Page 30 of Queen of the Wicked
“Right.” Catalina cleared her throat and pushed herself into a sitting position. “I had a meeting with a client of mine yesterday. Someone in Heaven.”
Erebos scoffed. Catalina had been freed five years ago but chose to remain in Hell topleaseothers, Erebos in particular. She found pleasure in doing so, and while Erebos would never require her to perform those services, she found enjoyment in them, so he allowed it.
With all the lost souls disappearing from Hell, it wasn’t surprising that someone from Heaven requested her. Not that Heaven didn’t allow pleasure, but you must be mated for that to occur there. Whoeverhiredher certainly wasn’t playing by the rules of the realm. If those rules even existed anymore, he wasn’t sure.
As long as Catalina had sex with free, consenting adults, Erebos allowed her to do as she pleased, but he didn’t know how he felt about her going to Heaven. It was a dangerous territory at the moment. It had been that way for decades now.
“You didn’t come to me for permission?” he asked.
She shrugged. “The client was…high-profile. Someone I couldn’t say no to. And I’m free now, right?”
“You are, but Heaven isn’t somewhere you should be roaming around. For now, I’d prefer you stay in this realm.”
“So you can have me all to yourself?” She sat up on her knees and removed the straps of her nightgown, showcasing smooth, olive skin.
Erebos ignored her. “Have you seen anything unusual on your visits to Heaven?” No one in this realm could Travel there without clearance, so maybe he could get answers from Catalina.
“Nothing out of the ordinary. Although there could have been a glamour.”
“And what happened when you met with this client?”
Her hazel gaze lingered on his, attempting to decipher why there was suddenly a shift between them when they’d spent countless nights together before this. “They mentioned an annual visit here to check on Hell. I overheard him speaking with a friend.”
FUCK.
“When?”
“In two days.”
Erebos tried to rein in his temper, but fury sizzled beneath the surface of his skin soon enough. He didn’t currently possess his powers, and who knew if he’d ever get them back? If King Bastian and his henchmen decided to test his strength…
He was in deep, deep shit.
“Thank you for letting me know,” he said quietly.
“Do you want me to make you feel better? I can tell you’re stressed.” She crawled off the bed and reached his side, placing a delicate hand on his chest.
He pulled away from her, shaking his head. “Not tonight, Catalina. That will be all.”
“Are you sure?” She blinked at him beneath thick lashes, using her best puppy dog eyes. “I’ve been told I havefantastichealing capabilities.”
Catalina wasn’t a healer. Only those with royal blood had healing powers. The type of healingshewas willing to provide had nothing to do with mending stitches, and she made that blatantly obvious when her fingertips traveled down his chest, stopping at the waistband of his trousers.
Catalina was created for pure temptation with her wine-stained lips and chestnut hair, but he had no desire for her now when the only woman he wanted in his sheets was the one woman who loathed him above all else.
Holding her gaze with unflinching confidence, he said, “You are dismissed, Catalina.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Disappointed and sulking, she took her leave. When Erebos was alone, he stripped himself of his clothes and crawled beneath the comforter, his head already throbbing from the list of tasks he would need to accomplish in two days.
He’d have to brief Eryx immediately in the morning to prepare the troops in case things didn’t go as expected, and he’d have to summon Izara back early from her soul-catching trip. Erebos needed his soul seeker here.
Not like there’d be any souls for her to catch, anyway.
King Bastian had visited before, but it was alwaysa scheduledvisit, since he was only allowed to check in once a year without permission from the Lord of Hell. It was established in a decree by King Amos the night he was murdered that this realm, along with Earth, belonged to Erebos.
The lord had tried his best to forget about those years spent in Bastian’s stronghold, where he was held captive and beaten to a pulp by the execrable maniac obsessed with power, but he knew the decree only protected him for so long. With the current judicial system, the decree was set to end in a year, and then Hell and Earth would be Bastian’s realms to deal with, along with those who occupied them.
Including Erebos.
