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THE ARCHDEMON OF LUST

Prince Luxen of the 2nd Circle of Hell

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For Luxen, it was a new experience for him to have some female in his Castle whom he hadn't fucked yet.

Of course, Luna was his wife, so it was necessary to make an exception.

Luxen didn't regret tricking her into performing a blood bond when he was perfectly aware of what it entailed—that his Domina would turn into an Archdemon.

It was only a matter of time before his wish came true, and it did.

He just wished that he had Luna first.

Luxen didn't expect Ravin to be tied to Luna when she mated with the Vampire King who had the Blood Beast inside him at that time, but it was alright.

He would find a way to turn her golden eyes to silver and mark her with secret runes.

Soon.

+++

The sun had disappeared for a few months, but there was a residual light reflected by the snow that was why his Kingdom wasn't drowning in pitch-black.

The Second Circle of Hell was bathed within clear blue-grey light.

His Domina glanced up in the sky when at the same he did.

They watched the smattering of stars sparkling like diamonds.

Shaking his head as he smiled to himself, Luxen observed that the distance between those stars was similar to the space between Luna and him.

He wanted her to be closer, but this would suffice.

He must let her guard down out of her own accord.

The art of seduction wasn't to force.

It was to coax and trick the target into believing that they wanted him because it was their sole decision.

Their sled had passed by deciduous bare trees.

They had already shed their leaves in quick successions, snow coating its stiff branches into ice.

It might appear dead because of the black barks, but it wasn't.

These ancient trees survived all year long.

They also encountered a small snow-free land, which was found at the edge of the frozen lake.

Gasping in wonder, his Domina immediately covered her mouth with a hand.

Luna couldn't take her eyes off it.

Luxen snorted because he knew that his Domina had strictly avoided singing praises to Kingdoms in Hell.

She didn't want to be attached, refusing to discern that she was an Archdemon now.

'I didn't imagine living in other Circles aside from here.' Luxen smiled at the thought.

Luna would see that it wouldn't be so boring in the Second Circle of Hell.

"This was the first time I have witnessed plant life in a freezing Kingdom." Gripping her hood so it wouldn't dislodge from her head caused by the strong winds, Luna spoke aloud so that she could be heard over the noise of the 'swoosh-swoosh' of the blades gliding on the ice underneath their wolf-drawn sled.

Catching Domina's excitement in his mind, Luxen fought the urge to reach out and caress her face, tucking the wayward silver strands of her hair behind her ear, so he settled for gripping the black iron metal of the side of his sled.

Luxen began, "There wasn't much plant life in the Second Circles. There were only one species of flowering plants that were found here."

His Domina slowly shook her head with disbelief as she paired it with an awestruck smile.

He loved her smile and the gap between her teeth.

He loved her golden eyes tipped with silver, which echoed her hair.

"What are they called, Luxen?" Luna's silver hair swept across her face in the erratic winds, escaping from her wolf fur hood before it settled, "The pretty red circular blooms reminded me of blood."

Luxen wasn't surprised at her observation.

Once a vampire, always a vampire.

Luxen's gaze had flown to the tattoo of Ravin's runes just above her delicate jaw.

There was something about the black swirls and intricate patterns that were unusual.

He couldn't read the runes at all, nor did he recognize what it meant.

"They are called pearlworts, Domina. They are abundant around here." Luxen responded as his face strained with remembrance regarding Ravin's demonic runes, but nothing came to mind. He added absently. "The flowering spearworts have greyish-green leaves, and the tiny crimson flower heads were on erect stalls up close."

Perhaps, these new runes didn't belong to Ravin since it was the first time he had seen it.

Luxen asked as he shook his head, not dwelling on it anymore.

"Do you want to stop the sled so we could check them out?"

"No need." Glancing at him, Luna waved her hands in dismissal. "I just paid attention to them because it was just nice to see other colors in this except for white sheets."

She blew out a relieved breath when he replied, "Alright."

Shivering in the immense cold, Luna raised her legs on the seat, brought them closer to her torso, and curled into a ball.

Luxen reached out to wrap the red velvet coat around her and tied the knot on her collar so that they wouldn't detach from its moorings.

Luna had let him pull at her large fur hoodie, covering her flushed face.

Luxen had wondered why Luna's teeth chattered every time she faced the cold Artic wind.

She was a vampire.

The cold should never bother her since she was a cold-blooded creature.

Luxen was used to this kind of weather since he lived in his Kingdom for a long time.

Perhaps, the chill in the Second Circle was already deep-seated in her bones.

The ice in here was nothing compared to the Vampire Realm.

Luxen had contemplated wrapping an arm around Luna's shoulder so that he could huddle her close to him.

He shouldn't.

Luna always flinched and straightened his spine whenever he was near.

Luxen felt incredibly slighted, as if her Domina was repulsed by the mere thought of him touching her skin in any way.

Frustration burned deep in Luxen's gut.

All he can do was narrow his eyes into the clearing and clench his fists, bringing his fingers together.

Snowflakes had started falling in their lap.