The Unknown // Colby Brock

~~ Chapter Eleven ~~

"Well?"

"I didn't know of the trip," he said slowly. I could see how hurt he was through his mad facade, and he was seconds away from attempting to disappear. He wanted to be alone no doubt.

"You need to control your army more effectively. If I find any of them in heaven when they're not supposed to be again, you're the one who pays, so just remember that." God stormed straight back out. He had made his point, which was all he needed to do.

There was dead silence. Absolute silence for what felt like forever. God was gone. His angels were gone. It was just an angry devil and his supposedly loyal followers.

"Co-"

"Not a word. I'm deciding what to do with you," Colby growled at Kevin, who instantly went silent. My heart was pounding for Xepher in particular, and I could see how nervous Jake was for Tara.

"Brother, don't be too harsh," he pleaded using his best puppy eyes. Colby didn't even look at him. He was dead-set focused on finding out how to punish his soldiers, and he wasn't coming up with much by the looks of it. Xepher and Griffin alike looked terrified, which made me feel instantly nervous, too. I couldn't watch Colby put Xepher in the prison, not after what I saw of it.

So even through the silence, I walked fearlessly up to the throne and stood next to it, leaning down to Colby's ear. "Please don't be harsh. Xepher's my best friend, I don't want her in the prison."

Unlike Jake, Colby actually looked at me, making direct eye contact for what felt like the longest time.

Eventually, he turned back to everyone else. "You're lucky this time," he said firmly. "You're only going to the dungeon for a couple of days. But next time you're in the prison until I say you leave. Got it?"

Xepher was the first to start repeatedly nodding.

"Corey, escort them. I'm assuming there won't be any resistance."

"None, brother," Griffin mumbled, ashamed of himself. I watched in silence as Corey gently took a hold of Xepher's arm. A big flash of red blinded me. As soon as they were all gone, Colby laid his head back on the throne. He was stressed.

"Now, I'm not an idiot. Who else has been to heaven before without my permission?"

I was scared of the answer. Something told me that all of them had been at least once and he'd had no idea this whole time. Talk about his trust issues being there for a reason.

Just as I feared, pretty much everybody - even Jake - looked guilty. Colby just nodded, biting his lip before disappearing just like that.

"Ari, what did you say to him?" Devyn asked lightly.

"I told him to go easy on them," I replied with my arms crossed. "But I don't think he should have. You all know more than me why he hates heaven so much, and even I denied going with them today. So I wouldn't blame him if he wanted to put all of you in the prison for a week. Or maybe even a couple. He trusts you all, so you can't just betray him like that."

"Since when did you get all defensive over the devil?" Reggie grumbled in annoyance.

"Since I realised he isn't a bad guy... and, you know, how he spent years here alone. But that doesn't matter, right?" I raised an eyebrow at them before turning towards the stairs. I didn't care if they were looking at me like they'd never seen me before. In fact, I didn't care if they thought bad of me. I still went straight to Colby's room and slammed the door behind myself.

I came face to face with him as he was about to enter his office wearing sweatpants and no shirt. He saw me but he didn't say anything, continuing on to sit at his desk where he picked up his pen. I walked in with him, shutting the door and taking my normal chair.

"I gave them a bit of a lecture."

Colby's pen stopped as he looked up at me. I smiled shyly before motioning towards him. He sighed, pushed his chair back, and grabbed my wrist to pull me over. I sat down on his lap facing him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He leaned his head back with closed eyes.

"Do you think I should have been more lenient?" he asked quietly.

"No. I actually think you should have been harsher. You do more for them than they know, you're always working, and you've been through more than them but they still betrayed your trust, even after you've been betrayed so many other times." I noticed a little smile come over his face, which made me frown and nudge him. "What?"

His eyes opened as he lifted his head. "Just like a queen."

I started blushing.

"Does my queen want to lie around in bed all day?" The blushing got ten times worse. His queen. Why did I like that so much? In fact no, why did I love it?

"She'd love to."

He smiled and nodded, wrapping an arm tightly around my waist before standing up with me. I kept a good hold of him but laid my head on his shoulder until he placed me delicately down on his bed. He laid down so I cuddled in, placing both my head and one of my hands on his chest. He sighed.

"I wish I wasn't pressuring you into being queen."

"You aren't," I giggled.

"But I feel like I am," he mumbled. I looked up at his face, but he was focused on the ceiling as if the plain dark red had anything interesting about it.

"I feel like you need to distract yourself from everything."

"Hm, good idea." Next thing I knew, I had been dragged over the top of him making me let out a little squeal and a giggle. He smiled as he pulled me down for a kiss...