26. Livy

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

LIVY

I 'd been with Malek for most of the night. But now that we were finally alone, I had a chance to really enjoy being with him. His long black hair careened down his taut, powerful shoulders.

His white and black tuxedo did nothing to tame the boundless muscle that rested just beneath.

He'd just locked the door and turned around to face me. Malek was desire personified. He gazed at me, heat swirling within the darkness. Desire, hunger, need all converged into one on his gorgeous face.

I shuddered as my legs betrayed me. They shuddered, wanting me to strip and allow him to do more than ravish me with his eyes. My body craved his touch and demanded his sweet carnage, just like in his room the other night.

The air hummed with sparks of electricity. The current built, strengthening the strings of lust that connected us.

Malek's lips opened as if he meant to say something but then his gaze flickered to the opened window .

A gigantic moon and thousands of brilliant stars spied on us through the window. They mystified the night and formed a rich and romantic backdrop for whatever Malek had brought us here for.

"Sorry to take you from all the fun but if I don't say this now it's going to burn a hole straight through my tongue." Malek rubbed his chest and closed the window.

He switched on his heels in a quick fluid motion. "Every portrait in this room belongs to a member of my family." He strolled over to a picture of a demon with black horns twice the size of his.

He had a curly, blond mustache, and piercing black eyes just like Malek's. "This is Borack, my great grandfather and the first Demon King. He fell so deeply in love with my grandmother, Ivet, he left the underworld to find her on Earth when she had been kidnapped by mages. Back then, demons were incapable of breathing the Earth's atmosphere. He died of suffocation halfway through his search."

"Gods." I drew hair behind my ear.

"No" he shook his head, "None of the gods helped him."

We moved to the adjacent painting. This demon was much younger, around Malek's age. He could be Malek's twin except this man's skin was tinted red and his eyes were an icy blue.

"This demon was my uncle, Mullen. He was the trickster and the merriest prince the underworld had ever birthed. He fell in love with a human and was banished to Earth for daring to love one that our family thought to be beneath him. His banishment should have been a death sentence, but through the power of his love, and the wish to be with his human bride, he was the first demon to attain the ability to breathe Earth's air."

"And how did you attain it?" I asked.

"The bond that binds all demons is of old and unbreakable magic. Once Uncle Mullen broke the curse that kept us away from Earth, it was broken in all of us. Throughout time, my family has known a great many love stories. Uncle Mullen's was my favorite. But no love story could have prepared me for you."

His eyes sparkled with pride as he said my name. He wet his lower lip with his tongue narrowing the gap between us.

His warmth soothed me as he drew me into him. The scent of pine and musk fluttered into my nose.

"From the moment you arrived, I'd wanted to shield you from darkness in all its forms. But you deserve to at least know why it is that I do and think the way I do. You see the world with young and innocent eyes. And I need you to know why I do not." His tall form shook, his hands tightening around me.

Whatever he was about to say had been weighing on him like a three-ton boulder. I wasn't entirely sure I was ready for whatever it was, but I needed to hear it. I needed to finally understand why this kind and loving demon was so determined on death and war.

I swayed to the left and Malek stabilized me.

"You should sit down, we both had a lot to drink." he checked my temperature with the back of his palm.

I removed his hand. "No, I'm fine. Continue."

He jerked his head up and down. Drawing in a lengthy, saturating breath. He took my hand, intertwining my fingers with his. His eyes squeezed shut as a look of anguish blew across his face.

"For millennia, the underworld was more than the home of demons." He brushed my hand against his chest, staring off vacantly. "It was a place of punishment for the damned souls of humans, shifters and mages. Killers, thieves and every other being who lived a destructive life without atoning for it, would enter my domain kicking and screaming. My demons would torture them physically, mentally, and emotionally until their souls were so broken, they simply ceased to exist. One day I'd had enough, and I told my demons no more. I insisted that wayward souls were no longer to be harmed. I had hoped to find a way to rehabilitate them so they might know peace instead."

"And the souls eventually found peace and lived happily ever after?" I said hopefully but the grim look on his face drained my hopes.

"No, Darest One. If only that were true. I'd underestimated my demons' blood lust. They refused to stop doing what they'd done for eons. They saw torture as their life's purpose. A purpose that had to be fulfilled. Most of them defied my orders, rising up against me in rebellion. They chained me with ensorcelled metals, holding me captive for more than a hundred years. They fulfilled their twisted needs for torture on me. Every act of torment they used to inflict on the soul, they gleefully wreaked on me instead. This was my punishment for wanting them to be better."

A tear streamed down my cheek. Coldness iced my blood as I imagined poor Malek being tortured for a century. Devastation and rage competed for dominance in me as I imagined my wolf's fangs ripping apart every demon who'd hurt him. No wonder he kept himself away from his demons for so long, after what they'd done to him. After all he'd been through.

"How did you escape?"

"A small number of my demons still remained loyal. They bided their time until they could find a way to free me." His lips stretched to a line as his claws sank into his palm. "On the day I was freed, I killed as many of the traitorous lot as I could. But the one who led them slipped through my fingers and to this day his memory still haunts me."

I froze in place as everything that had happened up to this point all finally made sense. "Varcus, he led the demon rebellion. He was the one who tried to destroy you."

"Yes, and he's still trying." He said and the dagger tucked under my bra strap took on an even more sinister meaning.

Varcus had been using me from the start. He didn't give a crap about the other demons or saving the world. From the very start, he was only after one thing. Malek's crown. And worst of all, he'd tried to enlist me to help him steal it .

His expression brightened as he twisted a finger through my hair. "I never thought I'd have Varcus to thank for anything but there is one thing."

"What could you possibly have to thank him for?"

"You," he sang.

"Me?" I tapped a hand to my chest's center.

"Weak from centuries of torture and starvation, I barely had the strength to escape." Moving away from me, he went over to a large case made of black wood. "I went to Earth, reverting to a childlike form so I could heal. I had hoped to find kindness and security in this world, but I had only found exploitation. Traveling this planet alone, I witnessed the worst the Earth had to offer. With no friends or resources, I nearly gave up. That was until…," he paused. "I found you. You and your family took me in, gave me shelter when I needed it, food when I was hungry and most importantly, love. Sunny, in every way possible, you saved me. You showed me kindness, and that is why I must remold this world in the shape of that kindness. Only then can I be sure you will never know the true dark nature of Earth."

He opened the cabinet, reached in and removed a small black box.

My stomach did a backflip and I stopped breathing. "Malek, is that a- a,"

"An engagement ring?" He finished my sentence, his grin doubling in size. He opened the box. Inside was a red tinted gold ring with the heaviest and most brilliant and clear diamond I'd ever seen.

Slowly walking back over to me he went down on one knee and placed the ring on my finger.

The words lodged in my throat as I marveled at its beauty.

"If you let me, I promise to make you happy and keep you safe." His words hit like music. "Sunny, will you be my forever?"

My answer hung on my lips but before I could say it I had to set one thing straight. There was no way he and I could build a happy home on a mountain of ash.

"Malek, listen." I bent down on both knees, lowering to his level. "What you went through was indescribable and now I finally understand why you resent the world and dream of limitless control over it. But this world is not an evil place. You don't need to wipe the slate clean and start over. If you want the world to be kind, the key is more kindness. You must be the mercy you want to see in the world."

He seemed to think about it, putting my words together like the pieces of a puzzle.

The dagger under my arm warmed. At first, I thought it meant nothing, but as seconds passed it warmed until it became scalding hot.

Malek said my name and before he could go further, I yanked my sleeve down reaching into my dress. I screamed as the dagger burned my sensitive skin.

"What's wrong?" He bellowed, taking my flailing arm.

Panicking, I tore the scalding dagger free, flinging it to the floor.

The instant it clattered over the hardwood, it spewed a thick gray mist that smelled of sickness and rot.

Malek watched the building mist in confusion. His questioning eyes traced my face.

Malek coughed violently, his face turning blue. His eyes rolled back and he stumbled over his own feet. Whatever was in this mist was poisoning him and sapping his strength.

"Sunny, run! Get out of here now." His breath labored as he choked.

I caught him as he fell over.

"I'm not going anywhere." He was so heavy; it took all of my strength to keep him on his knees.

Malek cursed, his eyes narrowing with rage as Varcus emerged from the mist, the dagger clutched in his hands .

"Get out of my home or I'll feed you your own heart!" Malek bawled.

Varcus laughed, the mist had stolen so much of Malek's strength that his bark was infinitely stronger than his bite. I knew it and Varcus knew it,too.

"How did you get in here? What dark magic is this?" I screamed hysterically. "Guards. Anyone. Someone help us! Please!"

"That won't help you this time, she-wolf. I told you, you would help me save this world. And you'll do it whether you want to or not." Varcus launched for Malek, plunging the dagger into his chest.

My vision went red as a circle of blood pooled on his shirt.

"Sunny, run." Malek choked on his own blood, blinding agony masking his face.

A virulent storm surged to life in me. It was powerful enough to destroy the world, decimating all life in its path. I wanted the world to stop spinning and time to just freeze at this very moment. Because, what purpose would life still hold without my demon?