Lucifer stopped short and turned sideways to look at the woman who had followed him out of the Devil’s Dungeon.
At her words, he decided to approach her.
From the moment she was pulled into his dungeon, he couldn’t help noticing the cross connected to the silver chain around her neck.
He reached out his hand but didn’t touch her.
The cross rose from her chest and towards his hand.
As it did, an upside-down cross burned into his forehead and between his eyebrows.
Reddish horns grew out of his skull.
Even his nails grew in length.
“The Devil, Satan, Hades… It seems that what they call me changes by the generation,” he responded smoothly.
“But I prefer to be called Lucifer.
That’s my name, after all.” He began to step away again, and the cross fell into Adela’s chest.
It was warm to the touch but not hot enough to hurt her.
She noticed that his horns retreated back into his head and he returned to the form of a regular man.
Well, regular might not be exactly the right term.
He was attractive.
He had a magnetizing presence she wanted to trust despite all the alarms going off in her head.
Adela stopped him again as she said, “Lucifer, the King of Hell.” Her voice was dripping with disbelief, and she folded in half as she bowed.
“Please forgive my insolence.
The rumors about you don’t do you justice, Your Majesty.” She had dealt with powerful men in the past, and she could tell she had already made so many mistakes.
If he was leading her to her death, she would be understanding, but begging had worked this far in her life.
However, there was always a price.
“If I wanted you to call me anything besides Lucifer, I would have said so,” he insisted.
“Rise.
I’m not someone who gets off on the power trip.” Like werewolves… he wanted to say, but resisted.
Knowing who he was, she knew she had to be careful.
“What is the price of you saving me?” she asked.
This time, he faced her fully.
He imposed on her space with a few steps, but he still didn’t touch her.
“Contrary to what you seem to believe, demons aren’t allowed to get into soul contracts without explicit verbal and written consent from both parties,” he explained.
“I’m not trying to scam you for your soul.
I am also not judging you for having no trust in men who hold power.” Adela’s brown eyebrows knit together as she looked at this tall, imposing man.
“It just feels too good to be true that the first person I run into out of the compound is willing to help me,” she admitted, her blue eyes dropping as her gaze left him.
“You were the one who begged to be sent to Hell right next to a portal to Hell,” he reminded her quietly.
“There are no shortcuts, but a direct request that I answered.
You are free to go, or you can stay.” He turned away again as he started to walk.
“It will be safer here than it will be out there.” She followed him, wanting to know more.
He only said things that sounded too good to be true.
“Then let me do something for you,” she insisted.
“I can work.
I’m even willing to be a servant if that’s what it takes to pay off this debt—” He stopped short and turned around abruptly.
Adela would have run into him if she didn’t have fast reflexes.
“When I said you could do whatever you wanted, including leaving, I wasn’t lying,” he reminded her.
“You’re not under a contract.
You can get a job wherever you like.
You could even do nothing if that suits you better.
I will have a room prepared so that you can rest and heal.
You came to me in poor shape as it is.
After that, work to your heart’s content.” Since he wasn’t backing down, Adela nodded.
Satisfied, Lucifer began walking again.
This time, he made it past the wall that obscured the surroundings from them.
Adela received her second shock as she took in the sights all around her.
This was Hell, but it wasn’t what she imagined when people described being sent to Hell for eternal damnation.
While the sky was dark and black, the buildings below the castle seemed to have a red glow despite being made entirely of onyx.
There was a bridge in the center of this massive town that a river of lava ran underneath.
Red smoke rose from the lava and obscured a bit of the lower streets.
Surprisingly, the streets were busy.
There were beings of all shapes and sizes occupying the areas below.
Were they all demons?
She wasn’t entirely sure.
What was most notable was that there wasn’t screaming or crying about unfair treatment.
There weren’t people being tossed into fire or tortured.
She had to glance at Lucifer because of this, but he was paying no mind to whatever she was occupied with.
He had already made it to the door across the wall.
The moment she caught up to him, they were both stopped short when a black shadow seeped between the cracks of an already black castle.
“Your Majesty,” the figure greeted as it formed into the outline of a man.
“There are werewolves at the border.
They are insistent that they can smell their mate.” Lucifer looked at Adela, who silently pleaded with him using her wide, blue eyes.
“Leave it to me,” he assured the figure.
“I will handle this as diplomatically as I can.” To Lucifer’s shock, Adela said, “I want to go with you.” Lucifer nodded in understanding.
If they didn’t see her, they would continue looking.
It would become a problem for everyone in the surrounding areas.
She turned to him, offering a more significant gaze that made Lucifer feel as if she might be starting to trust him.
“Will you protect me if I go?” she asked.
Lucifer smirked at that.
“Of course.
I love disciplining a bad dog.”