He lowered his head, and I placed my hand on his wide nose, the short, silky fur as hot as a furnace and tickling my palm. “I want the bastards from this Circle who tried to sacrifice our women.”
“WHAT MY LADY DEMANDS, MY LADY GETS.”
His voice was enough to nearly knock me over, pain spiking in my eardrums from being this close to him when he spoke as a lion.
He raised his head and shook out his mane, then turned and loped down the street, careful to keep from planting one of his enormous paws on me. I took flight, hovering overhead, holding my spear in a death-grip.
It didn’t take long to find the ones who’d betrayed our own. Two were held tight by an angry crowd, and Belial’s lope became a quick lunge. He pinned one to the street, his claws framing the demon’s head like a cage.
“WHERE IS THE LAST?” he demanded, the demons flinching under his roar.
One of the demons pointed further up the street, and I caught sight of a fleeing back.
I swooped forward, putting all my strength and a touch of magic into my spear, which flew from my hand as straight as an arrow.
The barbed head buried itself between the fleeing demon’s shoulder blades, severing his spinal cord. My magic spear melted as he died.
I wheeled over the top of a tall building and landed lightly in the thoroughfare, only yards from Belial’s paws. The two demons being held down by their own looked up at me beseechingly, grimacing at the pain of so many hands dug into their flesh.
“Lady Wrath, the Dragon demanded it,” one said, gasping as a chef’s cleaver bit into his neck.
Belial’s low chuckle sounded more like an earthquake, shaking the ground beneath my feet.
“As you can see, the other citizens of this Circle don’t agree with you,” I said mildly.
How many women had they lost over the years?
I glanced up the thoroughfare and saw a similar crowd in the Sixth Circle, but they were mourning their loss. I hoped at least one of the women we’d claimed would be able to return home to them.
“We can’t disregard his desires.” The other demon winced. “He’s the King of Hell.”
I looked them over, then glanced at the one panting under Belial’s paw. He reeked of fear.
So had the women, and they hadn’t had a choice. A pang of guilt stabbed at me, knowing I was the one who’d set off this round of sacrifices.
“You will disregard him from this day on.” I called on my magic and made a sword. “Any citizen of the Seventh Circle who willingly gives up or forces one of their own will deal with the wrath this Circle is known for.”
“You can’t-” one the demons began, but Belial rumbled out a warning growl and leaned forward, snorting steam out of his nostrils.
“DO YOU QUESTION MY LADY’S JUDGMENT?”
The demon shook his head.
“Bring him forward,” I said quietly.
The chef and two merchants dragged the first one forward, forcing him on his knees.
I took a deep breath, and put my all into the slice of my blade, making the cut clean. His head rolled away, bouncing across the stone.
They dragged away his body and his head as the other was brought forth. I hated it, killing in cold blood against defenseless enemies, but I couldn’t forgive them. They had clean deaths compared to what the other sacrifices would receive. At least their last moments weren’t a torment.
Belial raised his paw and extended one claw, neatly taking off the last demon’s head.
I let my sword flicker and die, feeling exhausted to the bone, sick and weary.
He rumbled a low growl, and I looked over my shoulder. The angry demons had strung up their bodies in a macabre display over the streets.
“Well, at least it’ll be very clear to anyone else what happens if they try that again,” I said softly, turning my back on the gory sight.
Belial took long, slow strides as I walked back to my arena, too emotionally wiped out to enjoy flying. I passed through the gates and felt a shiver in the air, and when I looked back, Belial had shed his lion’s skin. He wore only pants, leaving his chest bare, and I fought the urge to wince when I saw the faint silver lines scored across his chest.
He’d left my marks on him.
Arcturus galloped down to the grass, his hooves scorching the grass, and nudged Belial with his nose. I didn’t even have the energy to return the horse’s smug side-eye.
“Thank you,” I said quietly. “For helping them, and… and looking after me. Hell, thank you for backing me up.”
Belial took a step closer. “When this happens again, stay inside,” he said roughly.
I paused, wetting my lips, and took a step closer. “I can’t make that promise. I won’t let them take our women. They’re under our protection, aren’t they?”
He smirked, a little of his tension fading away, and took another step. “If you’d been born in Hell, you would’ve been a succubus. Protector of women.”
“Seems to be a running theme in this Circle,” I said lightly, taking another step.
He closed the gap, close enough to touch. “We don’t like assholes taking what’s ours to protect.”
I smiled, and against my will, my hand rose. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to touch first, but then his aquamarine gaze looked over my shoulder.
I followed his gaze and found Tascius striding out of the arena gates, his expression hard as stone.
When I turned back, Belial was already climbing astride Arcturus. I let out a breath, feeling like something had been stolen from me.
“Stay safe, Lady Wrath,” Belial said, his face closed off again, and even as Tascius’s hands wrapped around my shoulders, I couldn’t help but watch as Arcturus streaked into the sky, becoming a meteor that faded
