How Ari stumbled upon the world of hell, where people are tortured left right and centre.
She doesn't know it yet, but she's important, and she's going to be the only one who can save the leader from tumbling into the depths of lava pooling at the...
Arianna's POV I woke up slower than last time. I couldn't remember much except pain, a horrible wet feeling on my stomach, and two male voices, but I'd quickly fainted again. Of course, the face of that murderous angel was still fresh in my mind, constantly reminding me that people like us were still the bad guys. Because I knew I would have done what he'd done; I would have stabbed someone and simply not cared, maybe even enjoyed it. Because I was insane. Because I had a black soul. Because I was part of the devil's army.
Speaking of the devil, as my eyes blinked a few times to remove the blur of my surroundings, a familiar figure coming towards me became incredibly clear. I blinked once more and I got a sinking feeling when I realised what room I was in, because I wasn't just in the house of hell or in my room, but I was lying on Colby's bed.
"Ari? Can you hear me?" he asked so gently I felt like I couldn't even hear his voice.
Though, I had to admit, it felt weirdly nice to hear him. It felt like that classic phrase of 'music to my ears'. And I didn't have the energy to approach him aggressively in any way whatsoever, so I simply nodded.
He took a seat beside me and took one of my hands. "I was worried for you. Aryia said you lost a lot of blood."
"I... What happened after?"
Colby's jaw clenched as he looked away. There was something that he didn't want to tell me.
"Colby?"
"Something that I've hidden for centuries came out," he mumbled, slowly turning his head back towards me.
I frowned but he didn't say anything so I pulled on his hand to get him to come closer. "You know, I'm still just a little bit mad at you, but I could do with some company over here... mind?"
He gently shook his head and moved to sit next to me then pulled me onto his lap. I leaned completely against him, settling in to the feeling of his arms around me. We had hugged, for sure, but there was something about lying in a bed together that was just that much more intimate. I missed it so much.
He leaned down slightly, kissing my head before pulling me in a little bit closer. "You don't have to tell me what happened but someone else probably will," I whispered without opening my eyes.
He went silent for a little while leaving me to believe he wasn't going to say anything until, finally, he cleared his throat.
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"I'm... not always the devil. I'm always the king of hell, but not necessarily the devil. It's sort of like another form that I buried deep inside myself the moment Katrina escaped to heaven. I figured that being scary didn't account for much, and it was frustrating, to say the least, to look the way I did."
"How did you look?"
"Red eyes... fireballs around my fists most the time... and wings."
Before I could exclaim in surprise, he caught ahold of me and kept me lying down on him.
