Page 62 of Queen of the Wicked
“So why didn’t you?”
Alessia lifted her gaze to his, her brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Our blood pact states you cannot harm me, but that doesn’t mean a creature couldn’t.” He nodded towards the fallen reptile. “You had every reason to allow it to kill me. Doing so would have freed you of this bind, yet you chose to save me. Why do you think that is?”
Alessia’s eyes fluttered shut when his fingers moved higher on her thigh, gently massaging muscles that ached. “I…don’t know,” she whispered, but with the way Erebos stared at her, it was as if she was supposed to. “It was strange. I mean, killing Godric was out of my control, and I still carry guilt about it, but killing thatthingdidn’t take any convincing. I enjoyed it.” Her bottom lip trembled, eyes flooding with more unshed tears. “I don’t want to be evil, Erebos. I should be afraid, right? This smoke can kill anything in its path, but I’ve never felt more comforted by it than when I chose to save you.”
A tear slipped onto her cheek, and the realm seemedto halt when Erebos swiped it away with his thumb. His hand remained on her face as tendrils of smoke drifted around them in response, caressing his cheek in return. “Dark magic can be used for good. I know this because I have done it. I imagine black magic is the same. You are not evil because of these powers.”
“Then why do I have them?”
“Why did I?” he countered. “Why does Izara? It is a question that has plagued us for years, and we’re attempting to get to the bottom of it. This darkness doesn’t make you a bad person, not if you refuse to let it consume you. I know that because I have suffered an immense amount of pain, and I still maintain the ability to receive and bestow goodness to the world.”
Her mind drifted back to that dreadful nightmare, when she awoke in a cold sweat to find Erebos perched over her like a guardian angel crafted of divine wickedness.
“Can I ask you something?” she whispered. Erebos nodded slowly, his onyx eyes never leaving hers. “Were you ever…captured?”
The immediate tensing of his muscles already gave Alessia her answer.
“Why do you ask?”
“That night you found me in the bedroom having a nightmare, it was about you. At first, I didn’t think anything of it, but the scars in that nightmare matched the ones you have now, and I guess I just wondered if it was true.”
His throat worked on a swallow before he replied, “What happened in your nightmare?”
“You’re avoiding my question.” He dodged the red aura well, but she needed to know this. She needed to see if he had experienced insurmountable pain. Why? She didn’t understand it, but her heart weighed heavily with anticipation.
The lord stared up at the high ceilings of the cave, his chest heaving as if reliving the memories. “The earliest memories of myself that I have are with King Bastian. I can’t remember anything before him. My mother, my father,friends…it’s all a blur. I can only recollect waking up in a cell and…” He shook his head. “Bastian tortured me for decades.”
“Why?” Alessia asked. She couldn’t help but grab his hand when she noticed it shaking and gently squeezed it. It was either that or find the king and make him pay. Slowly.
“I never knew. I was poked and prodded and forced to use my powers upon strangers I had never met. Forced to murder innocent people for a reason I’m still unaware of. Forced to—” His voice broke, and for the first time, emotion shone in the depths of his dark eyes. “This title I have wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for King Amos. He found me and brought me here to safety. Created that decree and made me the Lord of Hell so Bastian couldn’t harm me without death knocking at his doorstep. But that decree ends in a year, and he’ll come for me again because I’m valuable to him, though I’ve never understood why.”
“Is that why you’re rushed to regain your powers?”
He contemplated his answer. “Partly. The decree King Amos initiated never dictated how I ran Hell. Wehad similar mindsets as to how things should run in this realm, so it was never of concern, but after he was murdered, Bastian created new rules as to howhethought the realm should be.”
“That’s why Izara casts the glamour,” Alessia murmured more to herself than to him.
“Precisely.”
“And how doyouexpect it to be?” She realized she never thought to ask until now, when it could very well change her entire perception of the man everyone feared.
“Well, I believe that some demons deserve a second chance. Not everyone is redeemable, depending on their sins on Earth, but some express genuine remorse and wish to try again.”
“And by try again, you mean…”
“Reincarnated,” he replied. “When a soul is indicted to Hell, I can normally determine within the first five minutes if they belong in the Unknown or not. Those who repent for their sins are then given a job to help the realm run. Farming, cooking, cleaning… King Bastian does not supply us with money, so we make do with what we have. The people who work for me are striving for freedom; to start over and try again.”
“But Eryx and Izara are already freed.” AndCatalina,even though the thought irked her.
“Yes, some choose to live here after I feel they’ve repented long enough. They grow comfortable and wish to remain here, so I allow them to do so.”
Alessia remained perched on his lap, utterly shell-shocked at the information she had ather fingertips but never bothered to ask. Or, maybe she had wanted to but was afraid of the answer. A part of her was always intrigued by Erebos, but she hadn’t wanted to admit it, fearing that it would make her a bad person when her family supposedly derived from Heaven.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“I’m thinking…” She bit down on a smile. “You’re nothing like I assumed. Giving demons a second chance at life and blatantly going against Bastian’s requests to torture those who reside in this realm is admirable. I can understand why others respect you, are loyal to you, and want to remain in Hell even after being freed.”
