In Hell

Once upon a time,

An angel and a devil fell in love.

It did not end well.

—Laini Taylor

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The guards arrived one by one, and the last to arrive almost stumbled and fell, his breathing unstable because of how fast he had ran here. Theodore, who didn't spare a glance at them, smirked feeling the beautiful scent of fear in the atmosphere.

"Wake them up," he spoke, and one of his men approached, opening the cell's door with a bucket of freezing cold water. Dumping the contents on the prisoners, the two men awoke with a scream that didn't manage to escape the dungeon walls. The cold water made their injuries sting and burn as they cried out in pain.

"Watch carefully and learn." said the King to his guards before placing a foot in the cell room. Seeing an unfamiliar man enter the cage, the moneylenders hurriedly approached his feet with trembling hands begging for help.

"Sir, that man tried to kill us!" One of the men named Ray cried out pointing towards Leon who stood in a corner. "Please help us, we were told that we were invited by the King here, we demand his presence!"

Theo ignored them, his eyes were on his nails as he traced them with a finger and felt their sharpness. "What are they called Leo?" came the King's dull voice.

"Ray Lewis and Charles Jarvis, Your Majesty. They lend people money but are known for abusing women and taking advantage of them when they don't manage to return the money back on time."

Theo raised a brow. The men named Ray and Charles soon realized that he was the King and bowed their heads flat on the ground, their bodies aching because of the wounds delivered to them.

"What have we done to deserve this treatment? The man is lying, we have never touched a woman let alone abused one!" spoke Ray, wanting to look up but an invisible force seemed to be pushing his head further into the hard ground.

"Do you remember anyone named Evangeline Blythe?" asked Theo, bending down on his knees and staring impassively at the mortals who were covering in fear before him.

They had heard rumors about the King of Xandria from their acquaintances and as he now sat in front of them, the two humans couldn't help but want to kill themselves as an easy death. Not many people had met or seen the ruler of Xandria and they had gotten excited when they heard about the news that they were invited personally by the King himself. Thinking they were going to receive a high position in the court, they had happily strolled into the cage and gotten trapped and beaten by the Advisor and the guards ruthlessly.

Seeing the men not answering, Theo poked his cheek with his tongue and grabbed Charles's finger in his hand. With one swift move, he broke a finger off from the man's hand, and screams of pain filled the dungeon as the bloody finger dropped to the ground.

Ray almost fainted seeing the torture being bestowed upon his partner and backed away into a corner as far as he could from the Devil that stood in front of him.

"Yes! Yes, we know her!"

Theo paused from breaking the middle finger and glanced up. "How do you know her?"

Ray paused and on seeing the King stand up, he hurriedly told him, "She's a slut! She borrowed money from us, and then when we asked it back from her she refused and tried to seduce us- Argh!" he choked when the King held him up by the neck, his feet no longer touching the ground.

Squeezing his neck tighter, the echo of Theo's laughter filled up the entire room and the adjacent cells of the dungeon. The guards quivered at seeing the maddened look on their King's face as he pushed the man onto the dirty ground holding his neck in a tight grip.

Knowing that the time of his death was near, Ray cursed the King with his last breaths, "Go to hell..."

A small chuckle escaped Theo's lips at the man's words. "Where do you think I came from?"

"Meet you in hell." the King spoke and the man's body fell limply on the ground with blood leaking out his mouth, staining the floor.

Turning around to face the other man, Theo noticed that he had already fainted at the sight of his torture. He tutted as he kicked the man's unconscious body to a side before lowering his head to step out of the cell.

"Hand me a knife." were the only words that escaped his lips and Leon nodded towards a guard who fumbled around and found a knife in one of his pockets. Leon passed it to the King who stared at it for a second before entering the cell once again.

Every guard in the room wondered what he was going to do next but when the King mercilessly pushed the knife inside Ray's chest, they had to stop their jaws from falling slack. Wasn't he dead? Was this man planning to torture a dead soul too?

Blood sprayed over Theo's face and clothes as he straightened up. Taking out his handkerchief, Theo wiped his blood-stained fingers one by one without speaking a word to the rest of the people who stared in horror at the brutal death of the man.

"After he gains consciousness, make sure to chop off his tongue first so that he doesn't sprout rubbish from his mouth. Let the other body rot in the same cell without burying it. I'll come back to visit our honored guests once again if I get the chance."

Dropping the bloody cloth on the ground, he stepped over it and made his way back to the stairs. The guards stepped aside with their heads bowed not daring to look up into the demon's eyes.

Theo exited the dungeon with a content look on his face after seeing the man's blood on his hands. His clothes were defiled with blood and he decided to take a bath in the guest room rather than in his since the smell might wake up Eva.

She would see his malevolent side one day but he wanted to give her time to adjust before doing anything. The girl wasn't as fragile as he had thought and he wanted to let her live up to her full potential without stopping her.

By his side, of course, thought Theo, and a smirk tugged at his lips as he made his way to the King's chamber.