The Darkest King (Lords of the Underworld 15)

“So, you’ve got yourself a Panty Melter harem. Sweet!”

He rolled his eyes, saying, “Shut it and concentrate on the meeting to come.”

“Ohhh. Is that what you tell your concubines just before you introduce your penis to their vaginas?”

Leaning back, he shifted his gaze to the man on her other side, Lucien, who had black hair, darkish skin and a face disfigured with self-inflicted scars. He also had bicolored eyes—one blue, one brown. The blue one saw into the spirit world, while the brown one saw into the natural world.

“Do me a solid and handle your woman,” William said. “No more talk of penises and vaginas.” Or I might have to rush back to Sunny.

No more thinking about her, either!

Anya wiggled her brows. “He handled me just before we got here.”

Lucien looked to be fighting a grin as he gazed adoringly at the mate who’d fought hard to win his once-battered heart. The fact that a by-the-book male had ended up engaged to the minor goddess of Anarchy blew William’s mind. Anya followed no rules but her own, and even those she broke whenever she pleased.

What had initially drawn the two together? The same elusive connection that drew William to Sunny?

What kind of men had Sunny dated in the past?

The muscles in his shoulders flexed, the urge to strike at someone, anyone, strong. Not thinking about the unicorn, remember?

Projecting relish, Lucien said, “I will handle her again as soon as we get home. You have my word.”

“So how long do we plan to wait for Lucifer to arrive?” Pandora demanded from the other side of the table. She popped her knuckles. “There’s only one reason I agreed to come. I was promised murder and mayhem, not sit and await ’em.”

“You’ll have murder and mayhem later,” Hades said, his tone indulgent. “We all gave our word. Today we will chat, nothing more. While Lucifer doesn’t possess honor, we’re going to pretend we do.”

Honor shmoner. William believed you had to strike when opportunity arose. Anything for victory. Some attacks could be won using words, the most dangerous weapon in the world. The tongue could create...and destroy. In a battle of wits, William wielded his with expert precision. But so did Lucifer.

Hate him with every fiber of my being. There was no one more selfish or greedier. No one more repulsive.

Once Lucifer had been the most beloved and powerful angel in the heavens. As a young lad, he’d adored the Most High, his creator...until a desire to rule the heavens consumed him. When he made a play against his king, he lost, and he fell. Hades took him in. Now Lucifer hungered for more power. He was repeating his mistakes, hoping to take his adoptive father’s place in the underworld, so he could lead every demon into the heavens, and fight to dethrone the Most High yet again.

May I never be so foolish.

Roughly fifty feet away, a crackling ember sparked from nothing. That ember grew, burning through the atmosphere, a portal forming.

Lucifer had arrived.

William’s hate magnified, engulfing him. A type of armor. Red dots infiltrated his line of sight.

Chairs skidded back, everyone but the Ever Randy standing. Hatred and anticipation tinged the air, a malignant combination.

The portal opened the rest of the way, and Lucifer stepped through, entering the nightclub.

Nothing about the bastard had changed. He had the same curly blond hair, golden skin and sky blue eyes, and wore the same angel’s robe made of soft white feathers.

Lucifer offered an easy grin that pricked William’s temper. “Hello, ladies. I apologize for my tardiness, but I’m positively giddy you were willing to wait for me.”

William downed someone’s shot of ambrosia-laced whiskey before standing. He popped the bones in his neck and pasted on an irreverent smile before facing the male.

Lucifer didn’t notice. He was too busy watching Hades, gauging his reaction.

When Hades took a step forward, William gripped his shoulder, stopping him. I’ve got this.

The strongest king in the underworld wasn’t someone who obeyed the commands of others, not even his son’s. Even still, he gave William a barely perceptible nod.

William crossed the distance, and Lucifer did the same. They met in the middle, surrounded by a sea of tables and chairs. What William noticed first? An unmistakable flicker of envy in his brother’s eyes. He fought a smile. The interaction between father and son must have bothered the black sheep.

Using his easiest tone, he said, “Your apology is accepted. Anytime I get to spend with my adoring father, I savor.” See? Words were weapons, and he’d just plunged a knife into Lucifer’s heart.

His ex-brother scowled before hurrying to erase all emotion from his features. A skill he and William learned from Hades. “I’m so glad,” Lucifer replied, his voice a silk-covered dagger. “I’d be careful, though. With the whopper of a secret he’s keeping from you, he owes you more than his time.”

And he’d just taken a dagger to the gut himself. No reaction. He lies to upset you.

William studied Lucifer more intently, a volatile mix of affection and remorse razing his nerve endings. Maybe even regret?

The trio of emotion had been buried underneath centuries of hatred. Since the hatred had surfaced, so had everything else.

As if reading his thoughts—a skill Lucifer did not possess—his brother said, “Why do you hate me so, hmm?”

“Oh, let me count the reasons.” Known as the Great Deceiver and the Destroyer, Lucifer was evil personified. He damaged everything he touched, and he could not be redeemed. The horrors his victims had suffered...

Rage simmered in his every cell. Reveal nothing. Act calm...for now.

“Only a few short years after Lilith issued her curse, a pain awoke me from a deep sleep,” William said with an easy tone. “I opened my eyes to find you at the side of his bed, a bloody dagger in hand, about to deliver a second blow.”

When Hades had learned of their battle, he’d sided with William. Lucifer had felt slighted and moved out. The beginning of the end for the king and his first adopted son.

Lucifer dismissed his claim with a wave. “Some people walk and talk in their sleep. I commit acts of murder. Not my fault.”

Ah, revisionist history. A very human way of comforting one’s self for deeds done. “You know,” William said, still using that easy tone. “If you wanted to see me, you didn’t have to arrange some elaborate meeting. Your desperation is showing.”

A tinge of red suffused Lucifer’s cheeks, his precious pride nicked. William—2. Lucifer—1. “I gave you an excuse to see me.?

? He scowled and added, “I didn’t come here to argue with you.”

“That, I know. You came to threaten us, the only play in your How to Be a Supervillain guidebook. By the way, I’ll be posting my review online.” William took a page from Sunny’s guidebook and faked a wince. “One star.”

“The same score I gave your book. Speaking of, I hear you’ve found a cryptanalyst to break your curse.” Lucifer all but bubbled over with glee.

No reaction. Calm. Steady. “What I have is hope, something you would be a fool to feel.” For years, he’d kept his long-term goals a secret, waiting for the perfect moment to confess. That perfect moment is now. “I’m going to find your crown and claim your kingdom, Lucy. I will rule your armies, free everyone you’ve kept as a sexual captive and strip you of your most prized possession—your pride. In the years to come, your name will be a joke, cautionary tale and curse, all rolled into one.”

Lucifer bared a set of razor-sharp fangs. “We should be on the same side, fighting against Hades’s tyranny.”

“As if I would ever work with you. You steal, kill and destroy anything anyone else loves.”

“Perhaps I’m a changed man. Either way, this is your first and last chance to join the winning team. Mine,” Lucifer said, his smug grin returning. He truly believed he would win. Deceives himself as much as others. “Together, we can strip Hades of his kingdom and pride.”

“Afraid you can’t do it alone?”

The grin fell. Another nick to his inflated pride.

Slow and measured, Lucifer walked a circle around William, the hem of his robe brushing against the ashy ground. William let him do it, not bothering to turn with him. By remaining still, he conveyed a crystal clear message: Lucifer wasn’t enough of a threat to bother.

Yet another nick. Maybe the bastard would bleed out by the end of the conversation.

“You are content to be under Hades’s thumb?” Lucifer asked. “To be his hand of vengeance rather than your own man? Poor William. I do what I want, when I want. And soon, I’ll want to steal the crown from every king in Hell, so I will. No one can stop me. No one can defeat me.”