Page 1 of The Devil of London

Chapter One

The Past

Bloodcoveredmyweddinggown, staining it crimson, while the heavy, sharp scent of blood filled the air inside the church. There was something soft and squishy in the crease of my breasts—brain matter, most likely. A violent tremor rushed through me as the muffled screams crammed the church. It sounded as if my head were beneath water, or they were farther away than they really were. Movement in front of me forced my eyes to the devil himself, who was watching through the shattered windowpane of the house of worship’s many windows.

A malicious, sinister smile curved his generous lips as he held my stare prisoner. The bouquet in my fingers shook, and blood dripped from the ruined petals as tears slipped down my cheeks. There was a jarring thud that made me want to flee, but running wouldn’t help me now. Nothing would. The Devil of London wasn’t someone you ran from. I’d tried before, which had ended badly for me.

The sense of impending doom churned through me as the harpsichord hit a crescendo. Admittedly, it offered a haunting backdrop to the morbid scene unfolding around me. The sickening crunch of bones being severed by blades had synchronized with the harmony of the song. As I remained in place, my chin trembled, and my hands fisted at my sides until I was white-knuckling the floral arrangement in one hand as my nails were digging into the flesh of the other. The room became a blur as tears swam in my vision.

More blood splattered against the side of my face from someone being cut through by a sword. Beside me, a woman screamed hysterically, and a second later, she rushed to lunge toward the broken pane of glass.

I swallowed past the confusion as she paused halfway over it, and when she turned back to me, the blood drained from my face. Strange things began exiting her sliced-open abdomen, even as she tried to prevent it. When she took a step toward me, my footing uprooted, and I shuffled backward in retreat, only to hit the solid, unmoving body of the man behind me, who had haunted my every waking hour and my dreams. Panic ripped through me as I glanced toward the empty window, finding him gone from where he’d just been standing. The scent of dark smoke, whiskey, and bergamot drifted over me as his feverish breath warmed my chilled flesh.

When I turned toward where Maxwell was huddled beneath the altar, a soft gasp of horror escaped my lips. On the floor where we had been reciting vows of matrimony was the priest’s unmoving body, minus half his skull. Part of which I was certain was now covering my chest and gown. This day had gone to shit quickly.

The man behind me slipped one arm around my waist as his other hand slid up my ruined wedding gown. His thumb trailed over my jawline as the strength of his body pressed against mine like manacles.

“You’ve been rather naughty, love.” The smooth, rich tenor of Khaos Nasir’s voice wafted over me like a summer breeze. “Did you really think I’d let you marry him?”

“Nasir, please,” I whispered around the violent tremor shaking me. “Don’t do this.” The woman was slowly tripping toward us, holding what I assumed were her bowels in her hands. Pain covered her pasty skin in a fine sheen of perspiration as bloody footprints trailed in her wake. Behind her, still stuck to the glass that had sliced her open, was a portion of the strange, purplish-gray strand she carried. Terror was consuming my mind as she bellowed incoherent things while staring directly at me.

“I didn’t do this. You did,” he murmured as his mouth lowered and he trailed his lips over my shoulder. “I warned you not to seek attachments to men. Yet, here I find you, standing in a house of worship with your pathetic groom hiding beneath the altar. I believe he’s pissed his trousers and left you to fend for yourself against the devil.”

“Don’t hurt him. I’ll do whatever you want. Please, he’s not a part of this battle between us,” I pleaded through the tears welling in my throat.

Merikh stepped up behind the woman, leveled his blade with her throat, then pulled it back before swinging forward. Her head left her body, bouncing over the floor oddly as her legs continued for one more step before she crumpled to the ground, still twitching. Merikh’s emerald-colored eyes held mine for a moment before they dipped over the ruined gown I wore. The disgust on his handsome features turned to something murderous as his attention slid to Maxwell, who remained huddled in a ball, rocking and staring blindly at the woman’s head, which had come to a rest in front of his hiding spot.

“I warned you there would be consequences if you persisted in disobeying me,” Nasir growled against my ear before his hands slid to my wrist, twisting it painfully as he spun me around to face him. “Now, you’ll reap what you’ve sewn, love.”

I’d always assumed the devil would come in the guise of a horned beast with a forked tongue. That he’d have hooves and be a ghastly thing to stare upon. Nasir wasn’t anything close to that. He was the devil who’d been plucked from my darkest, most sinful fantasy. Inky dark hair as soft as silk dusted his broad, powerful shoulders. Dense, long black lashes framed alluring eyes, and a strong, aristocratic nose sat between the sharp, exquisitely chiseled cheekbones, giving him a devastatingly appealing appearance.

“Why don’t you join us, Lord Herne? I’m sure your gorgeous bride would like to say goodbye before I end your miserable life.” Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks because I’d known not to tempt the devil or raise his ire. Yet, I still rebelled against Khaos with reckless abandon because I was unable to have what I truly wanted. Him. “You can either crawl out yourself or these fine lords will assist you. The choice is yours.” Lord Nasir’s eyes didn’t leave mine as he spoke, and when Maxwell remained where he was, pleading for mercy as he prayed to his God, Nasir ordered, “Bring him.”

When Maxwell had gotten down on his knee and asked me to marry him, I’d warned him this might be the outcome, but he’d refused to heed the warning. The stupid boy had been so sweet that he’d made it impossible to decline his offer. And now he’d die because of it. It was unfair. The devil cursed me to be his plaything, so love was not something I could obtain.

“Khaos,” I whispered, my voice cracking over those two syllables. Wetting my lips, I stepped closer to him. “I’ll be good. I promise.”

“I no longer care to hear your pretty pleas or promises, Aderyn. I’ve been lenient with you because of your age and tender heart. Yet, you continue to challenge me and flaunt your blatant disregard for the rules in my face. I’m not the one who repeatedly snuck into my establishment. You are. I’m not the one who sought employment at Saffron Manor and then burned it down when you were rejected. I sent you away because you and I both knew you weren’t a fucking whore. What was it you did when you were told to go home? You burnt it down without a care of those within it. You sought me out. I didn’t invite you into my world because you weren’t ready to be a part of it. If you’d listened to me, you and I wouldn’t be here right now. We’d have met under very different circumstances because, you and me. We were destined to cross paths, whether either of us wanted it or not. It wasn’tmydecision to set the chamber where I rejected you up in flames. That was a choice you made. It was also stupid to think you would get away with it. You knew who the fuck I was when you determined to cross me.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose.” And I hadn’t. I had not even known I had magic until that moment, and by the time I’d figured out I was the cause of the flames, it had been too late to prevent them from spreading. I hadn’t ever wielded magic before, nor had I known that strong emotions would cause it to become uncontrollable.

“It changes nothing.”

As Maxwell struggled against the men who yanked him out from beneath the altar, panic swept through me, my stomach twisting with fear for him. Then fire ignited in my veins as I leveled Nasir with an angry glare.

“I am not yours!” I’d never admit to being his property to him or anyone else. I’d fight him until my last breath to keep from admitting it out loud.

“Yes, you fucking are!” he snarled, the mask of civility slipping as his eyes seethed with the rage he housed.

It had me inching away from him. I’d only seen him release his fury a few times, and while his anger was dreadfully beautiful, it was also terrifying. Beneath the masculine, handsome exterior was a monster he kept under tight restraints. He was the type of monster who you knew could either protect you or destroy you, and which one he offered? Well, that depended on you. He’d been my savior, but also my perdition.

Unlike the others who crossed him, the devil had not offered me death or forced me into service in one of his many lucrative businesses. He’s given me a choice to become his slave, or pay the price for what I’d done with my life. Khaos had enjoyed every moment of my punishment until some sick, twisted bond formed between us. He protected me from those who preyed on the girls serving out their sentences by working on their backs. I’d neither been peddled within his establishments, nor offered to another lord to use.

Khaos himself was the only male allowed to torment me, but it wasn’t pain he offered. He tortured me with pleasure. Aside from the single time he’d struck me to prove that he could harm me should he wish to, he’d never laid a hand on me in violence—not even when he’d come for me after I’d set fire to his largest, most prestigious bawdy house. He’d ensured I knew that he could but had chosen not to physically harm me when he’d claimed ownership of me.

Khaos had come after me for my part in his establishment burning down. He’d walked into my parents’ home as if he’d owned the place. Once inside, he had explained the severity of what I’d done, as well as the repercussions of it. He’d offered to conceal my crimes and hide me from the lords seeking my death, but only if they signed a parchment stating I was his property. My mother, the cold-hearted woman she was, agreed so long as he also paid her for me. Three shillings was the price of ownership for my soul.

He had not needed to barter with her, but he’d done so to enjoy my pain as she’d accepted each coin being placed into her palm. He had wanted me to see how much my life was worth to those who were supposed to love me the most. It had cut deeply, which had been exactly what he’d wanted it to do.

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