I was playing with Maddox Jr. when the door to my bedroom opened all of a sudden.

"Who's a good boy?" I ruffled the puppy's cheeks, loving the way that he barked so happily. He made me feel important and he was all a person needed. "Oh shit," The door slammed opened and the dog jumped into my arms in fright as I looked up, seeing the damn idiot lord standing there in a casual pair of sweatpants and a black shirt, a neutral expression donning his face.

I hadn't seen him in the span of two days, so during those days, I spent my time with Availa, Lexica, Jade, Avery, and the kids that seemed to be so stuck on me. I couldn't deny that I felt affection for them too. They were a light of life in this dark place and they took my mind off what I couldn't figure out. Jade was such a blessing to be here. She made my life a lot easier and bearable despite her consistent nagging on the way that I talked to Maddox.

"How may I help you, Sir Alistair?" I stated politely, bowing my head like the rest of his underlings would. I had resigned to this treatment because I felt like it and it was annoying enough to try to be his friend if he didn't trust me. Sure, he had his reasons, but I had never given him a reason not to trust me and confide in me and quite frankly, it stung like a bitch.

"Don't call me that, Troy," There was a deep frown on his lips and I snorted. "Don't even talk like that. It isn't you," I snorted once again, letting the dog go roam around as I stood up with ease. "There's no need for you to bow your head to me," Maddox stepped in the room, cracking his neck as the door closed behind him. It felt extremely odd to be in the same room with him, to have his eyes scoping out my entire figure so shamelessly because I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

I opened my mouth to retort but I closed it quickly, reminding myself of my place. "What is it that you came here for?" I folded my arms and sat down on my bed, watching him walk over to stare out of the window. He looked so deep in thought and he looked totally anguished like a lot was weighing on him, so for that reason and that reason only, I kept my mouth shut and waited for him to say something. 

Maddox took a deep breath and clenched his tan fists, his stubble coated jawline tightening. "...so I assume that you know the truth about us." He began and I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean? The fact that you weren't born a demon? Yes, everyone seems to remember that part," I muttered vaguely and he nodded, telling me that the rumor was indeed true. The sky outside of the world slowly blackened as he let out another breath, controlling the sky with his emotions. 

"We were never demons from the start. This place never even existed. This place was only created for the angels that have sinned," I listened intently, hearing him talk about angels. "Long, long ago, three hundred years ago, there was another dimension created that resided on the skies above. It was called the paradise of Eden," Maddox's eyes drifted to the sky above Hell. "You mean above Earth?" He nodded in response and it was mind-boggling because it was starting to sound like something from the Bible. 

"It was a beautiful land, white everywhere. There was white water that flowed across the entire region. It was extremely beautiful Troy, because it was home to me. Well, it was once upon a time," He clicked his teeth and turned on his heel, fixated his stare on me as he walked over to me. "My real name isn't Maddox Kane. That is just the name that I took in order to be relieved of my sin," Maddox took a seat next to me, his voice low. "It was Lucifer." He confessed and I nodded, knowing the next question that I was going to ask. 

"And what was your sin?"

His gold stare turned red as his reluctant hand reached for mine, intertwining our fingers together. I guessed that it was some sort of comfort for him. He looked at me and took a deep sigh as if it was something he hadn't talked about in years. He looked away from me and stared at the floor. "I was turning thirty-one and the king of Eden, Tion Vandenrei, decided to host a banquet for me in the palace as I was his most trusted angel guardian. At the time, he had two princesses, but only one was eligible for the throne." He explained, looking crestfallen.

"I had the best birthday that night because I met Synthella Vandenrei. She was the daughter of Tion and she was quite beautiful. I wanted to get to know her to see if I would like her, but she," Maddox shook his head dreadfully. "She had other intentions. She wanted to produce an heir herself for reasons I don't know. I didn't know it then, but she desperately hated me," Maddox stated, recalling his past life as he tightened his grip around my hand. 

"That night, she gave me some of their finest wine that was freshly made and I never recalled falling asleep, but I remember waking up to her telling me that she was with child," My eyes widened as his voice fell sorrowfully, putting together that he was taken advantage of by Synthella. "Next thing I knew, all of the other angels were coming in and she was telling her father that I forced myself upon her," Maddox gritted his teeth and bared his fangs.

"Before I knew it, my white wings were cut and I was banished to a new world, Hell, for the sin of Lust." He lifted up his arm to expose a large brand on his shoulder. "This was given to me so that if I ever tried to come back, people would know that I was a trespasser," I more or less got what he was trying to say, but some things weren't adding up. "Then why is she here and not in Eden, or wherever the hell she's from?" I questioned and Maddox sighed. 

"I was the only one here for a while. I had tried going back, but it was no use. I tried so hard to go and plead to Tion, but even he was much powerful than I. One day, while I was using the powers I had left to create more in this world, I felt a breach in the opening and Synthella rode in with several of my friends and family in tow. Said that they also sinned and they were sentenced to die here. She had come to gloat, it seems," Maddox snorted, shaking his head. "But it made me wonder if her father knew. He had to have known because once she was here, she could never go back. Her powers were stripped of her and since I was the first person here, her power came to me."

I furrowed my brows, wondering what kind of dark shit that was. "She had gone mad within the few nights that she was here. She had gone so crazy, she was attempting to kill the other angel-turned-demons while she was pregnant with Natanya," I wondered how Natanya would feel to know that she was a product that wasn't intentionally and genuinely created. "So I keep her tied up in the dungeon, laced on a serum because she doesn't remember what she has done. If I let her out, given with the power that I have now, and let her be released home, it would be an act of war to Tion," I wanted him to elaborate on that part, but he didn't. 

I had a feeling that things were a lot darker than he was letting on. Sure, it sounded so simple and casual from the way that he explained stuff, but I just knew that it was something more.

"What in the name of Joseph?" I muttered to myself. "So all of those angels that were sent here because of sins, those are these people?" I thought of all the demons that I met thus far: Nya, Lexica, Zero, Jexan, Availa, Xani, Pazul, Yara, even Malay, though she wasn't a demon. "Yes, they all have sinned and they will die here at some point." He sounded so sure of himself yet so saddened by what has happened. "So why don't they remember a thing about it?" Maddox took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Nicola Ferrari, Lee Hollingsworth, Kamryn Logan, Merino Capaldi, Adira Caswell, Natasha Corday, Paula Evernash, Ariel Montano and Hannah Vandenrei, all people who can never remember who they were before they became these people, no matter what."

The silence in the room was dull and it was gradually getting darker, stifling us as Maddox continued to unleash everything. "Why?" I whispered and he sighed. "If Tion finds out that they remember their time as angels, the world as we know it would cease to exist, Troy," His voice was casual but I sensed the warning beneath his tone, telling me that this king of Eden was no man to ignore. "I pleaded with him and promised him one thing in exchange for their lives as someone else."

I wanted to ask how Tion played a role in everything and why he mattered, but I had the feeling that I would soon find out. I wanted to ask what he promised but the look on his face told me that he wouldn't tell me. I wanted to ask how some of the demons already knew who they were, but I had the feeling he wouldn't admit to a thing.

"Hannah sinned?" I decided to ask and he shook his head, slowly dimming the light of the room. "No, but she doesn't agree with what her father has done." He still was pretty vague on that answer and something told me that all of us were in some deep shit. All of this sounded like complete bullshit, but I knew it had to be true. But that meant that every single person here used to be an angel but fell low due to sin.  

"And what does that have to do with us humans?" That was still the most important question of all. He had so many rules, so many regulations, so many mistreatments and I wanted to know how that tied in with us. 

"He wanted to kill you all to spite me."

My eyes widened in disbelief, wondering if we had ever met this kingly dude anywhere. "I did what I had to do or else Tion would demolish everything and everyone you would ever know, to a mere crisp and nothing would be left of Earth." I narrowed my eyes as Maddox rubbed his jaw, the moment tense and suffocating. "I had no choice but to exert control over you or else he would descend to Earth and personally keep you for torture or kill you. If you were under my intense control, he'd leave you alone because it would be one less thing he had to do," He let out a garbled groan as if he was completely stressed and I could see the veins bulging in his head.

I squeezed his hand to let him know that I was there for him despite all of these challenges we had to fight because he still hadn't got to the height of the problem yet. I wanted to pull him into my arms and tell him that everything would be okay and that we get through this a step a time. "But I couldn't stand that I was subjecting so many of you to that cruel treatment so I took two to four humans at a time so that he wouldn't get suspicious. He sees all like I see all, Troy," Maddox shook his head, licking his fang.

"He just can't see into Hell." 

This Tion character was something else and I feared that he was bigger than we could ever imagine. "But why did you create some of those specific rules?" I wondered and I could feel Maddox's hand trembling in mine. "Some of those were to make sure that he knew that I was doing what I was doing and that he didn't have to monitor you all. Some of those were in regards to the promise that I made him," He muttered regretfully and I tilted my head, curiosity piquing my interest but I wasn't going to say a word because it seemed as if it was something that bothered him a lot.

There was still so much that I didn't know, but it would take a while and the look in his eyes told me that we didn't have a while.

"Now," Maddox's fingers reached over to touch my chin, lifting it up so that we were eye to eye. "Do you understand what I'm dealing with?" I nodded, gaining a better understanding of what was happening here. I was still confused on some aspects, like how he did nothing when I was deliberately breaking his laws with the illegal store. "I knew about that way before," Maddox's exotic voice broke into my thoughts. "Though because it was you, I decided not to care." I blinked at him, wondering what he meant by that.

He was supposed to be this powerful and mysterious demon lord that everyone back home was so afraid of, but all I could see was this man in front of me.

"Why did you decide to tell me and not anyone else?" I mumbled in questioning and Maddox sighed, removing his hands from me as he stood up, leaving the spot next to me cold and empty. He stuck his hands inside of his pocket, his black hair hanging over his eyes. He looked to me to be a complete being with feelings, nothing like everyone depicted him to be. 

"I don't know. Maybe I feel like you would have a better understanding and you'd be able to tell me what I need to do." He sounded so deep in thought like he had been thinking about this for a long time, but he never really confided in anyone else about this. "We'll figure it out," I stood up next to him, watching as he looked down at me, offering me a warm smile for the first time in a long time. "Together," I added, feeling a bit elated with the way that he made me feel. "But you must tell the others. You aren't alone, you know?"

A war was coming. No one knew when and no one knew how, but it was brewing and it was coming for us.

Maddox looked so relieved and I let all of his words and statements sink into my mind, wondering what maliciousness I had gotten myself wrapped into. He just looked so happy to finally have someone that he had on his side. I took a step closer to him, feeling warm and in need of his touch. "Troy," He whispered, taking my hand in his, the markings glowing on the back of his skin. "Thank you."

He sounded totally grateful and the look in his eyes as he stared deeply into my soul was intense enough for one to blush, and that was exactly what I did. "...anytime, Maddox," He looked oddly satisfied that I called him by name, and I went to call him out on it, but I turned my head to the sound of something hitting the window continuously.

"Oh, look!" I pointed to the black raindrops that were pelting the balcony. "Come on! It's raining!" For the first time in this place, it rained when Maddox said that it never did. It was so exciting, that I couldn't help but put on my shoes and drag Maddox by the hand outside of my bedroom. Every single demon that I had encountered on the way to the entrance was completely bewildered that their Sir Alistair was willingly being dragged. They could suck a dick because Sir Alistair was wrapped around my finger.

I feared the same could be said the other way around.

"Look!" I grinned as the soft wind whipped past our ears as we stepped outside to greet the black water. It was such an unusual sight yet it was so pretty for no reason at all. I dragged the quiet lord into the rain, feeling the warm liquid seep into our skin. The rain pelted our hair, dripping from my nose to my lips as I gripped his hand, looking up at his wet face, a look of contentment on his features. I let go of his hand to go play around like an idiot, feeling joy bursting with life inside of me. Despite it all, everything was going the way that it should.

"Isn't this beautiful!?" I screeched at Maddox, laughing happily as I jumped around in the puddles, feeling elated for the first time in a long time. I could hear Maddox chuckling through the sound of the rain, his eyes firmly planted on me with my knowledge. He stared at me with a soft smile playing at those pink lips, watching me dance like it was nobody's business. I didn't know if he was looking at the rain or looking at me, but there was no stopping the blush on my cheeks.

"It is."