Genesis Queen (The Road to Hell Series) Read online

  “I had to make it look good for Kur. I told you I’d draw the last blood.”

  They’d gone into a fight in Hell with a common goal to determine which one was the more skilled opponent. He drew first blood and Madison had vowed to draw the last. She’d succeeded, but only after he let his guard down. At the time, he hadn’t been certain if the regret on her features was real or a hallucination of his near-death experience. He did recall her crying.

  Moments after she’d stabbed him, Elias flashed him away to safety and she’d escaped Hell with the dragon, Kur.

  “You shouldn’t have agreed to the match if you wanted me to take it easy on you.”

  A slow grin curved his lips. The imp attempted to prod his ego. “I took it easy on you, kitten.”

  “Sure you did.”

  He kissed her, setting his lips over hers and using his thumb on her chin to tug her mouth open. His tongue slashed across hers and she melted. There would be no talking his cock back into softness until he’d buried it deep inside her. Holding her tight to his frame, he could feel the soft line of her body against his. She offered no protest when he submerged a hand in her hair and angled her head for a deeper embrace. Like elixir of the gods, her flavor was potent and addictive with one sample…but he could taste Phoenix, too, and that rattled him.

  “Micah….” She whispered a protest when he pulled back just enough to gaze at her.

  “Phoenix has fed you well. I can sense his messian running through your veins.” He clasped her face between his hands, a little jealous Phoenix had fed her with his magic. “Your succubus is serene, which means he fucked you well, too.”

  “Fucked me very well.”

  His jaw tightened. It should’ve been him fucking her, not the Ark of Heaven. The injustice of it! He exhaled. A rattling sound emerged, one that reminded him of a lion’s low-throated warning growl.

  “She’ll betray you again, zkihtak,” Elias said, calling him brother in the demon language, Xapil. “You’re a fool if you believe anything she says.”

  Madison tensed and spun around in his arms. Micah could only imagine the hostile glare she turned on his brother. “And you’re a fool if you listen only with your eyes.”

  These two would never get along.

  “Allow me a day alone with her.” His twin blew her a kiss. “One day and her tune will forever be altered.”

  It was his turn to tense. No threat against Madison would be tolerated and his brother’s request sounded like a hazard to her health. “Why?”

  “A day alone with me? When Hell freezes, you bastard.” Madison pushed out of his embrace and stepped toward an exit. “I’m going to our bedroom, Micah. Feel free—”

  Elias’s fingers tangled in her hair, and he wrenched her about. Creases fanned from the corners of his brother’s eyes as his lids lowered to assess her like a new plaything he’d torture with an adoration that bordered on obsession.

  “Release her.” The cold edge of Micah’s voice went razor sharp. That command wasn’t optional. However, fighting his brother in his current condition wouldn’t be easy, if not impossible.

  “In a moment. I promise not to hurt her, but prove a point.”

  His brother’s comment sent Madison into action. She thrust her palm upward, but he deflected the hit. Capturing her shoulders, he twisted her to face Micah. Elias’s arm circled her shoulder, his hand on her throat, holding her head steady against his chest. The tips of his twin’s fingers whitened as he squeezed a warning for Madison to settle down. Beliel saw red, but held his reaction in check. A royal who couldn’t hold her own against another noble would hold no legitimate position in Hell.

  Jaw locked tight, she said from between clenched teeth, “I won’t beg you for mercy, Elias.”

  “You would.” Of all the brothers, his twin excelled at torture. Madison wouldn’t just beg if he ever took her that way. His brother would milk a duet of screams from her.

  “Allow me to prove her insincerity, zkihtak?” Micah said nothing and by the brief cant of Elias’s head, he knew his brother took his silence as approval. “Where should I begin, princess? A scratch here….” One of his claws swiped down her shoulder, leaving a cat-like scratch. At the sight of her blood, Micah’s own talons emerged. “Or a prick here?”

  A sharp-tip gouged into her upper arm. Blood trickled a zigzag pattern down to her elbow, where it dripped and hit the skin-stitched floor. The souls quarantined to their flesh in Hell shrieked a protest. He would bellow his own objection if this demonstration continued much longer.

  Impressed by her ability to retain an impassive expression in light of her tormenter’s taunts, he barely resisted halting his brother’s hypothesis. Power hummed in his ears, gathering in his head to explode in a surge of anger for his sibling’s audacity to harm his wife. When it came to Madison, his reasoning was limited.

  No more antagonizing. He would put a stop to this terror tactic. At the first step in his direction, Lucifer placed a halting hand on Micah’s shoulder and telepathed, Let it play out for a minute longer. See what happens, how she reacts.

  Clicking his claws together, he drew his twin’s gaze to them. The half smile that twitched one corner of his brother’s mouth informed Micah his brother understood he tap-danced on the very edge of his restraint. Watching Madison bleed had his protective instincts homicidal for action.

  Madison picked that moment to grip Elias’s wrist, wrench it off her throat with a twist. His brother yelped as Madison pivoted on her heels to face him. A kick to his knee and a pop sounded. His twin collapsed on the floor with a yell, and the floor screeched its agony. Her fingernails dug deep into his throat, creating crescent indentions.

  “Lay your hands on me again without my consent, and I’ll fucking kill you. If you think for one second I cannot make good on that promise, consider this….” She dragged her nails down the side of his throat, slapped her palm over the scratches, and shoved yellow magic inside him. Pandora magic, by the color of it. Elias jerked and his eyes bulged at the lethal cocktail she’d zapped him with. “Understood?”

  Her fiery spirit sexier than ever, Micah’s erection throbbed against his zipper. “Well played, kitten.”

  “Screw you!” She heaved his sibling away from her and swung about. Her infuriated glare succeeded in ratcheting up his libido. “You allowed his manhandling.”

  “Impressive, princess.” Eliel coughed, wincing as he wiped the blood off his neck, blood her nails had created. He rose to his feet and limped from his wounded knee.

  “I allowed it only so far. I had to know if you could handle yourself with him.” And goddamn, what a sight it’d been. Cool in the face of adversity, she’d given no indication she was about to pounce, just reacted and brought his brother down. Must be a low blow to his twin’s colossal pride. “FYI, Elias, Madison ingested my seraph.” His twin’s frame hardened at Micah’s statement. “You know that means she cannot lie to me.”

  Lucifer dragged a finger across the flesh wounds inflicted on Madison, and they healed instantly.

  She opened her mouth—he guessed the inbred politeness of her Southern upbringing was about to offer thanks—when movement from the corner of the room snagged her attention and she turned in that direction instead.

  “Amos!” She blinked rapidly as if she hallucinated.

  Their son’s gaze clashed with Madison’s. A fidget between feet and then Amos notched his chin higher, a clear gleam of defiance in his baby blues.

  In an attempt to settle her obvious anger, he trailed his fingers across her shoulder, and she dragged in a shaky breath. Before he could issue a reprimand for the way their child looked at his mother, she demanded, “Why. Are. You. Here?”

  Micah’s palm slid along the side of her neck. He pinched her chin and tilted her head to the side to peer into her eyes. “He’s been visiting with me. For months. Shortly after Phoenix joined me in Hell.”

  Her eyes widened and she jerked out of his hold. “Visiting without my permission.�
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  Not a question, but a statement. She fisted her hands at her sides, so hard her knuckles went white, an interesting response at cross-purposes with her earlier actions. She’d have him believe she wanted him and was devastated by the thought of killing him, but she would deny him visits with their son. As a father, visitation with his offspring was his privilege.

  His gaze narrowed. “Odd declaration, considering you’d have me believe you’re with me rather than against me?”

  “Allow disobedience from him now and he’ll follow in your footsteps and rebel against you just as you did your father.” She faced him. “I would’ve thought you of all people would get that without being told.”

  Darting a thoughtful glance in his son’s direction, Micah played it cool. While she had a point, it was wrong to deny him time with his child. Especially when Amos had been the one resisting visits with him before, and he was the one who instigated the renewal of their familial relationship.

  “What are your exact plans for us, Micah?” Silence was the only answer he offered because he didn’t have an easy answer. His current plans differed from his original one, although Elias would be livid to discover his alteration. “Petra says you wish to start a new religion, with the three of us playing the parts of a new Trinity.” That had been the initial arrangement. “But if she lied and Amos’s complete obedience isn’t expected, then I guess his surprise visits with you aren’t a big deal.”

  “Lying bitch.” Elias’s subtlety needed some work.

  Anger detonated like a bomb through her expression and her Lynx succubus flashed, dimmed, and flashed hotter. Madison swung about and grabbed him by the neck once more. “I swear if you call me a bitch again, I’ll show you the definition of queen bitch.”

  If Micah didn’t intervene, he suspected she’d level his brother once more. They needed to progress beyond their stalemate, so he tugged her hand free of his twin’s neck. His seraph trickled into her, calming and soothing her Lynx until it faded from her eyes.

  “Mmm….” She twisted toward Micah, licking her lips. “More.”

  “Later, kitten. I haven’t the strength to give you much right now.” Just that little bit and he felt like he’d stepped onto a Tilt-a-Whirl. Inhaling deeply, he ignored the way the room spun. “Leave, Elias, while I have her focus elsewhere.” Trying to calm her with touch, he swished his thumb across her wrist, but her pulse was wild against his pad.

  “You’re a fool if you listen to her prevarication.”

  She glowered at his sibling.

  “She’s a Lynx.” Micah lifted an eyebrow at his brother. “She’s murdered Pandora. You know what that indicates. Leave, Eliel. We cannot afford for her to injure a King—or worse—now that we’ve come this far. She’ll need us all.”

  Chapter One

  Micah watched her like he could ferret out duplicity. But with no need to lie, Madison offered only honesty. She was genuinely pleased to discover he’d survived.

  Only because he represents safety. No one would harm her as long as he breathed.

  That is not the sole reason we’re happy he is alive. It’d be a lot easier if she could deceive her demon.

  The unfortunate truth was she regretted plunging the blade into his chest. The feel of it tugging against his flesh, hitting his rib and the bone cracking, they’d be memories that would haunt her dreams for years to come.

  But he lives. To convince herself that was reality, she wanted to lose herself in more of his kisses. Maybe in his body. Wanted to go back into his arms because that was where she belonged and where she felt secure. Why hadn’t she realized he represented home to her before? Micah offered her acceptance without judgment. Her real-world family and friends wouldn’t offer her that scope of support.

  But her son’s appearance ruined her dream-like happiness. His presence was a bitter reminder that Amos deserved more than a hellish empire as a backdrop for his upbringing. The power he likely would harness one day would require a solid bedrock of morals rather than his father’s evil influence.

  Can he escape his parentage? That was the ultimate dilemma.

  Lucifer drew nearer. Elias remained at Madison’s back. In the next few moments, he would label her a traitor and all would agree, or they’d see her viewpoint. At this stage, she could see it going either way.

  “Madison makes a valid point.” Stunned by Lucifer’s reply, she held her breath and waited for him to continue. “Disobedience will incite future troubles. Rebellion in any structure is intolerable to Hell’s design.” He motioned to her son. “Approach, child.”

  Amos hesitated, but he braved up. Squaring his shoulders, he advanced with reluctance shining from his eyes. Madison understood his lack of enthusiasm, but he should realize no one in Hell would harm him. Being the prince of Hell afforded him a safety net. It wouldn’t protect him from bluntness nor minor reprimands, however.

  “You knew your mother’s stance regarding visitation with your father?” Lucifer’s presence was dynamic, ever-changing, but through all his personas he retained a majestic demeanor. The type that made one eager to prostrate and confess all one’s sins. It was more than a little unnerving.

  Amos cast a quick glance in Madison’s direction. She allowed him to see the displeasure in her gaze and he looked away fast. As if he expected someone to thrash him for his arrival, he bowed his head and nodded.

  “I didn’t remember Daddy.” His bottom lip trembled. “All we’ve ever done is run from him. I needed to know him, Momma.” He looked her square in the eye then. “You say he’s bad, that he doesn’t want anything good for us, but then you tell me I’ll have to make my own decisions one day. I can’t do that if you’re always protecting me.”

  Micah touched Amos’s arm, shot a smidge of power into him and her son flinched. Madison went to call him on his discipline, but he halted her protest by shaking his head. “Parents do what they believe is best for their child. You disobeyed your mother. You’ll return home, and as punishment you’ll cease using all of your powers for a month.”

  A slight gasp from him. “But—”

  “Silence!” Micah bellowed. “Or I’ll discipline you with a lash of power again. Understood?” A reluctant nod from their son and Madison found herself a trifle impressed by her husband’s loving chastisement. “You’ll obey your mother in everything or receive more of what I just gave you.”

  “Yes, sir.” Amos shuffled his feet and rubbed his arm where his father had tagged him. With a wave of his hand, Micah opened a portal back to their home and with a last, fleeting look in Madison’s direction, their son went through it.

  “Lynx?” Elias snarled the moment their child disappeared. “A fucking Lynx with Pandora at her command?”

  “Someone want to tell me why that bothers him so much?” Madison flicked a glance in her brother-in-law’s direction.

  Before anyone could respond, he took a step closer, his presence vibrating with suppressed anger. “You weren’t going to tell us, were you, Micah?”

  “I just did.”

  “We thought you would die, Beliel. And even then you neglected to alert us of her status. Pertinent information, don’t you think?”

  “You’d vowed to torture her. And you knew how I felt.” Madison’s startled gaze jerked to Micah’s. The tension in her husband’s body radiated outward like a too-hot furnace. “I’d rather die than give you information that would’ve prompted you to keep her alive indefinitely. Not when I’m aware death is infinitely preferable to anything you’d have done to her in the interim.”

  Power coalesced in the cavern—and not the basic white and black magic that held it together. Madison suspected this represented the standoff between them. Palming Micah’s bicep, she slid her hand down his forearm, coaxed his fist to loosen and interlaced her fingers with his.

  Elias continued to glare, while her husband sent her a surprised glance. Madison offered a slight smile. A gentle tug against her hand and he positioned her in front of him, her spine to hi
s chest. As his chin skimmed the top of her head, Madison caught Lucifer’s gaze. No question, he’d intercepted her silent announcement of solidarity with Micah. She couldn’t gauge if he approved or not.

  Raguel neared, flanking Madison to the right. Hemmed in on all four sides by the Kings, Madison reached out and felt for her husband’s presence. The weak glide of his magic against hers reminded of her infraction against him. Never again would she be able to raise arms against him.

  And I’m supposed to be in a relationship with Nix.

  A union with both could be entertaining. Her Lynx contemplated the two men, flashing images of them in her head.

  Had she ever been so confused before? She couldn’t recall. And she feared Hell had a way of dulling her human emotions.

  Micah’s hostile tone jerked her from her thoughts. “As I lay dying, you cared not for my feelings, only yours, Elias. How can you expect me to regard your notion of revenge higher than my own feelings for my bride? Ever heard of granting a dying man his final wish, brother?” His free arm circled her waist and pulled her flush against him. She squeezed his hand; his talons cool instruments of bereavement against her flesh. “Madison’s welfare is top priority, as it always has been. I love her. Why can you not understand my emotions for her?”

  “I thought the success of Hell was top priority?” Soft words spoken by his brother, but they held impact.

  “Madison is a huge part of Hell’s success.”

  But she sensed he withheld something pertinent. On an indulgent impulse, she spun around and hugged him.

  “Not that I’m complaining, but what’s the hug for?” He ran his palm down her back and her body ignited. The same way it had for Nix just hours ago.

  “For loving me regardless of anything I’ve done.”

  He kissed her temple and dragged his lips down the side of her face to whisper against her ear. “You are my everything, kitten, all I live for. Now and always.”