Hell's Throne (The Devil's Assistant Series - 5 ) - Unedited

Hell's Throne - Chapter 22

The morning after the equinox festivities was subdued. The party had lasted into the early hours of the morning; the sounds had been so loud they could be heard even on the other side of the palace. Danny had slept through it all but I had found myself staring up at the canopy waiting for Lucius's return. It had been a long wait. Eventually I had fallen asleep with the sheets beside me still cool and empty.

Drawing a deep breath, I bit my lip and tried not to laugh at the disgruntled look on Lucius's face as I entered the dining room. His hair was in disarray and stubble coated his clenched jaw. He had stumbled to bed sometime after I had first drifted to sleep. There had been no words exchanged, he had simply crawled in beside me and wrapped his arm around my waist. Still half asleep, I had snuggled closer to the warmth and drifted back to sleep.

Lucius had been suffering. He sat at the table with a glazed look in his eyes, his attention somewhere else. Apparently even the Devil could get hangovers.

Shaking my head, I took a sip of my coffee before absently moving my food around on my plate. My stomach grumbled in protest. Hunger clawed at me but the worries filling my mind consumed me more. Lucius was – I couldn't put my finger on it. Something was just different lately. Maybe it was the stress and pressure of dealing with Terran and his cronies. Something in my heart warned me it was it was more. Something worse.

Clink.

Giving a shake of my head, I glanced up just as Lucius's goblet teetered on its base before its contents spilled out across the table. The fruit juice spread rapidly across the polished surface in search of the precipice.

In a split second, Lucius's dazed expression morphed into something else. If I blinked I would have missed it. It was as if a stranger had taken possession of his body. It must have been a trick of the light which made his eyes appear colder and darker. It was the only explanation I could come up with as he twisted his head and snarled at the Pegasus at his side. It was feral, his top lip curling up in an animalistic fashion.

Percy, completely oblivious to his ire, leaned further forwards still while his large snout edged towards the food on Lucius' plate. When he bit at nothing but air, his tongue stretched out from his open mouth. It lolled towards the food, eager noises emitting from its mouth.

I pressed my lips together to stop the giggle from escaping as Lucius attempted to push Percy away. His face stern and his eyes mere slits as he glared at the young horse. The beast refused to move. Instead, the Pegasus snorted, pulling back from the table just so he could rub his nose into Lucius's hand, his usual demand for scratches.

"When did we decide that pets were allowed in the dining room?" Lucius asked, glaring when Percy remained completely oblivious to his anger.

I rubbed at my arms and shudder rolled down my back. Goosebumps formed on my exposed skin as if the temperature in the room had dropped several degrees. Staring at Lucius's face, I felt as if I was staring at the face of a stranger.

The black maned beast, irritated at the lack of scratches, rubbed his nose more persistently against Lucius's hand. In response, Lucius folded his arms across his chest and stated firmly, "Animals do not belong in the dining room."

"What crawled up your backside?" Castiel quipped. "And you say that I have a stick up my-."

"Thank you for that. Little ears." I cut in with a stern look in Cass's direction. The fallen angel offered a sheepish look in response.

"We can't leave him on his own." I explained calmly, placing a napkin over the puddle of juice. "He chews everything up when we leave him in the rooms by himself. You saw what he did to the bedspread last night."