Page 5 of Her Sinful Saints (The Seven Sinners of Hell's Kingdom 4)

Lucian tenses at my reaction. Without having to say anything, I know he didn’t expect me to see the angel. The guardian must have escaped from whatever pit Lucian was holding him hostage in. Because once an angel enters Hell, there is no way Lucian will ever let them go. Before they fucked up my life, I’d have compassion and sympathy for them. That was the old me. The new me wants nothing more than to steal Lucian’s fire whip and show this angel exactly the kind of pain he put me through by fighting against us.

“One of my minions must’ve screwed up,” Lucian growls under his breath. “This bastard shouldn’t be anywhere near you right now. I will disembowel the demon who released him.”

“That’s not good enough,” I say, wiggling in his arms until he has no choice but to put me on my feet. “More needs to be done. He has to know something about Elias.”

“If he did, I’d have found out already, Raven.” Lucian remains expressionless, though his eyes light with fire.

Smoke puffs from his nose and his veins light up as if the lava around us travels through them. Even in his devil form, he looks handsome to me now. And dangerous. It’s the only reason why I summon my courage and break away from him.

I dodge past Lucian and run in the direction of the screaming angel. Dark shadows move and swirl around me, the heat of the strange entities sizzling across my skin. Lucian calls my name, but he doesn’t try to stop me with power. His heavy footsteps quake the ground with jolting tremors. My fear instincts go crazy as he chases me. I only use my fear to push me faster, to make me run harder, and to give me the power I need to face this bastard angel.

Something sparks in front of me, and fire explodes from the red stone ground. I nearly eat shit as something wraps around my leg. I screech and manage to rip my ankle free before the monster grabs hold of me.

“Raven, catch.” Lucian’s voice booms through the air, drawing my attention.

I spin and brace myself as a fiery chain slashes through the space between us. I don’t know how I do it, but I manage to snatch the end of Lucian’s chain. I try to rip it from his hands, but he doesn’t release it and yanks me back. The world blurs around me in vibrant colors of red, orange, and yellow, and I smack right into Lucian’s hard chest as he catches me.

I heave a breath, trying to find my bearings. Lucian stomps forward with me in his arms and jogs toward the figure emerging from the ground. My eyes widen at the sight of the angel breaking free. The fucker sure has some fight left in him, because he unsheathes a sword that should light up with heavenly light but doesn’t.

“Lucifer! You can’t keep me here for eternity. I will not bow to you. I will not see you destroy everything the Higher Power has done for the sake of humanity and the rest of the universe.” The angel straightens his back. He tries to expand his wings, but they are severely damaged and burned. They almost look as if they are about to disintegrate and fall off his back at any second and the only reason they remain in place is that he refuses to give in to his fate.

His words set me off, and I shove from Lucian’s arms and stumble across the fiery ground. Lucian growls, but he doesn’t try to snatch me up again. Instead, he lets me grab his chain and yank it away from him. The edges of my vision turn red with my fury, and I spin around, swinging the fiery chain.

“Where is he?” I ask, swinging the chain at the angel, snapping at his feet. “Where is Elias?”

The angel ignores me, not reacting to my threat or my question. He keeps his gaze trained on Lucian as he looms behind me. But this will be his biggest mistake. He’s concerned about Lucian, but he should be concerned about me. No one can mess with my devils or my soulmate.

Taking advantage of the angel’s focus on Lucian, I lash the chain again, striking the asshole in the chest. He jerks his attention to me. His expression morphs from rage to confusion before he composes himself.

Again, he flicks his focus back to Lucian. “Lucifer, call your little abomination back.”

Is he fucking kidding me? He’s in Hell for fuck’s sake, and I’m the abomination?

Lucian snarls from behind me, but I remain in front of him. I know he purposely lets me stay ahead, and I’m nearly certain he wants me to put this bastard angel in his place. And I’m happy to. I want nothing more than to beat this guy into submission and make him bow to Lucian. I want him to bow to me.

Flinging my arm, I whip the fire chain, lashing the angel in his side. He hollers in pain, finally reacting. He attempts to touch the chain, but his hands sizzle. The fire will continue to hurt him until he falls and accepts the fact that he is never returning to Heaven.

I crash into the angel and knock him off his feet. Punching him in the nose, I yell out my frustration. He grinds his teeth together and tries to block me, but Lucian stomps forward, grabs the angel’s hands, and pins them above his head. Smashing his hooves into the angel’s palms, Lucian stretches upright and sends fire cascading around us in a protective circle. Jabbing my hand to the angel’s neck, I get in his face and scream. I can’t help it. All I can think about is hurting him.

“This is the final time I ask you. Where is my soulmate? Tell me where Elias is, and I will free you.”

The angel laughs, his voice hoarse. “The traitor is gone. You will never have him. Heaven will not fall.”

“You’re wrong,” I snap. I swing my arm and sucker punch him in the face again. “I will find him. Hell will rise and you will be here suffering. Even if you bow to the devils, you will not find anything but an eternity of torture because of this. I will guarantee it.” Tipping my head back, I meet Lucian’s gaze. “Show me how powerful a devil you are.”

Snatching me up, Lucian tosses me over his shoulder and onto his back. I cling to him and watch with my hazy vision. Excitement rushes through me. I’m so twisted, and I don’t even care.

“Anything you want, Raven,” Lucian says, summoning another fire chain while leaving the one I abandoned scorching the angel’s chest, keeping him down.

“Make him hurt as much as Heaven hurt me.” I glower at the angel.

The righteous bastard only closes his eyes and murmurs a prayer. The words sting my ears, and I dig my fingers into Lucian’s shoulders.

“The Higher Power can’t hear you,” Lucian says, his deep voice vibrating across my palms through his skin. “You’re in my domain now.”

Gathering Hell power in his hand, Lucian thrusts the energy at the angel. The man screams, the shrillness of his voice hurting me. I tighten my legs around Lucian and cover my ears. I can’t look away. I don’t want to. Relief floods through me as Lucian pummels the angel over and over again, burning him and beating him until he falls silent.

Tears burn my eyes, and my body trembles. What felt incredible a second ago now feels as if it turns against me. New emotions surge through my very being, and the sensation of ice diminishes the heat coursing through me. Lucian’s darkness swells around me, consuming me. My soul screams, and I hide my face in the crook of his shoulder. Hell got to me. Heaven got to me too. It feels as if I’m being ripped in half. Oh fuck. This is what it feels like to be trapped in the middle. I might be intended to rule Purgatory, but not without a price on my being. On my soul. And it hurts so bad that I feel as if I might die here in Lucian’s kingdom.

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