Lucifer turns to look at Lilith, his expression still filled with pain. "Kerion came to see me after I broke the news."
Lilith nods. "As he should. He's a good friend of yours. Coming in your time of grieving is a good thing for him to do."
Lucifer nods and swallows. "He told me he and Amelia had sought you out. They requested your help to deal with Leyna."
Lilith's face falls, her ocean-blue eyes slowly widening with shock. True, I actually told him what had happened, but hearing him say Kerion ratted her out is far more painful and believable. A slow smile crosses my face and I watch Lilith's charade slowly implode.
Lucifer is still staring at her with pained eyes. "Why didn't you help her? She needed you. You could have saved her. You could have saved me."
Lilith's mouth drops open, and a soft, strangled sound escapes her throat. She knows her plan is falling to pieces, and I can almost see the gears in her head spinning as she tries to find a way to save her ass.
"Sire, I..." she trails off, desperately seeking an escape.
Although still sorrowful, Lucifer's expression shifts slightly to show his growing anger. "You sacrificed all of us. You put everything we have in jeopardy. And for what? Because she was human? Because you hated her?"
Lilith gives a nervous smile. "Lucifer, please. She's just a human. She wasn't that important. The world still turns and people still sin. Just because she died doesn't mean we have to stop everything and grieve. We can all still move on and heal ourselves. And each other."
Damn. This woman just doesn't give up.
The tears on my husbands face have dried and the dark marks have faded. His 'sorrow' has been replaced with anger, and he gives Lilith a wicked, malicious smile.
"Heal ourselves," he whispers. "Oh, I know exactly how to heal myself."
He rises from the bed, standing at his full height as he glares down at Lilith. He flicks his fingers at her, beckoning her to stand. She does, swallowing loudly, as she rises to face my pissed-off husband. Lucifer smiles kindly at her, reaching out to cup her face in his hands. He forces her to make eye contact with him, his kind smile turning more malicious by the second.
"That kind of action – sacrificing the queen and our world...Oh, Lilith. It's not good. Not good at all. It's treasonous." He purrs the words at her, stroking her hair in his hands. "There must be consequences for such deplorable actions."
Lilith is shaking in her skin, horrified that her betrayal has been revealed and that she's about to pay for it. Her lip trembles, and I almost hear see her mind nearly screaming for her to apologize and beg for mercy. But she won't. Her pride will never allow it.
"I have a surprise for you," Lucifer whispers. He turns his head towards me and nods, a warm, welcoming smile on his lips.
I smile and nod, straightening my dress and making sure everything is in place. Gently, I push one of the doors open and step out into the bedroom, smiling triumphantly at Lilith. Her eyes go wide, absolute shock and horror crossing her beautiful face. She'd been banking on Leyna actually finishing me off, but here I was, her greatest enemy, standing just feet from her with a devilish smile plastered to my face.
Ah, karma. How I love you.
"No." She mouths the word, but no sound comes out. Her fear and anger have overcome her ability to speak, leaving her furiously mute.
Lucifer's fingers force her gaze back to him. His kind, warm smile still graces his lips, but there's a fire in his eyes that could melt stone.
"There must be consequences for turning against your own world and your masters," he croons, obviously taking pleasure in exacting revenge on my behalf.
"Sire..." Lilith starts, making a last-ditch effort to save herself.
His smile never fades, and his fingers trail up her cheek, feeling her smoother, supple skin. "I think we'll start by taking back what you treasure most."
His fingers press into her cheeks, leaving small dents in her skin. Slowly, faint trails of silver-tinged strands of black threads seep out of her skin and wrap around his fingers. They caress Lucifer's skin before sinking into his hands. As they crawl into him, I watch Lilith's face slowly become gaunt and pale. Her skin begins to shrivel and crack, her lovely face turning into a mask of old age and disgust as her youth and beauty are slowly sucked away.
Take what you treasure most...
Of course! Her beauty. She's a succubus, after all. She needs her hotness to seduce and kill men. Without it, she's out of a job. But that's not all my husband planned of when he thought of this punishment. Taking away her infamous good looks serves another purpose: her ego and self-worth depend on her being beautiful enough to corrupt the Pope himself. Without her beauty, Lilith will be reduced to a life of mockery and self-loathing.
Poor thing...oh, wait...nevermind.
As much as I hate to see people suffering and in pain, Lilith deserves this. She's fucked me over and insulted me – and God knows how many other people - more times than I can count. She practically gave me the middle finger when I asked for her help to save Hell. And she tried to move in on my husband when she thought I was dead. The bitch had this coming from day one. It's hard to feel pity for a woman like that.
Lilith, for her part, just stands there and takes it. I don't know if it's because she's accepted responsibility and chose to take her punishment honorably – highly unlikely – or if she's too scared of pissing of my husband even more to try and break away. I'm almost convinced that it's option two. That's more her style.
Moments later, Lucifer pulls his hands away from Lilith and steps away from her, a dark smile caressing his lips. Lilith crumples to the floor, her face and body now shriveled like a dried apple husk. Her eyes are large and hollow, her mouth thin and pale, her cheeks full of wrinkles and scabs. Her hair has lost its luster and hangs limply around her shoulders. The skin on her hands has receded to the point of showing her nail beds, her nails themselves chipped and yellowed. Her frame is now dangerously thin, the ruby gown pooling around her and hanging off her body. Her breasts are heavily veined and sagging. The once-smooth flesh of her arms and legs now hangs from her bony limbs in miles of folds and wrinkles.
She's hideous now – inside and out.
"There, now," Lucifer proclaims as he smiles down at her. "That's the first part."
Lilith lifts her head to stare at him, fear, horror and despair swirling in her faded-blue eyes. "Master?"
His smile never fades. "We still need to deal with your betrayal of my queen. You abandoned her – quite willingly, in fact – when she needed you most. Knowing you, Lil, you were probably begging for her death. You, from the very beginning, have never showed Amelia the respect she deserves. For that action, you will be stripped of you title as the succubus queen and will be placed into servitude for Amelia."
Lilith's eyes go wide. "Servitude!" She nearly spits the word, turning her hideous face to glare at me.
"Indeed. It's about damn time you learned your fucking place, little girl," Lucifer snaps right back.
Lilith looks at him again, confusion and panic marring her once-lovely face. "But who will be the whore queen?!"
Lucifer pauses for a moment, thinking. "Mireena. She's intelligent, strong and can handle anything the girls could throw at her." He pauses again, spearing Lilith with his glare. "She's also loyal and respects the queen. She's perfect for the job."
Lilith, her eyes nearly bursting out of her head, opens her mouth to protest. She stops, though, and pulls back, hanging her head and glaring at the floor. She knows that arguing with Lucifer any more will just get her into more trouble. She's already been sentenced to serve me, so her head must be ready to explode. Quietly, though very begrudgingly, she nods and accepts Lucifer's new plans for her.
Smiling, Lucifer turns and strides towards me. I smile gently at him, happy he's put Lilith in her place but still pained to see anyone put in that position. Lucifer stops just inches away from me, staring down at me with a seductive smile on his lips. The chill of his skin makes me shiver and I reach up to loop my arms around his neck. He reciprocates by wrapping his hands around my waist and pressing his lips to mine. We kiss slowly but passionately, gently nibbling each other's mouths and tongues.
"Tarioc," he whispers against my lips.
"Sire?"
I peer over Lucifer's shoulder to see Tarioc standing in the middle of the room, top hat perfectly balanced on his head and a warm smile on his face. How did her get here so fast? More importantly, how did her hear my husband whispering his name?
"Escort Lilith to the Mitroria and have her changed into her servant's clothes," Lucifer commands between kisses. "See to it that she's properly dressed and well informed of her new duties."
Tarioc smiles and bows. "Sire. My lady." He spins and walks over to Lilith, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it painfully. "Let's go, Lili. Time for your first day at work."