Chapter 104
BENEATH HER DARKNESS: The Alpha's Little Demon
104 â Lies, Betrayal, and Love LUCIUS.
âLucius... answer me.â Lucija had always been brave, but the she-demon in front of me looked like a scared cat â soaked in the rain and with nowhere to go.
I couldnât help but flash her an evil smirk. I took pleasure in knowing even the strongest one feared me. I was anticipating that she would throw fire or ice at me, but she didnât. Instead, her eyes pooled with tears as she tried to control her breathing.
And I couldnât take it any longer.
My laughter echoed around my room as I shook my head. âThe fuck, Lucija! I could have killed you when you were 11 or when you were asleep because I have access to your room. Why now? Why while Guillermo is here?â
âLucius...â The pain was still flitting in her eyes. And I knew I should never feel guilty. Iâd done thousands of cruel things and had never regretted any of them. I raised my hands in the air before I spoke. âI was just kidding with that dealy expression. I didnât know you would buy it.â
âYou! Fucking moron!â She snarled before a ball of ice swooshed past me and hit the wall behind me, creating a loud thud and ice spikes sticking to it like daggers.
âWhoah! That was close!â I chuckled. â Calm down. Weâre on the same team.â
âWhy are you not killing me yet?â Her eyes squinted as she slowly took her seat.
âBecause I had no plans of killing you. I told you I would always have your back, and I mean to keep that.â
âAm I the heir, Lucius?â
âyou know the answer to that.â
âI want to hear it. Am I the heir?â
âThatâs what our father believes.â
âIf he thinks itâs me, why didnât you kill me? Itâs your easiest way to the throne.â
âYes, and that was the plan until you showed up and asked me if I would let you go once I took over as king. I knew right there that you never wanted this life, and you were putting your whole faith in me that I would save you from here. No one had put their faith in me the same way you did when you were eleven.â I smiled at her and placed a hand on my hips while the other cupped my lips, playing with them. âI felt like I had a purpose for the first time. I know this might have come too late and you waited too long, but I still want to fulfill the promise I made to that eleven-year-old girl. If I become the king of Kalmerus, I will let you go â
away from here.â
Lucijaâs eyes watered, but she blinked back her tears. âIs it bad that I didnât want this part of me?â
âThere is nothing wrong with your demon part, Lucija. The reason we exist in this world is because we have a purpose. We have our own world and community. The only thing that is wrong is that we are abusing our power to take advantage of the weaker ones, of souls who should not be here. Embracing your demon side doesnât make you a bad creature. We only look bad to other species because of the way we live in our realms, the same way the wicked sirens are being rebuked for luring unmated males and destroying them, and the same way werewolves claim humans as their mates and mark them without the humanâs approval.
But Iâm not saying you have to choose. You are lucky to be given both sides.â
âBut I still donât want to be here, especially now that I have Adan. I love him, Lucius. Iâm not even sure I was capable of loving until I met him, and Iâm slowly dying inside because Iâm so far away from him that Iâm willing to do anything, bow down to anything, and even kill anyone, just to have him back.â The first tear dropped from her eyes as she stifled her sobs.
I walked toward her and stopped to crouch in front of her. My hands took hers and cupped them between mine. âI will get you out of here. I told you that.
Just trust me again like you did when you were eleven, and I promise you, princess, I will not fail you this time.â
âI never lost my faith in you. Even if the other side of me wants to believe you were out here to destroy me, Iâm still here, arenât I?â She tried to smile despite the tears trickling down her face.
âI know. Iâm not even sure I was worthy of your trust, but Iâm glad youâre still here. Now, stop crying. We canât be vulnerable on this big day.â
She nodded her head as I let go of her hands, and headed off to grab a drink that was sitting at one of the tables.
âSo, Father thought I was the rightful heir. But if he dies, will the heir die too? If someone kills him, will I die too? Am I here for slaughtering, and you just donât want to do it on your own.â She asked as she wiped the tears off her face.
âNo. It is only one way. Thatâs why he wanted you by his side, so youâd never try to kill him.â
âWhat if Father is mistaken? Do I really give out a strong aura?â
I nodded my head. âSo you have nothing to be scared of. Iâm sure if chaos falls from the heavens, youâre the first one he will save. Itâs the reason he didnât want you away and he didnât want you to mate with Stone. He wants a guarantee that you will be safe here, so he can live as much as he can.â
âAnd Iâm the only one who can kill him?â
âMaybe, maybe not. But it takes someone stronger than him to kill him. And I am assuming the heir could, especially if you can let out your ultimate form.â
âUltimate form?â
âWhen a demon is threatened or in rage, the demon takes another form. The demon form you have is just a preview of your ultimate form. âWhen you reach your full potential, your ultimate form will emerge, as will your full power.â
âWhere are you learning all this?â
âFather was so selfish, he didnât want to share this. But Kalmerus is not the only kingdom with a king and powerful demons. And your brother here has a charm no one can turn down. I had lured kings and queens, I fucked them until I get answers. Iâm not the prince of lust for nothing.â
âDo you think I have an ultimate demon form?â
âAll of us have. Even me, the weakest son ...â I chuckled and shook my head before I continued. âWe just need to open the portal of our strength.â 2 âHow do we open it?â
âIâm sure it will happen for you at your cleansing.â
âLucius, Iâm still confused. Donât we need a weapon or something? What if this portal of strength doesnât open anything?
Then weâre dead!â
âThen Iâm dead, but not you. So you have nothing to worry about. Donât think too much of it and just go with the flow.â
âI have more questions now than ever! And youâre making it sound like this conversation is over.â
âIt is.â
âDamn you! You canât do that! I still donât know what to do!â
âOnce your strength is unleashed, kill him with your fire, ice, or whatever fucking energy that can come from you. If he canât match it, he will die.â
âWhy did we have to wait for the cleansing when we could have attacked him whenever we wanted? While heâs resting or watching his fucking hologram or whatever?â
âFather is letting his energy down during rituals. He cannot overpower the energy being used by those in the rituals. Itâs our only chance to get him off guard.â
âLucius...â
âEnough, Lucy. We still have things to do.
âYouâre still hiding something from me.â
âNo. You knew everything you needed to know. Once your ultimate form comes out, youâll be more powerful than him.â
âWhat if not?â
âFather doesnât have an ultimate demon form. Heâs powerful, but he has not reached that level yet. He couldnât.â
âWhy?â
I smirked at her and curled a finger under her chin before tilting her head up to meet my eyes. âYou will find out once your ultimate form comes out. But, just to be clear, demons feed on anger, rage, and lies. It strengthens and empowers us, but we must never forget that demons were once angels. We are fallen angels.â
âYouâre talking in circles.â She sighed in desperation.
âYouâre my weapon, Lucy. As long as you know he will never harm you, then you can attack and kill him. Thatâs all for now.
Prepare yourself for your next task.â I held her arms and transported our bodies into her chamber.
âGuillermo.â She murmured as I let go of her arm.
âYes. I will see you in thirty minutes. Patrea is here with me.â I winked at her before walking away, not waiting for her to say anything else, or Iâd have to admit her mate was also in this realm.
I knew I should have told her the last details on how the ultimate demon form could be summoned, but I knew Lucy was too smart, and if she figured out my plan, she would stop it, and everything would be wasted.
Demons feed on anger, rage, and lies. But like I told her, demons were also angels â fallen angels. And angels, they feed on love.
Anger, rage, lies, and love â these are what a demon needs to feel within him to summon his ultimate demon form. And I would bet my whole life that if Lucyâs heart was filled with rage and love at the cleansing, she would be able to summon her ultimate demon form.
AUTHORâS NOTE: Donât be confused between demon form and ultimate demon form. Lucy, with her horns, and tails (and still beautiful), was just in her ordinary demon form. Her ultimate form is yet to surface. Hades presented himself to Adan in his ultimate demon form before shifting to his regular form.