Page 158 of The Bonds of Indigo

“I’ve been attempting to summon you.” His voice is thunder inside a storm—add in the cries of the dead, and that’s how it reverberates through my bones. “Someone has entered my realm…”

Heat builds behind my eyes as I force myself to turn my head. Lucifer has moved to the side of the bed, resting on his hands with his head thrown back.

“You interrupted me for that piece of information, Father? I’m quite busy.”

I hate that it’s at those words Belial shifts his gaze to me. No introduction needed, he is exactly as the texts describe. Bulkier than the trucks we drove into Demour, possibly over ten feet tall, blood-red skin, and eyes so devoid of kindness he may as well be hatred given form.

He tilts his head, and the double set of horns crowning it makes the look he gives me so menacing I want to cry. I am defenseless here, and this Incubus has made me even more so by holding me naked and restrained on his bed.

“A mortal.” His gaze drags down my body, and I bite the inside of my cheek so hard I immediately taste blood. “Why do you hide her from me, son?”

I swallow hard, following his stare to where Lucifer’s shadows curl protectively across my skin, masking every intimate part of me.

“Because she’s in my bed,” Lucifer says, his voice low in warning. “Meaning she’s mine.”

Belial tuts and jerks his head to the side. “Everything of yours is mine. Remove them.”

“No.” There’s no hesitation. No softness. No implied suggestion. “This one’s mine.”

He states it as a fact—like I’ve got his name inked into my skin somewhere. Like he’s branded me.

Fucking Vayl above, the way Belial’s eyes brighten with malevolence makes me swear he’s seconds from striking not only his son, but me… despite me having done nothing.

“At least you weren’t stupid enough to bring the other one.” He huffs, the sound shaking dust from around the room. “Why is she here? A Witch. In my realm.”

“Because I wanted to bring her to me? What’s it to you? When have you ever cared about who I have in my bed?”

“You haven’t had anyone in your bed for what feels like eternity to be concerned over.”

“That’s dramatic. Oh, but you know, maybe⁠—”

I’m suddenly yanked from the middle of the bed straight into Lucifer’s grasp. My hip collides with his back, and his fingers immediately trace a delicate line across my collarbone.

“It’s likely she’s the presence you felt come through my gates, Father.”

“It was⁠—”

Lucifer cuts him off. “She’s also the Witch who helped me get the information you asked for. You know, the one that nearly got me killed in the Vayl?”

“Now who’s being dramatic.” I watch Belial pace the room. “There was more than one presence that entered. It appeared, disappeared, and then⁠—”

“Please.” Lucifer cuts in, voice slick with irritation. “Can I have my meal, and then I’ll send her home? I wanted to thank her personally.”

He gathers a lock of my hair between his fingers—just like he did the day I met him—and twirls it slowly around his index.

“I haven’t feasted in so long…”

“It’s your own fault!” his father barks. The anger in his voice is so sharp it cracks the air. “You cause this fate for yourself, and for what? Feelings that do not belong to us.”

Lucifer’s hand tenses against my skin, but he covers it quickly. His palm slides to my neck, cradling it with deceptive gentleness. His thumb drags down the front of my throat, and I swallow instinctively.

He grumbles, “Fine. But do not send the Witch home. Meet me for dinner and bring her.”

“No, she’ll go home when⁠—”

“Do as you are told, Lucifer. Bring the girl, or I will go and bring her fucking back!” He thunders out of the room, and the moment the door slams, I choke on a breath.

I can’t draw in enough air. Panic claws through me—tightening my chest, twisting my stomach, forcing tears to spring to my eyes. I yank hard against the restraints around my wrists, desperate for any freedom at all.