Page 17 of Magic and Mayhem

“I have the power of seduction, though not as strong as Lilu’s.”

My body warms where he’s touching me, and that draw to touch him comes back just like with Lilu. Although with this one, I find I have the power to ignore it.

“Why?”

Eryx chuckles. “Why what, Love?”

He takes a seat next to me again, slowly crossing one of his legs as he leans back.

“Why are you not as powerful as her?”

“A few reasons.” He shrugs, and I shake my head.

“Like?” I get the feeling that he wants me to spell outevery question I have so that he can give me the clearest truth, and that feels so good I don’t even have words. I have been sheltered and lied to for so long and Eryx is giving me the chance to create my own view by only offering me the facts.

He hums to himself. “Well, in the most simple way to explain it, I am the son of Hades and Lilith. Lilu is the daughter of the true mates—Lucifer and Lilith, and she’s also found her four mates. All of that makes her gifts stronger and grants her a few more.”

“Wait, so Lucifer and Hades are different people? Or like Hell-people?”

Eryx barks a laugh, throwing his head back.

“Hell-people?” He’s grinning now, trying to compose himself. “There are four Lords of Hell and one King. Lucifer is the King with his Queen, Lilith. Hades, Oni, Hel, and Anubis are the Lords. They all have their own realms within Hell, but Lucifer is the ruler of them all.”

Five? There are five freaking Hell-leading people things?

My mind might actually explode as I try to take it all in.

“Isn’t Hel a woman? Would she be a Lady?”

Eryx shakes his head. “When they formed the connected realms, Hel was asked if she would like her title to be different since she’s a woman. She refused, stating there was power in the way she’s addressed. She’s the sole ruler of her realm and wanted the title that came with that. Demons do not believe gender has a place to define anything for us, so it was easily accepted by the council.”

I can’t help but smile at that. She sounds like someone I could possibly admire. Well, aside from the whole part where she helps rule Hell and all.

“Can you run out of power?” I ask next because if I stop now, I’m not sure when the next time I’ll get to ask thesethings will be.

“I can, although it is difficult.”

“How do you maintain your power?” I have a feeling I already know the answer to this, but I have to ask because I just found out there’s more than one ruler of Hell. Anything I’ve heard or read over the years could be wrong.

“By making deals to collect souls, of course.”

I turn my head, assessing him. His posture is stiff but also relaxed. He looks clean, his white button down is pristine and paired with black dress pants that hug him in all the right areas.

“Is that how everyone gets more power? Is that why so many humans are here?”

Thinking about all of the people outside, I have to wonder what it is they want from them.

“No. Lilu feeds off of sexual desire, so her performance is tailored to get certain reactions. She can feed off of it from afar or up close, but it does not always need to be humans. The Oni twins, Kieres and Zavian, feed off of fear and adrenaline. They only need to breathe in the emotion of someone experiencing them to claim it as their power.”

“You said performance?” I ask, trying to put that together. “So this is all a show for you to gain power?”

He nods. “Something like that.”

“So there are three shows then? Does it happen every night?”

“There are actually five performances. Lilu and I are responsible for two nights every week and the rest each take a day.”

Leaning back against the headrest of the massive tub, I try to imagine what they could do during these shows and how everything works here.

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