Page 12 of Conflicted

Icouldn’t believe we were finally here.

After fuckingcenturiesin Hell, we were finally topside. Who would’ve thought our freedom would be delivered in the hands of a human? Not me, that was for sure. But that was what had happened when the mates of the sons of Lucifer bargained their way out of Hell. They’d extended a deal: to smuggle them out of their prison in the deepest circle of Hell in exchange for a life on Earth and the protection of their mates.

It wasn’t like we’d never been topside before. We’d made the occasional excursion in the past, but never for longer than a few hours. Always just enough to give us a taste of what we were missing.

Some thought we were being given a reward whenever we were sent to Earth on a mission, but I knew better. Lucifer knew how much the five of us wanted to leave. Having already lost his sons to the temptations of life outside of Hell, he wasn’t prepared to let us walk away too.

We weren’t special. None of us were part of his inner circle; you had to be royalty for that. The five of usqualified as higher demons, but we were considered peasants compared to the rest of them.

Our jobs hadn’t involved advising Lucifer or casting judgement. We were on the more…practical side of things.

Basically, if a human had been really,reallynaughty, they were given to one of us to play with.

Before Cal and his brothers had left, they were part of the merry band of torturers. We didn’t socialise or spend time together though. Like I said, we were in different social spheres. But when they left, their workload was unceremoniously dumped on the rest of us.

To lose us too would leave a gaping chasm in Lucifer’s torture roster and he never missed an opportunity to exert his control. Our trips to the surface were never rewards, they were punishments. A glimpse of the life we might’ve been able to enjoy with a more benevolent ruler in charge before we had to return to our usual reality.

The one where we had the literal antithesis of a benevolent ruler lording over us.

Unlike most other demons, I’d never resigned myself to a future trapped down there. How could I, when I felt a constant pull to the surface? For centuries, it had felt as though a part of me was missing, lingering up there and waiting for me to go and find it.

I wasn’t alone in feeling it either. It was what had led Dahlia to making the deal she had. A deal that meant the five of us could finally leave.

For good.

Now, we were topside, but the pull hadn’t subsided. Problem was, I understood what was causing it now…and I wished I didn’t. Anything would have been better than knowing what had been trying to drag me out of Hell.

Or rather,who.

Stepping off the bottom step, I straightened my jacket in the hallway mirror. “Quill? You coming or what?”

Quillian shuffled out of the kitchen, a massive bowl of cereal in his hands. “Nah, can’t be fucked.”

I looked him up and down pointedly. As I’d expected, he hadn’t bothered to get dressed today, his shaggy blond hair even more unkempt than usual. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a bird or two nesting in there. “You can’t keep putting this off, man. You’re gonna have to go out at some point.”

“Not today though.” He spooned a mouthful of Cheerios into his mouth, slurping noisily. “Today’s a cereal day.”

Dahlia appeared in the entrance to the living room and leaned against the doorjamb. Pursing her lips in Quill’s direction, she crossed her arms, her bracelets jangling. “This is your fourth cereal day this week.”

“So?”

“So it’s only Thursday.”

Quill spooned more cereal in, ignoring the drop of milk hitting his already stained t-shirt. “Don’t judge me.”

She rolled her eyes. “We’redemons, Quill. It’s literally what we do.”

“Still rude,” he said around a mouthful of cereal. “Stop fucking fussing. Honestly, you’re so annoying sometimes.”

I groaned internally, knowing exactly where this was going to go. Thankfully, the front door opened behind me, announcing the arrival of Jeremiah.

Dahlia’s voice was deadly quiet as she shoved off the doorframe. “What the fuck did you just say to me?”

Jeremiah moved up next to me, his long, wavy hair pulled back in a ponytail. Thank Satan. Last time he’d had it down during an episode, he’d ended up losing a handful of it. The hour-long pout that had followed while itregrew wasn’t something I wanted to live through any time soon.

“Really? Again?” he said.

“Yep. It’s your turn.”

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