There was tension among the princes of darkness, Torrence, Lyon and Lucio, as they rode home in their limousine with their little sister Sasha. The tension was caused by the sullen mood which Sasha maintained throughout the ride.
After the event at the hotel, Sasha had not said one word since they left, and her brothers knew why. It was not the three of them that Sasha's anger was directed towards. It wasn't them that she wanted to talk to, it was their eldest brother Devon. They knew that Sasha was piling up bile and holding anger in her heart even as they rode, and they knew better than to try to talk to her in that state. So they remained silent, while Sasha kept sulking, holding on to the bottle of wine that had been poured on her. She had taken it with her when she left the hotel, as a souvenir of the embarrassment she had suffered, and as a reminder for her revenge. She was still soaked in wine, and the red liquid had dried up, leaving ugly patches on her flawless white skin. Sasha had refused to get cleaned up. She left the wine on herself as she wanted to keep the flames of her rage ablaze and alive.
Sasha clenched onto the bottle of wine, biting her lips shut and her front teeth dug into the skin of her lower lips until she could taste her own blood. Her brothers watched her with concern. They knew Sasha had a foul temper, they were used to her usual outbursts of anger. But they had never seen her this riled up, seething in rage like this. This time, they could tell clearly that it was a different kind of rage, and they understood why. In all her years, nobody had ever crossed Sasha like she had just been crossed, neither in the demon world nor in the world of humans. Never. And now, a common waitress had crossed her in the ugliest way ever possible. The worst part of it was that she had been unable to do anything in retaliation.
At first, Sasha had been too shocked to react when the waitress poured wine on her, but then, when she finally found her bearing again and made to go after the waitress, their eldest brother Devon, had gotten in her way and stopped her. When Sasha tried to protest, Devon made his command an order. Sasha could not go against Devon's order, not just because he was her older brother, but also because he was her superior in the realms and commander of the demons who lived among men. Going against Devon would mean going against the orders of darkness, and disobeying the orders of the realms could attract severe punishment for Sasha.
This was the reason why Sasha was seething in anger towards Devon. She had been unable to argue freely about it back in the hotel, because of the presence of the humans. And now, she couldn't wait to get home so that she could unleash all her anger and frustration on Devon.
Devon was riding in a different car from his siblings. They were all headed in the same direction, their homestead, but as the highest prince in the realms, Devon always rode alone, surrounded by his tight security of warrior demons. Not even his siblings, who were also princes in their own capacity, were allowed to ride with him.
If only Devon was riding with them, Sasha would have started the argument right from the car.
As soon as the limousine pulled up in front of the large mansion which served as the homestead of the royal demons, Sasha jumped out before the vehicle was even properly packed. She made her way into the house, stamping angrily like a giant mammoth, with the ground trembling beneath her feet.
Devon was siting in the living room, with his eyes shut and head thrown back against the sofa, revealing his long neck. He had taken off his hat and his lustrous, shoulder length black hair spread across the white sofa, like a spread of black ink stain. He spread his arms across the back of the sofa, and his long legs were stretched out on the table in front of him, crossed carelessly and relaxed.
Devon knew that Sasha was coming for him, and he was ready for her. He was undisturbed, it wasn't as if she could do anything to him. She would just have one of her outbursts as usual, and then leave.
Sasha entered the living room, panting as if she had run for a million miles. Wild flames were visible in her eyes, and thick smoke physically poured out of her nostrils, like from a chimney. Sasha had transformed into her demon form.
"Why did you stop me?" Sasha roared, her voice sounding like the sound of a million erupting volcanoes. "Why did you stop me from dealing with that worthless mortal back there, and you didn't do anything about it either?" She asked.
By this time, Torrence, Lucio and Lyon had entered the living room, and seeing Sasha in her full demon state, they quickly hurried forward. She was charging towards Devon when the three princes caught up with her and restrained her. Sasha struggled with them, trying to set herself free. Devon's security who were present in the room had also stepped forward, but they didn't get any closer to Sasha or the princes. Even though their duty was to protect the commander, Devon, they had their limits. They could not lay hands on any of the other three princes or the princess, except by Devon's command.
Devon opened his eyes and slowly lifted his head off the sofa when he heard the scuffle in front of him. When he looked up and saw Sasha standing there, blazing with fire in her full demon form, Devon threw his head backwards and burst into a fit of laughter. He laughed for a very long time, then he looked at his little sister again. Sasha had stopped struggling with her brothers at this point, and she was just glaring at Devon in defeat.
"Why are you holding her back? Let her go!" Devon said with a small smirk. He spread his arms wide open, beaconing to Sasha as he said. "Want to give big brother a hug? Come right in. Come on. Torrence, let her go. Lyon, you too. Let her go."
The three princes reluctantly let Sasha go, but she did not move. She just stood there, burning up and breathing wild flames from her nose. She glared straight into Devon's smiling face, and her anger only increased. But she could not do anything. Sasha knew that this was the worst she could do. Acting out like this, showing off. Even if her brothers had not stopped her, there was nothing she could have done. She knew better than to dare and challenge Devon. He was her brother, yes. But he was also her superior. And it wasn't as if they enjoyed the filial love among them as siblings, like the humans did. They were demons, and only related because they were created out of the same darkness. If Sasha had gone ahead and touched even the hem of Devon's shirt, he could have dealt with her like any other random demon under his command, if he so decided.
Accepting this reality and her helplessness, Sasha broke down. Her flames burned out and she returned to her human form. She bent over and wailed, letting out a long, loud shrill cry like a banshee.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Why? Why did you stop me?" Sasha cried. "Why did you sit there and do nothing while I got disrespected by a mere filthy human? Why?"
"Sasha, I made sure they put her out of her job. I think that will be enough to teach her a lesson." Lyon said, trying to calm Sasha down.
"I do not care if she loose her job! That is what the elite humans do when they get insulted." Sasha screamed, swinging around to face Lyon as she spoke. "I don't care about her worthless job! I want to make her burn, body and soul! I want to hear her screaming, groaning and begging for her life. I want to watch her die!" She said passionately.
"You will do no such thing." Devon said, his voice sounding calm and cold with a note of finality. It was an order once again. Sasha whirled around and looked at him in surprise and utter confusion. The smile on Devon's face had disappeared, and was now replaced by a cold sinister look.
"Why?" Sasha asked in a soft voice as she began to slowly walk towards Devon. "Why can't I make her burn? Why won't you let me have her soul?"
"It is an order." Devon said gently.
"Why can't I have her filthy soul?!" Sasha screamed suddenly, loosing her cool once again and bursting into flames.
"Snap out of it Sasha!" Devon howled, rising to his feet. His voice echoed through the mansion, pushing out a heavy gust of wind that shook the pillars of the house and immediately put out Sasha's fire. Devon was angry and everyone in the room could feel it.
"I have spoken Sasha. You do not have permission to touch that human's soul. That is an order." Devon grinded out, glaring down at Sasha. The rest of the room bowed their head in obedience to his decree, but Sasha stubbornly refused to bow, not even when Torrence, the second eldest prince, stepped forward and urged her to bow. She kept staring into Devon's face.
"Why are you protecting her?" She asked gently. "You do not care about these humans. As a matter of fact, you despise them. You hate her type the most. The proud ones who have nothing to offer. This is not the first time I am demanding a human's soul, I have had it every time I asked for it before. So tell me brother, why are you protecting this woman? Why her?"
Devon clenched his fist in restraint as he was tempted to smack Sasha across her face. He grinded his teeth, then he turned away from the annoying sibling.
"Torrence, get this little demon out of here before I loose my cool!" Devon commanded. Torrence quickly stepped forward, trying to drag Sasha away, but she refused.
"I will do as you have ordered, brother." She said. "I will obey your command, and I will not touch her soul. But I will not let this slide. I shall get my revenge! I will make her life a living hell until she hates to live and choose death. I will frustrate her, I will torment her soul until she comes before me and grovels at my feet, begging me to take her life! I swear! You better not try to stop me!" Sasha swore. Then she turned around and began to leave.
"Sasha!" Devon called. Sasha paused and turned around. Devon looked her straight in the eyes and spoke seriously. "If you ever transform into your demon form on me again, or question my order, I would not let you get off this easily again." Then he dismissed her with the wave of his hand.
Sasha left the room, accompanied by the three princes.
Devon returned to the sofa and sank into it. He tried to relax, but he was restless.
"Leave the room." He said to his guards. They obeyed, bowing out.
Even alone in the living room, Devon still felt restless. Sasha's last question kept troubling him.
'Why?' He kept asking himself.
Why was he doing this? Why was he being protective of this strange woman? Why did he care what Sasha decided to do with her?
Devon didn't know this woman, it was his first time ever running into her. He did not care about humans or their life, no matter how pitiful or horrible it seemed to be. Rather than try to get them out of trouble, he would get them in one himself. The only humans he had any business with were the ones who dedicated their soul to his kingdom. But even then, he did not care about their soul. He only granted them their desires as long as they served. The humans under him were men of caliber, great men of significance. He had no dealings with ordinary men.
But something about this woman had captured him, right from the moment she had walked into the room. She was stunningly beautiful, that was a fact. Her big, brown, round eyes fit perfectly in her small round face, giving her the look of an innocent doe. Her small nose and rosy lips stood out. Her hair was lustrous black, contrasting perfectly with her pale white skin. She had an adorable petite figure. But Devon knew that it wasn't just her beauty that had him so raptured. In all his years living among humans, he had seen far more beautiful women around the world. Women who's beauty could contest even the beauty of the realms. But never had he felt this way about any of them. This sudden protectiveness, the strange urge to defend. He would have given any other soul to Sasha before the blink of an eye. Any soul at all, no matter how pretty. If any other human had dared to insult Sasha in his presence, Devon would have taken their breath away with his own hands. But today, he had sat down and watched that fragile looking human insult his little sister, a princess of his realm, and he had not felt one iota of anger! Instead, he had found her amusing, exciting. He had enjoyed watching her arrogance, and something about her pride was so pleasant to him in a way he could not understand. And now, he was protecting her from his little sister whom she had insulted and disrespected.
What disturbed Devon the most was that deep within him, he knew he wasn't just making threats, and he would hurt Sasha if she went against him and harmed the woman. And it wouldn't be just because Sasha disobeyed his order. Devon would hurt Sasha in the worst way possible, just because he was that protective of this woman. He knew this within him, and it troubled him more than he wished to admit. He had only just met her! What was it about her that was making him like this? What was it about this woman that had him so curious?
Devon wanted to see her again. He had only just seen her, but he felt like seeing her again. He wanted to look into her eyes and see into her soul.
Olivia. That was her name. He had read it on her name tag.
"Olivia." He whispered the name aloud. "Olivia." He said again, and strangely, that gave him some comfort and helped him relax.