Chapter 18: Chapter 18

/Lukas POV/

I could feel that something was different from the moment I woke up. Sleep was something that never came easy, with demons being powerful at night but I still tried. After a while, it proved to be useless so I took out my favourite Dante Rosetti collection. There was just something about the way he writes that always fascinated me. After reading the love letter sonnet I managed to close my eyes for a few hours.

As soon as I stepped down the stairs I noticed her. It was impossible not to. In a room full of people my eyes always found, just like they did at the club. Straightening my jacket I stepped down with poise.

"My lord" The lower demons bowed me, waiting by the stairs. I barely gave them a glance, my attention solely focused on her as she was standing along with everyone.

My eyes widened in surprise when I noticed that she was wearing new clothes. From the moment she stepped inside the mansion, she was a completely different person. Gone was the girl I met in the club. I had an idea that it was all because of me. But I never bothered to mull it over.

Dean gave me a smile as his attention shifted towards Talia. Rolling my eyes I gripped the centre chair. Talia's eyes were on me the entire time and it made impossible for me to focus on other things. She was just that distracting without even knowing.

"Good morning" I cleared my throat as all eyes were on me. It did not matter if the people were not sitting along with me for breakfast but they had to stand up and be quiet. A new tradition you can say.

There was no real discipline in Hell before I took over. The past King was well the Prince of Hell, Lucifer who unfortunately was caged by his brother. Ever since that, it was complete chaos everywhere in Hell, with Lucifer's loyals fighting against each other for the throne.

"Thank you, everyone, for joining me" My eyes sharply turned towards Talia but she did not get affected by that. Let's see how much longer she can hold before she breaks. It's not easy for a human, especially someone who is not dead to survive under the conditions of Hell.

"You may be seated"

One of the servers helped me adjust the chair as I sat down and lay the napkin on my lap. As the plate was placed in front of me I noticed that Talia was still standing, her eyes narrowed at me. When I heard soft whispers from my side I turned around only to notice Lauren, motioning Talia to sit down. Dean seemed like he was trying to say something as well. I had no idea that they met Talia and were actively trying to look out for her.

I could understand Lauren being supportive because she is human after all even though dead.

I arched my brow towards her, "We'll sit down princess, we don't have all day."

She flinched. Finally. Her eyes turned into slits as she glared at me. There was the glint of amusement in my eyes, however, to see her finally react. Her fists curled in and she tried to control herself as he sat on one end of the table.

There was no real reason to consume food rather than to show off and have a sense of normalcy. Demons did not need food to sustain themselves, they get that from human emotions. Sadness mostly. That's why demons possess the souls of the people who are weak and sad, easily manipulated so that they can be fed off them. After a while, the person loses his identity and it becomes easy for a demon to take control or simply leave that body.

I licked my lips as I stared at the different types of food that would put human buffets to shame. Everything from juices to meat and bread.

"Bacon, my lord?" The server questioned and I stared at the strips. Perhaps Talia would like them. My eyes shifted towards her only to notice that her plate was empty and she was simply staring at the reflection in her plate. I stared at Kira who looked fearful and shrugged in defeat. How was Talia going to care for my child if she did not feed herself? It was incredibly selfish that sometimes she does things out of spite and doesn't think about the baby inside her.

"Talia needs them"

"Huh"

"Bacon" I grinned, pointing towards the strips. She shook her head and made a face.

"Not going to eat anything?"

She shook his head, teeth-gritting.

I shrugged in response. If she was going to be difficult then so be it.

"I'll just have to feed you, then." That sentence alone made her snatch the plate from the server and push all the stripes in her plate. She picked her fork and knife from the table and started digging into her food.

I couldn't help but chuckle in amusement as she cut into his food with a sharp knife in a hurry. Lauren who was enjoying the entire scene also joined me, giggling softly as to not offend her new friend but Talia refused to lift her head up. It made me shake my head at her. She was really something else.

I couldn't help but stare at her as she cut into her food precisely and into perfect small parts, almost stalling before pushing them past her lips and chewing with her mouth closed. I almost thought that she hated it if not for a sigh that escaped her lips.

The silence in the room was ringing, the scraping of knife and forks the only sound echoing around the room. Usually, that's something I enjoyed as my entire day is filled with crying humans. But I wanted to talk to her. Listen her soft voice.

"Do you like your room, Talia? Or do you want to move into something bigger?"

At my question she gripped her fork hardly, eyes going sharp and glaring at me.

"If you think that a room with a nice view is going to make me hate this place any less then you are mistaken. I still want to get out of here"

I raised my eyebrow at her, "Always so hateful and here I was thinking that you would appreciate the effort I put into creating your room. Humans are truly ungrateful"

"Shut up...shut the fuck up!" She yelled, her teeth gritted together. Tears were building in her eyes.

My nose flared in anger as I let the knife drop on the table. She had no right to talk with me in that manner. Atleast not in a room full of demons who work for me. Everyone was quiet, the silence creeping upon me.

"How dare you say that to me? This is Hell, and I am the King here in case you forgot Miss Talia. I don't care if you like being here or not you have to stay here for my child." I snarled

My eyes flashed red and the tears she was holding back fell down her cheeks.

"Why me?!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Trust me, sweetheart, I ask the same question to myself daily. Why a weak human like you?"

Something inside her shifted at those words and she stood up from her chair, the chair screeching on the marble floor and she grabbed a knife. My eyes narrowed as she aimed to throw it to my face.

Dean sat up tight, ready to pull his spear as Talia threw the knife in my direction but I simply caught it with two fingers. I pulled my lips together as everyone around the table gasped.

"Back to work!" I yelled at them before standing up and grabbing Talia.

Slamming her against the wall, she arched her back.

"Let.me.go!" She cried out in anger, trying to push at my chest. How silly!

She tried to squirm away as I shifted my face closer. My breath caught up in my throat as I noticed the distance between our bodies. I could sense the heat coursing through her skin as I was holding her back. She was aroused. The thought made my nose flare.

I pushed myself more closer as she tried to get away. As she gulped loudly my eyes shifted towards her pale white neck, the vein prominent. Her skin began to prickle as my eyes shifted towards the hollow of her neck. Unable to hold myself back I pushed my face closer, the tip of my nose brushing against her pulse.

She made a sound at that, her hands clenching at her skirt. As she closed her eyes and tilted her head up I pulled away.

Talia opened her eyes to stare at me.

"Next time there will be consequences Talia and trust me you won't like them"

***