“What are you afraid of?” I asked softly.

He gazed at the floor, brows furrowed together in pain. “I don’t know.”

“What are you afraid of, Eros?” I asked again, wanting him to admit this fear to himself, because that was one of the first steps in overcoming it.

We waited in silence.

“I’m afraid of you,” he said. “I’m afraid that you’ll meet others like me and be turned off or—worse—you’ll be turned on. I’m afraid that you won’t like my style of living or that others will try to hurt you…” His voice faded. “I’m afraid that eventually you’ll think I’m worthless too.”

My heart hurt. His parents really screwed him up, and I hated them for that.

“Eros.” I brushed my hand across his cheek. “I can’t promise you that we’re going to have a perfect life, but I can promise you that I’ll never stop trying to show you your worth.”

He leaned into my hand and placed it over mine, eyes fluttering closed for a moment. “Dani, please, let me chain him. Just so I know that you’re safe.”

I played with his fingers. “Will it hurt him?”

“No, it’ll just get rid of the demon inside of him.”

“Okay,” I said. “As long as it doesn’t hurt him. He didn’t ask for this.”

Eros paused for a moment, then shook his head. “You truly care about people. You forgive them. You’re harmonious and divine. Too good for me.”

I playfully rolled my eyes. “And I suppose that you’re just this merciless demon who likes to tear people limb from limb and eat their rotting flesh. That definitely sounds like you.”

“Well, I do like eating you.”

I scrunched up my nose and shook my head at his infamous smirk. “Enough of that, we have to help Trevon.”

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 37

OceanofPDF.com

Dani

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Eros said, standing in front of a supernatural black mist which was swirling around in the center of the living room. He had pushed the couches and coffee table into the kitchen to create the portal to Hell while I retrieved Trevon from my bedroom.

I shrugged as if talking Eros into bringing me to Hell was nothing. “I just wanna see what Lucifer’s kingdom is like.”

Truth was that I wanted to help Trevon and wanted to see if Mom’s stories of Hell were real. Was Hell everything people thought it was? Was it filled with deceit and violence and acts of terror?

Trevon shook his head next to me, the veins in his arms and neck pulsing violently again. “I don’t want to go, Dani.” He kept his gaze on me. “Why… How will this help me? I can barely survive with this—” He snapped his head to the side, eyes nearly rolling to the back of his head, but then took a deep breath.

“That’s why, Trevon,” I said. “The Chains will help you.” I cupped his face in my hands. “If I didn’t believe that this would help you, I wouldn’t let Eros bring you there.”

Eros squeezed his way between Trevon and me. He grabbed my hand and snatched the back of Trevon’s neck. “Close your eyes.”

“What do you mean? What’s going to happen when we—”

Gusts of wind blew from the portal into my living room, making the curtains fly in all different directions. Eros pulled us into the portal, and I decided not to close my eyes because everything looked so surreal. Blurry objects. Hazy memories. Distant voices. All on a mesmerizing black backdrop. I couldn’t peel my eyes away from it if I tried.

We walked in further, and everything became clear. To my left, a woman who resembled Maria was smashing a bat into storefront windows in the city center, knocking antiques off of the shelves. To my right, a man who resembled Trevon was cutting a woman to pieces and storing her flesh in my kitchen fridge. And, straight ahead of me, a woman who looked exactly like Mom was pressing a knife to her own neck, watching drops of blood trickle down it in our old bedroom mirror as I watched from the bed—clapping.

My heart raced, and I shivered in fear. Someone grasped my hand and pulled me closer to them. I thought it was just Eros, but then another hand grabbed my shoulder, jerking me in another direction. Before I knew it, demons swarmed around me, baring rows of jagged teeth in my direction and reaching for me with their shredded flesh of arms.

“Dani!” someone yelled. It sounded so distant.

I needed to get out of here, but I couldn’t move. A demon reached for me, claws digging into my forearm and tearing my skin apart. I clutched my wound with a shaky hand.

Someone pulled me backward, and I bumped into a hard chest. Eros pushed away the demon, slid his hand around his neck, and snapped it. And, without another word, he pulled my face into his chest so I couldn’t see anything else. I inhaled his cinnamon, relaxing only slightly in his arms.

Damn, I’d never do this again. This was a mistake.

After a few more moments of listening to hissing and growling, we stopped. I reluctantly opened my eyes to see us standing in front of another portal. Inside of it, there were two demon guards. I sighed in relief, heart still pounding in my chest. Whatever we just went through was gone, at least for now.

“Brace yourself,” Eros said, pushing me into the hole. I somersaulted through the air a few times and struck the cold, hard cement on the other side. I posted my hands on the ground, trying to catch my breath. Maybe I should reconsider this whole Hell thing. If I had to see that again, I didn’t know—

Someone cleared his throat, and I gazed up at the two icy-eyed demons standing over me. “Was Lucifer expecting someone?” one asked the other.

“A succubus, but not…” He looked me up and down, eyes narrowing in a nasty stare as they landed on Mom’s necklace. “… her.” He crossed his pale arms over his chest. Their horns were curved like Eros’s—but smaller and were made of blue ice.

“What is she?”

The other one hissed and snatched my neck, nails digging into my flesh. “State your business.”

Suddenly, Trevon tumbled through the portal and smacked belly-first onto the ground. I squirmed in the demon’s hold, fingers desperately trying to peel him away.

Eros strolled through the mist. No awkward tumble or fall, just a casual stroll—like this was normal. But when he saw my legs dangling in the air and me gasping for air, he growled. “Put her down now!”

The demon immediately released me, and I fell to the ground with a thud and clutched my neck. Hell. I really shouldn’t have come. I haven’t even been here for a whole minute and I have already almost been choked out.

Both demons bowed to Eros. “Sorry, Lord Eros. We didn’t know she was yours.”

Eros wrapped his arm around my waist, picked me up, and placed me at his side. “We’re going to The Chains.”

“You’re allowed to pass, but…” the one that choked me said.

“But?” Eros asked, challenging him.

“But—um….” He scratched the back of his horn, gaze everywhere except on us. “She must stay here.”

The other demon stepped forward. “Commander Lucifer’s orders. Any new human or demon must be approved by him before entering the kingdom.”

Eros’s fingers dug into my side. “Tell him I’m here with Dani. He’ll let her though.”

“Commander Lucifer is-is busy,” one said. He kept glancing in my direction and looking away. When Eros growled, the other guard stepped forward. “But we’re sure that we can find him.”

One of the demons called for a female guard to deliver a message to Lucifer. While we waited for her to return, the two demons stood deathly still next to each other. Every so often, they’d glance at Eros and gulp fear.

The female guard returned and nodded. “Commander Lucifer allows her to pass along with the prisoner.”

Eros grabbed my hand, snatched Trevon off of the floor, and pushed past the guards to the door. Well, what a warm welcome that was.