Page 99 of Unbound By Shadows
“Rescue me?” Lamia asked. “Yet, you chose to abduct my son instead.”
“I didn’t plan to,” he spat. “When I arrived in this foul place, I followed your scent, which led me to this room. When I saw a young demon sleeping in that bed with your features, I… I became enraged. I couldn’t believe that you had chosen to breed with… with…”
“My fated mate?” Lamia supplied.
Selene’s breath caught at the familiar termfated mate, but before she could dwell on it, Zaybris said, “I saw that you had built a life in the Underworld. Without me. So I did the only thing I could think of to make you notice me.I took your child.”A smirk overtook the vampire’s face. “I wanted to hurt you as you hurt me. To take something dear to you just as your demon lover took something dear to me. I was your most trusted advisor, yet you spurned me for a fiend you barely knew.”
Lamia laughed. “I knew Asmodeus long before you met me. You have him to thank for your relocation to Aurelia. He didn’t like how your kind violated the line between human life and death on Gaia and asked me to intervene. We fell in love, and—”
“Then he coerced you to leave me! Or did he possess you to choose his wickedness?” Zaybris demanded. His knees trembled, causing him to fall back onto the edge of Sam’s bed.
“It was you who coerced me!” Lamia shouted. “I was already with child when you tried to attack me. I was preparing to leave Aurelia to live in the Underworld, planning for the protection and care of my people. I hadn’t even had a chance to tell my sisters yet.And then that night when I saw how crazed you had become, how possessive, I was frightened. Asmodeus didn’t want me to live with him until I was ready, but I couldn’t risk staying near you another moment. I transported myself to Gaia where Asmodeus took me to his home.”
“It’s all in the past now. I forgive you for leaving me. Won’t you forgive me too?” Zaybris pleaded.
“Absolutely not! Now take me to Samael at once!” said the demon queen. She drew herself up to spread her wings, and Selene tensed, certain she was about to see Zaybris burst into flames or get turned into a toad before he could take the queen anywhere. The shadows around Lamia’s skirts grew more menacing. Then a roar from outside the bedroom made them all turn. Heavy footsteps shook the room like an earthquake.
Selene gulped as an enormous demon filled the doorway. He stood at least seven feet tall, eight if you counted his great black horns. They were gnarled and thick as tree branches, rising from the top of his bald head to point forward menacingly. Upon his brow was a crown of spikes similar to Lamia’s, but his was chipped and battered like he had used it as an actual weapon. His goat-like legs stamped the floor as though he were about to charge. His expression was dark as a thundercloud.
There was only one person this could be—Asmodeus, king of the Underworld.
Chapter 41
If Zaybris still had the ability to soil himself in fear, he was certain he would have done so at that moment.
After his transformation to vampire, Zaybris had happily relinquished his habit of comparing himself to other men. There was no need to lament that he wasn’t wealthier, stronger, or as cunning as he wished to be—not when his superiority had been divinely ordained. However, as he stared up at Asmodeus, all his mortal insecurities came flooding back.
This wasn’t exactly the gruesome devil he had always pictured. Despite his cloven hooves and blood-colored skin, the king of the Underworld was quite… handsome. He had a strong jaw, prominent cheekbones, and teeth so white they gleamed through the darkness of the room. He wore dark leather trousers and a cape secured by two skulls curved around each shoulder. His chest was bare—obviously an arrogant effort to show off his chiseled physique.
“Who dares to disturb my son’s room?” the demon king boomed.
“It’s who we’ve always suspected took Samael,” Lilith said.
“Zaybris,” Asmodeus growled. “Where is my son?”
“Aurelia,” Lilith said. Though her expression was fierce, her voice wavered.
Asmodeus bared his teeth. “You mean to tell me that after the decades we spent sending out demon trackers, hiring enchantresses, consulting seers, and bargaining with nobility to find Samael, he was in Aurelia? All this time?”
Zaybris shifted his weight and shrugged.
Asmodeus released a terrifying howl. “And now, vampire, here you are. In my realm at last. Ready to receive my wrath.” He began to charge toward him until Lilith pulled back his massive arm.
“Wait,” she said. “He’s not dead. He controls a traveler’s stone.”
This seemed to make the demon king even angrier, causing his body to shake. For a fearful moment, Zaybris braced himself to be staked or beheaded until he remembered demons weren’t allowed to kill. Only punish. The thought should have brought him comfort, yet when Asmodeus stepped forward, Zaybris held his hands up defensively. The fiend did not strike him down, though. He only took Lilith’s hand into his great clawed one.
“Take us to Aurelia,” Asmodeus said to Zaybris.
“No,” Zaybris said, struggling to push back his fear to remain in control of the situation. “Soon, I will takeLilithback to her native lands, but I’m far too weak now. I need human blood to refresh myself.” He gestured toward Selene, who was cowering like a frightened rabbit.
Asmodeus’s eyes flickered to Selene then back to Zaybris. “Take us. To see our son. Now!”
Zaybris straightened his spine. “Your son is dead.”
“Liar.” Asmodeus’s red eyes narrowed. “You think I wouldn’t know if my own son had entered the Underworld?”
Drat.Zaybris hadn’t considered that. So the little monster was still alive, for now. No matter. If the demon still lived by the time he and Lilith returned to Aurelia, Zaybris could gain favor by gifting her with a reunion.
