Ink & Dagger (Sins of Eden #1)

29. Chapter XXIX

Chapter XXIX

Jaxon

I paced back and forth in front of the doors to my father's throne room for almost twenty minutes before I finally mustered up the courage to go in. This summons had something to do with Emily, but I’d already decided that I wasn’t giving her up.

Maritus’ were a done fucking deal and now that we were mated, nothing could separate us. Regardless of what father did or said in this meeting, it wouldn’t change how I felt about her. It was best at this point to get everything out in the open and accept whatever penance he demanded of me for my disobedience.

Looking around the grand room in which he held court, I watched Demons in full armor file out of the throne room and braced myself, head back and spine straight, for my father to call me forward as the general departed.

Lucifer was a just and fair ruler, but with as many eons as he’d ruled Hell, he was ready to step down and divide the burden. He expected us to take over as Kings of Hell in our own sectors.

We would maintain order in our respective territories and he held us to a higher standard than the rest of Hell’s residents, but other than our ongoing war against the Angels and our most recent issues with locating Kill, he mostly left us to our own devices, tasking us to manage our teams.

Hell wasn’t the doom and gloom that mortals believed it to be. Sure, it was hot as fuck here, but as long as you stayed away from the pits, which is where the worst of the worst were taken when they died, it was actually pretty bearable.

Being agents of chaos and sin - and of course it being Hell - serial killers and child abusers had a cage with their name on it waiting for them in the pits. After all, we weren’t totally unreasonable. Every resident of Hell was more than happy to go topside and drag their sorry asses kicking and screaming to collect them once they died.

Otherwise, for the rest of Hell, it looked pretty much like Earth. All seven of us had equal portions to maintain, meanwhile father made sure that the residents of Hell all stayed in line. He held court in the main city to resolve any issues that arose internally and coordinated our army as needed.

I was in charge of the Sin Cupids. My loyal team of Succubi and Incubi. Whereas the Angel Eros spread pure love and desire, our job was to spread sin throughout Earth through acts of lust and temptation. Helen of Troy? You could say we had a big hand in that war.

It had always been a delicate battle between the Righteous and the Damned, but for the last few eons, Heaven and its Angels were fighting harder than ever to purify the mortals. They were gearing up for something big, but with our focus on finding Killian keeping all of my brothers and I away from Hell, it was hard to say what it was.

“Ahh, Jaxon my Son. Walk with me,” my father’s voice rang out through the throne room, pulling me from my thoughts.

He rose from the dais and walked down to meet me, silently leading me down the hall toward his office.

He’d left Heaven eons ago after questioning God’s wrath and jealousy over the beings she’d created. Father told us stories of how he’d tried to reason with God and convince her that her creations needed more freedom, but father could never get through to her.

It was rumored that Lucifer had fallen from grace, a little tidbit that the Angels had cooked up and forced the Roman Catholic Churches to add to their scriptures, but in truth he’d torn his own wings from his back and abandoned his Celestial brothers, because of their blind loyalty after God condemned Adam and Eve for disobeying her.

My brother’s and I knew without saying that things had shifted before then, back when God had banished our mother from the Garden of Eden. I hated that we only got six months out of the year with her in Hell, but being topside had its perks.

“Your team has done well while you’ve been away, my Son,” he said with a rough pat on my back as we walked through the halls.

I looked over at him curiously. That wasn’t quite the reception I was expecting after being summoned home.

“I’ve stayed in touch with my second. Cadell knows the ins-and-outs and stands by our mission. I can’t say I won’t be glad to come back once we find Killian, though. I’ve missed home,” I responded stoically as I walked beside him.

“Ah, but have you?” He asked, guiding us through the door of his office. “You are to be King one day, but yet you seem more at ease on Earth.”

I didn’t respond. Hell was home. The only thing that Earth held that Hell didn’t was my Sweet Witch. My Queen. That was something I planned to fix.

Everything about my father screamed stern warrior. From the way he held himself to the perfectly organized, clean rooms within his palace, but I could see the weariness and strain he carried within his dark eyes.

He was tired of fighting. Tired of being away from his own Maritus and exhausted from holding onto this image of being an evil and fearsome Angel of darkness. He sighed as he poured a finger of amber scotch into a glass and took a seat at his desk.

“When we last spoke I ordered you to stay away from that Witch, Emily, I believe?” He inquired, narrowing eyes.

Here it was. Fuck.

“I never told you why, but regardless you directly disobeyed me. You’re playing with fire more dangerous than anything Hell possesses, Son. You think we’re at war now, but you have no idea the repercussions of getting involved with her. That’s my fault,” he sighed.

I straightened my back and held his gaze as I formulated my next words carefully.

“Father, I believe she is my Maritus . I cannot stay away from her,” I told him, casually pouring myself a drink.

I was damn near shaking from nerves speaking to him like this, but I wouldn’t be deterred nor would I let myself look weak on this matter. He cursed under his breath before throwing back the last of his scotch.

“Hmmmph,” he sighed. “That does complicate things. By your reports, your Witch may not be involved in the coven, but there is a prophecy that I believe involves her, and with this new information I think it’s time that I told you.”