Free Web NovelChapter 13: The Prophecy of Lust
Nathan/Seraphel
Malachi returned just a few seconds later, stepping gracefully through a shimmering purple portal that tore open the air of the throne room. Behind him emerged two men.
The first was young, with long, wavy blue hair cascading over his shoulders, dressed in deep cerulean robes and carrying a leather medical bag. Beside him walked another man in pristine white silk robes, his hair a blinding, pure white that flowed like silk down his back. He carried an open white fan, moving with a calm, ethereal elegance that instantly commanded the room.
I looked from one to the other, frantically searching my memory to figure out who they were. But because I had skipped through so many character descriptions and world-building Chapters while skimming the original book, I was completely in the dark.
"Your Highness, Physician Thamiel and High Priest Anomas have arrived," Malachi announced, bowing his head deeply.
My eyes widened as the names struck a chord.
Thamiel and Anomas.
Suddenly, I remembered. They were Azriel’s most trusted inner circle, bound to him since the very beginning. Thamiel was a legendary healer, the only one capable of patching Azriel up whenever his immortal curse flared. Anomas was a powerful seer, a master of prophecy. In the novel’s lore, they were actually twins born to the goddess Solmira in Elysium. They had rebelled against her divine rule, choosing to fall from grace alongside Azriel to serve him in the realm of Lust.
Azriel’s crimson gaze never left my face, even as his advisors stepped into the room. It felt like he was actively trying to pierce my mind again. And he truly was—because the blood in my palms had dried up, dropping the mental shield I had desperately put up.
I quickly lowered my eyes when I noticed his crimson eyes flaring into a brighter, blinding light. He was pissed. The intense glow was a dead giveaway that the Prince of Lust was fuming with a dangerous, quiet rage.
"Why the hell did you summon us, Azriel?" Anomas asked, his voice soft yet carrying an undeniable, heavy power. He fanned himself lazily, his movements fluid. "I was just about to cultivate when you—" He stopped mid-sentence, his gaze snapping sharply toward me. "I knew I smelled a mortal the moment I stepped through the portal."
Anomas sniffed the air, taking two slow steps closer to where I knelt on the cold marble. "Oh, now this is fascinating," he murmured. freeweɓnovel.cøm
His hazel eyes began to glow as they locked onto my neck. "Isn’t that your sacred mark, Azriel? How has it not burned this human to ashes?"
Azriel crossed his legs on his throne, leaning back. "Which is exactly why I called you both here. This human was with me on the night of my rut. For some impossible reason, he survived. But that isn’t all. He claims he is pregnant with my heir."
"What the hell!" Thamiel’s deep voice boomed, echoing off the obsidian walls. "How is a mortal supposed to carry the blood of a Sin? He should have died the moment you touched him during a rut!"
Azriel gave a slow nod. "And yet, he breathes. And he bears the crimson flower."
"Was he sent by the deities of Elysium to assassinate you?" Thamiel questioned, his eyes narrowing at me.
Azriel shook his head. "I have already rifled through his memories. He is just a human. A pathetic, ordinary mortal. That is why I need you both to look at him."
In the literal blink of an eye, Azriel vanished from his throne and materialized directly in front of me, his shadow looming over my body. "Find out if this omega is lying. Because if he is, his head will decorate a spike before nightfall."
"This isn’t a play by Lumiel, is it?" Anomas asked thoughtfully.
Lumiel? My mind raced.
Why did they keep bringing up the Prince of Wrath? What kind of twisted relationship did he and Azriel have?
"He wants me dead because I slaughtered his mate," Azriel’s voice suddenly vibrated directly inside my mind.
A violent shiver ran down my spine at the revelation.
When Azriel saw my body visibly tremble under his mental voice, his lips curved into a wicked, satisfied grin.
"Whether the human is lying or not, we need to examine him," Thamiel said.
He stepped forward, raising a hand toward me as his lips moved, chanting an ancient, resonant spell. "Aethelis sphaera, exoriri et levate. (Come forward, as I have summoned you.) ’’
Instantly, a thick, luminescent cloud of purple mist materialized beneath me, lifting me off the hard marble. I found myself floating, suspended in the air on a cushion of solid magic.
"What the hell is happening? Put me down!" I panicked, squirming against the mist.
"Calm down, human," Thamiel said quietly. He placed a cool, steady hand over my wrist, smiling down at me with an eerie calmness. "I prefer absolute peace and quiet when I am conducting a diagnosis."
’’Wha... what test? I already told you I’m pregnant! There’s no need to test me!" I yelled, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.
Desperate to shut Azriel out of my head again, I clenched my fists tightly, driving my nails back into the fresh wounds until I felt the warm liquid pool in my palms once more, letting my thoughts spiral behind the barrier.
Oh, I am completely screwed, I thought frantically. If they find out I’m completely empty, Azriel is going to murder me on the spot. I won’t even get a chance to figure out my mission. Is this really how it ends? My head on a spike over a fake pregnancy? Oh god, no.
"Stop panicking," Thamiel murmured softly.
The moment the words left his mouth, an invisible paralysis washed over me. My body went completely stiff, and even my racing thoughts suddenly felt sluggish and muted. It felt like absolute body control, but I knew he hadn’t used the celestial voice on me—only Azriel possessed that particular terrifying power.
Thamiel closed his eyes, pressing two fingers firmly against the pulse point on my wrist.
A soft, golden light pulsed from his fingertips, seeping into my skin. As the magic traveled through my veins, Thamiel’s eyes suddenly snapped open. He let out a sharp gasp, turning his head abruptly toward his brother.
Anomas immediately snapped his white fan shut. Stepping up to the floating cloud, he raised both hands and began tracing glowing, complex symbols into the air above my stomach.
Suddenly, a blinding, brilliant beam of crimson and gold light erupted from my abdomen. The sheer force of the magical energy shot upward, slamming into the vaulted ceiling of the throne room and causing a loud, terrifying crack to splinter right through the center of the solid roof.
Anomas began to chant in a furious, ancient tongue, his voice multiplying as if a chorus were speaking through him. "Sanguis peccati, semen fati, revelate quod celatur!"
The crimson light grew deafeningly bright, illuminating every corner of the massive room.
Anomas gasped violently, his entire body shaking under the strain of the vision until the blinding light suddenly snapped out, plunging the room back into the dim, seductive glow of the chandeliers.
I lay there on the floating cloud, still paralyzed under Thamiel’s spell, my heart pounding in absolute shock at the show they had just put on.
Anomas and Thamiel slowly turned their heads, looking first at me, and then shifting their stunned gazes toward Azriel.
"The prophecy we received a century ago... it has just come to pass," Anomas whispered, his voice trembling. "The destined heir has arrived. The one who will liberate the Princes of Sin from their eternal curses has been conceived. And this human..." He pointed a shaking finger directly at me. "...is truly carrying the child of Lust."
