Page 66 of The River of Fire

“I don’t feel any different.” My voice is shaky from adrenaline and I cling to Ash like a baby lemur, despite being able to stand on my own feet now. I do feel some new connection between us – maybe the power he shared with me recognizing its home within him.

“Yes, well,” Ashtaroth’s words stir the hair atop my head as he speaks down at me. “Do not even try to summon hellfire until there are no flammable objects within a league.” I can’t help the jittery laugh that emerges from me.

“This is very touching, but I am done with you now.” Sataniel’s voice snaps me out of the intimate bubble of the embrace and I take a step back.

“What about Belial?” I ask Lucifer, my voice getting harder as I remind myself of the duplicitous archdemon. “Ash said he’s down here, too?”

“He is.” The Devil now sounds angry for the first time andI can hear rocks crumbling from the stone walls in the dark corners of the cavern. “I do not appreciate being made a party to his scheming. He will remain my guest.”

I shudder at the implications of the Devil’s hospitality. Ashtaroth only nods, then takes my hand and turns toward the tunnel we landed in. “Until next time,” he tells the ancient creature sitting on its throne.

“Ashtaroth,” Sataniel acknowledges. I feel a shiver skitter down the back of my neck as he says farewell to me, voice full of promise. “Lana.”

Epilogue – Ashtaroth

“That was laughably pathetic.”

I observe Lana’s attempts to control the direction she launches her hellfire, the flames going wide every time.

“Argh, this is impossible!” Her face is red and strands of hair stick to the perspiration on her skin. She stomps her foot and uses the ether to gather a ball of water the size of a train engine. Positioning it over the smoldering shrubs that grow among the rest of the coastal flora of my domain, she releases it to douse the scorched earth.

She has been practicing ever since we made our unholy bargain – the Hell version of marriage vows, and much more permanent. The power exchange was extremelypainful for me, but my pet will never know that our pact briefly turned my mortal form’s insides into a crisp.

To my extreme delight, her control over the ether increased several hundredfold. She was relieved to see that also applied to her healing. Despite having sold her soul to the Devil and tying herself to an archdemon for eternity, she is still full of light.

It is unfortunate, yet also quite entertaining, that hellfire does not come as naturally to her as most other things. “You will charbroil your precious Puck if you do not learn some control, sweetness.”

“Bite your tongue!” She flips me off and I chuckle at her outrage. The little imp became her constant companion. I often have to literally kick him out of our rooms before she lets me fuck her. Thankfully, her reservations only extend to the little furball. Taking her and making her scream my name in front of my court has become my new favorite pastime.

She grudgingly walks up to me, looking defeated. I tip her chin up and kiss her lips. “We will practice until you master it, lamb.”

Lana groans. “I’ll have to go to Purgatory soon. Liam has been chosen to assist Heaven with some top-secret issue back in the human realm. Apparently, he’s partnering up with some stuffy angel for it and he wants me there for the meeting which could be at any time.”

Since Lana can now easily travel using the ether, she can assist her team at Abaddon whenever she wants. I do not appreciate her disappearing for hours, but the tasks keep her feeling useful. As if feeding me and preserving my sanity is not useful enough.

“If that prick angel shows you any disrespect, call for me and I will choke him with his own intestines.”

She laughs, but I’m not joking. The angel will sense our bond immediately and if he is like all the other sanctimonious pigs from Heaven, he will comment on it, likely upsetting her. I will not abide by it.

“Shall I introduce myself as a Great Duchess of Hell, then?” Her lilting voice is teasing and she pokes me in the chest with aperfect finger.

I grunt in response. “You may introduce yourself as whatever you wish, as long as they know they are all beneath you and treat you accordingly.”

Still snickering, she wraps her hands around my neck and peppers my chin with little kisses. “Let’s go take a bath, mighty archdemon, I’m all sticky.”

“I will make you sticky with something else,” I reply, pulling her lower body flush with mine.

She groans, but it’s not a sound of passion. “Stop trying to be funny, Ash, you’re far too hot for these stupid dad jokes.”

I arch a brow. “Who says I’m joking, sweetness?”

With that, I gather the ether around us and send us to our castle, our bedchambers, and our bathtub.

Our home.

???

It will take more than a few months to dispel the millennia-old habit of being in my bed alone. Though the few hours of sleep I require have been eluding me since Lana has been sleeping here, I gather her sleep-soft body closer to mine, bury my nose into her soft auburn hair, and inhale deeply. I will take naps on my throne like a geriatric human before I give this up.

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