Chapter 4: Knife

"Leave," Samael snapped at the crowd, and every single demon turned around. I almost wanted to plead with some of them to just look at me, to help me. But demons tended to be as loyal as dogs when it came to their King. Nobody would misstep here. Nobody would look at me from here on out.

That was completely and utterly unfair.

As I looked up at Samael, I saw a woman dressed in royal attire standing close to us, staring daggers at me.

"You're cutting me off from the entire world." I stated at the demon holding me, ignoring the woman behind him. "You don't need the world." Samael stated back, his eyes on the disappearing demons. "Of course I do. You can't just take away all social contact from me." I snapped back. His eyes suddenly pierced me, and they were black with anger. "You had social contact. And you decided to fuck those social contacts. So to prevent any more accidents, it's better if you have no contact with anyone anymore for the rest of your life."

"You can't do that." I said, seriously regretting I ever played with this demon.

"Fay," Samael dangerously said, "You're in my kingdom now, not my brother's. There, he was in charge. He was the one that could send you home whenever you wanted and wished. But now, you're a member of my court. My court, my rules. And if I want to lock you up and feed you nothing but maggots, I will. Your only source of contact will be me. You're to speak to no one. You will wear whatever I want you to wear and you will eat whatever I want you to eat. When I want you in my bed, you are to come at once. I will be your world."

The snort that escaped me was an accident. A total accident.

"In your fucking dreams." I snapped back.

An ear splitting roar sounded. I saw the woman flinch back, and she left the room as quick as she had come. I noticed a tiny, evil smile on her face when she looked at me over her shoulder, as if she were delighted that I was being punished.

Sam grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room harshly.

Sam's grip on my arm became almost unbearable, and as he pulled me along through the hallway, I was certain he was going to break it. His fingers dug into my skin, and I struggled to keep up with him. He led me through another hallway where multiple demons stood in dark red uniforms. They bowed so low that their foreheads almost touched the ground when they saw Samael, and they flattened against the wall as we walked past, fear etched on their faces.

The pain caused black spots to line my vision, and a strangled, pained groan escaped my throat as Samael forcefully opened a door and threw me inside.

A single candle burned on the other side, and with great effort, I could make out that we were in a bedroom. Thankfully, the big canopy bed by the candle was empty. The curtains were drawn, and the entire room was engulfed in darkness. Black ceiling, black walls, and black carpets. It seemed to devour the light and drain the life out of anything that entered.

"I will cut you for every misstep." Samael snapped at me, harshly grabbing my hand that still held the knife. Before I realized what my brain had decided to do, I turned the knife inward and cut my own arm with one swift motion. I had a high threshold for pain, and a single cut meant nothing to me. Even as the blood immediately welled up, I felt nothing.

"You will never touch me." I snapped back angrily, still clutching the knife. "Watch me, wildflower. I will touch you whenever I want to." Samael's gaze shifted to my bleeding arm, instantly darkening. He grabbed my arm the next second, the blood smearing on his fingers. I stared at him, seething with rage, and tried to snatch my arm back. "And I won't just touch you. I will take whatever I want, when I want. That includes your blood." It felt like time slowed down as he got closer to me, his tongue suddenly gliding along the length of the cut. I stared at him with wide eyes.

His hold on me tightened, and he seemed to pause when he reached the end of the blood trail. He closed his eyes and his entire body tensed up, like he was immensely struggling with something. He let out a low growl, and I remained completely still. The taste of blood had awakened something in him, something even more dangerous than Samael, the demon king.

He stepped closer to me, and instinctively, I wanted to take a step back, but his grip prevented me from doing so. "Fuck. That includes your pussy. It's mine as well. And I will take it when I want." He opened his eyes, and they almost seemed dark red. I was staring at a monster.

But his comment was so vile that I did the only thing I could in that moment.

I spat in his face. Nobody had ever talked to me with that much disrespect.

The front of my body hit the wall with an immense whack. Instantly, stars filled my vision. The snarl that left his throat was so terrifying, I was sure the entire castle could feel it. Even the windows seemed to shake with the power he unleashed in that moment. And my bones did lock with fear, did groan under the rage I felt coming from him. His hand went around my neck, and with the other, he pushed my entire body against the wall, with such intensity that I thought he would either break my spine or the wall itself. With my hands, I tried to push myself off the wall, but it was like trying to push the actual wall away.

"Don't EVER do that again." Sam snarled close to my ear. He had his teeth bared, and for a second I was petrified that he was going to tear out my neck. "Whatever you touch, my dear Fay, I will cut on your body. Consider this your last warning. The only thing you're allowed to spit on is my cock."

His tone was brimming with anger and hate, and in the midst of it, I failed to notice how far my dress had ridden up. It was half up my ass, and when he pushed his lower body into me to emphasize his words, a chill ran down my spine.

"Don't touch me." I managed to say.

My body was pressed against his, and the complete darkness of the room only amplified my fear.

"Do you want me to fuck you here, or do you want to meet my soon to be wife first?"

I remembered Elle's competition. Every king had to get married. Elle was lucky with Adrian, and I had felt very sorry for whoever had to marry fucking Satan. Not that they felt sorry for themselves—I recalled the snarling women from the party who were Sam's potential future wives.

"I will never lay with a man who is about to be wed." I repeated the words that I had said to him during that party. "Or married, for that matter." I added.

"I am no ordinary man, wildflower," he whispered, his lips grazing my ear. His breath sent shivers down my neck.

"I am the devil."