Page 78 of Dark Souls Academy: The Sacrifice

Let’s see what his plan is before we strike. I think he has something up his sleeve,Bones said.

I pushed down my anxiety and let my Fae side rise within me. Lucifer had amulets to block my Succubus side, but my Fae side would be harder to block because it was elemental. Blocking air would kill a person, even the Devil himself.

The loud crowd hushed as Lucifer stepped up on the stage again. He had moved away for a second while we got settled. He loved the power he held right now. The gleam on his too pretty face was impossible to miss.

“Well, it looks like we have six factions. Two for the House of Sin, two for the House of Howlers, one for the House of Black Auras, and one for the House of Power. The smaller ones just disappeared in the last five minutes. I like it. It’s the demon way to follow the powerful. By the looks of it, Howler and Sin have the most people. Pity.” The groups in the other houses stirred uneasily. If it came to a fight, I hoped they helped because he just admitted they were going to die.

His eyes found me in the crowd, then, he continued. “Before we move on, I have a gift for my Queen. You all know, Ivy Shade.” My mates growled around me. I bristled at his claim but kept quiet. This was a delicate situation. By speaking up, I could be putting a target on my faction. “She announced her Succubus status after speaking with me. There were so many people were after her, so she stayed hidden. I promised to keep her safe, and I always keep my promises.” He winked as if he just told a joke. Everything he said was a fucking joke.

He’s covering his ass. The whole Council is here and tons of other people, so this is his way to undo any doubt they had in him for having a Succubus under his nose for so long,Trigger explained, and it sounded right. The dick always played mind games.

He did a little spin in his white and gold suit to put on a show. “To prove I mean business, here is my gift.” Guards dragged a naked, struggling form on the stage. It was a woman with a bag over her head. My pulse skipped a beat because I didn’t know where Lilah was. Was it her?

I gripped onto the arms next to me, holding myself back. If this was Lilah, I wouldn’t be able to control myself. Hands gripped onto mine, giving me support.

“Once my Queen’s boogieman, now my prisoner. Say hello to Lamia!” I stopped breathing. His Pride Demon ate up all the astounded energy from the demons around him. Literally.

As soon as the brunette woman could see, and the guards let go of her, she transformed. Her beautiful top half had a few black scales that got thicker the lower it went and covered her breasts. It was her legs that morphed dramatically, though. They turned into a huge blackish gray snake ass. Her hair stuck up in all directions like it floated.

“No one knows this, but Lamia is also one of the strongest Succubus hunters still around. She went into the children’s roomand ate them for sport. Naughty, naughty.” I had no idea if Lucifer told the truth, but the image gave me chills. His words caused the rhyme to dance around in my head again.

Lamia is watching. Her eyes are dark and hungry. Her rooms are bright and funny. Beware of her smile because it hides sharp teeth that go on for miles. Don’t trust the light, for she might be pretty, but she’ll kill you without even a fight. So, be good because she sneaks into bad kids’ rooms late at night.

Fear filled me. If he set her loose so I could kill her as a gift, I didn’t know if I could fight. The all-consuming terror had a grip on my throat as if it had a physical form.

Calm down my love. He’d never give you that glory. He has been chasing after Lamia for hundreds of years. I’m not sure what the fuck she did to him, but he has had a vendetta against her our whole lives.

Trigger’s words let my lungs work again. As I panted, desperately trying not to show my fear to anyone, my demon filled the air with her magic to mask the scent. My fingers turned white from how hard I held onto my mates. They whispered reassurance through the bond, but I couldn’t pull my focus away from Lamia as if I was a cornered animal waiting for a predator to strike.

“This gift from your all-mighty king is only the first of many.” Even before I could blink, Lamia’s head rolled at his feet. All around me gasps sounded. Lucifer put his foot over her face and laughed.

This demon was once known as the woman that couldn’t be killed and every demon child’s boogieman, had just been killed within seconds. Killed by a man we were about to fight. I knew my mouth was wide open, but I couldn’t close the damn thing. My lips even felt sticky as I licked them just to not appeared so stunned. How the fuck were we going to kill Lucifer, if he…

Please calm down mate. This is a scare tactic,Bones said, but it felt like white noise played in my head, making it difficult to hear him.

It’s fucking working!I shouted.

Lamia was drugged and captured by an army. Lucifer has done stuff like this before. Someone must have told him that you were afraid of her. The bastard probably already had her in his dungeon. He has hundreds of people down there, waiting for moments like this.As Bones spoke, I slowly came back to myself. My fight or flight wasn’t stuck on flight anymore with them sending me waves of calming energy.

I rubbed my chest but quickly put my hand back in Dex’s hand. He and Alaric were beside me while Bones and Trigger stood guard, ready for an attack.

That was fucking intense. I believe you, but who the fuck told him?My question was valid because I did a lot to hide any weakness from people. Maybe, the Headmaster? I did have a whole meltdown the first day, seeing his office as Lamia’s kill room. I nodded. That had to be it. I’d kill the fucker.

It could have been a guess. We all feared her at one time.Dex also had a point. However, he found out, I was both pissed off and relieved. Pissed because meeting her had shaken me to the core, and relieved to finally know she no longer existed.

“Now, for the real fun.” Lucifer’s words had every eye frantically scanning the area.

I took several deep breaths and pushed all the anxiety and shit away, so I could be ready for the next step in Lucifer’s fucked-up plans. He said only one faction would be left standing.

Was this going to be another Bloodbath? Another game for only him to win at the end? What the fuck was he thinking? The graduates became part of his army, why would he get rid of the students?

A chair magically appeared behind him as he sat down. Before his butt could hit the cushion a slave girl crawled over. He petted her like she was an obedient dog. Bile rose in my throat when she preened under his touch.

“Now some of you might be wondering why your king would do this?” he asked as if we were all sitting down for a business meeting, not waiting to hear how people were going to die.

No shit, douchebag.I really wished I could say that out loud.

“I’ve been planting spies in the academy to see if my suspicion of a rebellion was correct, and what they told me is disheartening. Instead of embracing the demon way, you slander the way of our people. So, after today, only my faction will be the one left standing. Allsurvivorswill be apart of it.”

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