9. Madelyne

nine

Madelyne

I stand and leave the closet, not looking back to see if my mates are following. It’s taking everything inside me to force myself to leave his side. If I look at him again, I might not be able to leave. I know the best thing I can do for him right now is to find a way to help him, not sit and cry along with him, so I don’t stop until I’m in the hallway. The splintered wood littering the floor explains how the guys got in. I turn back towards the room to stare at what used to be the door to Luc’s quarters.

The guys skid to a stop in front of me looking at me with amused faces. I arch a brow and Oz mirrors me.

“What? You think a stupid door would ever be strong enough to keep me from you?” he scoffs.

I never thought I’d be lucky enough to have anyone care about me so fiercely nothing could keep them from me, but there’s not a doubt in my mind Oz would raze Hell and Earth to the ground to get to my side. It’s a heady feeling, being the center of this demon’s attention. It’s enough to distract me until Belz cuts in, bringing reality crashing down.

“I thought we were going to Luc’s library.”

“You say that like I know where that is.” I roll my eyes. I may have been spending a lot of time with my grandfather lately, but that’s one place I’ve yet to see.

“Well, you’re going the wrong way,” he points out helpfully.

“Belzar,” I growl.

Zeph chuckles “You’ve been to Luc’s how many times and he’s never shown you the extent of his quarters?”

“What are you talking about?” I scowl at him.

“Luc’s quarters are exponentially larger than yours or Zofina’s. It’s more like a house within a house,” he explains.

“A mansion inside a palace,” Oz chuckles.

“You mean it’s in there?” I tip my head toward the room I just left.

“It is,” Belz nods slightly.

“Of course it is,” I grumble as I roll my eyes at myself, walking back into Luc’s… room?—Quarters? Mansion? What the fuck am I supposed to call it?— I’ll just go with Luc’s.

Belz leads me back the way I came, this time going down a hall to the left of the living room, one I hadn’t noticed before. We pass several doors and I start to wonder how much Luc has held back from me before Belz finally stops in front of an ornate door carved out of a deep brown wood so dark it’s almost black. Pushing it open, I step into a library out of any bookworm’s dreams.

The devil is a fucking book dragon !

Ooooh, he has been holding out on me.

We’re going to have some words when he comes back from this. I can’t believe he has a library better than Belle’s and he didn’t tell me! I thought we had a connection. I thought we were close. But to keep this from me… I’m questioning his love for the first time. Surely if he loved me as he’s said, he would have told me immediately so I could spend every second basking in the majesty of this holy place.

Huh. Maybe that’s why he didn’t.

I’ve been way too busy since I got here. I wouldn’t have been able to spend any time here and that would have killed me. Knowing this was here and not being able to immerse myself in it? That’s torture. I’ll have to add that to the list of tortures for any book lover who gets sent to Hell.

Stepping further inside, I slowly spin, taking in what I can see of the enormous room. I nearly cry when I spot the sliding ladder beside a spiral staircase. As with all of Luc’s rooms, this one meets his dark aesthetic beautifully. The shelves, stairs, and handrails are the same dark wood of the door and the furniture matches that in his office and living room, dark browns and black. It’s sophisticated yet cozy and welcoming at the same time.

I never want to leave.

“Am I jealous of a library?” Zeph mutters. “She’s only supposed to look at us like that, right? We’re your mates, Angel. Just in case you forgot.”

Laughing, I shrug a shoulder. “Sorry, Zephy. I loved books first.”

“Did she- Did she just call you Zephy ?” Oz stammers before bursting out laughing while Zeph glares at him.

“ She can call me whatever the hell she wants. If you call me that, I’ll stab you,” he warns.

“Promises, promises.” Oz pouts with a demented twinkle in his eye.

“I’ll stab you, if that’s what you’re into.” I wink at him.

His eyes flare with heat and he takes a step toward me. The world will never know what would have happened had he made it to me. Belz intercepted him before he could get close enough to fulfill the promise in his eyes.

Damn.

“Save it. We have more important things to do than get your dick bloody,” he snipes.

Right. We have to save my grandfather and prevent all of Hell from succumbing to his power. Just your typical day. Man, I miss the days when cleaning up after preschoolers was my biggest worry.

“Where are we even going to start? I could scour this place for years and never see everything.”

“Luc isn’t the most organized demon, that was Serafina.” Belz smiles as if recalling a memory. “but she did manage to get him to add a bit of organization to the library spell. All the books are cataloged by genre then subject area. The place has gotten a lot bigger since the last time I was here, so I’ll have to check the map for its location, but I should be able to find the demon section at least. Seems like the best place to start.” He shrugs like maybe he’s not so sure, but I can’t fault his logic. “You can explore for a bit while I do that.”

“I can?” I squeal. I don’t even care if I sound like a kid on Christmas. I might as well be one right now, staring at years of Christmas wishes just within reach.

Belz smirks and nods. I throw my arms around his neck and smack a sloppy kiss on his cheek. “Thanks!” I chirp as I walk away before he can change his mind. I don’t even slow as three distinct chuckles reach my ears.

Whatever. Let them laugh. I’m the one who’s just been set loose in the biggest library in two realms. No self-respecting bookworm would pass up a second of that.

With so much to see, you’d think I’d have a hard time knowing where to start. You’d be wrong. There’s only one place to start. If you walk into a library like this and don’t immediately want to run to the rolling ladder, you’re a liar or an idiot. I am neither, so that’s where I go, not even looking to see if anyone’s following. I’m about to fulfill every little girl’s fantasy.

Up close, the bookshelves are even more impressive. The woodwork is more detailed than I would have expected, with precise lines and intricate designs. When I touch the smooth side of the ladder, I see my grandmother in this very spot as she climbs the ladder and kicks her foot out, flying from one end of the wall to the other with unrestrained glee. My grandfather watches on with so much love in his eyes I have to fight back tears.

Holy shit! Is this where that scene came from? He gave my grandmother this library. Centuries later, I can still feel the love and joy that came from that gift.

I follow my grandmother’s footsteps, placing one foot on the bottom rung of the ladder and pushing off with my other foot. I echo her unbridled elation, flinging my arm out and squealing as I glide across the floor, my hair flying behind me. The imprinted memory syncs with my actions and I feel connected to her. When I come to a stop at the other wall, I quickly let go when Luc starts walking toward Serafina. That’s as much of that memory as I want to see. Thank you very much.

“Why is that the first thing every woman does when they come to Luc’s library?” Oz mutters as he steps up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

“Do lots of women come to Luc’s library?” I arch my brow, glaring at him over my shoulder. “And do you come with them?”

His eyes flare and he kisses my nose. “I love when you’re possessive,” he growls in my ear. Straightening, he looks down at me. “And as far as I know, you’re the third. Your mother and grandmother did the same thing every time they came here, which was at least once a day. Luc made the room for Serafina. It was her favorite place in Hell. Zo, of course, followed in her mother’s footsteps, opting to spend most of her time here. I don’t know if she’s been back since Sera passed…” he trails off.

“They were close?” God, do I sound jealous? Do I seriously envy the connection my mother had with her mom? I mean… Yeah, I wish I was close to my mom. I wish we had something in common. A special place we shared. But we can still have that. She’ll never see her mom again, while I just found mine. That’s nothing to be jealous about.

“You okay, Princess?” His arms tighten around me.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just… thinking.”

“You know I’m here if you ever wanna talk…”

It’s a sweet gesture, even more so because I know he means it. Back home guys would say that just to get nonexistent “points” with a girl. But the moment she let her guard down and opened up, they’d run.

I turn in his arms, wrapping mine around his waist and running my hands up his back. “Thank you. I knew you were a teddy bear,” I wink at him as Belz hollers for us to come over.