Page 2 of How to Accidentally get Trapped in Hell

“That’s not exactly reassuring.Taken care of? What exactly does that mean?”

“It means I will see that he returns to your and your mother’s sides, where he belongs. Until then, he will be fine. Time moves differently here. He probably hasn’t noticed you missing.”

“Uh. He likely wouldn’t notice me for a while anyway, but he would definitely notice his wife abandoning him, just like his first wife.”

“Wife?! My daughter’smateremarried?!” he roars. His whole body seems to grow before me, his horns elongating and his skin turning dark red. It’s like he’s hulking out or something. It’s definitely the most terrifying I’ve seen him.

“Ummm… Yeah. I think he was manipulated into it, though. He loved my mom very much. Even after she left, he told me all about her. He never stopped loving her.”

Lucifer looks down at me, not quite placated by that. “Manipulatedhow?” he growls. I jump in response and that seems to break through the cloud of rage. He slowly shrinks back to his normal size… or maybe that was his normal size and this is hishumanvisage. I don’t know, demons are confusing, but either way, he’s mostly back to the Lucifer I know. “Forgive me, child. I did not mean to frighten you. The thought of my daughter’s mate betraying her like that sent me into a rage.”

“Well, he didn’t. And for your information,shebetrayedhimwhen she left without a word,” I snap back. I won’t let him blame my dad for anything. If his daughter hadn’t left without even a goodbye, we wouldn’t be in this mess. And I tell him as much. “Your precious daughter left me and hermatealone. Defenseless and unprotected. She left her mate susceptible to other demons. Demons like yourotherdaughter, who thought it would be fun to play with him just to get back at you and her sister.” His eyes turn solid black as I fume. “Marjorie…Marjorkorie… found out about me and my dad. She tricked him into marrying her and lived with us for the past twenty years. She’s made my life hell. All because you didn’t love her enough.” I may have gone too far with my rant, but I don’t care. Itishis fault.

Whatever response he has to that is cut off by my screaming. It feels like someone is drilling into my head. No, that’s not right… It feels like someone is drillingoutof my head. I drop to the floor, screaming in agony. Lucifer catches me before my knees hit the ground. He holds me as I cry out, the pain unbearable. His hand softly brushes over my head, and I sigh in relief as the pain subsides.

“Beautiful,” he murmurs in awe, but I’m too exhausted from the pain to even care what the hell he’s talking about. “You are so strong,Neptis. You have the heart of a true ruler.”

That’s the last thing I hear before I pass out. Guess the rest of the tour is going to have to wait.

two

Zephyr

We’reimpatientlywaitinginMaddy’s sitting area where Luc banished us while he gives her a tour of the palace. I didn’t want to leave her, but he didn’t exactly give us a choice. We stood to follow them out of his office when he flicked his hand at us and we appeared in this room, unable to leave. Sometimes I forget just how powerful he is. It’s not often he uses his powers on me like this. I’m pacing the room when suddenly a blinding pain erupts in my head, bringing me to my knees as I scream, holding my head.

Zofina rushes over to me. “Zephyr! Belzar! What’s wrong?”

The pain dissipates, and I look up to see Belz rubbing the top of his head with a confused expression on his face. Behind him, I notice black smoke appear before it clears to reveal Luc holding Maddy. I freeze when I see her lifeless in his arms.

“What happened?!” I cry, rushing to her bed as he lays her down. It’s when he stands, backing away, that I notice the short black horns protruding from the top of her head. They’re positioned about two inches from her hairline, three inches long, and centered on her head. Right where my head was hurting just moments ago, my mate has cute little baby horns. She’s fucking adorable.

I’m so lost in admiring her new horns, I don’t sense Belz and Zofina approach.

“How’d she get those?” Belz asks in awe.

“By showing what a brave demon she is. Standing up to the devil himself.” I gasp, but Luc just chuckles and looks down at my mate with such fondness. “I believe she may be the only demon in existence that’s not even remotely scared of me. She stood toe to toe with me and told me off for being a terrible father. I was about to scold her when she fell to the ground in agony. I held her and took away the pain, but she passed out as I was telling her how proud I am of her. She’s going to be one formidable devil.” His voice fills with pride as he talks about his long-lost granddaughter.

Devil. Not demon.“It’s true then? What Marjorkorie told her about the prophecy?”

His head snaps in my direction and his eyes are pitch black. He looks like he’s seconds away from turning me to ash where I stand. “What did Marjorkorie say about a prophecy?” he demands.

“When she kidnapped Maddy. She told her she found a scroll from Ramiel. Claimed Maddy is meant to be your replacement. That she would be so powerful she could destroy Hell. That was her plan, to use Maddy’s power to… and I quote, ‘burn the whole thing to the ground.’”

Zofina gasps at the news, while Luc barely contains his rage. “Alert me when she wakes. I have matters to attend to,” he growls and disappears in a puff of smoke, no doubt going to see Marjorkorie.

“You didn’t know about the prophecy?” Belz asks Zofina.

“No,” she sighs and shakes her head. “We tortured Marjorkorie while you all were gone, but she didn’t tell us anything. Nothing useful, at least. Hisreplacement?Madelyne? What the devil is going on? Why didn’t he tell me?”

“I don’t know, Zo. But hopefully, it’s not for a very long time,” Belz murmurs as he gazes at our mate.

What feels like an eternity later, Maddy finally stirs in bed. I rush to her side, sit beside her and gently run my fingers through her hair, careful of her new horns. Her eyes flutter open and she sighs when she sees me.

“Where am I? What happened?” she groans as she attempts to sit up.

Wrapping my arms around her, I help her up and fluff a pillow behind her for her to lean against. “You fainted. Luc brought you to your room. You… you grew horns,” I tell her gently.

She gasps and her hands fly to her head, feeling her horns for the first time. “Oh my God! I havehorns!” she cries before covering her mouth with wide eyes. “Shit. I probably shouldn’t say that here, huh? Well, fuck. My go to non-cuss words are God and Jesus. That’s gonna be an adjustment. What do you use as cuss words?” she asks me as she rambles.

---