First And Last by Stacey Kennedy Page B

I met someone really ancient. “How old are you?”
     
    She winked. “Old.”
     
    It’d probably scare me if I knew the truth, so I ignored the curiosity that lingered and moved on. “But why does Azar do it? He was born into the Underworld—not from a fallen angel.”
     
    “It was Azar who sought me out. With his abilities, he knew my views on the matter. It was his wish to see that the time of Satan’s destruction met its end. We wanted to succeed where God has failed.”
     
    “What did you do next?” Kyden asked.
     
    “After Azar and I committed to the plan, we then went to the Fae for guidance.”
     
    “Why would you not come here to the Otherworld for help?” I asked. “Why the Fae?”
     
    Misa burst out laughing. “They are more powerful than you could imagine. Seriously, she created worlds. That should make it clear enough.”
     
    “Right.” I laughed. Still, it was hard to imagine a being powerful enough to create an entire world. I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
     
    “When we met with the Fae, Aaliya told us there would indeed be change in our worlds and that change was you.” She smiled brightly. “We have been waiting ever since.”
     
    “You’ve been waiting two hundred years?” I exclaimed.
     
    Misa nodded as if the time meant nothing to her, which maybe if she was as old as I thought, it didn’t.
     
    Kyden hummed a moment. Curiously there wasn’t much emotion that crossed through our bond, only intrigue. “How did you get the others to agree? And in such secrecy? If Magnus knew your plans, I have no doubt he would have destroyed you.”
     
    “There were a few others who felt as we did,” Misa answered. “It wasn’t necessary to inform the others until the night of…” she waved her hand. “Well you know that night. We assumed when the assembly recognized Lady Nexi’s powers they would side with us.”
     
    What a huge risk! “How could you be so sure?”
     
    “We knew they would be afraid,” Misa replied.
     
    I glanced at Kyden to see if he knew what she was talking of. He shrugged. I looked back to her. “Afraid of what?”
     
    “You.”
     
    A loud sharp bout of laughter escaped! How ridiculous. “And why would they be afraid of me?”
     
    “We hoped your magic would speak for itself and it did. You shielded our Lord Kyden that night. Do you forget so easily? That has never been done and to see such power is undeniable. If they were to show their alliance to Magnus, then when you destroyed him, they would be as well. They’re not stupid beings.”
     
    “Oh,” I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that.
     
    “Interesting,” Kyden commented, with a raised brow, but the feeling that shot through me was one of immense pride. The knowledge that he was proud of my strength gave me the warm fuzzies all over. Kyden rested his hand across my thigh and lightly caressed it—feeling the love right back.
     
    “Well that’s the background, which you needed to know.” Misa licked her lips as if her mouth had run dry. “Now, onto the beings. We’re all different and you need to understand that so you can choose appropriate guards to watch over you.”
     
    I sighed and rubbed my temples. “This is giving me a headache.”
     
    Kyden laughed. “Go on, Misa.”
     
    “When the worlds were born and Satan reigned over the Underworld—including Satan—there were seven demons in total that made up his guard and were known as the Demon Lords. Each of them carried one sin to seek out souls. When the human would have a desire to commit one of the sins, the demons would grant their request and steal their soul.”
     
    “Sell your soul to the Devil, right?” I offered.
     
    Misa nodded. “Let’s see, there were Mammon, Asmodeus, Leviathan, Beelzebub, Lucifer, Belphegor, and Satan.” She counted on her fingers as she went along. “Yes that’s seven, each of whom presided over one of the seven sins. You know—lust, greed, envy, etcetera. These are