Page 39 of Princess of Hell

“Sure.” I jumped up and grabbed myself a pizza box. I have a healthy appetite myself.

Jacks and River both sat on the small couch and ate Chinese food. Drae opened the door and Preach walked in behind him.

“I got your salad, bro,” River called to Preach through a mouth full of food.

Preach picked up his salad box and sat on a chair, opened it, and ate in silence.

River had to say something. “Hey, Preach, we’re all dying to know. How did you land in the hospital?”

“Do you want to know how I landed in the mental asylum, Silver?” Preach’s eyes looked sad, as if he begged me not to ask.

“This isn’t an interrogation. Jacks owes you his life. You don’t have to say a thing if you don’t feel comfortable talking about it.” I stuffed more pizza into my mouth. It was good. Not the best pizza I ever had, but it was hot and greasy and tasted nice.

Jacks took a big bite of his pizza and swallowed. “Preach, I owe you one. River, leave the man alone.”

“Hey, I’m just curious. No hard feelings, Preach.”

Preach sat on the bed next to me. He offered me a salad.

“I’m good, thank you. As a Demon, my health is perfect. I don’t worry about my arteries clogging.

“Silver, that we met was not an accident. I’ve had visions of you for a long time. I always believed you weren’t real. I.... Thank you.”

Preach’s eyes looked moist as if he was about to cry. What he said and the way he said it touched me.

“Want some pizza?” I held the box closer to him.

“Does it have pineapple”?

“No. Yuck. Guys, do any of you have pineapple pizza?”

“Mine does.” Drae turned to me. “Want some?”

I took a slice of pizza with pineapple and offered it to Preach.

“The way the pineapple shines on top of the melted cheese is so beautiful, don’t you think?”

I nodded. Preach was busy adding small pieces of salad to his pizza and taking tiny bites.

When I finished, I put the box on the floor and took my boots off. I was too tired to shower and, honestly, I didn’t care. All I needed was sleep. This endeavor was becoming more and more complicated. All I wanted was to get my necklace back and maybe meet my Mother before I get married.

As I closed my eyes, I heard that voice again, that voice that used to be almost too soft for me to hear but now screamed at me. Dad lied to me. He lied about Mom being dead. He lied about the human realm. Who knows what else he lied about. Maybe he lied about what he expected from this marriage. He always said that Caspian, the son of Behemoth, is the best possible match for me. What if... what if he lied? What if it was nothing more than an exchange of prisoners. He promised me the southern palace after I got married, but what if he changed his mind? I could be sold and shipped to Behemoth as far as I knew. No one would hold him accountable.

Uncle Chris would have my back, but how much could he realistically do to help me at the end of the day? Wasn’t he as trapped as I was in a way? Uncle Chris didn’t know details connected to the marriage contract that Dad and Behemoth agreed on in total secrecy.

Could I defy my father? Could I say that I won’t get married, not if he doesn’t explain some things to me first, things I need to know and that I can’t accept in silence anymore?

The room was silent and dark. A little light filtered through the drapes from the yard of the motel. Jacks snored. I turned toward him and watched him. It was the first time I slept with a man in my life, even though it was just that, sleeping. He laid in his bed and I in mine. I could barely resist the urge to get naked. I usually sleep without clothes on but now was not the moment to relax naked in bed, not if I wanted to forget about the heat that tied me to Jacks. Heat. Lust. Need. Desire. All of it, as well as a slight feeling of belonging.

Don’t be childish, Silver. He can’t belong to me. He’s a shifter, more human than Demon, and I’m Lucifer's daughter. He would hate the world I lived in and called home.

The soft tendrils that connected me to Jacks pulled me toward him, and the room became hot and sticky, making it hard for me to breathe. I jumped off the bed and walked to the door. I needed just one breath of fresh air.

The open corridor was silent. The guys slept in the room next to us. Soft, familiar footsteps approached. A lit cigarette released smoke into the night air. His scent hit me before I saw his face. That pale face with the strong jawline and the small defying smile plastered on his lips but wouldn’t touch his eyes.

“Let me show you something.” Preach offered me his hand and I took it. My glove was on as a precaution that I wouldn’t touch anyone and burn them. I had fallen asleep with them on. We walked down the open corridor, next to people sleeping inside their rooms, next to a room with a couple fighting, and toward the end of the walkway. A rusty old ladder was mounted in the wall heading to the roof.

“Come.”

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