Curse of the Fallen by Eve Archer
Chapter Thirty-One
Dominick
“How did he get here?” I asked, rage stoking deep in my belly that the ruler of the demons should dare violate our fortress.
Rami’s expression was dark. “Speedboats. Fast ones. I’m not sure where they launched from, but they were on the island almost as soon as they were spotted.”
Expensive speedboats sounded exactly the kind of thing Mastema would choose. My lip curled at the thought of the opposing leader and his opulent taste.
“Who’s Mastema?” Ella asked. “Another don?”
I almost laughed at this. I wished Mastema was only a mortal crime boss.
Shaking my head, I took my hands in hers. “No. I don’t have time to explain everything now, but he’s very dangerous and you need to hide from sight.” I cut my eyes to Rami. “Where is Mastema now?”
“I have him and his attendants waiting in the library. Gad and Asbeel are with them.”
I nodded. Those two Fallen would know how to handle the demons. I pinned Ella with my gaze. “Go upstairs. Stay there until I come get you.”
“Tell Sara not to leave her room,” Rami added. “Not that she probably feels up to wandering the castle, but she was awake when I took her breakfast.”
“You’re freaking me out,” Ella said. “Should I be worried?”
“It’s nothing but some celestial politics, but I’d rather not have to explain the two humans under my protection. You remember how to get to your room, don’t you?”
She nodded, but her expression remained wary.
I glanced down at her shorty pajamas. “It wouldn’t hurt to get dressed.”
Rami had the good manners not to let his gaze linger on Ella as she left the kitchen. When she was gone, he cleared his throat. “I apologize for interrupting. The others said you were…indisposed.”
“I was making her breakfast,” I said curtly, inclining my head at the skillet of cold eggs. “Now, how long has Mastema been here?”
“He just arrived. I would not have hesitated in telling you if he’d arrived earlier.” He cocked an eyebrow at me. “It would not have been the first time I’ve walked in on you.”
I didn’t need to acknowledge this truth. Rami had not only walked in on me, but he’d also been with me at some of our more hedonistic clubs, where it was common to cavort in front of others. “Do we know what the prince of demons wants?”
“He claims this is a diplomatic mission,” Rami said as we headed for the door. “He didn’t bring a full contingent of demon warriors, so he may be telling the truth.”
I laughed. “When has Mastema ever not spoken with a forked tongue?”
Rami shrugged. “Agreed, but if he wanted a war, he did not come prepared for it.”
If his boats had reached us as quickly and stealthily as Rami had said, I had no doubt Mastema could have reinforcements swarming our coast within minutes. “We will see.”
We walked side by side through the fortress, passing through the main hall and then across an open courtyard. I pushed open glass-paned, French doors that led into a long library, an enormous hearth at one end with a fire burning within.
The prince of demons stood in front of the thick, wooden mantle, his arms clasped behind his back and his gaze fixed on the flames. Two demons flanked him, but they did not look as relaxed as he did.
“Mastema,” I said, as I strode across the room toward him, my footsteps muffled by the thick, Persian carpet.
He turned slowly, squaring his feet and keeping his hands clasped as he watched me approach. Despite the demon’s real age, he didn’t look much over thirty human years old. His dark hair was spiky and his eyes a startling shade of ice blue, a contrast that made it impossible to look away from him. His white button-down was rolled up at the sleeves, revealing heavily inked, roped arms. He also wore it open at the throat, making him look like he’d just ripped off a tie after a long day at the office, although his work did not involve meetings and phone calls.
“Semyaza.”
That was the second time today I’d been called by my ancient angelic name. The prince of demons did it to remind me of what I was, despite my trappings of humanity. I didn’t offer him my hand. Instead, I stopped in front of him and assumed his stance, leveling my gaze at him. “I understand you’re here on a diplomatic mission.”
He gave me a malicious smile. “Of sorts.”
I bristled at this. “If it is war you want, you didn’t need to come in person.”
“And they say it is I who is hostile.” He shook his head. “I actually came to put a stop to the hostilities that have broken out between demons and the Fallen.”
I eyed him with suspicion. In the millennia since we’d been sharing the same planet, Mastema had never brokered peace. Like the Fallen, he’d once been an angel who had delivered the punishments of the divine, but he’d become demonized. He’d been given dominion over the demons on Earth so he could tempt mankind, which he did with gusto. Despite our love of pleasure and man’s lustful sins, the Fallen had no desire to drive humanity into further evil like Mastema did, which had put us on opposing sides throughout most of history. Our current peace would have been considered tenuous at best.
“Forgive me for having doubts,” I said, folding my arms over my chest.
Mastema gave me a genuine smile. “Forgiveness is not one of my virtues, but I understand your hesitation.”
“What do you want?” Rami asked.
Mastema’s gaze slid to my friend, his smile faltering slightly. “Ramiel. Where there is Semyaza, there is always Ramiel.”
The thick-necked demons with him let out snorts of laughter, which Rami and I ignored.
Mastema pivoted back to face the fire. “Like I said before, I want to restore the truce. I have my hands full leading God’s most righteous away from his teachings. Although now that I’m on social media, luring humans into darkness is almost too easy.”
“Are you saying you have nothing better to do than come here and pretend to want peace?”
Mastema shook his head slowly. “Banishment has made you bitter, Semyaza. What happened with the demons was a mistake, a lapse of judgment.”
I fisted my hands by my sides. “Did you have anything to do with it?”
He turned back around, his cold eyes flashing red. “You truly think I would bother myself with the abduction of a single human? I don’t care who you fuck. I’ve had my share of humans. I wouldn’t go to war with the Fallen over them.”
“You’re saying that Jaya assembled the dark demons on her own?” Rami snapped. “Without your approval? I didn’t think the dark demons did anything without your authority.”
The demons by Mastema’s side made low, rumbling noises of displeasure, but their leader snapped his fingers, and they went silent.
“The succubus is powerful,” Mastema said. “And persuasive—as you well know.”
I flinched at this, but of course the prince of demons would know that I’d been involved with Jaya. There was little he didn’t know about the demons inhabiting Earth.
“She is still only a succubus,” I said.
‘Then you won’t mind giving her back to us.”
There it was. Mastema would not offer a truce without demands.
“You wish me to release the creature who organized the demons to come against me and who orchestrated the abduction of my…latest human plaything?” I huffed out a derisive laugh. “Why would I do that?”
“I know you have her in your dungeons. What do you plan to do with her? Torture her for eternity? That isn’t your style.”
“But it is yours. Do you wish to torment her yourself? Is that why you want the demon?”
He emitted a growl. “Don’t tempt me.”
“You really shouldn’t talk about a girl when she’s not in the room.”
Rami and I spun to see Jaya waltzing into the room, more demons flanking her. I swung my head back to Mastema. “This is your way of brokering a truce?”
He shrugged, his arms open wide. “What can I say? Honesty isn’t much fun.”
I held his gaze with mine. “I hope she’s worth a war, because that’s what you’re provoking by coming to our fortress and breaking her from our dungeon.”
“She is.” His eyes went to her. “I trust you’re unharmed, Lil?”
She smiled wickedly, her gaze going to me. “Never been better.”
“Lil?” I looked from the prince of demons to Jaya.
“Sorry,” Mastema drawled. “Lilith.”
“Lilith?” Rami’s voice trembled with rage. “The original succubus and dark mother demon?”
“Impossible,” I hissed, even though I felt it to be true in my bones. At least this explained why Mastema would risk so much for her. She wasn’t just another succubus.
“Nothing is impossible,” Lilith said, flipping her curved blade in one hand, the steel edge flashing in the light. “You should know that by now.”
My heart raced. The prince of demons and Lilith, the original mother of demons? I glanced at the Fallen in the room, their own faces masks of shocked horror. We were seriously outmatched.
