The Virgin Priest Pt. 10

"Existing brings me more pain," Asmodeus said, "The chains are keeping me from healing."

"They won't take them off?" Luke asked, shocked.

"They shouldn't take them off," Asmodeus said, "I would destroy this house if they took them off."

Luke shivered, "You would risk me to take revenge on them?"

Asmodeus sighed, "Priest, you are my revenge on them. But I've come to care for you, against my better judgment. I'm staying in these chains so I don't destroy this place and everyone in it."

"Why are you demons so complicated and vengeful?" Luke asked.

"We all crave power," Asmodeus sighed, "But I'm tired of talking, I just want to rest."

Luke nodded and reached over to grab the blanket. With a sigh, he threw the blanket across Asmodeus and himself. He gathered the demon into his arms and collapsed on the floor. Asmodeus relaxed against his body. There was no way Luke was going to let Lily hurt Asmodeus again.

***

When Luke woke the next morning, Asmodeus was still firmly in his grasp. The demon wasn't breathing hard anymore, it seemed as if he had healed a little overnight. Luke loosened his grip and Asmodeus stirred. He had been shocked that the demon allowed him to stay, but he didn't question it.

"Morning, Priest," Asmodeus said. Luke relaxed.

"I thought you were still asleep," Luke responded.

"It's hard to sleep when every bone in your body was crushed." Asmodeus joked. Luke cringed.

"I suppose so. Are you feeling better?" He asked. Asmodeus inched out of his grasp and turned to face Luke. His face was no longer battered, in fact, it was almost back to normal. Luke let out a breath of relief.

"Yes, Priest." He inched his face towards Luke's and kissed him lightly, "I'll need to thank you properly one day."

"Thank me? I got you in this mess." Luke reached forward and brushed errant hairs off Asmodeus' forehead.

"I got myself into this mess," Asmodeus corrected. "Shame on me for thinking any of it would be easy once Shynra came into her power."

"Which I did," Luke continued.

"If you hadn't come around, we couldn't have this much fun," Asmodeus deflected.

"I suppose," Luke laughed, "If you call this fun."

"I call what we were doing yesterday fun," Asmodeus raised his eyebrow, "The rest of it? A consequence of the fun."

"I don't like the consequences," Luke said.

"Me either, Priest, me either." the demon shrugged, "Which is why we will wait to continue until I get out of here. I can please you much more thoroughly in my castle, anyways."

Luke tensed. He might care about Asmodeus, but he wasn't leaving Lily. "I'm not leaving here again."

"Afraid I won't give you back to Shynra?" Asmodeus teased.

Luke shook his head, "More like I'm afraid of what she will do to you if you take me away from her. She almost tore you apart for touching me in her own home. When she got me last time, she made your eyes bleed."

"Her father is Wrath embodied, her reaction, while painful, doesn't surprise me. It's appropriate even. It should be touching to you at the least. She acted out of fear for your life, not caring that she could be risking her own. I don't like my niece, but you do have a fierce protector in her."

"It sickens me," Luke said, "I'm a grown man, I can make my own decisions."

"Grown? To us, you're a child. Shynra and I have at least a millennium on you, Priest. You may hate her for the choices she has made, but you are her mate. She is driven to protect you and I'm a threat. She did what she had to. I hate her for it, but I understand it. I'd do the same thing if I was in her position. Try not to hate her so much, you are her King, after all."

"I didn't ask for any of this," Luke complained.

"Trust me, none of us did. But you were chosen, for whatever reason, you were chosen. You have a duty to fulfill, and as much as I want to keep Shynra from reigning, I will not hurt you. I can't hurt you. If she hadn't bonded to you, I would have. Keep that in the back of your mind, Priest. I'm her enemy, but I'm not yours." Asmodeus looked down with the confession. "I trust that she will keep you safe. She won't let harm come to you if she can help it."

____________________________________________________________________________________

Lily stood on the other side of the door, shocked at the words coming out of her uncle's mouth. Had he really just professed his love for Luke? She hadn't felt an ounce of danger over the night. She had stayed outside the cell door just in case. Luke hadn't asked for help once. She hadn't sensed fear in him once. His rage and disapproval still flowed through her. There was nothing she could do to change that. She didn't feel bad about maiming her uncle. She did feel bad about causing Luke pain.

She knocked on the door softly and stepped inside. Luke narrowed his eyes at her as she walked through the door, drawing Asmodeus into his body. Lily quirked her eyebrow. Asmodeus gave her a smug look and sank into Luke's arms.

"Isn't this cozy?" she asked sarcastically.

Luke drew his lips into a thin line. "As cozy as it can be."

"Yes, you did make it this way, niece. For that I thank you." Asmodeus winked at her. Lily did her best to keep her face neutral.

"Be that as it may, Luke, we have business to attend to. You need to come with me." she shifted her gaze to her uncle, "You will be released today to return to the hole you crawled out of. We will negotiate the terms of your visitation with Luke before you leave."

"I get visitation rights? Oh, fancy." Asmodeus remarked.

"Watch it. I'm doing this to keep Luke happy, not for you. But you will abide by the rules I put forth, which will be discussed later today. Come on, Luke."

Luke looked up at her, the shock clear on his face. He didn't fight with her. He released Asmodeus reluctantly and stood up beside him. He gave Asmodeus one last look before he followed Lily out the door. Lily could feel how much it pained him to leave. She knew somehow that if Luke had a second chance, he would have accepted her uncle's bond before hers. It made her ache. Not only because she needed him, but because she had the love for him that he carried for Asmodeus.

"Lily..." Luke hesitated. She kept walking, afraid that the tears building up behind her eyes would fall if she turned to face him. She was leading him back to their room. He needed to be dressed for the meeting with her father. She didn't acknowledge him until they got there.

"Yes, Luke?" She asked.

He sighed, "I know it hurts you to let me see him. Thank you."

"I don't want to talk about it. I made a promise to you; I will not break it because I don't like your choice." Lily said shortly.

"You know that keeping me happy for the lifetime you've promised means not causing him any harm, right?" Luke asked.

"Priest, you cannot expect me to promise you that I won't harm him. Especially if he threatens your life, or mine. A threat to me is a threat to you. I will have to if he threatens you."

"He won't do anything to hurt me," Luke said softly.

Lily knew that was the truth. A demon would never admit to wanting to bond with a human, ever. Even if it was what they wanted. If Asmodeus had bonded with Luke first, he would have been giving up his place in the line of succession. His admission of love for Luke did not weigh lightly on her. It made her wonder what his true motives had been with Luke before he knew she marked him. He had been surprised when he saw Lily's wings on Luke's back. Had her uncle been watching Luke as well?