Page 76 of The Demon Prince's Accidental Mate
“Mother!” I shouted, moving faster toward the far side of the room.
“Hello?” a raspy feminine voice called from nearby.
I went still. “M-mother?”
“Who’s there?”
I raced forward into a hallway I hadn’t seen at first. I couldn’t make out much, but I saw the bars on the wall. In the cell behind, a figure sat up on a bed. I just stared at her in the darkness.
“Who are you?” the woman asked, slowly standing.
“My name is L-l …” I shook my head, trying to compose myself as the woman shuffled toward the light that spilled into the hallway.
“Lilith?”
I sobbed. “Mother? Is that really you?”
“My god,” she said, pausing halfway to the cell door. “No, it can’t be. That’s impossible.”
Drawing myself up, I stared at the woman, who was my height at best. “My name is Lilith Rowe. I am the daughter of Katrina Rowe.”
The woman in the cell fell to her knees in sobs. “My Lilith!” she moaned. “Oh, god, no, my Lilith. No.”
“Mother?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” she said, struggling to her feet. “What’s wrong is that you’re here. You shouldn’t be here! Why? No, I don’t want this for you.”
“No, Mother,” I said, wishing she would come closer. “You don’t understand. I’m here to rescue you. I’m not a prisoner here!”
The light in the room faded as someone stepped in front of it.
“As a matter of fact,” a deep voice rumbled behind me. “You are.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Lily
Ispun, confronted by the giant form of Astaroth as he towered over me, stretching up to the ceiling, filling the space. A wicked grin split his cold face.
“No,” I whispered, backing away until my shoulders were against the bars.
Hands gripped my arm through them. My mother. The first contact I’d had with her since I was a child.
“You’ll clean up nicely, I’m sure,” Astaroth chuckled. “Definitely down below for you.”
He leaned forward to grab me, which was when he seemed to notice how my mother was holding me.
“Leave her alone,” my mother said. “Haven’t you had your share of my family already?”
Astaroth paused, taking in the situation. Extreme intelligence flickered in his eyes as he suddenly understood. It was frightening to see just how smart he was behind the demonic exterior. A being as old as he must have accumulated eons' worth of experience.
“Ah, sothisis the daughter,” he chuckled. “I wondered why my brother was making such a big deal of her. Now it all makes sense.”
“Let her go. Please. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
I turned to tell my mother that no, it was okay, but Astaroth moved like a snake, snatching me away from her swiftly. “You’ve already given me all I want,” he said. “Why do you think you’re up here now?”
He laughed as my mother screamed obscenities at him before turning and hauling me off toward the exit and the level below. I looked back, watching for as long as I could until she was out of sight.
