"What brought you to Luke in the first place?" Samael asked. Lily looked at him, confused.
"Uncle Beelzebub," she said, "He told me you wanted me to go after him."
Samael laughed, "Beelzebub sent you after the priest? How interesting. No, Shynra, I did not give you any such assignment."
Lily shrugged, "I always got my assignments from him. I did notice that he was sending me to a lot of virgins, but I didn't think he was sending me in search of Luke specifically."
"I think you're wrong," Samael said, "Our favorite Prince of Gluttony has always been in favor of my reign. He obviously knew something about your priest that we didn't. He sent you after him with a purpose, I'm sure of that."
Lily thought about that. Beelzebub was the most 'innocent' of her father's brothers, the fourth in line to the throne. He didn't have any aspirations for it, however. He seemed perfectly content living his life the way he was, in the amount of excess you would expect for a demon famed for his lavishness. She wasn't sure it was exactly right to call a demon prince innocent, but out of all her father's brothers, he fit that bill. She always got her assignments from him.
"Perhaps, but do you think he was trying to find the man that would bring me into power? How did he know to look for a human?" Lily asked.
"That is something I fear that we will never know. Beelzebub is notoriously quiet about his motives. Just take it as the victory that it is," Samael said. Lily nodded in agreement.
The phone on her father's desk started to ring, and he took it in hand. Lily waited impatiently as he took the call. Her father's eyes darted to her in urgency.
"Lily, you need to go find your priest. They just saw him roaming the halls going towards Asmodeus' cell."
Lily jumped up from the chair she was seated in and ran for the door. Her uncle was meddling even when he shouldn't be able to. Samael joined her in her sprint across their family home, and they stopped in front of the door that held her uncle captive. Twisted moans of pleasure teased out from behind the door, and Lily's stomach clenched. She didn't want to see what was going on behind the door, but she had to get Luke free from her uncle's grasp.
She shoved the door open forcefully. What she saw as she stepped through the door made her heart drop. Her priest was in Asmodeus' embrace, her uncle buried deep within him. Luke's head was thrown back, pleasure washed over his features. He was enjoying every second of this, and with more abandon than he had ever shown with her. Anger and jealousy were potent emotions within her. Her power surged unexpectedly, but the men in the corner of the room paid it no attention. She drew it up around her and directed it at her uncle. She would do anything to wrench her priest from her uncle's grasp.
She tried to direct her power the same way she had the other night. She envisioned what she wanted to happen to her uncle, let the vision flood her mind, and smiled with a deep satisfaction as she heard her uncle wail with pain. She was imagining every single one of his bones breaking... including the one buried inside her priest. She watched as the Royal Guard walked over and plucked Luke off the floor, his eyes wide and guilt filled as they connected with hers.
"Take him back to our room, don't let him leave." She instructed. The Guard nodded their assent and stalked out the door with Luke in tow.
Lily walked over to her uncle. He lie in a twisted heap on the floor, his limbs contorted into unnatural angles all around him. His pitiful screams still filled the cell. Blood seeped from the open wounds on his body. She bent down and met his eyes.
"Don't ever mess with what is mine again, Asmodeus." She spat. "I may not be able to kill you, but I can make you suffer."
Lily stood up and spun around to walk out the door. Her uncle didn't deserve another moment of her time. All she wanted was to see her priest and find out why he had run into the arms of their enemy.
____________________________________________________________________________________
"Was Aamon not enough for you?" Lily shouted as she walked into their bed chambers. Luke was curled up into a ball under the covers, his massive size reduced to almost nothing. He just shivered in response. Lily could hear his soft cries. Guilt ripped through her, and she walked over to him. She stroked his shoulder lightly as she sat next to him. "Luke, please look at me."
He shook his head under the covers. Sobs were wracking his body. She couldn't stand to see him this way. She felt his pain and heartbreak radiating through her. Did he really love Asmodeus? Lily sighed. Perhaps what Luke said to her in Asmodeus' castle was the truth. She couldn't give him what Asmodeus could.
"Luke, it's okay." She whispered. Lily realized her anger would just push him further from her. "I told you I would never deny you your true desires, and I won't. But is he what you truly want?"
She gently worked the covers down around his face. His eyes met hers, fear coating them. She brought her hand down and stroked his cheek lightly, then moved her hand to his hair. She had always loved someone running their fingers through her hair, and now she tried to afford that same comfort to Luke. He didn't move away, but he was still scared of her. It was then that she noticed that he had drops of Asmodeus' blood on his face. She had torn her uncle apart while Luke was still under him. No wonder he was scared.
"You tore him apart," he said weakly, "I was under him, and you tore him apart."
"I thought you were in danger, Luke. I'm sorry." Lily knew there was nothing she could say to soothe him.
"No, you didn't. I clearly wasn't in danger. You were mad, you were jealous. I could feel it. I felt it before I felt his blood all over me. Lily, you ripped a man apart out of jealousy!" Luke's eyes were still wide with fear, and despite the conviction in his voice, it was still small. He trembled under her touch.
"I would never hurt you," Lily said. "Everything I've ever done, I've done to protect you."
"I know, Lily. But I didn't need your protection tonight."
"You did, Luke. You just didn't know it. You don't know everything, and it's time that you do."
____________________________________________________________________________________
Lily drew his body onto her lap, not seeming to care that he was covered in her uncle's blood. He was too scared to fight her, but he also knew that Lily would never cause him any harm, not directly. He sighed and tried to ignore her running her fingers through his hair. It felt good, but he didn't want any reassurance from her tonight.
"I told you before that I came to you because you were an assignment. You were. My uncle Beelzebub sent me to you. He had been sending me to virgin men across your realm for years and I never knew why. But then all of this happened." Lily sighed.
"You have more than one uncle?" Luke asked.
"I have six. Together with my father, they are the Seven Princes of Hell, and the founders. You've met Asmodeus, and you seem to have taken a liking to him. But he's the most dangerous to us, Luke."
"He was in chains that kept him from using magic, Lily. He wasn't dangerous tonight." Luke spat.
"Perhaps not, but I'm not talking about just tonight. My father filled me in on what the mark on your back truly means. It's not what Asmodeus said. That mark gives you my life span. For me to be able to claim my father's throne, I have to have an equal in power. That's you. Without you, I have no claim."
Luke had gone still under her, so she continued, "However, even though your lifespan is linked to mine, I'm not linked to yours. If you die, I will live. But I will lose my powers and my immortality. Asmodeus knows this. He has known it since the beginning. He wants what my father has, and he will do anything to get it. Killing you is the only way for him to achieve his goal, Luke."
"He would kill me to get in line for your father's throne," Luke let the words roll over his tongue slowly. Lily nodded.
"Yes, and if he can take everything he can from us in the process, he would do that too." Lily said softly. She knew it wasn't what he wanted to hear, but he needed to hear it. Luke let his body sink into the bed and further into her lap. "I'm on your side, Luke, I promise. And not because I want power. I've gone my entire life without it. I can't stand to see anything happen to you."
Luke heard her voice catch. He knew that Lily would rather die than let something happen to him. He just wished that the lesson didn't have to hurt so badly. He did care for Asmodeus. He wanted to share his body with Asmodeus more than anything. The passion and tenderness they had shared before Lily walked into the cell? That had been real passion. Luke never thought he would find it in the hands of a man, much less a demon man. But he had felt alive. Lily gripped his shoulder.
"I know you want what is best for me, Lily. But what if he is it?" Luke asked weakly.
"He's not, I promise you. If I am not enough for you, I will let you find someone who completes you, Luke. Just please be careful. My uncle does not have your best interests at heart. He wants to destroy you, and he will. Having you fall in love with him will only make him happier when he becomes your downfall."
"You're telling me I have an immortal lifespan, as a human, to live alongside this man and try not to fall back into his arms?" Luke asked. "Or live a lifetime of torture and stay away from him."
"There will be someone else, Luke." Lily said. He could tell she didn't believe her own words.
"No, there won't. And we both know it." Luke said and pushed himself out of the bed. "I need to get his blood off me, Lily. I promise I won't go back to him, but I need to get his blood off me. He is the man I love, yes, and I can't stand to see his pain splashed so nonchalantly across me."
Visions of Asmodeus curled up grotesquely beside him filled his mind again. His blonde haired demon had looked so shocked at the assault. They had both felt Lily's power when she came into the room, but neither of them expected what she had actually done. Luke had felt the most intimate part of Asmodeus snap inside of him, followed by his limbs contorting and breaking. The open wounds had splattered blood across Luke before Lily's guard could move him.
