Page 103 of Galen

Chills spread down my spine as a loud, booming roar shook the walls.

A man burst through the open doorway, black wings protruding from his shoulders. He was huge, probably Galen’s height or an inch taller. He had a head of golden hair and light brown eyes that glared daggers at the demon in front of him.

“Belphegor,” Phoenix said, eyes widening. “What are you—”

“My son was harmed tonight!” Belphegor bellowed, grabbing Phoenix by the front of his shirt. “One of your men sliced his throat with a celestial blade. I ordered you not to hurt him, did I not?”

“Y-Yes, sir,” Phoenix stammered. “ButIwasn’t the one who sliced his throat.”

“Your men. Your responsibility. Any commander knows that.”

“Your son attacked my men. Were they supposed to just let him kill them?”

“Gray?” Castor asked, thrashing against his chains. “What happened?”

My stomach was in knots. Not Gray. I didn’t want any of the warriors hurt, but him especially. I remembered how he liked to cling to my arm and lie in my lap. That sleepy little smile he always gave me before closing his eyes.

Belphegor ignored Castor. “If the king didn’t want you for his personal plaything, I would rip out your guts and hang you with them.”

“Personal plaything? That’s a bit of a stretch. He wants me as his adviser. You’d do well to remember that.”

The fallen angel pushed Phoenix away from him before storming out of the room.

“And they say demons are bad,” Phoenix said, adjusting his now wrinkled shirt. “He has such a nasty temper.”

One thing stood out to me. The few times I’d heard Belphegor mentioned at the mansion, the brothers had spoken of him like he was this horribly wicked being. But the concern for his son was real. Even though they fought on opposite sides, the fallen angel cared for Gray.

“Where’s this king of yours?” Castor asked.

“You’ll meet him soon enough.” Phoenix’s dark eyes moved to me. “He’s especially interested in you.”

“Because we share a bloodline?”

“Clever,” the demon said. “But only on his maternal side. She was human, you see. No one of significance, other than the fact she was a virgin when Lucifer bedded her. She went on to have more children from a different man. Boringly human, I might add. That’s where you come from. The bloodline has been weakened over the millennia but never erased.”

“And that’s why the ring was able to possess me?”

Phoenix nodded. “You’re lucky to be alive. Maybe it was because of your weak blood, but the power didn’t fully take root in you. If it did, you would’ve burned from the inside out.”

I recalled the sensation of fire in my veins and shuddered.

“You mentioned Lucifer,” Castor said, his voice shaking. “Your king can’t be…”

“His son?” Phoenix smiled. “You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you? If he is, I doubt he’ll be too happy to see you, Nephilim, given the fact that you helped lock his father away. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have preparations to make.”

“Wait,” I said.

He turned. “What?

“Where are we?”

“And here I thought you were a clever little human.” Phoenix tsked. “Where do youthinkyou are? Disneyland? You’re in the underworld. The only way you’re getting out is in pieces, so I’d start getting used to it.”

Phoenix left, closing and locking the door behind him.

“The underworld?” I whispered in shock. “I’m in Hell.”

“Hell doesn’t exist,” Castor said. “Not in the way you’ve been told it does anyway. The underworld, or netherworld as it’s sometimes referred to, is the home for the undead. That mainly includes demons, but there are other beings as well. So Hell? Fire and brimstone and eternal suffering of the soul? Yeah, no. It’s not like that at all.”