Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

A she’s eyes drifted out of focus as she stared into the bleak void that had become her world. Time seemed to blur together in this desolate realm, making it impossible for her to distinguish between days and weeks. The dim daylight provided little relief, casting everything in a perpetual gloom. And the emptiness of the land only amplified the overwhelming sense of loneliness. Even her meals appeared as if by magic, seemingly materializing in thin air and leaving the same way. The emptiness of the dungeon only amplified the overwhelming sense of loneliness.

She could not remember the exact moment when she gave up hope of saving herself and Lily, but it seemed like ages ago. Without any contact, Ashe would never convince Leviathan she owned the necklace.

And the thoughts of his last word—her terror that there could be some truth to them—they haunted her every time she shut her eyes.

Ashe lifted her head from off her arms, her neck cracking from so little activity. The gown was heavy and soiled, but it was all she had to protect her modesty in the event that someone did enter. Her usually lustrous hair lay in tangles around her face, and her skin had lost its rosy glow. She had become a shadow of the person she once was.

With a sigh, Ashe forced herself to her feet, clutching the bars for balance as she stumbled over to the water basin she’d had delivered last night. The chilled water did little to revive her weary spirit but at least it cleared the cobwebs from her mind and wet her parched mouth.

Despite her attempts to push it away, thoughts of Leviathan plagued Ashe’s mind as frequently as memories of home. His all-encompassing presence had lured her in, and with each passing moment spent in solitude, Ashe felt her desire for him grow stronger. She was afraid of his envious hold on her, yet she couldn’t deny the pull towards him that tugged at her heart and mind.

Stop it, she hissed at herself, knowing that replaying their night together was futile and likely the realm playing tricks on her mind. But when her thoughts weren’t on him, they were on the preposterous notion that she was somehow a demon, not that Lily had merely enchanted the ring too well.

Her bare feet found purchase on the damp stone floor, each step echoing loudly in the otherwise silent chamber. The stench of her own body grew horrendous, and she wished that someone would come and offer her a way to cleanse herself.

The faintest creak snapped her gaze out through the bars of the cell. It had been so long since Ashe heard the sound of the door, she assumed her mind played tricks on her.

Only, the faint boom of it shutting was so real she worried she’d finally begun to lose her mind. The sound of footsteps echoing down the corridor grew louder and louder, seeming to grow closer.

As a slight vibration traveled across the soles of her feet, Ashe realized someone had truly come. These sounds were not in her head.

Her heart raced faster, her breath catching in her throat. It seemed like an eternity before the visitor appeared before her cell.

Slowly, he stepped into her line of vision - his tall frame blocked out what little light seeped through the small window—but she still, she knew him.

Leviathan.

His horns glinted in the dim light as he approached, making him appear more menacing than usual. His fierce dark blue gaze bore into her, causing her entire body to tremble under his scrutiny. She couldn’t look away from those eyes that held both promise and danger.

Ashe’s heart rate quickened the longer she stared into Leviathan’s eyes. His dark wings unfurled like a menacing shadow that she barely caught out of the corner of her eyes. His piercing blue eyes seemed to glow with otherworldly power that stole the breath from her lungs the longer she looked into them.

The air around them crackled with dark energy, freezing her where she stood. She wasn’t certain if he came to kill her or something worse, but the fury in his eyes was a palpable entity even among the magic that held Ashe still.

“It’s time to pay the price for your betrayal, human.” His voice came out as little more than a raspy growl. “You’ve made me do this, you understand? You’ve forced my hand because I cannot have humans running around murdering the superior race.”

Belial. He knows. Fuck.

Terror wrapped around her—a cold freezing hand just over her throat, but Leviathan’s magic held her still.

“I do not know how you disposed of a demon, but there is only one way to ensure your treachery is confirmed.”

Tears welled up in her eyes but could not seem to fall with the magic holding her in place. Instead, her vision blurred, leaving her unable to see anything as the death she feared approached.

“This,” his voice was low, “is what happens when you play with fire.”

At once, the tears tracked down her cheeks, and Ashe stumbled forward, finally released from his magic.

Through the tears she saw him jam his hand into the pocket of his pants, the enchanted ring sparkling even through her tears as he held it before her. His lips twisted into a sneer seconds before the silver chain slipped through his fingers, dropping onto the cold stone floor. Her breath caught as it hit the floor, right in front of her feet inside the cell.

Why would he return my mother’s ring and chain?

Ashe’s heart pounded in terror and anticipation. Every beat of her heart was a thunderous drum inside her chest. There was no telling what would come next, and it seemed Leviathan enjoyed playing with her.

A chilling smile stretched across Leviathan’s face, his eyes glinting with cold malice. He took a step back from the bars of the cell but remained close enough to instill fear in his captive. The air crackled with an electric charge as he spoke, his voice dripping with venom, “Put it on.” His command echoed off the stone walls.

The command sent shivers down Ashe’s spine like lightning striking over rain-dampened skin.

Ashe hesitated for a moment before reaching down cautiously towards the necklace with trembling hands. It seemed heavier in her grip, but the calming effect she was used to rolled through her the second the thin chain was in her hand.

“Do it,” he ground out between clenched teeth, “Put on the necklace.”

She undid the clasp, her hands now still. It seemed his earlier insistence she couldn’t wear it had washed away. Ashe didn’t understand how this would punish her for killing Belial, but she feared what the prince might do if she did not listen.

The chain was warm as she set it against her neck, and Ashe realized Leviathan had held it on him, for some reason keeping it close. Tugging it around so that the clasp was now just above her breasts, Ashe looked at it and her fingers as she screwed one end of the closure into the other.

Without warning, the enchantment took effect, transforming Ashe from human to demon costume. As with the first time, there was no pain, only a slight tingling that she now understood was Lily’s magic at work.

There was no mirror in the dungeon, and the small window had no glass for her to see her reflection, but Leviathan’s response told her everything she needed to know.

Ashe was the demon once again.

Ashe, the beautiful human woman with long red hair and startling white eyes, stood there in the dark dungeon becoming something else.

Her skin rippled like water, her hair turning to sparkling silver and spread across her body in waves of warmth. Her nails elongated into sharp black claws that lengthened an inch more than before. A fiery aura flared around her, casting a crimson glow against the damp stone walls. The air around her shimmered and crackled, and when the strange haze cleared, silvery scales lined her arms, like a tribal line that he’d seen before. Porcelain skin was now a snow-kissed silver that sparkled unlike any gemstone he’d ever seen.

Leviathan’s hands trembled slightly where they clenched into fists at his sides as he tried to understand the transformation just behind the bars.

When she stared at him and no further changes continued to shift through her form, Leviathan’s fingers landed on the bars, prying them open rather than opting for the key.

A sharp gasp escaped her lips, and she stumbled backward as he advanced towards her. The terror in her eyes was evident, in stark contrast to the pure pleasure that once shone from their depths when she looked upon him. He knew she could feel his breath on her skin as he closed in on her, but he did not care.

There was no explanation for what he saw, but he would not deny it. Everything was upside down and his heart thundered in his chest as he forced himself to understand.

She’d kept a very dangerous secret.

But for what reason?

He reached out and touched her shoulder lightly, running just the tips of his talons over the newly formed spikes along her skin, tracing them gently before circling around to cup one of her now-demonic breasts within her gown. His touch was tender and reverent, so at odds with the fury he’d felt moments ago when he was certain she’d murdered the silver demon to secure her freedom or place in power after escaping Belial.

“You are. . . you are. . . ” He trailed off, staring at her with wonder and shock on his face. “You’re the silver demon,” he whispered, his voice hoarse with disbelief. “You’re her.”

He didn’t wait for her to respond as desire swirled amongst the confusion. Leviathan took her head, tugging her against his body where she fit like a puzzle piece, and took her lips under his.

His tongue danced with hers, marking his territory - claiming her as his own and giving her the power to travel realms at will.

Her taste was intoxicating.

She tasted sweet, like forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden itself— a fruit which Leviathan and the other princes had all personally tasted.

His dungeon disappeared into nothingness as they stood frozen in time save for their hands touching one another. The smell of sulfur and decay could no longer be discerned. Instead, he swore he smelled roses. It was intoxicatingly sweet and heady - blossoming around them like a seductive embrace from a lover long forgotten. His other hand trailed down to cup her ass, pulling her closer against his growing arousal beneath his leather trousers.

Ashe’s hands roamed over his chest, her touch sending jolts of electricity through his body. He could feel a demonic nature awakening, the same energy she’d given off when last they met with her in this form.

He needed to ask her what this meant, how she could be both human and demon at once, but for once, he envied only himself, needing to finish what he’d started.

Leviathan couldn’t help the pounding desire and it seemed neither could Ashe. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer still as their tongues continued to dance in an erotic battle for dominance. As the kiss deepened, he could feel himself being pulled deeper and deeper into her world - a world that was both terrifying and exhilarating.

He had always been drawn to power, but this. . . this was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. He knew he should be in control, but all he felt was a sense of wild abandon as his cock stirred to life.

Their bodies moved together in a primal rhythm, their breaths becoming one as they explored each other’s mouths with fervor. Their kiss ignited a fire within him that threatened to consume him whole.

His fingers danced over her stomach and Ashe pulled away, breaking their kiss and struggling to catch her breath much in the same way Leviathan found himself hungrily drinking in the air.

He studied her, taking in the way her eyes drooped with pleasure and her cheeks flushed crimson despite their silver hue. Like this, he was reminded that she was not the woman he saw entering the dungeon.

Closing his eyes, Leviathan sucked in a breath through his nose, trying to calm the surge of desire she evoked with her reveal. His dick pulsed with the need to fill her, but he was a demon prince, and he would control his instincts until he knew what the woman before him was.

“Speak,” he growled softly, falling prey to the desire to touch her and ensure she was there and he wasn’t somehow asleep or a prisoner of one of his brethren.

Leviathan’s hands trailed against her skin, but it wasn’t enough for him. His lips trailed down towards her neck, and he nipped at her collarbone. His hot breath fanned over her sensitive flesh, causing goosebumps to rise on her arms and legs. He knew she felt his hardness pressing against her stomach, knew she knew he was hungry for more.

“Tell me how you became this,” he demanded between ragged breaths, his hand sliding up underneath her dress and caressing the soft skin of her thighs. “How can you be both human and demon?”

Leviathan had never needed to touch a demon more in his life. He should be torturing her for information, instead, he would only bring her to release to get the information he required.

‘Pleasure works better than pain.’ Lust’s words were poignant now, not that he would ever tell the demon that.

She gasped when he found the sensitive spot between her thighs. Pleasure rocked through him as found her slick and wet already. Her eyes fluttered closed briefly before opening again to look into his own intense gaze. She swallowed visibly as she moved with his gentle flicks. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

“Ashe,” he growled in a warning tone, meeting her gaze once more as heat engulfed them both, their hearts racing wildly in syncopation with their passionate motions. “Ashe, I need to know how you are what you are.”

He enjoyed her expression, and the way her hands clung to him more than made sense. Even as his anger brewed, he couldn’t bring himself to stop touching her. It was as much for him as it was for her.

Her eyes lingered on his neck for a moment before closing tightly shut again as her climax peeked, his name on her lips as she came.

The single word—his name—damn near made him cum in his pants. His reaction to her made absolutely no sense, but he was going to get to the bottom of it.

“You have to know,” his finger moved slowly, dragging out her release.

“I am human,” she gasped.

“A human cannot wear a demon collar or appear as a demon. There is no magic in the realms or the earth that could do that.”

Her breathing came in short gasps, and Leviathan struggled to hold still. His hand came around her neck, not squeezing, just holding.

“How.”

“An angel,” she let her eyes stare directly into his as if it could will him to believe her.

“Angels do not belong here.”

“No, and it was why the same angel who saved her the other night.”

Leviathan whirled, finding the same silver-winged creature from the ball just outside the door. He’d just assumed a demon had painted their wings, but up close, he could not mistake the feathering.

“Explain,” he snarled, some of his desire dissipating knowing a fucking angel was in his realm.