He waved a hand at the tiny apartment, looking almost congenial. “But remember, you owe me, and the devil always collects.”
With that, he disappeared in a loud clap of thunder and a puff of shadows.
“Always with a dramatic exit,” Ukobach said softly, and Elsie nodded.
“I think I’m going to throw up.” She did, right there, all over Ukobach’s bare feet. I looked at him over her head and saw fear in his eyes. We’d scraped through this, but we weren’t even close to the end. There were so many trials in our future, and I wasn’t sure Elsie would survive them.
Fortunately for us, there was a whole little subnetwork of supernaturals who lived in the mortal realm, including a doctor who was formerly a deadly sin. He came and checked on Elsie at the behest of Lucifer’s consort, and told her everything looked good and he’d be back to check on her over the course of her pregnancy.
No one knew how long gestation was.
No one knew if a mortal body could even give birth to a kraken, or if the baby would evenbea kraken.
What we did know was that despite being nauseous, scared, and a little shellshocked, Elsie was horny as hell.
I’d worried she’d hate my guts, even if I hadn’t intended to inseminate her, but apparently whatever little bun was in her oven was definitely part incubus. Like normal nutrition, incubi and succubi babies needed a solid dose of pheromones and endorphins regularly to grow, and it transferred into a craving so intense, even Hecto was exhausted.
Four weeks in, I was on my back, using my tentacles to help her ride me, and Ukobach was beside me, heaving in breaths.
“Glad you chose to stay, Krax. Pretty sure I wouldn’t have survived a full nine months of this.” He did look kind of pale, but I couldn’t reassure him that it would get better, because Elsie was scraping her nails down my chest and coming.
And coming.
And coming some more.
