Liora 1
A muffled debate crept into Liora’s subconscious and pulled her from sleep. Blinking in the darkness, it took her a moment to realize the ceiling was much closer than it should be. Her arm slid off her stomach, dangling in the air as she glanced downward to see her bed a good four feet below.
“Shit.”
With a quiet grunt, she fell to the mattress with a slight bounce and released a huff of breath. It had been ages since the last time she’d woken up to find herself levitating.
The voices coming from downstairs recaptured Liora’s attention, reminding her of why she was even awake at 12:30 in the morning. Her mother sounded angry, but the masculine timbre of an unknown male sounded deep and calm. It was quite alluring.
It wouldn’t be the first time she’d caught her mom arguing with a lover, but there was something different about her usual cool tone. It sounded bitter, poisoned by an old wound, and that was significant enough to have Liora pulling a sweater on and tiptoeing out of her room.
Their house was an old Victorian, yet fully renovated with top-of-the-line amenities, so there were no creaky floorboards or hinges. Liora was also quite adept at being stealthy thanks to some of her extracurricular activities.
She’d been raised in the Hierarchy: a secret society whose sole purpose was to cater to the earthly needs of Hell. Primarily, the rearing of demon-hybrid children, like Liora. They all knew exactly what they were. The Hierarchy never kept it a secret from them because there was no way to stop the development of their demonic powers from a young age—and levitation was only the tip of the iceberg.
At the end of the hall, she pushed the swinging door open and peered out. The only light streaming into the darkness came from the open parlor door, so that had to be where her mother and the mystery man were.
Now that Liora was much closer, she could hear everything being said. She wished the angry words spat by her mom didn’t hurt so much, but they did.
“I sent messages through the Council repeatedly, begging for your help,” her mom fumed. “Pleading for you to make an appearance and set her ass straight. She’s been out of control for—!”
“Stop talking right now, Kristine,” the man ordered darkly before speaking calmly again. “Liora? Come in here, darling. It’s all right.”
Shit. Really?
How did he even know she was there when she hadn’t made a sound? Liora was well beyond the line of sight from the parlor. Unless…
Oh, please, oh, please, let it be my father.
That was the most logical explanation. But her mom’s whole family was in the Hierarchy, posted all over the globe. For all she knew, the man was related to them in some way, like an uncle or grandfather who was simply more adept at dealing with sneaky hybrids.
Steadying her breath, Liora pushed the door open wider and entered the front of the house. Like all the other demon-hybrids, she’d been waiting for the day when her father would arrive from Hell to take her back home with him.
It took eighteen years for their demonic powers to develop enough to allow them entrance into Hell. But her birthday was months ago. Liora was afraid of getting her hopes up, even though she couldn’t stop it from happening.
Cautiously, she rounded the door frame and stepped into the parlor where her mom stood in the center of the room, her shoulders rigid and fists clenched. An unexpected pang of regret and sympathy struck Liora to see her that way.
The harsh reality was that the women of the Hierarchy were little more than broodmares for demons, whether they were married or not. Of course, the millions of dollars they were compensated with more than made up for that offense. Every demon wanted children and they had plenty of resources to set their child and the mother up in the lap of luxury for at least eighteen years.
Most women were smart enough to invest the money, so it kept them in diamonds and Dior for the rest of their lives. The Hierarchy even had a private bank and investment firm to capitalize on that option.
In one of the antique chairs near the fireplace, sat the most attractive man Liora had ever seen, facing her mother. His hair was jet black, falling in stylish, wavy layers. If he were indeed her father, it would explain where she’d gotten her soft black hair. Though, hers had taken on the springy curls of her mother’s brown tresses.
He had eyes the color of fresh coffee beans; a rich dark brown with golden hues. Long lashes framed them in a face that could’ve belonged to a European prince. Not just any country, though. Somewhere romantic, like Spain or Italy. His bespoke suit was navy blue over a crisp dress shirt, accessorized with a platinum watch and cufflinks.
Everyone in the Hierarchy was rich, but he was no mortal man. The very air around him crackled with demonic energy. It singed Liora’s skin, not in warning, but temptation. He drank her in from head to toe, and she self-consciously hugged her sweater tighter around her body, extremely aware of not being presentable.
Liora’s mother glanced at her with the same light green eyes she’d passed on to her, though they were bloodshot from too many Gin and Tonics again.
“Come meet your father,” she said waspishly. “Isn’t that what you’ve been waiting for?”
Liora ignored her mother’s stinging tone and tried not to jump up and down with excitement to have her suspicions confirmed. There was no way to keep the grin off her face when she entered the room fully, though. Her father didn’t hesitate to reciprocate, rising from the chair to meet her halfway.
When he captured her hands, Liora’s powers swelled, surging to the surface as if trying to meld with his.
“What is that?” she gasped, awed by the sensation.
“Your powers came from mine,” he answered. “They will always be drawn to their source; like attracted to like.”
The Demon Council, which acted as the liaison between Hell and the Hierarchy, dictated everything the hybrids were required to know so they’d be as prepared for their future as possible. Yet, they’d never mentioned anything about demonic powers reacting that way.
“So happy to do all the work while you reap the rewards,” Liora’s mom muttered bitterly.
Liora’s shoulders tensed and her father’s attention snapped up and beyond her, to where her mother still stood like an ice sculpture in the middle of the room. His displeasure wasn’t just thick enough to feel, it was dark. Dangerous in a way her mom was either too drunk or too human to grasp.
“Take her to the car,” he commanded.
Two more demons in suits suddenly appeared from the shadows as if from thin air, startling Liora. They instantly stepped forward to guide her from the room—and her mother.
“Wait, stop,” she panicked. “Don’t hurt her. Please?”
Her father turned his dark eyes to her with a wolfish smirk. “You flatter me, daughter. But don’t worry. Your mother will remain unharmed.”
He gave the other demons a pointed look and they didn’t hesitate to start leading Liora into the hallway as they’d been told. They stopped in the foyer where she slipped on her shoes, purposely taking her time so she could eavesdrop.
“In less than ten minutes, you’ll forget everything,” her father said quietly.
“Exactly. So, can you hurry?” her mom snapped.
“She won’t,” he stated darkly, his voice low and formidable, forcing Liora to hold her breath to hear him. “She’ll remember everything about you and how you’ve treated her, forever.”
“What do you know? You weren’t here,” Liora’s mom countered coldly. “You have no right to judge me. I tried my hardest with her, and it was never good enough—”
With a scoff, Liora shook her head. “I’m ready to go,” she said.
The demons escorted her outside and she closed her eyes the moment her mom’s voice got cut off by the closing of the door. Deep inside, Liora had always known why her mom kept her at arm’s length, afraid to really love her the way a parent should.
Because once Liora was taken to Hell, her mother wouldn’t even remember she existed. All traces of her life in the mortal realm would completely vanish as if she’d never been born.
Still, it hurt because her father was right. Her mother got to forget all about her, but Liora would never get that same blank slate to start over with. All her memories of having an emotionally detached dictator of a mother would never go away. And worse, they would never get the chance for a better relationship later on. Their moment had already passed.
The two demons led Liora to a dark sedan parked at the curb. The late August night was still warm enough for the shorts she’d been sleeping in, but it reminded her of just how ill-prepared she’d been to meet her father for the first time.
He was beyond handsome and precisely put together. Liora had merely rolled out of bed and threw on the first thing she grabbed. She wasn’t even wearing a bra, for crying aloud. Still self-conscious about all that, she was grateful when the demons allowed her to climb into the backseat alone.
They remained outside, waiting for her father. Not that it took him long. In less than a minute, he was strolling out of the house. One of the demons opened the back door for him, while the other climbed into the driver’s seat.
Before Liora’s brain could catch up, everyone was situated in the car and it was pulling away from the curb. She couldn’t stop from looking over her shoulder through the back window as her childhood home grew more and more distant.
“She’s okay, I promise. Are you?” Liora’s father asked from beside her.
She nodded shallowly. “I’m used to it.”
He studied her but didn’t press the issue, thank Hades. The last thing Liora wanted was to spend her first moments alone with her father bitching about her mom. In all honesty, she’d rather forget they’d ever met, let alone seen each other naked. Mostly because she had the hots for her dad. Like, serious fucking hots.
It was utterly shameful, but her mind couldn’t convince her body of that critical fact.
“I’m sure you have a million questions for me,” her father said. “Don’t be shy about anything. I promise I’m an open book where you’re concerned, Liora.”
She smiled because he wasn’t wrong, she had a ton of questions. And Liora liked to think he was telling the truth about being open because she was extremely curious about him.
“What’s your name?”
It was the one thing he’d never given her mother. Since he’d been able to detect Liora’s gender long before a doctor could, he’d been the one to choose her name. It was the only way her mom could try to get a hold of him through the Demon Council.
Liora had always believed that story was true, and not just her mom being spiteful. She was quite confident she would’ve heard her mother cursing her father’s name many times, had she known it.
“Aldion.”
“No last name?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Demons don’t have last names, only sins we’re responsible for provoking in humans. I’m the Demon of Knavery.”
“That sounds Shakespearean,” Liora remarked.
Her father chuckled. “I suppose it’s become quite antiquated in the mortal realm. It means villainy, thievery, and all-around criminal behavior.”
Liora’s brows rose with surprise because that hit close to home for her. “You don’t say?” she muttered.
It didn’t help ease her attraction to him, either. She’d always found the bad things in life more alluring, rooting for the villains and anti-heroes more often than not. Liora’s mom hadn’t been exaggerating about her behavior. By human standards, she was considered out of control.
At first, she’d blamed her mom, claiming only to be seeking attention from the Ice Queen. But that had never been the whole truth, only a handy excuse. Liora had started curating a laundry list of bad habits from a young age, then honed them into useful skills.
In the end, they had nothing to do with her mother and everything to do with how much she enjoyed their various challenges. Not to mention, she was damn good at them—especially, being a thief.
Now, Liora couldn’t help wondering if it hadn’t been her father’s demonic powers influencing her desires and decisions all along.
“You should know, I’m the biggest crime lord of New Loudon, the city in Hell where we live. Our syndicate’s territory makes up the entire eastern sector called Hollow’s End,” her father continued. “It’s not where nice people find themselves, no matter the time of day.”
“There are nice people in Hell?” she asked dazedly, her mind reeling from the rest.
Cities? Crime lord? He made Hell sound like the set of The Sopranos rather than the fiery realm of eternal suffering depicted by the church.
“Hell is designed to mimic the mortal plane because the damned are unaware that they’re dead,” he explained. “They’re all stuck in a vicious cycle of reliving horrible, sad lives, utterly oblivious. So, yes. There are nicer areas than others, just like here.”
The sinister gleam in his eye triggered a single laugh from Liora, even though it was more from surprise than humor.
“That’s a little devious,” she remarked.
“I know,” he said pleasurably. “No one tortures humans better than they torture themselves and each other. It’s beautiful.”
Liora chuckled, unable to help herself. “I’m really a Mafia princess?”
“You are.” Her dad smiled, appearing pleased with the excitement in her tone. “Of course, it’s all in the name of punishing the damned. But we still get to enjoy our roles to their fullest extent.”
“We do have to make it convincing, don’t we?” she said with a slow, wicked grin.
The look her father gave her then seemed sensual, causing her cheeks to heat with a blush, so she looked away. She’d obviously imagined it, right? It was just her depraved attraction to him making her see things that weren’t really there.
“What about school?” Liora rushed out to cover her inappropriate reaction. “The Hierarchy said that all hybrids are expected to attend some kind of demon-only academy?”
“Yes, Legion University,” he confirmed with a nod. “You’ll learn everything you need to know there, including how to control and use your powers better.”
“Do they have electives?” she perked up.
“They do,” he answered. “And all the same sports and clubs any mortal school would offer. Hell has job postings in every field because we have damned souls from every industry who need to be punished.”
Liora’s excitement rose again. Did that mean she wouldn’t have to give up on her passion for professional dance? Growing up in the Hierarchy, all hybrids attended the most elite schools and she’d fallen in love with the Performing Arts in grade school. Of course, the flexibility she’d learned from years of ballet ended up helping a lot with her less acceptable activities as she got older.
Before she could ask for more details, Liora was struck with a massive wave of energy. Her entire body sparked with electricity and her powers rushed to fill every nook and cranny, rising to levels she’d never experienced before.
“Oh, fuck. What was that?!” she gasped, practically jumping out of her seat.
“Hell,” her father answered. “We’ve crossed the border. Welcome home, Liora.”
She stared at him with a wide grin before laughing. It should’ve been hysterical, yet it wasn’t. It was like her demon side kept her too calm to reach those extreme levels. Instead, Liora felt…perfect, like she was exactly who and where she was meant to be.
Liora examined her arms and hands, surprised they weren’t glowing red from all the power coursing through her body.
“Why am I so calm about this?” she asked, mesmerized.
“Because your demon side is fully realized now rather than partially dormant,” her dad replied. “The more time you spend in Hell, the more your human side will fade and you’ll no longer struggle with the same internal dilemmas. You won’t hesitate to give in to your base desires, either. It will feel right. Speaking of…”
When he cupped her face and pressed his lips to hers, Liora’s breath caught in her lungs, and hellfire burned through her blood. It was little more than a tease, yet her body instantly responded with a flood of arousal.
“Mmm, I’ve been waiting to do that since the moment I laid eyes on you,” her father purred.
“But—?” she gasped, eyes wide.
“I’m your father, yes,” he interjected. “But you needn’t worry, gattina. It’s the most natural connection between demons. We’re drawn first and most powerfully to our family. It goes back to our powers stemming from the same source.”
Liora’s mouth worked soundlessly for a moment before she frowned. “Why didn’t the Council warn us?”
“Because despite how dedicated the Hierarchy is, they’re still human,” her dad explained. “To them, incest is the most taboo act. But demons have no birth defects or sexually transmitted diseases. And we certainly don’t share their emotional hangups over the matter, either. Pleasure is paramount to us, and nothing feels better—or so I’m told—than sex with family.”
“You don’t already know?” she stammered.
Weren’t demons like thousands of years old?
“You’re my first child, Liora,” he said, his eyes full of things she couldn’t even guess at. “There are divine laws in place to keep demon procreation from getting out of hand. Suffice it to say, we rarely get the opportunity to try and aren’t always successful when we do. Our birth rates are pitifully low, and there aren’t any full-blooded demonesses in Hell.”
“What?” Liora balked, her eyes widening again.
Her father shook his head. “Only the rare and highly celebrated three-quarter demoness born to a demon father and hybrid mother. But those births are the most infrequent. The more demon blood involved, the higher the chance of having a son.”
That snagged in her brain as if it were the answer to a question she’d never thought to ask.
“Is that why we girls way outnumber hybrid guys in the Hierarchy?”
“Yes,” her dad replied. “Opposite of Hell, mortal blood increases the chances of having daughters, and that’s what we desire most. Not that we don’t love our sons, for we do. It’s just that the more females we can bring to Hell, the more demons get the opportunity to have children.”
Confused, Liora’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m sorry, darling. I’ve gotten ahead of myself,” her dad said. “I forgot to mention that demons aren’t monogamous. We’ve never had a reason to be, for we have no females. Also, we don’t suffer the same personality defects as mortals, like jealousy, possession, and narcissism. By and large, we are legion. Our goals are never individual. We all want children, yet we outnumber our hybrids and rare three-quarter demonesses greatly. And, of course, having sex with a soulie never results in offspring. We just like to fuck.”
Liora choked out a laugh. “Oh, Hades. This is going to take a lot of adjustment,” she admitted. “But I honestly can’t wait. Everything about Hell sounds so much better than the mortal realm, and I’m so relieved that these…things I feel aren’t wrong.”
Her dad smiled and kissed the corner of her mouth, leaving tingling heat on her skin and pure longing in her veins.
“Just the opposite, gattina,” he reassured her. “They’re completely right. And I can almost guarantee the rest of your feelings and thoughts are just as accurate. I suspect that as you embrace your demon side further, we’ll discover you’re more like me than I ever dared hope for.”
