Lucifer Reborn Dante King (books that read to you txt) 📖

tell by simple process of elimination where you are. Follow me.”

Christina and I shared a look. She mouthed the word lust, a wicked look spreading across her face. Clearly she was just as excited as I was.

Chapter 17

We descended lower through a stone tunnel, carved deep into the Earth. Torches lit the walls, giving enough light to continue walking without casting enough illumination to see our destination. The steps beneath us were slick with dew, arcane symbols carved into them with greater frequency the further down we got.

“This place feels old,” I said, steadying myself on the wall. “Like I’m going to see some ancient oracle or some shit…”

“Lust is a very old sin,” Xora said without turning around. She led the way, a few steps ahead of the rest of us. “Some would say it’s the very first sin mortals committed—that Adam and Eve’s lust for knowledge is what corrupted them and led to the fall of Man.”

That sounded pretty ironclad to me. “You don’t agree?”

Xora looked over her shoulder at me, her dark eyes glittering in the torchlight like jewels. “You humans always think it’s about you,” she said, licking her lips. “A greater sin preceded yours, you know.”

“The Fall,” Mareth murmured, her hands clasped before her almost in prayer.

“When Lucifer was cast out of heaven?” Christina asked.

Xora nodded. “One day, however, he shall return,” the rusalka said with a fierce expression. “And the combined might of every demon within Hell shall be at his back.”

“That’ll have to be soon, then, right?” I asked, guiding myself down the side of the rock wall. “Given that he’s dying and all…”

A sob from my side caught my attention. Mareth covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes shut tight and brimming with tears.

“I’m sorry,” the succubus said, shaking her head like she knew exactly how awkward she looked. “I’m not trying to cause a scene. It’s just so sad…”

Xora came around and embraced her. Their two shadows merged into one in the torchlight, stretching across the bare rock.

“We try not to think about it,” the rusalka explained, holding Mareth tight as the succubus recovered herself. “Most of Hell does the same—it’s too much to bear, too unprecedented. To lose Lucifer, the morning star, after thousands of years of darkness and sin, is almost too much for a demon to comprehend.”

“Everyone treats it like a game,” Mareth murmured, wiping her eyes. “Like the trials to become the next Archlord is just something fun we’re doing for our Lord, and he’s going to reveal at the end it was all some big joke. But it’s serious. The Prince of Darkness is dying, and there’s nothing we can do about it!”

Wasn’t there? “Does anyone know what’s causing it?” I asked, trying not to sound too curious about the whole thing. That wasn’t a good look when both Mareth and Xora were so sad. “A guy like him, it can’t just be old age or something like that, right? Maybe there’s a way to stop it?”

Xora shook her head. “No one knows. I’m not even certain our Lord knows himself. But as sure as the fires of Hell burn, Luke, he is dying. Lucifer is dying.”

A moan split the darkness, shocking us into silence.

Xora recovered first. “Until then,” she said, slowly replacing her sad look with a mischievous smile, “there will be lots of fucking in the meantime. Observe…”

The sounds of moaning grew louder as we reached the bottom of the stairs. There was no second-guessing what those noises meant this close to the school: all of us had heard those cries before, had provoked them in others or made them ourselves. They were the sounds of ecstasy: of hard, primal fucking.

“Look at this,” Christina gasped, stopping at a series of carvings in the wall. At first there were only a few, but as we got closer to the hall they appeared with greater frequency. “These figures. Are they…?”

I followed her gaze, then coughed. Oh wow.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “They’re copulating.”

Carved into the walls were murals depicting various sex acts. Not the ordinary kind, either—the images the demons of the Academy had adorned the Lust school with made the Kama Sutra look tame in comparison. Every kink, every fetish, every position I could think of was represented. A few steps later, what had been two figure diagrams expanded to three people, then four…

Christina let out a low, throaty moan as she fingered a carving showing two women kneeling before a man, their backs arched with their asses stuck up high in the air. Both girls had looks of rapturous adoration on their faces, while the man’s gaze was cold and cruel.

“Remind you of anything?” she growled, grabbing hold of the front of my pants.

It did. It really fucking did—

“Oh, stop,” Xora said, rolling her eyes. “No unsanctioned copulation in the Lust school halls. Academy rules.”

Christina’s face filled with disbelief. “You’re kidding.” She gestured into the darkness, where the moans had reached a fever pitch. A few of them sounded like they were about to go over the edge. “We’re not allowed to fuck in here?”

Mareth stepped in. “Oh, you can fuck,” she giggled, running one of her jet black nails from just beneath her eye down to her chin. “You have to, in fact. But sex is learning in here, Christina. You and Luke can’t just fuck like rabbits and expect to call yourselves experienced. You’re dealing with professionals in here!”

Christina stared at the bulge in my pants for a few more moments, licking her lips. Honestly, I wanted her to drop to her knees. If there were any of the seven schools to break the rules in, it was definitely this one. She held herself back with a visible effort, digging her nails into her palm.

“Fine,” Christina growled,