Page 84 of Crimson Soul
His composure broke for a moment—just long enough for a flicker of fear to shine through—before he smirked. “Why would she kill me?”
“Because you’re fucking terrible.” Rage swirled around in my gut like a vortex. “You’re dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” He frowned, plucking the crown off his head to shine with the end of his shirt. “Let’s not forget who the indestructible weapon is.”
“You made me this way.”
“Yes. I orchestrated it.”
“For ultimate power.”
“Of course!” Irritation riddled his voice as he exploded, throwing up aggressive hand motions. “Power is everything! Why would I slave away as King of the Southern domain when I could destroy all of my enemies and ensure Hell’s victory all without lifting a finger?”
I shook my head, nausea swelling in my throat as I stepped forward. “I’m done with you.”
“Don’t you want to know how I forced your reincarnation?” He asked, panic evident in his strained voice and fast words.
Hellfire lit my fingertips as I held my hand out away from my face, angling it to where it looked like I was burning his face. “You worked with Mystia and did fucked up shit to reincarnate me, I know.”
“But do you know your guard demon is under a blood oath not to give you specifics?”
My hellfire ceased, and I turned to look at Aziel who nodded with a scowl on his face as he glared at Zelek. Whipping my head back around, I growled. “How many technicalities did you get him to agree to with that fucking blood oath?”
“Too many to count, dear.” He placed that fucking crown on his head again.
Holding my hand out, I summoned his crown off his head and floated it between us. The cool metal twisted into an unrecognizable ball before dropping to the ground with a soft thud on the padded floor.
His mouth fell open as anger blazed in his eyes. “If you destroy something I admire, I’ll do the same to you.” Hellfire exploded around him, and he outstretched his hand toward Kai, throwing a ball of the blue flames toward him.
Aziel moved in front of Kai to shield him from the deadly blast, but it didn’t reach either of them. I’d forgotten how dangerous hellfire was for a vampire, but to have a man I used to think of as my father remind me by using it toward a man I loved drilled it in a little more.
Closing my hand, I extinguished the flames with ease. “You made me a weapon, but I don’t think you realize how powerful I am.” I narrowed my eyes, flinging him against the padded wall, holding him there.
His eyes widened. “How do you have so much control? You have no impulse control. How can you control your powers so well in such a short amount of time?”
“Any last words?”
“I killed countless women trying to find the dormant angel blood! So many people died so you could live.” He gasped out a ragged breath as I put more pressure on his body with gravity. “Your existence is only because of the death of others.”
“Are you done?” I sneered, feeling a hand on my shoulder. “Once you’re dead, the blood oaths you’ve done with anyone will be null and void.”
His head did jerky movements left and right as I moved forward, the padded floor beneath my feet squishing from my weight. I stopped in front of him, his panicked eyes on me, and I let this moment sink in.
King Zelek, the all powerful King of the Southern domain in Hell, had never been weaker than me. He’d made the rules, and I’d followed them blindly for so fucking long. But not anymore. His need for power ended up being his downfall. I held his life in my hands, and I wasn’t stupid enough to let a demon this dangerous live.
My hand broke through the fabric of his shirt and the flesh of his skin with ease. A little more pressure was all it took for it to break through his rib cage and wrap my hand around his soul. His lips were parted and tears rolled down his face as he stared at me.
“By the way, I’m the Queen of the Southern domain now. You’ve been fired.” I crushed the orb in my palm, obliterating the man I’d called a father without another word. His body, flesh, bones, and organs, turned to ash, pouring over my hand and into a pile on the cream-colored padding where he stood.
I stumbled back into a hard chest with my mind buzzing. My mouth went dry. I just killed the demon who created me.
“Obliterated, Poppy,” Blaise corrected my thought.
“You did the right thing,” Kai said.
“Bloody right she did,” Thaddeus said. “He was a madman.”
“He did unimaginable things to force your reincarnation, but you were not at fault for any of it.” Aziel’s arm wrapped around my shoulders as my gaze burned into the ash pile.
“I know.”
“Let’s head back to the room. I’m sure you need rest,” Thaddeus said.
I didn’t remember leaving the heart of Hell or falling asleep in the middle of all my men, but their love was exactly what I needed.
