Revealing the Monster by Amelia Hutchins
Chapter Twenty-Four
And though she is little, she’s big insane. ~Erie
Erie bounced across the dancefloor, making a beeline for me. When she was close enough, she threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly. I laughed loudly at her tight hug, followed by lifting me from the ground before setting me back down. The sound of my laughter was carefree until I brushed against the leather of the top she wore.
Leaning back, I smiled at her, wrinkling my nose. Her wide, bright blue eyes studied my face, slowly roving over it before she patted my arm.
“I need a drink!” she shouted, even though I could hear without her screaming over the music. “You want one?”
I nodded, allowing Erie to drag me back to the bar where my guards waited for us. The moment she’d gotten close to me, they’d stepped back, which I was certain Lucian had instructed.
Sitting on one of the unoccupied stools, I turned as she wiggled her nose and changed her outfit with magic. Sliding my gaze around those nearest to where we sat in the corner, I frowned.
Magic was forbidden on this level. Usually, when the club sensed magic, wards exploded in a warning. Lucian had safeguarded the humans, ensuring that they couldn’t have their free will or choices altered by the influence of magic. The food and drinks from the lower floors wouldn’t pass through the threshold to the upper levels, either.
Once I was certain no one had noticed or planned to freak out over it, I slid my attention back to Erie. She was leaning halfway over the counter, with the bartender’s shirt bunched in her hand, twisted into her fist. He was leaning back, his wide, horrified eyes almost comical as she shouted our drink order to him.
I could have taken pity on the poor guy, but he was the same asshole who’d gone to Lucian after I’d given him a list of supplies I needed for opening night. I smiled at him, but it was all teeth, letting him know he was on his own. Turning back to the dancefloor, I watched Lucifer lean against the wall, staring at me with an expression that made a shiver rush up my spine.
His chin dipped, and a sinfully beautiful smile played on his mouth. It was weird to see him pretending to be Lucian once more. I had nightmares of him masquerading as Lucian after that first time. But lately, they’d turned into a fantasy.
“Don’t look at it, and it will go away,” Erie snorted, her vibrant stare following mine to where Luc watched us from afar. “He won’t dare get close to me. Lucifer knows I am hunting him and have been for a while now.”
“Why are you chasing him?” I asked, interested in knowing why Erie was after the Devil. “Does he have something you need or want?”
“It’s personal.” She smiled, but it was sinister. “I have someone he wants, and he has something that belongs to me. Plus, I have decided I’d look better on his throne than he does.” She shrugged, causing me to open my mouth, then close it, dumbfounded.
“You’re going to take the throne—of Hell—from the Devil?” I rapidly spat the question. My brows shot up while she snorted.
“Yes, of course. They’re paired. And who better to become the Queen of Hell than me? I’m perfect for the position.” The way she said it, it was matter-of-fact, as if she’d been working a while on the reasons she’d be an excellent fit for the job.
The bartender returned with our drinks and placed them in front of us. I closed my eyes, inhaling the heady scent of ambrosia. The drink smelled of heaven, even though the hangover would be more hell than anything else. I picked up the cup, downing it in one gulp as Erie chuckled.
“I was going to ask how you’ve been, but I think you just answered me,” she snorted, holding up her cup to clink it against my empty one. She chugged hers while studying the bartender. “He doesn’t seem as if he enjoys working here.”
“He and I don’t get along right now. Lucian tasked me with opening the lower level. The bartender decided to go through Lucian to double-check that he was okay with my selections, even though I was charged with organizing,” I explained, extending my cup while holding his stare. “Refill it, or you’re going to need to explain to Lucian how you ended up headless on the upper level.” His green eyes widened and dropped to the empty glasses we held out.
He retrieved them, refilling each with the glowing blue liquid, before hurrying off. Wrapping my hands around the cup, I turned back to Erie, who studied me. Chewing my lip, I fidgeted under her watchful eye.
“Do you hear that?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. “It’s like a buzzing sound.”
My cheeks heated with embarrassment. I hid it behind the glass, drinking deeply of the ambrosia. It was one drink an immortal could actually achieve a buzz from, or if you drank enough, you’d get fall-down drunk on the stuff. Either would be welcome tonight.
Three glasses deep, we were back on the dancefloor pulsing with the crowd, dancing to Machine Gun Kelly’s I Think I’m Okay. My head swam with the buzz I’d achieved, and a smile played on my lips. I lifted my arms with Erie’s, and we swayed our bodies, bobbing our heads to the beat. Belting out the words, we laughed as people moved away from us, giving us room to let loose.
I could make out Devlin, Bane, and Layton in the crowd, each watching for any threat. The song changed, and Erie wrapped her arms around me, buzzed from the drink as it filtered through our systems.
“I love ambrosia and the warmth it leaves behind,” she sighed, smiling brightly, while resting her head against my shoulder. “So, what has gotten you so upset?” she asked, unsurprisingly.
Erie may be bat shit crazy, but she was observant. There wasn’t much that would get past her or go unnoticed beneath her perceptive gaze. I shrugged, allowing her to pull me with her back toward the bar, where she waved emphatically for the bartender.
“Spill it, woman. I know Lucian has you cooped up here. You’re alone, like me. Girl talks help, or so I hear.”
“I am alone, Erie. I feel it to my core. I miss Kendra and my mom. Lucian and the guys are great, but it’s not the same, you know?” I admitted, groaning at the idea of purging my problems.
“I hear ya, Lena. Trust me. I am alone most of the time, too. I don’t trust many people, and those I do trust normally think I’m insane,” she replied.
“Well, you were wearing Callaghan when I came up the stairs.” Pointing it out causes a bubble of laughter to escape my throat, which was luckily replicated by her giggle.
“He deserved it, trust me. Callaghan is so worried about saving his race that what I need or want isn’t considered. He tried to kidnap me and thought taking me home would make me feel things once more. We’ve changed, though.”
“How did he end up as your wardrobe?” I asked, sipping deeply from the nectar of the gods.
Erie smiled, licking her lips before shaking her head. “He planned to trick me, and I didn’t appreciate his plan. He used fertility medicine a few months ago, and it didn’t work out for him.” I gazed over her shoulder, where Lucifer studied me, his eyes locking with mine while he stood less than three feet from us. “Anyway,” she said, waving her hand around. “He took me home, drugged, bound, and fucked me on the cliffs where we’d once recited our vows. I thought it was romantic until I tasted the concoction in my drink. I returned the favor, drugging him before I tied him to the cliff’s walls and took his skin and head.”
I blinked slowly, dragging my eyes back to her. I wasn’t certain what I’d expected, but that hadn’t been it.
“Do you love him?” I asked.
“I’d destroy the world to protect him,” she replied softly.
“Does he love you?” I continued, wondering when they’d gone wrong. Somewhere in their history, they’d turned from lovers to enemies.
Her red curls bounced as her head shook from side to side. “He wouldn’t destroy anything for me. Probably not even a supermarket. Callaghan is more worried about saving the people we cursed in our war. Just once, I’d like him to vow to destroy the world for me. Shit, if he wanted me to be with him for something more than just saving a race, I’d possibly be able to forgive him. The thing is, he doesn’t talk to me like I matter. I’m nothing more than the womb he needs to fill, and that isn’t something I will allow him to achieve. I am more than that,” she admitted, frowning, causing her forehead to wrinkle.
“I hear you,” I replied, nodding. “Lucian allowed my bloodline to die and did nothing to prevent it. They were savagely murdered, and he knew it would happen. I can forgive him for being some medieval monster, but I need to understand why. I deserve that, right? I don’t know where I fit into his world, either. He wants me. That much I do know.” Pausing, I creased my brow at her pitying stare.
“I am irrevocably in love with him, but he doesn’t allow me to know how he feels, Erie. I feel lost, and I hate this feeling. It’s like I came back with a purpose, and now it’s changing daily. I don’t need him to declare his love for me in some big gesture, but I hate feeling like I’m in limbo. It’s like the ground I am standing on is trembling, and I am just waiting for it to crumble beneath me.”
“Lucian was hurt badly when Katarina betrayed him. You know that. He lost his shit when you died, Lena. I watched it unfold and then was called in to build a cage to contain you, or what he assumed was his seal manipulating your corpse. Imagine never losing control, and then it’s just gone. Lucian has spent his entire life holding command on worlds and immortals that depend on him. You walked into his life, and he wasn’t sure what to do with you. You shook his foundation and made the ground tremble on which he stood.”
“I doubt that very much,” I muttered.
“Sometimes foundations have to break so that new ones can be built,” she returned, studying me.
I considered her words, nodding my understanding while running them through my mind. Was that the issue? Was my foundation crumbling so that I could stand with Lucian? Did he want me that close to him? I knew he cared deeply for me and wanted me. That much was obvious, but what if that wasn’t enough and he tired of me? What if he didn’t allow me to stand with him because of what had happened in the past?
“Don’t do that, Magdalena. You’re going to what if yourself back into the grave. That buzzing isn’t going away. I think it’s following us.”
“That’s me,” I admitted, and her eyes widen before they lowered to my abdomen.
“Oh, you kinky bitch! I dig it,” she chuckled.
“It’s not like that. Well, it is. It’s a device, which tracks my location while also allowing Lucian to torture me slowly,” I groaned, scrubbing my hands over my face with embarrassment. “It’s been days since he allowed me to find release, and he enjoys having that power over my pleasure. Almost as much as he likes keeping me locked up inside this club.”
“Wow, that’s pretty caveman of him. I knew he was into the kink, but withholding it for days? That’s some next-level bullshit,” she snorted, frowning. “How long has it been since you’ve been outside?”
“A while now. At least a few weeks, but I did sneak out to go check in on Alden, and bring Spyder’s stubborn ass back here.”
“Let’s fix that,” she stated, not explaining what she’d meant while reaching over to grab my hand.
The world started swirling around us, and my stomach lurched with nausea while Erie hummed out loud. I groaned, grasping onto her arm for dear life before solid ground once again sat beneath my feet.
She smiled as I continued fussing over my surroundings, perpetually spinning violently. I didn’t release my hold on her, not even as the world became clear.
Brimstone and sulfur burned my senses, and I gasped as something akin to a branding iron bit into my wrist. I heard a loud popping noise and then screeching as my attention moved to what had assaulted me, and I sighed. Violet eyes held mine as I saw Lucifer’s hand attached to my wrist, but no longer connected to his arm.
“Not today, Satan. It’s a girl’s night out. Besides, you need to file the correct paperwork with Lucian to get permission for some alone time with her. I doubt he’d allow you any alone time with Lena, though. Now shoo. It won’t be too long before he comes looking for her,” Erie stated, as if she hadn’t just severed the Devil’s hand from his body.
Lucifer vanished, and the thick scent of cinnamon and masculinity clung to my skin. I closed my eyes, turning my head toward Erie before opening them once more.
She was dressed in her goddess outfit, and her naked breasts were on full display. Twin swords sat in her hands, and the Raven Guard stood around us. Everything happened so swiftly that I hadn’t even realized it until they surrounded us.
Erie tossed her blades into the air, where they turned into black feathers that drifted to her skin, becoming tattoos. Reaching toward me, she smirked and scrunched up her nose, plucking Lucifer’s hand from me.
My heart thumped against my ribcage, and my gaze swept over the red, charred flesh where Lucian’s mark had flourished on my wrist, along with the ancient scrawl of words. Lifting my stare, I studied how Erie held Lucifer’s hand up, dropping it into a bag as if it was a trophy.
The men around us vanished as rapidly as they’d appeared, and I opened my mouth to speak, closing it when I sensed someone else in close proximity to us.
A masculine tsking sound alerted us to the fact that we weren’t alone. Adrian’s sea-green eyes skimmed over Erie’s body once, rolling back up to her face.
“I know we don’t have a dress code, Goddess, but it isn’t Rock Out with Your TitsOut night at Nightshade. Cover those perky things before you end up starting a riot,” he purred, nodding at me in hello. “We should get inside if you’re coming. The club is about to move again.”
“Is that what it is doing? And here I thought I was going insane because I kept getting lost!” She exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air, then placing them on her hips. “I’m not crazy after all!” Adrian and I shared a knowing look before she rolled her eyes. “Did you hear that? It was the sound of my bell dinging in the back of my head. If my eyes roll any harder, they might just roll away. Let’s go, Lena. Maybe if the club moves enough, Lucian won’t catch us so quickly.”
I followed her toward the door, where Adrian held it open with a smile that lit inside his turquoise gaze.
“Ladies first, I insist,” he murmured, sweeping one arm toward the bar where Vlad stood, arms crossed over his chest, observing us. “Something tells me all hell is about to break loose?”
“Uh, that’s an accurate assumption,” I agreed.
“I’ll begin clearing out the club to prepare for Spyder and Lucian, then. Please, have a drink on the house, woman. You’re going to need it,” Adrian snorted, moving past us as we headed to where Vlad watched, a perturbed expression in his stare.
“Bloody hell, this night just won’t end,” he grumbled while procuring three glasses, filling them with top-shelf whiskey.
I studied Vlad’s posture, frowning at how he glanced between Erie and me and a table full of women. I’d never witnessed Vlad drinking before, and something told me we weren’t what had him the most frustrated inside his club tonight.
