Thanks to a dare gone wrong, Maggie Brumfield finds out the hard way that Heaven and Hell are real.
Prince Laudon, Lucifer's son and the current ruler of Hell, has locked Maggie into a sinister deal that grants him temporary ownership of her soul...
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LAUDON'S POV
"You're distracted."
Lila climbs off Laudon and lies next to him in bed, feeling more concerned than disappointed by the blank expression on his face. Mentally, Laudon appears to be in a whole other world. Lila cups him by the chin, turning his head so they are facing one another. She calls his name several times, gently slapping him on the cheek to regain his attention.
Seconds later, Laudon blinks, slowly registering where he is and who he is with.
"I... What happened?" Laudon mutters, confused. He looks down at his naked body, then looks over at Lila's naked body, and he suddenly realizes what they were getting ready to do before he zoned out. "Oh. Were we...?" Laudon chuckles, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I was..."
"Not here with me," Lila says, teasingly. "I've noticed that you haven't quite been yourself ever since that battle with Jicha. I want to know why that is, and I also want to know where your mind has been taking you every time you slip away and detach from the present." Lila places a hand on Laudon's chest, her dark eyes glued to his. "Please talk to me?"
"Yes, of course. I was..." Laudon starts again but pauses.
He knows Lila isn't the jealous type, never has been, but still, he is unsure how she would react to the news about the puzzling visions that he has been having, visions and blurry daydreams of a woman that he has never met. Laudon is also unsure how Lila will process his complex feelings towards Maggie Brumfield, the human girl that he cannot stop thinking about.
Lila, being part of his inner circle, knows the basics of Laudon's arrangement with Maggie—knows how she summoned him via the ritual, knows how she is something more than human, and how she must find Laudon a replacement soul due to him not being able to claim hers. Lila knows as much as Zul does, but what Lila doesn't know, however, is that Laudon has been off his game way before the fight with Jicha.
Laudon's problems began after his first interaction with Maggie. If anyone is to blame for him acting differently, it is her.
"Laudon? Stay with me, darling." Lila leans in to kiss him, hoping it will be enough to keep him grounded. "Don't zone out on me again. I get so frightened when that happens."
"I'm sorry," Laudon says. He grabs Lila by the hand, kissing it before kissing her again. He sighs when they part. "I think Zul might be right."
"Tell me everything," Lila pleads. "Right about what?"
"Maggie. I believe she might have actually broken me," Laudon confesses. "She struck me on the night we first met, and at the time I thought nothing of it. She didn't kill me; I healed a few hours later. But not long after that is when I began having these strange visions of a woman I've never met. I'm certain it has something to do with Maggie and her powers, but I've yet to find a connection that links us all together. I..." Laudon pauses, taking in Lila's worried face. He shakes his head, chuckling humorlessly. "I sound like a madman, don't I?"
