Heart of Darkness

Lazarus was having wine in one of the castle's many parlors with Acheron, Blayze, and William. 

"I saw Roxana. His Majesty didn't send her home after all." He said. 

Acheron smiled to himself. 

"You think he likes her," Blayze spoke. 

"Something like that," Lazarus replied. 

Blayze smirked. "Then he finally has a weakness." 

Lazarus shook his head. "Don't ever touch a demon's woman. You know it won't end well." 

Blayze shrugged. "I won't touch her. Maybe just take a look." 

These two, Blayze and Skender could never get along. Blayze had no patience and Skender was known to have too much of it. For Blayze to be redeemed he needed to learn to have patience. It was the virtue that was required of someone with the sin of wrath, just like humility was the required of someone with pride. 

"Anyway, Roxana is what we need to make Skender become less boring." 

"Why do you want him to have fun? There is Vitale and Rayven and Mazzon you can work on." Blayze said. 

Lazarus shook his head. "No. There are people who don't know how to have fun. Vitale is too serious to have humor or understand people who have it. Rayven is too slow or awkward. He is still learning social interaction and Mazzon is just Mazzon. Only God can save him. But Skender is different. He doesn't have a problem socializing. In fact, he is an expert. He is charming and well-spoken and knows when to keep his mask on. He also has humor that sometimes slips through. Like when he let us fall into a dip of mud or when he pushed me and Rayven through a fence and we got electrocuted." 

Acheron chuckled. "That happened?" 

Lazarus nodded. "It means he is choosing to be boring. So I need to strip him of it." Lazarus said. "With Roxana's help of course." He smirked. 

"How?" William asked. 

"Oh, young Lord. You don't know how demons function. If a demon who usually never shows interest in anything, like Skender, suddenly shows interest in someone, then it means something. I am guessing Roxana could be the one." 

"I am not sure if that is a good thing," Blayze said. "Wouldn't that awaken his demon? The destroyer." 

"He is already awake," William told them as if it wasn't a problem. 

They all turned to him surprised. "He is?" 

"You partied together," William told Lazarus. 

"Oh. I knew he was too willing for it to be true." Lazarus became thoughtful. The destroyer was here but no destruction happened yet. Why? What brought him out? Could it be Roxana? 

"Maybe it won't be that bad. If the destroyer is the demon, then only his mate can calm him." Lazarus said. 

"Is Roxana his mate?" William looked completely lost. 

"Maybe. We don't know yet, but it doesn't take long for demons to know if the one is around. That is why we need to keep her a little longer until we are sure if she is or not." 

William seemed thoughtful. "How do you know?" 

"The man in us knows by conscious. That part takes longer because we have to get to know the person. The demon in us knows by instinct. It is a certain smell that tells us which partner is genetically preferable and compatible." 

William frowned. 

"I know. It is difficult to understand." Lazarus said. 

"Can his mate really help him?" William wondered. 

Lazarus leaned back to think for a moment. Of all of them, he really believed himself to be the one to oppose to a mate the most, so he shouldn't believe it would help. He was sure there would be problems, especially with a human mate but with Skender it was different. He had been the one of them to have hope and wanted to live, so if he was going to do that he needed a mate. 

"It should." He said. 

"Aren't you too interested in Skender right now?" Blayze asked. 

Acheron nodded in agreement. "Too interested." 

Lazarus smirked, giving Acheron a nudge with his feet where he sat across from him. "Are you perhaps jealous?" 

Acheron raised a brow. 

"I think you are," Lazarus said amused. "What can I do? I am attracted to the gentlemen." 

Skender and Acheron were alike in many ways. They were charming, well-spoken, sensitive, and caring. Therefore they also had similar punishments were they feared hurting others and the guilt that came with it. Making his friend a little jealous wouldn't hurt. 

"I think William is the most gentle of us." 

Lazarus turned to the boy. "William. You are going to steal many women's hearts and I am here to watch when you do." 

"Just don't become like him," Acheron said. 

"I agree." Lazarus sighed and rose from his seat. "I am going home now." He was in too much pain after being hard for so long. 

Long ago, he used to look for what would make him aroused now it was the opposite. He just wanted to have one day, just one day where he wouldn't have to think about his man parts. 

Lazarus spent his night doing the usual, so he could be in less pain in the morning. Still, when the morning came he followed it with an ice-cold bath before leaving for the castle. 

He often tried not to think much about his situation. There was a time when he drowned in sorrow and self-pity and it still happened sometimes but he realized no one was going to save him. He was stuck in this misery, so he occupied himself with other things instead. 

One day he would die. Whether Lucrezia liked it or not and that day he would find his peace. 

During lunchtime, he went to defense quarters to see how Rox was doing. Everyone was having lunch but Rox was nowhere to be seen.  It didn't take him long to find her training around the corner. Or just releasing her anger it seemed, by repeatedly striking a human-shaped pell. Lazarus leaned against the wall and watched her as she growled angrily while hitting harder. Then when she was tired she threw the wooden sword away and blew the hair out of her face. 

Wonderful. He loved a strong angry woman. If he didn't think she was for Skender, he would have loved to find out how she was in bed. Again, his thoughts were going there. He shook his head. 

As she turned around and took notice of him, he took a closer look. "Lord Quintus," She was surprised to find him there. She bowed and then faked a smile while watching him with critical eyes. 

He couldn't help but be amused. She knew he was using her for something. 

"Rox!" he always added the ana in his head because this woman did not look like a man in his eyes. The only reason she could fool people was that she disguised confidently, changed her voice slightly, and carried herself like a man. It was small things like how she stood, sat, or walked. She had observed men and knew how to act like one. 

She was also on the taller side but behind those loose clothes, she hid the body of a woman. He could tell by the size of her torse that didn't match her arms which meant she wrapped herself to even out the curves of her hips and breasts. She didn't have the face of a beauty, like Angelica but she certainly had the body. She would look exquisite in a simple dress. 

Maybe that was what he needed. This woman in a dress to arouse Skender's demon. The man must still be a man somewhere. 

"Did you not have lunch?" 

"No, My Lord." 

"Come with me." He said. 

She hesitated but followed him. 

What does he want from me? I knew he would try something. Use me to gain something from the king. They said the king had enemies and it could be people close to him. Could he be the one?

Lazarus smiled to himself at her thoughts. 

When she realized that he brought her to offer her food, she was surprised but quickly returned to being suspicious even though her face showed no hint of it. 

Her lips curved into a wide smile. "My Lord. You are most generous." 

Clever. She knew to keep people on her good side, especially powerful ones. She didn't want to upset him. He motioned for her to sit down and she went to sit. She put her suspicions aside and decided to enjoy the food while she could. She had the mentality of 'fill your stomach while you have food'. Well, what would he know about starving? He could go very long periods without even feeling hungry. Demons hungered for other things. 

He smiled as he watched her fit large pieces into her mouth and eat it without any difficulty. Every time he thoughts she would be full, she took more. How much did her stomach fit? 

He went from smiling to blinking in surprise. 

"You might… vomit." He said concerned. 

She shook her head with a chuckle, swallowing the food. "I have a great appetite, My Lord. I can eat a shark." She looked at his plate and wondered why he didn't eat much. 

"I already had lunch. I just wanted to accompany you." 

She became serious. "My Lord. What have I done to receive your kindness?" 

"I like you. That is why." 

She was thinking of how to formulate her next question. "Is there anything I can do for you in return for your kindness?" 

She wanted to know what plans he had for her. 

Lazarus was thoughtful for a moment. Perhaps he should use her distrust against him and act like the Villian. "I want your loyalty Rox."

She didn't like what she was hearing. He decided to go a step further. He knew she needed money and came here to steal. What if he provided her with the very thing she needed. 

"Having a powerful Lord by your side would be beneficial. Just let me know if you need anything." He told her. He rose from his seat and went to where she sat. He pulled out the pouch of coins in his pocket. "See this as the beginning only." He said and placed the money in front of her on the table. Then he left her alone to think. 

Now he would see what she would choose. He knew he was being cruel. For someone who needed money, this was a hard choice but if she chose Skender then he would know and it would make him more inclined to keep her. 

"Look who is doing my job," suddenly a female voice drawled. 

Lucrezia. 

"Do you have a reward for me?" 

She came to walk beside him. "Perhaps I could spare you a reward." 

"I will save it for when I need it." He said. 

"Very well."