Page 21 of Queen of the Wicked (Afterlife #1)

Erebos

T he moment Kael Traveled back to Heaven, Erebos locked himself in his study and refused to come out.

Ambroz had checked on him twice before he dismissed him for the night, and he sat with his head hung by the palms of his hands, elbows on top of the cherrywood desk, mulling over every worst possible outcome that today’s events foreshadowed.

Kael suspected that Alessia was important the second he saw her.

Not only as his mate, but something more.

With those red irises encircling the specs of emerald, it was hard not to notice her.

Erebos had selfishly wanted her close to him in case things went wrong.

If Kael had figured out Alessia had stolen his powers, she would have been taken right from wherever she was in the castle, and Erebos couldn’t let that happen.

It was the bond causing this surge of protectiveness, and maybe that’s where he went wrong.

The bond was to blame for his inability to let her go.

He could have easily pulled away and denied her the orgasm, but he had a primal urge to please her.

He was selfish, his mind not thinking straight, which led to Kael learning something worse than her harboring his powers.

The lord had tried to keep his face neutral and void of emotion throughout Kael’s visit, which might have worked until he was forced into proximity with Alessia.

If Kael suspected earlier that she was his mate, he knew Erebos wouldn’t object to giving Alessia pleasure.

Erebos couldn’t deny himself the chance of feeling that sweet, tight cunt of hers clench around his fingers as she came, and it worked like a charm.

The parting of Alessia’s lips while she shuddered in his arms was still burned into Erebos’s memory. It would never leave.

And when Alessia’s shield broke for that one second she fell apart, the scent was all Kael needed to confirm it.

Erebos groaned. Kael had always been meticulous and observed everything within a nearby radius.

Erebos had hoped he wouldn’t pay Alessia a second glance, but he had been miserably mistaken.

Granted, he had managed to keep the most critical secret under wraps, her harboring his powers, but now that Kael knew his weakness…

Now that he could use her as leverage against him? Bastian would have a field day.

“Your Majesty.” A couple of knocks sounded on the other side of the door to his study before Eryx poked his head into the room.

Since he didn’t use his first name, it told Erebos the general intended this to be a serious conversation—one he simply didn’t have the energy for.

“We need to talk,” he added with urgency.

Erebos relented and sagged in the chair. “Come in. ”

Still in full uniform, Eryx strode into the room before sitting in one of the chairs opposite the desk.

The lord knew everything about Eryx. He had broken him down and made him into the warrior he was.

He’d never forget that frail, emotional teenager who landed in the pits of hell that morning.

A teenager. He had attempted to murder his father at the age of eighteen, and to some, that was a cause for reasonable punishment, but Erebos had seen into his memory.

He witnessed the abuse bestowed upon him by the man who sired him—the same abuse his mother endured .

The man sitting in front of him had demons potentially bigger than his own, and that was why he never questioned Eryx when he had chosen to remain here in Hell at the end of his service.

That very same day, he made him his general.

Not only was Eryx one of his only friends, but he was as close to family as Erebos had ever gotten.

That was why, on the day Eryx’s father finally arrived in Hell, Erebos gave him the honor of choosing the punishment.

“There are things we need to discuss,” Eryx said quietly. The gentle ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner of the room filled the silence between them. “Alessia has black magic.”

“Yes,” he agreed.

“But I thought black magic didn’t exist.” Eryx blinked, trying to solve a puzzle that didn’t seem ready yet to click into place.“Does she know of the power she’s capable of?”

“Not yet.” Erebos kept his mouth in a grim line.

“It’s not something I understand myself.

She has my dark magic running through her veins on top of black magic, and I…

” He shook his head. “Black magic was only mentioned in legends, the kind you warn kids about to get them to eat their vegetables. I’m just as lost as you are. ”

“And you believe the Seeker will have more answers?”

“That is the hope,” he replied. However, there were many reasons they needed to find the demon in the pits.

The Seeker might be able to confirm or deny Erebos’s suspicion about what Bastian was truly up to in Heaven, and that was enough motive to go beneath level one.

Figuring out a way to restore his powers and learn more about Alessia’s past would be a bonus.

With a brush against the stubble on his chin, Eryx sighed. “Then we continue our research on the route tomorrow. At least Kael didn’t suspect the black magic.”

Erebos scoffed. “If Kael did suspect it, we wouldn’t know. He has a way of hiding things up his sleeve. He already got whiff of the scent, and that’s dangerous enough.”

Ever the courageous warrior, Eryx sat up straight, his chest puffed out and his nostrils flaring. “Nobody will touch her. They wouldn’t dare it. You’d burn them to ash in one breath.”

With a soft smile, Erebos rubbed his temples. “I’m afraid I can’t do that anymore. At the moment, I’m forced to leave her safety in your hands.”

“And I do not take that task lightly. I would lay down my life for you, Erebos, which means I would do the same for her. You have my word.”

Erebos bowed his head in appreciation. “Is Izara still willing to train Alessia after today?”

Thankfully, the change of topic lightened the mood.

Eryx cracked a grin, emitting a soft chuckle before he replied, “Not much can frighten Izara away. She seemed even more interested in discovering what Alessia could do with the black magic. I’m afraid she’s more apt than ever to train her.

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she wakes Alessia up herself tomorrow rather than Isla. ”

“And did she return with any souls from her trip?”

Eryx’s silence was all he needed to hear.

“Our mission is to create a route for the Seeker as fast as possible and try to make an advancement on Alessia’s training so she is prepared to help escort us. While I am visiting with the Seeker, I will also inquire about King Bastian’s intentions with Heaven. See what it has to say.”

Eryx quirked a brow. “And if the information is what you’re expecting?”

“Then we will have reason to invade,” he replied. "But I must go about this carefully. If I do not know for certain that tainted souls remain in Heaven, if there is no proof, we will all be exiled.” And with Alessia in the picture now, he couldn’t risk that. Cursed bond.

Erebos’s heart suddenly began to pick up speed, his hand cautiously moving to rub the fluttering over his chest. It was beating wildly, and his palms began to sweat. Whatever he was feeling… Whatever this was… It wasn’t him feeling this way. It couldn’t be.

And if it was Alessia …

Erebos shot to hit feet, hand still clutched over his heart. “I need to check on Alessia,” he said.

Eryx stood and bowed, the promise he had given him minutes ago echoing in his head. “I will come with you to make sure she is safe.”

Alessia was having a nightmare .

Erebos leaned against the doorway of her room, watching her body thrash from side to side, the Egyptian sheets a rumpled mess around her.

His heart physically ached to be near her, but with her dressed in only a satin nightgown, he didn’t want to invade her space or whatever she might be comfortable with.

Sure, he had his fingers inside of her earlier, but that wasn’t because she wanted it. He had felt her lust, but that’s all it was. Lust. She made a promise to Isla and did whatever she could to keep Kael’s attention off of Erebos. For the most part, it had worked.

“Isla should wake her,” Erebos whispered to Eryx. The general eyed Alessia’s body a little too long for his liking, so he cleared his throat, regaining his attention.

“She would want you to wake her,” Eryx replied. “That connection isn’t just one-sided, Erebos. It’s impossible. She feels the same way you do. She’s just choosing not to act on it. You know that, right?”

If that were the case, then Alessia wouldn’t seem like she hated being in the same room as him.

Then again, what reason had he given her not to feel that way?

Their conversation that night in the library had been a welcome change, but then he was persuaded by Izara to get a rise out of Alessia so that her powers could show themselves.

While it had worked, he felt guilty about how it had made her feel when he knew firsthand what it was like to be used as a pawn for someone’s version of the greater good.

He wouldn’t blame her if she despised him for it.

He deserved it.

Feeling a shove to his back, Eryx pushed Erebos into the bedroom to decide for him and closed the door with a soft click.