KING OF THE UNDERWORLD (Earthbound Book 1)

I’ve known there was something off about her since the moment I laid eyes on her. Yes, she admitted to being a witch, but to have the ability to change like that, right in front of my very eyes… That speaks to powers the likes of which our world hasn’t seen for generations, and I hadn’t been prepared for it at all.

Letting me see her power was sheer stupidity on her part. Now I know what I’m facing. She isn’t a mere half-witch; she is something more. I wonder if she has another being inside of her, something besides her witch and her human. It could even be a demon, not unlike my own. I cannot attack her again, I know that. Not yet anyway. I will have to be more cunning than I was today. I will need to come up with a plan and make sure everything is in place before going after her again.

I remember she mentioned her family. Are they all like her? What else is this bitch hiding from Lucien, from me? Question after question whirl inside my head. I must have my little pet do some snooping for me. I will find the answers, of that I have no doubt.

I can’t believe how stupid she was. She fell right into my hands. How delightful! I’m unable to stop the laughter that bursts from my mouth as tears of joy stream down my cheeks. It may have been unwise to attack her as I had, but when I saw her wandering alone, it had been far too tempting to resist. At first my intention had been only to scare her, to warn the witch away from Lucien, but that had gone out the window the second the scent lingering on her skin hit my nose. I recognized it right away; the smell of Lucien’s cologne is unique and smelling it on her sent me into a blind rage.

I shouldn’t have been caught off guard, shouldn’t have been so surprised. I’d known from the way I’ve caught him looking at her that he’s taken an unhealthy interest in the bitch. I can tell from the way he’s been putting me off that he doesn’t want to share her. He wants to keep all that yumminess to himself.

Well, if he thinks he can get rid of me so easily, he has another thing coming. I will not allow him to replace me with that stupid witch. I will make him watch as I kill the little cunt right in front of him. Does he think I will just step aside while he has his fun without me? That bastard! How can he do this to me? I am his everything, not her!

Lucien has always belonged to me, and it is past time I reminded him of that!

I turn on my stool and face the mirror, raising my chin and turning my head, first one way, then the other. I can clearly see the bruises marking the skin all over my neck. I don’t bother to hold in a satisfied laugh. Oh goodie! This is even better than I could have hoped.

I feel something drop from my hand and look down. I realize I must have grabbed my knife in my fit of rage and sliced the palm of my hand wide open, causing blood to drip from the wound. I watch, fascinated, as the blood spills onto my pale blue dress. As the blood continues to gush, I lift my hand to my mouth and lick it away with my tongue. I look at myself in the mirror as the blood drips from my mouth and runs down my chin. Running my tongue around my mouth, I lick it away. I look down and see the edges of the cut knit together.

I look into the mirror once more and examine the injuries the witch inflicted on me. To my dismay, they don’t look as severe as they had only moments before.

I run my fingertips over my bruised neck. Hmmm. I will have to do something about this. The marks she left behind won’t be enough, not for what I have planned. She cannot get away with trying to take Lucien away from me and he needs to be punished for wanting her, for crossing me this way.

LUCIEN

“Lucien?” The voice speaking my name is laden with emotion, a tremor in the tone. Bloody fucking hell. What is Aria doing back here?

I don’t have time for her melodrama right now. With a frown, I turn my head. She’s standing in front of the door, her chin quivering. When she sees me looking, her face crumbles and a lone tear slips from the corner of one eye. I take in her appearance. It looks like someone beat the shit out of her; her face is covered in bruises.

I close the distance between us until I’m only a few inches away from her. With clenched teeth, I demand, “What the hell happened to you?”

“I’m sorry, Lucien,” Aria sobs, her entire body trembling as she throws herself against my chest. “I-I-I don’t understand why she attacked me. I know we got off on the on the wrong foot, but I th-thought I could make amends by going to s-see her.”

I cup her chin in my hand and tilt her face up so I can examine it. I see an outline from where someone’s fingers have pressed into her slender neck, a bruise is forming around one of her eyes where someone hit her, and her lip is split and bleeding.

“Shhhh. Everything is going to be alright, Aria.” I soothe, running my hand down her slim back. “You need to tell me who hurt you.” Shit. Whoever hit her gave her a real beating. There is no way I can just let this go.

“It was that witch. Scarlett. I’m sorry, Lucien,” she sobs against my chest. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What the hell was Scarlett thinking? It doesn’t make any sense, not after she warned me to keep Aria away from her and her family.

I nudge Aria away gently and trail my fingertip down her temple, moving a few stray tendrils of her hair away from her cheek as I meet her gaze. “One minute…” She stops and gulps, closing her eyes before continuing. “One minute she looked as she always does. The next… Lucien, her whole appearance changed. From her hair to her face, everything. It was like a completely different person stood in front of me!” She turns her face away as tears fill her eyes and spill down her cheeks.

I dip my head down and whisper into her ear. “What happened after she changed?”

Her body trembles. “She grabbed me by the neck and punched me repeatedly. She wouldn’t stop. I tried to fight back but she was too strong. Lucien, I didn’t think she was ever going to stop.”

I try to keep my voice calm. “What happened then?” My knuckle caresses her cheek.

Aria’s hand grips my forearm as she speaks. “After she stopped punching me, she grabbed me around the neck again. She must be more powerful than we thought, Lucien. She chucked me across the hallway as though I were light as a feather. I flew through the air and only came to a stop when I smashed into the wall behind me. Then she grabbed me by the hair and started slamming my head against the wall, screaming at me the whole time.” Her voice breaks at the end, and she starts sobbing.

She presses her head into my shoulder, and I stroke her hair. “What did she say?” I ask.

She lifts her head and looks into my eyes. “She told me I needed to leave you alone. She said you belong to her and if I don’t stay away from you, she will end me.”

My demon doesn’t believe a word coming from her mouth. I push him down and he growls at me, “You’re not falling for this crap, are you?” I ignore him, knowing what I say next is going to piss him off all the more.

“Promise me, my love, that you won’t go near her again,” I coax with a frown. “I will deal with her.”

Aria tilts her head back and looks at me with a tremulous smile. Whatever she reads on my face must convince her because she says, “I promise. But you must promise me that you’ll be careful. You can’t be alone with her. She’s dangerous.” Her last words are barely a whisper. She lays her head on my shoulder, wrapping her arms around my back.

To find out the truth of what really happened, I would promise anything.

“I promise,” I assure her, taking her face in my hand and gently brushing my thumb across the soft skin of her cheek. I take her lips with mine, kissing her tenderly.

I don’t notice the figure standing in the doorway, shock and horror written across her face. I don’t see the tears running down her face as she witnesses me kissing Aria. Nor do I see as she turns and runs back the way she came, long red hair flowing behind her.