Chapter 37

Lillian

Aiden and Keir were on my heels as I sped down the hallway, nearly knocking Ida over with a hug as I reached the living room.

I was full of energy today, the total opposite of yesterday. My skin was buzzing, my blood rushing, my body so full of life. I felt like I could've jumped off a building and somehow survived. The power rushing through me was intoxicating. It felt dangerous, but fuck, it felt so damn good.

"Oh, my dear girl!" Ida shouted. "I am so happy to see you so lively." She squeezed around my ribs then pushed me back by my shoulders so she could take a look at me. "You look great. How do you feel?"

My eyes darted to the princes, who were standing together and observing us before saying, "I feel amazing ."

Ida looked between me and Keir a few times, a knowing look in her eyes, before winking at me.

She pulled me to the couch, patting the spot next to her. "I was so worried, hun. When the boys told me you weren't conscious, I thought the dragon had gotten you. I was afraid I wouldn't get to you fast enough."

"I'm fine, Ida," I assured her, squeezing her hand. "The dragon didn't get me." I paused, the events from yesterday flooding back, mainly the screams of the creature that had helped me escape. "Not me, anyway."

"What does that mean?" Aiden asked quickly.

"Was someone else in there with you?" Keir followed up.

"No one went in there after her. That's impossible," Nicholas responded to Keir.

"There was someone… some thing in there," I confessed.

Everyone stared at me, waiting for me to continue.

"I—I don't know who, or what, it was." I shrugged. "I got into the treasure room just fine. The grenade put the dragon to sleep." I heard Ida mutter a thank Satan , and I made a mental note to thank her at some point for that. "Then, I was attacked by… a green-skinned demon with orange eyes, but he looked like he was at death's door. He tried to kill me at first."

"At first?" Keir asked, confused.

"I freaked out. I was so angry and scared. There was this weird surge of energy within me, and the demon stopped attacking me. He knew I'd bonded with the twins. Said he could see it in my eyes."

"One blue, one red," Nicholas said.

"Yes." I looked at him. "How did you know that?"

"When you ran out, you stood in the flames… Your eyes… They were glowing, one blue and one red." He looked at his twin. "I think your essence saved her."

"Well, shit…" Aiden said, shocked.

"That's not all," I threw out there, making everyone look at me again. I swallowed before I said, " He filled the bag with exactly 666 ounces; it wasn't me." I waited for that to settle in before dropping the actual bomb. "Then he said, ‘You're going to save us all'. He said I was her ." I took a breath. "He said he'd tell me what he meant when we got out, but—" I choked on my words, and Ida pulled me in for a hug. "He sacrificed himself so I could escape."

The princes were already bouncing questions around each other.

"Who was the demon?"

"Who is her ? What does that mean?"

"Why was there someone in there?"

"What do we do now?"

Ida cleared her throat, and I sat up. "I know… something."

I furrowed my brows, the princes wearing similar expressions.

"Care to elaborate?" Keir asked for us.

Ida turned to me. "The demon you met in there used to be Lord Bellowig. He was once the ruler of the realm of fire. Satan had Bellowig cursed and thrown into the cave as punishment for standing up to him. He fed Bellowig's wife and children to the dragon before sealing him in there. That was well over 600 years ago. I can't believe he's still ali— was alive." Pain flashed in her expression.

"Knowing who he is doesn't help us figure out what he meant. He's dead," Keir said rather harshly.

"For fuck's sake, Keir," Nicholas muttered.

Keir winced. "Sorry. I'm just frustrated. We have more questions than answers."

"That's alright. I think we are all with you there, but that's not all."

"There's more?" I scooted to the edge of my seat.

"What is it, Ida?" Keir leaned forward.

"It could be nothing; it's an old prophecy that's millions of years old. Your father had it struck from every book, forbade anyone from talking or teaching about it. A lot of demons either don't know about it or forgot about it entirely."

"Well, now I'm super interested," I said.

Ida flashed me a sympathetic smile, and I had the nagging feeling it was more like a silent apology for what she was about to say.

"It said that when Hell reaches its most dark, nightmarish times…" She paused to take a breath and glanced at each of us. "There will be a woman—a human woman—who will open a portal to Hell and save its people."

"Okay, that's honestly not that bad, Ida. You had me thinking it was something bad." A relieved laugh left Aiden.

I had to agree with him. I thought she was going to tell us something much darker, bloodier, especially for the human woman it was about. Saving Hell didn't seem so bad. It was fucking huge, sure, but I expected worse, like I would be sacrificed or suffer something horrible—well, horrible-er.

Ida flashed an upside-down smile. "And become Satan herself."

"Fuck."

"Hail Satan."

"No."

I couldn't tell whose reaction was whose, but I turned to see each brother staring at me with wide eyes. Keir was shaking his head. Nicholas had the palm of his hand on his cheek. Aiden was just blinking, frozen in shock.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"To become Satan, you have to kill the current Satan," Keir answered me.

"Oh shit…" I felt like a ton of bricks were dropped on my chest. "Wait…" I tried to control my quick breathing. "You guys think that prophecy is about me ?" I pointed at my chest, where my heart was threatening to give out on me. "Why did he think it was me? Why would you think it's me?"

"I'm not saying it's you," Ida told me. "But I'm not saying it isn't."

"Ida…" Keir said in warning.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat things, dear. Hell was a mess before her existence was made public. Now, it's a fucking shitshow." I had never heard Ida speak like she did to Keir, and he was even surprised at her words and tone. "She's the first human in Hell since your mother. It's no wonder Bellowig jumped to that conclusion. Doesn't help that he's probably half-mad from being down there so long and surviving on Aridam's scraps." She was quiet for a moment, letting the information settle. "Your father thought it could have been your mother at one point," Ida said without looking at the guys.

"Once she was here, Bellowig and a few other lords began to spread rumors about her, saying she was the human the prophecy referred to, that she was going to save them from her husband." She looked at the princes. "Though she came to Hell with him, not through a portal, your father couldn't take that chance. Why do you think he forced her into submission? Made her scared of him? He broke her until she was nothing but a shell he filled with his lies.

"With your mother taken care of, she was no longer a threat to him or his throne. The rumors died off, literally , thanks to your father, and it was never spoken about again. He made sure anyone who ever spoke of the prophecy was killed and made an entirely new council."

"That explains why we've never heard of it," Nicholas muttered.

"And when you came into the picture…" She looked at me. "He couldn't just kill you. You belonged to his sons. They love you, and he knew they'd never let that go. Killing you became too messy. That's the job of the trials." She paused. "If it is you, though…" Ida held my hands in hers. "You will not be alone."

I cannot catch a fucking break here, I thought to myself.

No shit , Keir's voice met me in my head.

It can't be true, though. Right?

I can't be sure. Ida seems to think it's possible.

"So what now?" Aiden asked Ida.

You need to calm down, Lillian. I can feel your panic. Everything is okay. We won't let anything bad happen to you. I swear it. Keir was trying his best to reach me.

Too late.

"It's going to be alright, dear," Ida comforted me, as if she could sense the explosion of panic about to go off inside me. "Who knows, maybe it's not you. We have no way of knowing if the prophecy is even true, let alone who it's about."

"Yeah…" I nodded, but I was a million miles away right now.