Page 7 of Her Sinful Saints (The Seven Sinners of Hell's Kingdom 4)

His eyes flash with his blazing fire and he hooks his arm around my waist and pulls his knee up, draping me across it. And holy shit. My whole body slackens as he manages to balance on one leg and smack my ass as I lie on his knee.

The sting of his spank radiates through me, and I groan and tense.

“See what happens when you fuck with me, Raven?” Lucian locks his fingers into my hair and stretches my neck back, forcing me to look at him.

I stick out my tongue. “Is that all you got? Because if it is then—”

He spanks me again in the same spot harder and hotter, leaving me breathless. I remain placid on his knee, dangling my arms toward the floor. And fuck. My body wants him to do it again. I almost open my mouth to get him to. If a strange whimpering sound didn’t echo through the palace, I would have. But the sound of a tormented soul, all alone, digs under my skin. I recognize the feminine voice. It zaps pain right into my heart.

“Raven, get ready—”

“Lucian, stop,” I say, my voice trembling with my nerves. “Put me down. Please.”

I expect him to argue or to spank me again to silence me, but he listens to my pleas and sets me on my feet. My eyes dart around the palace, and I search everywhere in sight, trying to find where the strange whimpering voice comes from.

“Tamia?" I ask, pulling out of Lucian’s hold. “Tamia? Is that you?”

Lucian steps in front of me, blocking my path. I try to dodge around him, but he locks his fingers to my wrist.

I try to rip myself away from him. “Lucian, what are you hiding? I know I’m not hearing things. Where is my cousin?”

He closes his eyes for a second and scratches his hand to the back of his neck. “Raven, don’t freak out. This was my surprise. I found Tamia and I brought her here for you.”

A mixture of emotions swells through me, and I clutch on to Lucian, using him to support my weakening knees. I thought about my cousin a hundred times since I pushed her through a Hell portal. I’ve cried over her. I was so upset and hurt that she allowed an angel to possess her. I was furious at the angel for doing so in the first place. If the angel hadn’t, Elias would have never protected me and got himself shot. He would be ruling Hell now. We would be one step closer to having our kingdom rise.

“I don’t understand,” I say, my words coming out a whisper. “Why would you do that?”

“Because even though you were angry at her and you feel betrayed, I know you never wanted her here. While I can’t do anything about the way her soul swayed, I can control her place in Hell. But first, I wanted your permission.” Lucian searches my eyes as if he’ll find the answers in my soul.

“My permission to do what?” I ask.

“To turn her into a demon to serve our cause.” Lucian touches my cheek. “What do you think?”

I lick my lips. “I don’t know.”

I really fucking don’t know.

Chapter 3

RAVEN

Demon

TEARS BURN MY eyes as I stare at Tamia lying within a burning circle in a massive, vaulted room within Lucian’s palace. She doesn’t stir or sit up. Her soul remains in an ethereal state that I can barely comprehend. Darkness twines around her, restraining her limbs.

“It’s okay to get close but don’t enter the circle. Her soul is damaged, and I’m mending it the best I can. Heaven did a number on her.” Lucian drapes his arm over my shoulders and pulls me in close.

“If you change her into a demon, what will she be like?” I twist my fingers together, keeping my gaze trained on my cousin. “Will she be enslaved to you?”

“She will be bound to me but not a slave. As for your other question, I don’t have that kind of answer for you. It all depends on Tamia.” Lucian guides me forward and closer to the circle of hellfire. “Every demon is different depending on the soul.”

I sigh. How am I supposed to decide if I don’t know how she’ll act? I’ve seen a ton of demons. Some are okay, like Gia. But then there are other demons like Vincent. If Tamia turns out to be like the demon that managed to bind Elias’s soul to Hell, I don’t know if I could deal with that. Tamia was always good. Well, mostly. But now? I don’t know how much Hell will affect her. I have so many questions to ask her. She should be the one to have the final decision because it’s her soul and her eternity.

“Would you like to talk to her?” Lucian asks, leaning forward to get a better look into my eyes. “I can enter the circle and speak for her.”

I automatically nod my head. “I need to know why. Why would she allow an angel to possess her? Why would she do any of this in the first place?”

Lucian lifts and drops his shoulders. “Are you sure you want those answers?”

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