Chapter Thirty-One: Lust:

I love my daughter. When Lust was born, my heart swelled with pride. She was my first daughter. She looked so small when I heard her in my arms. Bayu lay in her bed, panting. Her eyes looked so empty. I looked up at her.

“You did great,” I told her. My wife drew her eyes closed. I turned my attention back to my daughter. She was going to be special. I knew that she was going to be different due to me being fallen and her mother being and angel.

She doesn’t live with me anymore. Lust left Hell when she was twenty. She’s always been like that. I shouldn’t be surprised. My daughter has always been independent in a way. She’s got it from Bayu. My years with Lust were interesting to say the least.

My daughter has a mind of her own. Even when she was a baby, she could make others bend to her will. Many demons would fond over her. Bayu and I couldn’t resist her charms. Irani fell under her spell the first time he saw her. At first, I felt proud he acted protect for his sister. Maybe that was why I didn’t see the warning signs.

I will get into that later.

Where do I go with the story of my daughter? I still love her if that’s what you’re thinking. A parent doesn’t stop loving their kid no matter what. We barely speak anymore now. That’s how it is with most of my children. In a way, I don’t blame them. You know my reputation. Yeah, I don’t need to say any more on that.

I digress.

My daughter was the prettiest girl in my kingdom. Lust turned many heads. Many tried to ask her out. I think she knew it too. She still takes good care of her body and her looks. My daughter had many dates throughout her teen years. Sometimes, I didn’t mind it. Other times, I had questions. (There’s one that I never liked. Awful bastard. He tried to use her to overthrow me. Good thing she saw it in time. The less said about him the better.) I don’t blame them, to be honest. But Lust has more than looks going for her.

You could call her the perfect woman in a way. Beauty, charming, smart, strong, and good with magic. The last one is self-taught believe it or not. Bayu and I still don’t know where she got it from. It is rumored that she is mother of all witches. Whether that’s true or not, that will be for her to say. Because of all her gifts, men of all species wanted Lust. It’s kind of funny now that I think of it. She never really showed interest in them. Plus, my daughter got bored with them easily. I fear the number of broken hearts she left behind.

That includes Irani himself.

That one will take a long time to explain. I almost wish that I didn’t have to. But it needs to be said. You have to know all of the history of my family. No matter how dire it was. So, I will not hold back on the gory details. But first, I have to go back to the beginning of her story. Starting with the day she was born.

There had been rumors in my kingdom about some of my subjects afraid of the princess overthrowing me. I heard that some of them were planning to kill her. I wasn’t going to let them do that. This would require me to perform a ritual to protect her. But Bayu wouldn’t approve of this. That was one of the few arguments we had during her pregnancy. I promised that I wouldn’t do it.

But I had to do it to protect my daughter.

I waited until Bayu went to sleep before I was sneaking out with the baby. I moved her down to the Black Cinnamon gardens. I walked down the black stone path. The closer I got to the center, the quieter it became around me. I didn’t have time to think about it. My focus was on the baby girl close to my chest. She slept peacefully against my chest. I kissed her on the forehead.

When I made it down to the center, I could waves of heat flying up from the ground. I didn’t mind the smell but I held my breath anyway. I counted down as I stepped into the ring altar. I cut the inside of my mouth with my teeth. I flinched at the taste of my blood in mouth. I let the blood slip out onto my daughter’s forehead. Drops landed on her skin. Yes, keep going. Lust slept the whole time.

When the last drop of blood came out, I began chanting under my breath. White hot lights flared up around the circle. I closed my eyes as they went into my body. I leaned down and kissed my daughter on the forehead. A high-pitched wailing filled my ears.

Suddenly, it stopped.

I opened my eyes. My little girl was still asleep in my eyes. I nuzzled her little cheek.

“You’re safe now,” I whispered. “They will not harm you.” I turned and walked back up the stone path. I had to get her cleaned up and get her back to her mother before she woke up.