Chapter 23
Claude froze instantly, looking at Lucifer silently for a few moments. The color drained from his face as he parted his lips and then closed them again. He didn't think that the Demon Lord had the right to decide just who Sebastian mated with, but he couldn't be certain of that. However, Claude and Sebastian were already bonded and there was no way to break it, not without causing severe emotional and physical trauma to them both.
Even the idea of breaking the bond was horrifying to Claude. They may not have been bonded together for very long, but he already knew that it was something he didn't want to break. He adored his younger mate and no matter what Lucifer said or did, their bond could not be broken against their will. Even if he wanted them to do so, Claude had no intention of listening to him.
Lucifer was not his master; Claude had no master. Sebastian might have to listen to Lucifer, but in his heart, Claude knew that his mate wouldn't want to destroy their bond, either. He'd fight Lucifer before he allowed it to happen, anger sparking in his golden eyes as he glared at the demon lord- who was currently removing his robe?
"What are you doing?" he questioned, his voice still sharp as he watched Lucifer removing the red robe he'd been wearing since their first meeting. Claude hoped that the Demon Lord wasn't planning something weird, because he'd put a stop to it real quick. No one was going to take advantage of Sebastian in his current state.
Putting his robe aside, Lucifer pushed the long sleeves of his undershirt up, glad that he'd changed into the shirt and pants before he'd left to find Uriah in London. As a whole, he generally preferred loose, flowing robes, but since he had to work quickly, he needed to be able to move quickly. Raising his hands up, he pulled his long hair up and quickly wove it into a braid to keep it from hindering him as well.
"I can't move quickly in that particular robe, Claude Faustus, not that it really is any of your concern on what I'm doing," Lucifer replied, a distinct edge to his voice as he gave the younger demon a darker look. Slipping his feet from his shoes, he gracefully moved back over to the bed where Michaelis lay and gently began to undo his shirt. "Are you trying to get me to kill you? Even if Michaelis cries about it afterwards, you'll still be dead, you know. I wouldn't able to bring you back even if he wanted me to..."
Claude glowered back at the seemingly calm demon, following him over to the bed as well, tenderly taking one of Sebastian's hands and twining their fingers together, folding his larger ones over his mate's thinner fingers, pressing a kiss to them softly. "He'll hate you if you kill me," he told Lucifer seriously, "and there would be no way you could ever make it up to him. Sebastian is mine; he and I agreed to it."
Lucifer's lips twitched, an almost smile appearing. Claude was serious, he could tell, but there was no way the much younger demon could ever best him if he chose to fight. However, he was showing more restraint than usual, just in case Claude was telling the truth about Michaelis being upset if he killed Claude. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Michaelis like that if he truly cared for or even loved the golden-eyed demon that was showing him such grave concern and affection, especially in his current state.
"He may have agreed, but I did not," Lucifer reminded the other, still perfectly calm. "Michaelis is more than just a servant in my household; he's my ward, legally and bindingly. He was very young when I took him in, Claude Faustus, so young and so emaciated that I thought for a time he would perish. I haven't raised him as I did to hand him over to the first person who comes along."
Fully removing Michaelis' tattered shirt, Lucifer was very gentle and careful that the material did not stick to the drying blood upon the young one's back. Clearly Drake had meant to kill him, the lavender-eyed male knew, judging from just how vicious and deep these lashes were on Michaelis. Treating them was going to hurt; it was a mercy he was unconscious. Ignoring the way Claude was holding Michaelis' hand for the moment he instead turned when the door opened.
