Daemon's POV
The moment her hand touched mine, I felt the deal lock into place. Ancient magic, older than Heaven itself, binding her to her word. Binding her to me.
Finally.
I'd waited so long for this. Longer than she could possibly understand.
"There we go," I said, pulling her to her feet. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"
She looked pale. Shaken. Like she was only just now realizing what she'd done. Good. Let the reality sink in. Let her understand that there was no taking it back.
I snapped my fingers, and chains materialized around her wrists. Black iron, inscribed with symbols that would drain her grace slowly. Not enough to kill her, but enough to make sure she couldn't use her power against me.
Her eyes went wide. "What are you doing?"
"Making sure you don't get any clever ideas about breaking our deal." I tested the chains, satisfied with their weight. "Can't have you flying off the moment my back is turned."
"But you said Richard would live if I stayed. I agreed to stay."
"You did. And he will live." I started walking, the chains trailing from my hand like a leash. She stumbled after me, wings flaring for balance. "But I never said anything about you living comfortably."
Understanding dawned across her face. Then anger. Beautiful, righteous anger that made her eyes flash.
"You lied."
"I'm the devil, angel. What did you expect?" I led her deeper into the chamber, past the floating souls. They pulsed brighter as we passed, drawn to her light like moths to flame. "Besides, I didn't lie. Richard gets his life back. You stay here. Everything exactly as promised."
"You said I'd be with you. Not chained like a prisoner."
"You'll be with me plenty." I glanced back at her. "Every moment of every day until that insufferable goodness of yours finally breaks."
Her silver hair caught the light from the souls above. That hair. Pure as starlight, marking her as one of Heaven's favorites. The flawless ones. The ones who'd never known corruption or doubt or the weight of real consequence.
I hated that hair.
"You see this?" I gestured to my own hair, black as the void between stars. "This is what happens when you fall. When Heaven strips away everything you were and leaves you with the darkness." I grabbed a strand of her silver locks, letting it slide through my fingers. "I wonder how long it'll take before yours matches mine."
She jerked away. "That won't happen."
"Won't it?" I laughed, cold and sharp. "You're in Hell now. My Hell. Every day you spend here will chip away at that precious purity. Every breath you take will poison you just a little bit more." I leaned closer. "I won't stop until every strand of that silver turns black. Until you're as corrupted as the souls floating above us."
"I'm stronger than you think."
"They all say that." I tugged the chains, forcing her to follow as I continued walking. "See these souls? Each one thought they were strong too. Thought they could resist. Thought they were special."
We stopped beneath a cluster that burned brighter than the others. Recent acquisitions. Still fighting.
"That one there?" I pointed to a soul that flickered red. "Marcus. Sold his soul for wealth. Thought he could outsmart me, find a loophole in the contract. Spent fifty years trying." I smiled at the memory. "Now he just floats there. Aware. Conscious. Trapped for eternity."
I moved to another soul, this one pulsing sickly green. "Catherine. She wanted beauty that would never fade. Got exactly what she asked for. Then watched everyone she loved grow old and die while she stayed young." I looked at Angelina. "She begged me to take it back. Offered me everything. But deals don't work like that."
"I'm not like them," she said quietly. "I didn't sell my soul."
"No. You gave it away for free." I pulled her closer to the souls. "Which makes you an even bigger fool."
Her chains rattled as she tried to step back. The souls above us seemed to sense her fear, growing brighter, more agitated.
"You know what I think?" I circled her slowly. "I think you'd make a beautiful addition to my collection. Another star in my personal constellation. That silver hair would glow so prettily up there with the others."
"You can't. We have a deal."
"Deals can be renegotiated." I stopped in front of her. "Especially when one party breaks the terms. And you will break them, angel. Eventually. They always do."
"I won't."
"You will." I traced a finger along her jaw, feeling her flinch. "You'll try to escape. Or you'll try to free the other souls. Or you'll do something stupid and noble because that's what angels do. And when you break our deal, Richard's soul snaps right back here." I gestured upward. "Along with yours."
The fight seemed to drain out of her. Her wings drooped, feathers brushing the obsidian floor.
"Why?" Her voice cracked. "If you knew me before, if I meant something to you, why are you doing this?"
Because you were everything good I ever knew. Because they took you from me and made you forget. Because if I can't have the angel you were, I'll destroy the angel you've become.
"Because I can," I said instead. "Because watching you break will be the most entertaining thing to happen in this realm in centuries." I yanked the chains, making her stumble forward. "And because, deep down, I want to see if there's anything left of who you really were beneath all that manufactured perfection."
I started walking again, dragging her behind me.
"Welcome home, Angelina. I hope you like your accommodations."
The souls above us pulsed in rhythm, like a thousand trapped hearts beating as one.
Soon, hers would join them.
I'd make sure of it.