Page 26 of Ashes to Ashes

The cabin was small and cozy, with soft furs lining the walls and a crackling fire burning bright. She could hear the sound of water dripping somewhere nearby, providing a soothing tune amidst the chaos in her head. Ashe looked around anxiously, searching for any sign of a mirror, her feet slamming to a halt when she found one.

The ring was not only missing from around her neck but likely lost to Leviathan with his last attempt to hold on to her. Her enchantment was gone as well.

Ashe’s heart pounded as she stared into her ice blue eyes, not the enchanted green ones she’d grown accustomed to seeing the past days. Her skin was once again pale porcelain, the silvery hue and scales completely gone. Long red hair was in a badly mangled bun, distressed from the wild sex and run through the castle.

“I’m me,” she touched the mirror on her cheek.

“Yes, it would appear the prince stole the necklace where the enchantment lay.”

Lily walked past her and sat on a small brown sofa, displeasure in her eyes.

“I appeared to you, I helped you so that you might secure a single earned kiss and leave the realm. And what did you do?”The angel’s voice rose with each word, making it clear that she was not pleased with Ashe’s actions.

“I…I’m sorry,” she said quietly, bowing her head in shame.

“And your apology is supposed to make amends for your rash decisions?” The angel’s voice was sharp and scathing. “You feel prey to everything that this realm is.”

Tears pricked at her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She knew she had made a mistake and now she would have to face the consequences.

“I didn’t mean any harm,” she said softly.

Despite her words, visions of Leviathan standing over her as he fucked her played in her mind, reminding her that she was not sorry, only embarrassed now that she had come to her senses.

“But harm was done, nonetheless.” The angel stood up from the sofa and walked closer to Ashe. “There are rules in this realm, rules that must be followed. Thankfully I don’t think he’s smart enough to realize you are you. Without your glamor, you’re no longer permitted at his palace, but we will think of how to set you free.

Ashe nodded, her body and heart torn between envy of the silver demon she’d been enchanted to be and the need to go home and never see Leviathan again.

Because somehow, she’d become enamored with the Prince of Envy, and Ashe wasn’t sure how to free herself from that trap, either.

CHAPTER 14

Leviathan hissed his anger and building frustration as his eyes continued to look at the empty space where the demon had escaped. . . with an angel. A creature that was not welcome down in his realm, but most certainly was the being he saw.

Her escape and partner didn’t make sense, but neither did his obsession with her. He did not fall prey ever to the other sins - even though it was possible. He prided himself on not succumbing to the other sins, despite their tempting offers. But something about this particular demoness intrigued and troubled him deeply, and he could not rest until he unraveled the mystery of her strange behavior. His scales rippled, and his fiery breath seethed as he vowed to uncover the truth no matter what it took.

She plagued his soul the way the silly human from Belial’s had done.

“Belial.” Leviathan hissed. Had his long-term rival sent a demon to seduce him to remove his inquries about the human? He couldn’t remember seeing the high lord there, and he thrived on envy nearly as much as Leviathan himself.

With a swift and calculated flick of his wrist, Leviathan effortlessly coiled the cursed chain into his pocket before disappearing in a swirl of ashen grey smoke. In mere moments, he reappeared inside Belial’s home, the stench of brimstone heavy and suffocating. The walls seemed to whisper secrets and shadows danced in the corners, casting eerie shapes on the floorboards. The air was thick with the lingering presence of despair.

A small demon roughly the height of a human child quickly jumped off the large chair and tried to rush past Leviathan.

With a single hand he reached out and plucked the demon up by his collar, lifting the tiny creature until his beady yellow eyes were level with Leviathan’s. “Where is your lord?”

“Murdered. He was found two days ago. His throat was slit.”

A red-hot wave of rage washed over Leviathan, filling his vision with a fiery haze as the demon’s words echoed in his mind. A powerful high lord, one of great importance in his realm, had been killed and he had not even been informed? The betrayal and disrespect burned within him like molten lava, fueling his anger and desire for revenge.

“And no one thought to tell me?” He tightened his grip on the flailing demon, stopping its pathetic attempts to flee.

“No, Your Majesty. Many of the slaves escaped, but we still have their contracts, so our guards have been hunting them.”

Slaves escaped? Ashe’s image flashed in his mind, and then slowly changed over to the silver-skinned demon’s image. They didn’t fit together, but for some reason he couldn’t help but believe his response was because they were one in the same.

Seduction has addled your mind.

“Where is the redhead, the young female?”

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