LOGINLucas poured wine into a glass and handed it to Aria, but she shot him a suspicious glare.
"Am I supposed to drink something that came from you?" She asked him. Lucas laughed, and sipped the wine in her glass, then he set it on the table by her side. "You have nothing to worry about, Aria. I'll never hurt you." "And yet you did." Aria said, and looked away. "Let's be clear. I never intended to hurt you, and I didn't hurt you still. You're the person who's taking responsibility for something that should have nothing to do with you. And that is why I'm offering to help you out of this misery." Aria shot him an angry glare, and he apologized and smiled warmly at her. "I think I better order in that lunch before I get whopped again." "You better, because I'm not playing around with you. But Lucas, we need to talk." "I know we do. I'm sure this is about my little excursion to your friend's apartment, but I can assure you that I didn't say a word to them. I just wanted to see how they were doing." "I told you not to go close to them. Didn't I?" "I'm sorry about that, but I couldn't help it." Lucas replied. "This is fun to you right? Being mean, and evil to people." Lucas heaved a sigh, and sat down on the couch close to her. "You've called me evil a good number of times that it almost feels like it is my true name. You don't need to be doing that anymore because it has stuck in my head already. You said you were coming so we could rekindle our friendship." Lucas replied. Aria was mute for some seconds. She knew that the only way to keep those boys out of harms way was to become friends with Lucas. At least he would be focused on her, and will leave the boys alone. She willed herself to be calm and not fall out of track. "Whatever. We're back as friends, but Lucas, don't go visiting those boys again. You need to put a cap on it. They're straight, and they're going through hell. I don't need you causing more harm to them. And you also need to stop hurting people. You should be nicer to people, and not make them run away from you." Aria advised, and Lucas sat still, listening to her. He liked the sound of her voice, and he watched her alluring lips move as she spoke. He wondered what her lips would taste like if he kissed her. "So because you want me to stay away from your new friends, you're offering me your friendship." Lucas noted, and Aria sighed in frustration. "No, dumbhead. Was that all you heard me say? I want you to stop hurting people. Didn't you hear that part? You need to act human." "I can't guarantee that I'll never hurt someone. Aria, if someone tries to hurt you, I won't let it slid. I don't mind doing to them what I did to your new friends, so it'll be nice if these crazy people steered clear from you, and we'll be good." Lucas responded. Aria nodded when she saw that there was no point in pursuing the matter. Lucas finally ordered their lunch, and the two discussed over the food. After spending hours listening to Aria talk about herself, Lucas drove her home. "Take care of yourself, Aria." He said to her, and pecked her lightly on the cheek. Aria felt a burning sensation as his lips touched her cheek. She quickly went into her apartment in a bid to hide the blush on her face. That night, the devil visited his son for the first time after a hundred years. ** ** ** The lights in Lucas room had suddenly gone off accompanied by a strange wind. Lucas stood from his bed, and his eyes changed. A spear appeared in his hand, and he got ready for whatever dared to come into his room. A shadow crept into the room from the window, and Lucas raised the spear to stab the shadow with it, but he heard a familiar voice. "Is that how you greet your father after a hundred years?" The devil asked. "Lucifer." Lucas spat his name, and the devil scoffed. "Lucifer? So I'm no longer father or even dad? That's cute, though I'm disappointed. I must confess." "What are you doing here? What do you want?" Lucas asked him. There was a deep frown on his face. "She's very beautiful. What was her name again?" He pretended to be in thought. "Aria, right?" At the mention of her name, Lucas pushed him to the wall, and pinned him. "Don't you ever go close to her." He warned him. "Will you kill me like you killed your mother?" "I will do that if I have to. If you get any close to her, I'll cut you down without a second thought." The devil released himself from his son's grip, and crossed over to the other side of the room. "Even after a hundred years, you're still as fierce as ever. You know, I raised you even when I could've left you to rot." "You didn't leave me to rot, and in exchange, I spent fifty years of my existence serving you and doing your bidding. I owe you nothing." "Lucas, how can you be this evil?" "Coming from a person who's evil itself. That's pretty funny, don't you think?" The two stared at each other for a long time. The devil chuckled lightly. "It's good to see you love a human after all you did to their kind in the past." "I won't be warning you again. Crawl back quietly to hell, and do not bother Aria. If she so much as dream of you, I'll break down the gates of hell and do horrible things to you." Lucas threatened. His eyes seemed like a thousand flames were in them. Lucifer laughed even harder, hearing his son's threat. "What more could you possibly do after killing your mother?" "You don't want to know. Trust me, there's so much that I can do. Don't ever breathe a word about Aria again." Lucas said, and retracted the spear in his hand. Lucifer walked closer to his son, till they were a breath away from each other. "You must really love this girl. Does she even know what you are?" "I won't warn you again." "Why don't we reveal your true self to her and see if she'll love you after that? What do you say, son?" "I've ran out of patience to listen to you talk. Go back to hell, and stay away from Aria." "I hear you son. But just so you know, that I go back to hell doesn't mean that others can't get to her." With that, the wind blew again, and he disappeared from the room. The lights came back on, and Lucas punched a hole in the wall, angry that his father had found out about Aria.The descent into Hell was not marked by fire.It was marked by silence.Lucas did not step through a gate, nor did he summon a portal. Hell recognized himāfelt himāand parted.The air shifted first.What little movement existed in that cursed realm stilled, as though the world itself had drawn in a breath it dared not release. Then the ground beneath his feet darkened further, veins of molten crimson receding like blood retreating from a wound.He had not been here in a long time.Not because he feared it.Fear was a language Hell understoodābut never dared speak to him.No⦠he had stayed away because this place remembered.Every scream. Every fall. Every moment of weakness.And worst of all⦠it remembered his father's humiliation of him.Lucas walked forward, his steps measured, unhurried, yet carrying a weight that pressed against the very bones of Hell. The corridor stretched before himāendless, suffocating, lined with walls that pulsed faintly, as though alive. Shadows clung to th
Aria stepped out of the school gates beside Mark, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the pavement. Their conversation had been light, easyāMark always had a way of making things feel uncomplicatedābut her mind wasnāt entirely in it. It hadnāt been for weeks.Ever since Lucas had started keeping his distance.She had told herself it didnāt matter. That she didnāt care. That whatever they hadāwhatever he had made itāwas better left alone.And yetā¦Her steps slowed.There, parked just across the road, was a sleek black sedan. Polished. Imposing. Familiar.Her breath caught.No⦠it couldnātāBut it was.Lucas leaned casually against the car, his posture relaxed in a way that didnāt fool her for a second. Even from a distance, there was something sharp about him today. Something controlled. Dangerous.Her heart betrayed her with a sudden, violent thud.Why is he here?After weeks of silence⦠weeks of distance⦠now this?āAria?ā Markās voice pulled her slightly back, but s
Lucasās mansion did not feel like a home. Not today. The structure stood tall, elegant as always, its towering windows catching what little daylight filtered through the overcast sky. But insideā Inside, the air felt wrong. Heavy. Charged. Like something unseen had settled into the walls, pressing in, waiting. Lucas stood near one of the large windows, his back partially turned to the room. His gaze was fixed outside, though it was clear he wasnāt really seeing anything. His thoughts were elsewhere. On her. Always on her. The image refused to leave his mindāAria, smiling softly, standing too close to someone else. Letting someone else lead her. Trusting someone else. His jaw tightened. āYouāre going to wear a hole into the glass at this rate.ā Her voice came like silk over steel. Lucas didnāt turn immediately. He didnāt need to. āSelene,ā he said flatly. She stood near the entrance of the room, leaning slightly against the doorway as though she owned the place. Her
Morning came, but it didnāt feel like morning. There was no softness to it. No gentle easing into the day. Just a dull, dragging awareness that time had moved forward whether Aria was ready or not. Rain tapped lightly against her windowānot the violent storm from the day before, but something quieter. Lingering. Like the world hadnāt quite shaken off whatever weight it had carried overnight. Aria lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Sheād been awake for a while. Long enough to notice the way the light shifted behind the curtains. Long enough to realize she had no intention of getting up anytime soon. Her body felt heavy. Not tiredājust⦠unwilling. Her mind, however, refused to be still. Selene. That image wouldnāt leave her. The way she had stood in the apartment like she belonged there. The calm confidence. The unsettling ease with which she had spoken about things Aria barely understood. And then there was what she had said. About a coming war... and the decisio
Hell did not burn the way mortals imagined it. There were no endless lakes of fire, no screaming pits lined with writhing bodies begging for mercy. That was a childās understanding of punishment. A crude interpretation of something far more intricate. Hell was⦠deliberate. Alive. Breathing in ways that did not require air. The skyāif it could be called thatāwas not a sky at all, but a fractured expanse of shifting darkness, like glass that had been shattered and rearranged by something with no concept of symmetry. Between those fractures, something glowed faintly, pulsing like veins beneath skinādeep reds, bruised purples, flickers of gold that felt less like light and more like something watching. The ground was worse. It was not solid in the way earth should be. It looked like polished obsidian at first glance, smooth and reflective, but beneath its surface, shadows moved. Not reflectionsāno. Movements. Shapes that twisted and recoiled as though something had been trapped ben
The rain had started sometime before dawn.At first, it was gentleāsoft taps against the window, like someone asking politely to be let in. But as the hours passed, it grew heavier, louder, until it consumed everything. It drowned out the city noise, swallowed the world whole, and wrapped Ariaās apartment in a cocoon of gray.She hadnāt gotten out of bed.Not because she couldnātābut because she didnāt have the strength to.The blanket was pulled up to her chin, her body curled inward as though trying to protect something fragile inside her. Her phone lay beside her, screen dark now, but not long ago it had lit up with Markās name.āHey. Itās pouring. I can pick you up if you want.āHis voice had been warm. Easy. Safe.She had hesitated.For a second too long.Then she remembered.The demon guards.Across the street. Always watching. Always reporting.And more than thatāLucas.The thought of accepting a ride from Mark felt⦠wrong. Not because she owed Lucas anything. Not after the way
The massive gates of the throne room closed behind Lucas with a thunderous boom that echoed through the dark corridors of Hell.For a moment, he simply stood there.His chest burned where Lucifer's power had crushed the air from his lungs. The pain in his ribs throbbed with every breath he took, bu
Aria felt it before she heard anything_the suffocating presence of Selene. She didn't need to be told before she knew that the goddess was back from the witch haunt. She stepped out of the room to see her walking down the corridor like a storm that had learned how to wear skin. There was a wild spl
The chamber was unnervingly silent. The kind of silence that presses against your chest and makes every heartbeat feel like a warning. Lucas stood by the tall arched window, his back rigid, shoulders tensed. Moonlight poured in, painting his form in silver, and shadows highlighting the taut muscles
Levi held the car door for her, and helped her get in. As the car doors clicked shut, and the engine came alive with Levi behind the wheel, Aria let out a breath. All these while, she had been worried that the witches would catch up with her, but now she was out of harm's way. What excited her more







