Page 62 of Claimed By her Alien Prince

"I would very much like to be brought back to the place where I grew up and from where Behlial took me so many years ago," she requested, and my heart sank.

"You will die."

She nodded. "Yes, eventually."

"The place will most certainly not be as you remember," I tried to argue further.

Again, she nodded. "I'm aware. Still, some things never change. I want to see the desert again, the mountains."

Her longing was written over her ageless countenance. She had always been a shining beauty throughout my life, never aged, not in the thousands of years she had made this journey.

No, a voice whispered.She endured. For mine and my brothers' sakes, and for the ones who came before us. Deep in my heart I understood her request, but it hurt like hell to say the words, "As you wish."

I bowed toward her, I owed her so much. More than I could ever repay her.

I was just about to demand her wishes to be carried out, when she spoke again.

"Before I go, we need to talk. There are things you and your brothers need to know, that Behlial might not be inclined to tell you. In privacy."

"Of course." Relief flooded me to have more time with her.

Guards streamed in, the ones Grigori and Marduk had locked away earlier, their faces mirrored astonishment and confusion. For thousands of years nothing had ever changed, during each styx, Behlial had always been theKing of Darkness.

They would have to make a choice now. Worry for Lilith still gnawed at me, but she seemed well taken care of by the other maidens and smiled weakly but encouragingly at me. So I took my seat on the throne, resting both hands on the hilts of the swords embedded in the arms of it while, to my amazement, Ishtar took the place on my left, not right, which was hers as queen, even though she had relinquished the title. Smiling, she waved Lilith up and she reluctantly looked at me before she slowly made her way up to me, one step at a time.

Ishtar directed Lilith to my right, where she stood, confused but proud, having no idea she had just been made theQueen of Darkness.

AfterSethreceivedanoath of fealty from his remaining three brothers and the entire assembly of guards, servants, and nobles, we finally retired into a large, private room, reminding me of a library in a castle.

Servants brought refreshments and an array of finger foods from around the world, while we stood or sat around the room. We, as in, the seven maidens, the former queen, Ishtar, Marduk, Grigori, Seth and me.

Everything was still utterly surreal to me. It took hours for the Deamons to swear their oaths of fealty, not only to their newKing of Darkness, but me as their new queen as well, and I still shook from exhaustion and the new reality I found myself in. I hadn't even had a minute yet to absorb the thought that Behlial was under lock and key and that we were free. That Seth and I were alive.

Not to mention the idea of me being the new Queen of Darkness, a title I had never aspired to or craved. I wasn't even sure I wanted it.

But if that was the price I had to pay to be with the man I loved more than life itself, I would pay it and get used to it in time.

All I wanted was to make love to Seth, to assure myself that we were alive, to be alone with him, but that didn't seem to be in the cards for the foreseeable future.

Ishtar made it clear she wanted to leave and needed to talk to us before she did, so I dug into my reserves and summoned enough energy to sit in one of the comfy, padded chairs, basking in Seth's company as held me in his arms. That would have to be good enough for now.

The only one missing was Azazel, but before I could ask about him, the door opened, and he strolled in with the beautiful girl I had seen him with yesterday.

Before anybody could say anything, the girl's eyes moved to Ishtar and she cried, "Ishtar!"

"Dumu!" Ishtar exclaimed in the old Sumerian language, meaning daughter. Surprised, I stared at the stranger.

Ishtar held out her hands and enveloped her into a big hug, "Beautiful as always. What do you call yourself in this life, dear?"

"Fay," the girl said with tears in her eyes.

Ishtar smiled warmly, "Fay, a fitting name. Where did you find her Azazel?"

"On Adama." Azazel stared, stunned, at his mother. "You know her?"

"I knew her previous selves," Ishtar responded, pulling Fay into another tight embrace.

After a while the two let go of one another, and when mine and Fay's eyes met, she seemed to recognize me, and I felt the stirring of an echo inside me.

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