BRAVING THE DARKNESS: One Night With The Demon King
BENEATH HER DARKNESS: The Alpha’s Little Demon Book 2
Chapter 55 – The Keeper (LUCIUS)
“Hades…” Luther just said his first word.
It was a bit gurgled, but I could fully understand it.
‘The f*uc*k! I spent f*uc*king days teaching him to say ‘dad,’ and I kept bribing him with sweets and fire, just for him to end up saying Hades’ name first?’ Stone cursed in my head. His jaw tightened, and I knew he was stopping himself from growling.
‘Be thankful it’s Hades. You’ll be more pissed off if his first word is Lucius.’ I chuckled. ‘Just accept that your son is more of a demon than a wolf.’
He didn’t say anything, but he knew I was telling the truth.
Hades walked toward us and handed Luther to Lucija before he faced Patrea and me.
“King Hades, it is an honor to have you at our banquet today,” Patrea stated as she tipped her down before looking at him again.
“It would be a disappointment if I missed it. I never had a queen for my kings for many centuries now, so it is rightful that I appeared here.” He replied before he extended his hand to Patrea. “Come here, Queen Patrea.”
Patrera looked at me, and I raised the hand that was holding hers before I guided her nearer to Hades, only letting her hand go when she took Hades’ hand while everyone inside the banquet was holding their breath in silence.
Hades let go of her hand before he lifted his hands in front of him, and flames surfaced from them before they disappeared,
replaced with a simple gold crown with a red gem, almost similar to the one in Patrea’s f*inger.
“[The Underworld had never been blessed with a queen for the longest time. Perhaps because demons were deemed unworthy of love, but you, Queen Patrea, took a big risk by embracing one, thus embracing all of the Underworld.]”
He paused before he continued.
“[It is an honor to give you one of the treasures of our realm.]” He raised his hands higher, and Patrea slightly bowed her head as Hades placed the crown on her head.
“[Be the keeper of one of the stones of hell. No one is worthy to t*ouch this except you and the other keeper of the Stones.]”
The banquet began to be filled with murmurs, and with heightened hearing, I could hear some of them asking who the other keepers of the Stones were.
And I had the same question, as I thought all four stones were in the hands of Hades for safekeeping.
“[It is an honor to be a keeper of the red Stone, King Hades. I will protect it with my life.]” Patrea responded, and my heart warmed at the sight of her with a crown.
We never used crowns in our kingdom, and to keep up with the demon protocol we had, Patrea and I didn’t use any either. But if it was the God of Hell that bestowed one on her, who was I to complain?
Plus, I couldn’t deny the fact that she looked exquisite wearing one.
Hades just smiled at her before turning his gaze to me. “[I will leave now so you can all continue with your celebration. Come to me if you want answers to the question in your head, King Lucius.]”
I paid my respects to Hades, as everyone in the banquet did before he disappeared.
The merrymaking continued, and if earlier the demons were murmuring about how I was able to obtain a queen and mark her without killing her, I did not hear any of that anymore.
The questions and theories began to circle around who was the other bearer of the three remaining stones.
It was only when everyone had left that I got one-third of the answer.
“I have the other stone,” Lucija confessed when it was just us in my office, which looked like a regular human office now instead of a dungeon-like my father had.
“You have?” Patrea’s eyes widened before the worry that was flitting around them was replaced with relief.
She was worried if the Stone meant any danger. Perhaps, having Lucija by her side calmed her.
Lucija nodded her head. “He visited us after our union and gave me the white stone.”
“Did he tell you why?”
“Not really, except he said he was tired, but he didn’t elaborate more, and then he took his leave.”
“Maybe Father wasn’t lying when he told me Hades’ wanted to retire as the God of the Underworld.”
“Can you give up that?” Patrea asked.
“Perhaps they can, and he was looking for someone to replace him.”
“But why would you give it up?” Stone asked. “I couldn’t imagine Selene giving up being the Goddess of the Moon.”
“We only see Hades as we see him, but maybe there is something we don’t know about him yet.”
“Did you ever notice how his eyes would become glassy when he looked at us? You and Patrea, and at me and Lucy. It was the same sadness I saw when he told me he had marked many females, but none of them had ever loved him, so they just died a painful death.” Stone shared.
“He’s tired of being alone. Imagine many centuries, many hundred centuries of being alone.” I added.
“But he’s a God! He could get any female he wants.” Patrea blurted out.
“Apparently not. Maybe he just wanted to be an ordinary god with no responsibility and choose who he wanted to spend eternity with.”
“So, he’s distributing the stones and seeing who would best take care of them?” It was Lucija. “Will this mean danger to any of us?”
“I think so. As many would want that. But he also said no one could t*ouch it except the keeper.”
“I can t*ouch Lucy’s Stone. So, I guess we are both the keeper of the white Stone.”
Patrea took the crown off her head and raised it in front of me. “T*ouch it.”
“What if it kills me?” I chuckled, but my hand was already reaching for it.
My f*inger tapped on the red Stone, and it glowed, but it didn’t hurt. My eyes moved to look at Patrea before they shifted between Lucija and Stone.
“Same thing that happened to me. It glowed but didn’t hurt.”
“I hope it doesn’t invite jealous demons on our way,” Lucija stated.
“What could they do with four strong demons? Plus, one special demon in here?” I tapped Luther’s nose, and his eyes blazed red before he tried to reach for Patrea’s crown.
“Luther could t*ouch the white stone as well.”
“You f*uc*king experimented on him!” I hissed before I realized I was being extremely protective of him.
“He showed the same thing, reaching for the Stone. So, I cave in.” Stone chuckled.
“Can I?” Patrea asked him and Lucija as she turned the crown to Luther’s side.
Lucy nodded her head. “Just be fast to withdraw if he winces.”
Patrea slowly moved the crown toward
Luther as I held my breath, as Stone did.
Only to let it out when Luther grabbed the crown and t*ouched the red Stone before he put the edge of the crown in his mouth and began nibbling it.
A peal of laughter erupted from Stone’s throat, and it made me laugh as well.
“This pup could f*uc*king do everything!” Stone exclaimed.
“I think he needs a playmate so he’ll stop playing with important things,” Lucija added.
“Are you planning to have another one?” Patrea asked.
“No!” Stone shook his head. “This dude is taking too much of my Luna’s time. Lucy is referring to both of you. When are you going to give us a nephew or a niece?”
“Nah, not yet. Let me enjoy my queen first. We’re not rushing. Besides, we have many centuries more.”
I felt Patrea’s arms slide around my waist before she hugged me from my side and leaned her head on my chest while looking at the couple in front of us. “We will try once we are ready. But for now, let me baby this king in here. He’s a handful.”
“No return, no exchange, Patrea.” Lucija joked.
“No, I’m not returning him ever. I got everything I wanted with this man.” She answered in a soft voice before she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me closer to her. “I’ll be stupid to let him go.”
Our eyes locked, and I saw everything I never thought a demon like me needed — the love, the need, the desire, and the trust she was giving me that I would never break her heart.
“This demon is stuck with me.” She added, and I couldn’t help but let a smug smirk tug on my mouth.
Patrea.
My Female.
My Queen.
She was indeed my hell, and my piece of paradise, all rolled into one.