Chapter Nineteen

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The clouds are rollin' in, I feel you driftin' away

And though my intuition tells me that it's too late

That in these conditions, tryna bring back the flame

Is like tryna light a match in the rain

I still want to make you love me, make you love me again

Chapter Nineteen – Something More.

Nephele's POV

I sit on the infirmary bed, Lucifer's brooding figure standing only a couple of centimetres to the side. He was so close I could feel his body heat radiate from him.

He hasn't left my side since we arrived here and I found he was always touching me. Not inappropriately, just making sure he was preoccupied in petting me rather than throwing a tantrum fit for the devil.

See what I did there?

I didn't mind him touching me, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. I liked him playing with my air, the golden wave being tugged gently through his fingers. It was calming, and I don't know whether that was because of the supposed mate bond between us, or because I liked him.

Just a little, if it was the latter; which I highly doubt it was.

Nonetheless, Lucifer was currently twirling a piece of my hair between his fingers as he stood deep in though. His figure technically stood over me as whilst sitting, my head only made it to his stomach. He was also awfully quiet, having not said a word since he had held me and promised to kill however did this over half an hour ago.

I wasn't majorly concerned as of yet. I was freaked that someone had entered my 'chambers' and tried to strangle me but I wasn't concerned for my safety.

I figured Lucifer was concerned for me.

I didn't figure actually, I knew.

I didn't know whether I actually was in shock about this 'whole someone tried to strangle me' thing, or I was just a little late in processing things. It most likely was the latter as my head was being very slow as of recently.

The doctor, a black creature with two little cute horns at the top of his head y he horns were little blackened stubs, almost the texture of human bone. He had no hair, the black of his similar to scaled skin covering his skull.

In detail, he did look very human, apart from the fact that his skin seemed to be as thick as a roman shield. It wasn't scaly, but I wouldn't describe it as soft, or similar to human in any way. It did however remind me of battle armour, it looking to be hard to pierce with anything. I wasn't scared of him as he came in, it just surprised me in all honesty. He didn't seem like he would harm me, and I doubt he would with Lucifer around. He had white teeth, like a human, with pink gums, also like a human. His eyes were also very humanoid, them being a similar almond shape to what a human would have, except his iris' were a beautiful violet.

On top of the battle armour he had for skin was a white doctors coat which was very stereotypical for a doctor. He had a blue coloured pen in his pocket, along with what looked like glasses but they looked a lot more modernised, as if they were able to see through the skin of patients. I didn't ask how I gathered that information from that, but let's leave it at that.

"Lord Morningstar." He says aiming to a distracted Lucifer. Lucifer hums in reply, not looking up from his fingers that hold a strand of my hair in them. "Lady Morningstar." He now aims at me with a curt nod. His address was strange, the strange malicious glint in his eyes; something that I don't know whether I liked or disliked.

I smile at him regardless, deciding not to judge him as of yet and go to correct him instantly.

"We aren-" I was cut of abruptly when I small pinch is delivered to the side of my hip, causing me to yelp. I turn to Lucifer with a cold glare.

He hadn't asked me on a date, nor had he asked me to formally be anything to him, so being his mate right now, did not mean anything.

As if hearing my thoughts his eyes meet mine, his lips pulling up into an arrogant smirk. I huff and turn back to the doctor with a small smile.

"I have talked to the female doctor who came in here earlier, she did inform of what she thinks. She is now on her break so I have been instructed to take over." He says warmly, something glinting behind his violet eyes. "It is believed that you were strangled, however she suspects that you saved yourself." He looks up from the clipboard he was reading from, which I suspected had her notes on it.

"Miraculously, may I add, you did something that pushed them off you. The bruising doesn't seem to bad, and we both suspects it wasn't very long as you can talk, and the damage to your throat is minimal. We do not know how you saved yourself Mistress, maybe you have something that will provide an answer?" He asks hopeful as if I will reveal something to him. I don't answer him, something telling me not to. Instead Lucifer answers for me.

"Nothing, she is mundane." It was dismissive, telling partially the truth; which I didn't think was the truth anymore, and it also told the doctor to leave. The authority in Luci's voice was strong, making me bite my own lip regardless of this supposed mate bond between us.

"Okay, well thank you Sire. There is nothing else to report." He bows solemnly before turning on his heel and pushing through the curtain as I wasn't in the private wing of the infirmary. The female doctor - who had been really nice and caring - had told me the layout of the area as she touched my throat which was a kind distraction from the small tenderness.

"I didn't like him." Was the first thing I said to the male that stood behind me as I stood on the floor, pushing my legs out to get rid of the numbness. Lucifer didn't say anything for a few seconds, making me think he was ignoring me.

"Me neither mea amare." He says lowly, as if he was deep in thought. I felt him grab my hand but I turn to him, not wanting to teleport, or winnow, across the castle.

There was silence for a while, nothing being said as Lucifer stared out at the door where the creepy doctor just walked.

"Can we walk back?" I ask in a small voice, looking up at Lucifer's rather tall figure with a grateful smile. Although the movement did hurt a little, it felt like someone was pushing down on my throat, it didn't bother me. His eyes were trained on mine, and I felt very small in the spot as his form did tower over mine by over eight inches. I was around five feet and ten inches, probably even a little smaller, whilst Lucifer had to be around six feet and seven maybe even eight inches. It was scarily tall, like how does someone be so tall when the average in Canada, where Angelina and I used to live as I moved from Arizona when I was fifteen, was close to five-ten or something similar.

"Of course, little cloud. It isn't a very long walk either." He says lowly once more. He was being very quiet. I felt that it had something to do with the anger that I could feel, it both simmering on the surface of his body expression and within my head. I wasn't angry, but in the back of my head I felt angry, and I don't know what that meant.

"It's our bond little cloud." He whispers in my ear from behind, his breath against my ear lobe making me straighten with a gasp.

Damn the female hormones.

"I can feel your emotions?" I ask in reply, distracting myself by asking in something that I will need to know about.

"Yes, however when we aren't mated, like we are right now, you can only feel strong emotions of mine. When we are fully mated you will be able to fully feel my emotions and hear my thoughts. These can also be blocked with enough practice."

"Oh." Was all I said. It made sense, and was similar to those fantasy books I used to read. I was somewhat sad that he could cover his emotions and thoughts from me, and I don't know why.

"Don't worry amare. I would never block you out intentionally, nor would I hide something from you. Ever." He whispers even softer than before. His lips bring an ever so soft kiss to the lobe of my ear, his lower lip making contact with the side of my jaw that connects with my neck, making me gasp as the sensuality of the act rolls over me.

I bite my lip and smile at his honestly. Does that mean that he would never cheat on me as well? Was that even a thing for soulmates - wait, no - twin flames as Lucifer had described them.

Soulmates on crack.

I smile at the fond memory, Lucifer and I having a casual dinner a few nights ago when he was explaining the whole mate thing in depth. It wasn't anything new but it helped me understand a few things a little more so it counted as good.

Plus, the food was decent and didn't taste bad; in fact, it tasted heavenly, but I didn't want to add to the inflation of Lucifer's ego too much.

Overall, you could say that we were bonding, becoming friends. It was a weird process. The feeling of knowing what is expected of me making my stomach flutter in excitement but also nervousness.

So, I gave up thinking like that; it was too mentally exhausting.

I place my hand in Lucifer's own, his arm dangling by his side as he looks out at the door in silence. He wasn't looking at me when I placed my hand in his, but as my skin came in contact with his, his arm seemed to loosen in tension as his fingers intertwine with my own. His head snaps to the side, his stormy eyes meeting mine with a look of surprise. He gives my hand a reassuring squeeze, making me walk ahead and gently pull him along. Lucifer was hesitant to follow, but obliged when I pulled his arm harshly.

And that's how we continued. Hand in hand, down the dimly light hallways that shone with a starry night sky as the roof. The roof always surprised me, yet I knew that I shouldn't be surprised because this was Hell I was in; nothing is impossible anymore.

The walk is silent, myself just taking in the moment. It was quite enjoyable.

"What is your favourite animal to have as a pet?" Lucifer's voice pops up next to my ear. I smile and turn to him whilst we continue to work.

"Well, I do like Blu the bird." I smile incredulously whilst Lucifer's lips are replaced with a scowl. "I like cats and smaller dogs though. Bigger dogs scare me though, I was bitten when I was little apparently." I say with a smile and sway in the way I walk. I unlock our hands and lift my arm up, removing the white sleeve that come up to my palms to show the bite-marks on my left forearm.

There was only a small mark left, silver slivers of the bite mark left.

He nods in understanding, staring at the bite mark with a look of hate, as though he wanted to kill the dog for biting me. I shrug at his glance, probably just overthinking his gesture.

"What about you? What's your favourite pet?" I ask in return, finding it polite but also wanting to know if Cerberus was his.

"Cerberus." Bingo, I am good aren't I?

"That was to be expected." I reply smoothly "But Cerberus doesn't count." I hum out with a smile, looking up at him with innocent eyes as I wait for his reply. He looks down at me with a strange expression, his eyes twinkling with a unknown worry as he begins to respond.

"Probably a Gold-Fish." I let out a laugh at his response, not expecting that answer. "They are easy to look after, and I don't have time to look after pet." He tries to justify his response but that just makes me laugh more. He was probably right, in the fact that he was a really busy person, but a gold-fish? I purse my lips to stop myself from laughing at his response once more, something about it being extremely funny to me, whilst he looks down at me with a strange glance. I look up at him to meet his gaze, something about the gaze making the upcoming laugh to cease and evaporate.

Under the intensity of his stare I couldn't look away, the sheer beauty of his eyes keeping me in a trance. It was amazing how someone could be blessed with such magical eyes. Pun definitely intended. It was such a cheesy and cliché thing to note in a story like such, but it was also the truth. I did figure that the eyes were like that because I was fairly certain he would be able to change his appearance. At this point, it wouldn't surprise me if he could. I don't think anything could.

We had stopped walking, and if we hadn't, I would've fallen over already, so I was thankful that we did. Standing next to him, the top of my head just reached about three inches below his shoulder bone, which made me feel extremely small. I was 5"11 – sometimes 5"10 and a half. I was meant to be tall! Not this small against someone who seemed as though they were at least 6"7. I felt tiny, and I wasn't meant to be tiny.

This was outrageous.

Lucifer was about to say something, his mouth partially open when my eyes go wide as I look behind him. I smile incredulously and push past Lucifer totally forgetting he was about to say something in that moment. It was rude, I will admit, but the view from the protruding balcony was so beautiful. The balcony and the hallway was open aired, meaning there was no door preventing me from entering the balcony.

It was what I expected it to look like, the outside patio area I mean. There was the ashen pavement, similar to what concrete looks like but it seemed less modern. The balcony railing was made of the same material, however it bent and swirled in between the pillars and rails to provide intricate and beautiful patterns. There was a pretty green vine with heart shaped leaves that wrapped itself endlessly around the pillars and rails, adding some vibrancy to the area. The succulent green vine sprouted pretty pale pink daisy-like flowers, the little petals fluttering in the light but warm breeze.

I look up from the railing which I was holding, peering out over the twinkling red lights in the distant. It was darker outside, the light from an extremely red sun setting across the fields of undying yellow wheat. There was definitely a city in the distance, the red twinkling lights and the pale outline of blackened buildings proving there to be so.

"Hell isn't as bad as everyone wishes to believe." Lucifer's voice says from behind me. I wasn't scared of his voice anymore, and it in fact calmed me down if anything; not that I would ever admit that to the Devil.

"It is a rather beautiful place. Everyone expects it to be red and fiery, something that is going to be defined as death itself. It is not true for this place. I created it to look like this so it can be a refuge for many. It works like any society would expect; a realm between many words, a connection of sorts. The people of this realm need to live someone, so unlike what is told in the stories, there are cities much like the mundane ones on earth. There are a few large cities to the south of the castle. The south is where all the individuals live, working and living among one another in peace." I purse my lips at what he said. It was quite sad that everyone thought of him as a monster, a monster who doesn't have a heart. It was also sad how his land was dragged through the mud, as the mundane would say, in regards to what it is like.

"To the north is purgatory and the fields of asylum, where the dead will roam infinitely until they are reborn into a different world, with no memory of the previous worlds." I wasn't surprised by this, but purgatory did make me question things.

"Purgatory?" I ask in between his pauses.

I have just noticed that the more I talked, the less my throat was hurting. I was given some drugs in the medical wing of the castle, which Lucifer had thrown a fit about, but they appeared to be working quite well if the pain of speaking- which was originally minimal but had grown worse after Lucifer had realised what had happened, also which was a perfectly normal human response to a harmful stimulus. That's why when people get shot, they don't always realise until a while later when the adrenaline has eventually faded after the sympathetic nervous system has finished its response to the stressing situation.

"The place for the criminally inclined, the individuals who have chosen a fate worse than death through the actions of their lives within the world they lived in. They may have been executed in their worlds for their crimes, but here they will be eternally, or for the length of their sentence, punished for what they have done. Only the worst of the worst don't leave that place." It did sound horrific, and I am glad I was not one to do something bad.

"Who determines their fate?" He lets out a laugh at this, although it sounded strained.

"The Three Fates will determine which individual is to go where. Their role within this dimension is to sort the dead into categories; those who are the worst will come to us for judgement, those who are decent human beings will conform in the fields of asylum, and those who have done good by there world - those with the purest of hearts will be given a role within our society. Each sole is judged after their death, regardless of how many times their soles have been refurbished and reused." I nod my head in understanding.

"So, reincarnation is a thing?"

"In these worlds, yes. However, you are not born straight after your death. The Fates will determine how long you must wait before you are reborn, multiple factors coming into consideration when they make this decision. I will overlook this process and determine whether their judgement in fair and just, before it will be sentenced upon them. By no means is this process a restriction of freedom as the individuals are at peace, and will be provided with all that is needed for their ideal world in the Fields, but it can be tricky to make sure these people receive fairness and equality at the same time." The explanation makes things a lot clearer, this world seemingly a dictatorship. Lucifer laughs as this thought enters my mind and I blush.

"You could say that, however I do not control the people who live in this world. The monarch who judges and the government as you mundane would say, are to remain separate. I do have quite a lot of political power, but that is never to be used unless there is dire need for it. They know that I am a God and they are mere subjects; they know where the power lies in the world they live in." His voice was threatening, as though he was trying to make him sound better, but in fact he was coming off as a dictator.

"So basically, you run the place, but you don't run the place?" I let out a breathless laugh with it, it being a lot to take in. His way wasn't the best of ways, but I understood that he did have good intentions of the people, and if he didn't, I would've seen it already. He has treated his staff with upmost respect when I have been around, although I may have something to do with that, so that had to account for something right?

"Well aren't you a smart one." He states from now directly behind me, his breath warm on my ear. I shiver at the proximity and smile to myself.

"Well aren't you avoiding the question." I state back, not turning around. I can feel the smile on his lips at my reply, but don't give him the satisfaction of seeing my own. "The land is beautiful nonetheless." The silence is thick in the air, the wind brushing the hair from my partially clothed shoulder as we both stare out upon the land.

"That it is. I can take you to see the city if you would like." It wasn't much of a question, rather a statement but I didn't mind. I smiled and turned to him, now just realising both his arms were caging me in; one on each side of my body. I felt the blush rise on my cheeks but chose to ignore it and rather clear my throat.

"Oh. I would like that very much thank you, it looks very beautiful." I stammer for words and end up repeating myself. I solely blame this on his close proximity. He hums for a second, his eyes sparkling with the reflection of the disappearing burning red sun.

"Just like you." He whispers, his lips coming down to meet the lobe of my ear in an erotic movement. The whisper of words left me breathless, my heart hammering against my chest as my body grows hot from his actions and words. It was a blush, nothing more than a blush. A blush that came from a mere compliment, and it had me wondering in the moment what could more than a compliment do the me.

I swallow the thoughts away and look down, twiddling and wrapping my fingers endlessly around each other to try and distract myself from the Devil's burning gaze. Two fingers lift my face up gently, the index and thumb fingers belonging to Lucifer gently tugging at my chin so I can meet his gaze. I purse my lips together as our eyes meet, his ablaze with an unsaid and unrecognisable emotion.

Our eye contact doesn't break, the intensity of the moment weighing in on both of us as the tension rises as well. Slowly he leans in, closer than he was before. We were mere millimetres apart, our breath mixing in an exotic fusion. My eyes shut gently out of pure instinct. Lucifer's right hand comes to cover the left side of my cheek and neck, the other cupping the side of my hip, which he uses to tug me closer to him, our lips meeting instantly with my body melding against his own.

The kiss was fiery yet cool, rough and sensational but calm and gentle. My hands rise to meet the soft fabric that separates my palms from his chest as I stand on my tippy toes. His hand that covers my cheek rolls down my body to meet my other hip, which he squeezes in response to my squeak.

I am lifted up swiftly, my legs automatically wrapping themselves around the sides of his waist, before I am placed gently on the rough concrete railing. The railing wasn't the most comfortable but it didn't matter in the moment, all that did was the Devil who stood in between my thighs, the Devil who was dominating a passion and lust filled kiss.

So, with our lips clashing and bodies coming together, I let myself finally calm. I let myself just live, let myself know what it is like to be safe in someone else's arms, let myself be able to relax and breathe in someone else's arms.

I would say it was way too soon, but I knew that it wasn't.

I knew it wasn't going to go much farther than this tonight - and I was grateful for that – but I also knew that this was meant to be this way. Everything here felt so right, no matter how much I wanted it to feel wrong. It was a difficult feeling to describe, the feeling of euphoria would describe it at its best, but there was something more.

Something more than what the books and TV shows I used to read and watch as a little told me about, something more than that fairy tale romance.

There was something scary about this feeling, something so raw and vulnerable, that even the strongest would cower in face of it.

Hi all! I hope all is well wherever you are in this world. Here is Chapter 19 - personally one of my favourites so far. I really like the ending line.

Personally, what are your thoughts on this chapter?

Word Count is 4433 (fairly short I'm sorry)

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QOTC: What is your favourite chocolate? :)

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Let me know your thoughts below:

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If your waiting for the read, go check out my other book > The King's mate ~

SONG: Match in the Rain - Alec Benjamin

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