His demon bead around his wrist started to glow bright red, and this was more than enough to capture the attention of every single demon, human, and witch in the room. Everyone now gathered around the girl still bowing down before the demon king, curious to know what happened and the meaning behind a demon bead starting to glow.
Demon beads are magical, ancient bracelets fallen angels—or non-fallen angels that rose to be demons—worn around their wrists to add both meaning and value to their cursed existence. A demon without its bead is basically regarded as useless—you can take it as a magical lifeline all demons must have—including the all-powerful and mighty demon king, and even the devil wears one.
On a normal day, the bead shouldn't glow or brim with energy randomly, but if that should happen, it could only mean one thing: a demon had just met his mate.
Everyone's lips parted wide in understanding and shock. The demon king kept staring at his bead in fear of what this meant. Now, he wouldn't be able to reject whoever it was in secret when this demon bead dared to glow in the presence of his subjects and before the four demons that ruled along with him.
His eyes went straight to Tamara, the female demon he gave a position in his government in Hell. She also looked equally scared and confused as well. You could see her nervousness in the way she also stared back at him. In order to make sure she was as calm and relaxed as possible, he was going to make tonight's epic rejection of whoever it was that dared make his demon bead glow cinematic—one that would assure her she was still going to be crowned his queen, no matter what silly games God was playing on him.
He slowly rose to his feet, and everyone in the room fell on their knees in sync. Even the four demons sitting beside his throne stood with him and fell on their knees. His dark, gold-red eyes moved across all bowed heads until they arrived on a single one.
The one who triggered something in him at first by calling herself Eve—a similar, haunting name of his terrible past love—and praising him like he was the god of Hell for real.
His mind was completely blown away when the girl dared raise her head slowly to lock gazes with him. Then she turned out to be the girl that dared stand in his way while he was riding back alone to the Red Palace. The girl with those haunting and beautiful blue eyes… just like Eve.
He found himself taking a few steps back, overwhelmed by everything. Now that she was under the bright lights of the ballroom, he could see her clearly and make out every one of her features, and for God's sake, did she remind him of everything about Adam's first wife.
The demon king stepped back again, astonished by this twisted fate. Now, he understood why he felt sympathy for her at first, when he knew nothing about her and was supposed to be hateful to all mortal women. The sadness of seeing her in tight shoes that must have hurt and scarred her lovely feet.
Lucien quickly shook his head to snap out of it. He couldn't believe God was setting up another trap for him by reincarnating his very weakness in his world again to torture and break him once more. And he had been falling into place by daring to give her the chance to present herself before him—enough to announce herself as his mate.
A raw emotion of both pain, disbelief, and a grieving heart overtook his body from head to toe as he just couldn't tear his eyes off her. The room suddenly felt too cold and hot at the same time. Too many memories bombarded him all at once as he kept staring into those bright blue eyes—the eyes he once proclaimed to the heavens shined brighter than the brightest star.
His head tilted a bit to the left as his eyes seemed to soften on her when he remembered all the good times they had together.
She was his first friend in the garden.
He watched over her.
He protected her like she was his own.
And when the time of enlightening her came...
That was when his eyes darkened, and the red in them seemed to bleed over as he remembered her betrayal—and after everything, she still chose Adam, the one she was told to submit to at all times.
Everyone slowly raised their heads one by one when the demon king descended from his high place, step by step. It made her blue eyes widen, and he could see the slight, pleased smile on her face. Tamara's face darkened in jealousy at this, her grip on her dress tightening.
She raised her head up completely when he stood so close before her. Eve was this close to passing out under the great influence of his dark aura and his stunning beauty from up close. It made every internal organ in her jubilate in joy to have him this close on the very first meet. Her teary eyes glistened in happiness as she couldn't believe this. Now, she could finally die in happiness after this.
''Eve.''
He said in a voice enough to command silence in the whole room. She thought she heard it wrong before, but no one, since her twenty-plus years of existence in Hell, had ever pronounced her name correctly and interestingly before.
Her eyes remained on his dark, cold ones in complete submission, never believing everything would fall so easily like this. She was so joyous that she could fly.
''You dared to come back to me as my mate. How dare you?''
All happy thoughts floating back and forth in her mind ceased as he said that.
Eve blinked multiple times in shock.
Mate?
I am his…
Everyone then pulled themselves back in fear when the demon king conjured up a small ring of fire around him and Eve. Eve's blue eyes widened at her infernal prison and trembled slightly in fear. She looked up quickly at the demon king in confusion, and he only gave her this cold and murderous look still.
''I should burn you, here and now, dear mate.''
Eve couldn't believe this. What was this? A rejection? From him?
Talk about being terminally ill, but her life would be basically over after this.
The demon king then lowered himself on one knee before her small, trembling form.
''Ignore the fire and look at me.''
He said when she was still heavily distracted by the fire growing around her. She did as he said, her hands shaking, her eyes no longer bright with joy or satisfaction but overwhelmed with fear of having to die now instead of in three years.
She was not prepared to die so soon—and today of all days—after all she's gone through.
His eyes examined every bit of her now this close, and it felt like meeting Eve again, and not just her reincarnation in Hell.
''Are you scared?''
He asked, knowing fully well that she was this close to passing out.
''You should be.''
Eve stared at him, those dark red-gold eyes taking over her every being. A single tear of pain slipped out of her eyes and rolled freely down her left cheek.
She is sick and shouldn't be put under this amount of stress.
''Because now that you have made known of your miserable existence to me again, we get to finish so many unfinished business, settle so many scores, and watch you suffer in my hands while you drown in Hell's fires.''
He said so cruelly, wickedness gleaming brightly like the reflection of the flames around her, shining fearsomely in his eyes. She saw the hatred in them—it consumed them, and she wondered how someone could be so hated when just meeting for the first time.
The demon king's eyes mused into one of wicked amusement at her suffering.
He was really going to enjoy this.
He rose to his feet and stepped back a bit, his eyes then moving to the fire burning angrily around them. And at his will, the fire began to deviate from burning in a circular pattern to form a new horizontal line towards her trembling form. It moved so slowly because he wanted it to be so, and he loved the fear that seized that pretty face and enjoyed how she tried to create as much distance between her and the approaching fire.
It brought an insane smile to his face.