Chapter 555 – I Thought You Were Going to Marry Spreadsheets
Not soft like a squirrel or bird.
But sharp. Sudden. Fast.
Like sothing tearing through the wind.
Ely’s head snapped to the side, ears twitching. Her instincts scread. She turned, eyes narrowing.
Then the blur ca.
Not a deer. Not a rabbit.
Sothing flew.
It whistled through the air, silver and sharp and wrong. A swarm of needle-like darts cut through the trees like knives launched from the shadows.
Ely gasped.
"Barrier."
Magic sparked around her in a clean, opalescent do. Her high-elf training kicked in. Her hands raised instinctively as the sphere wrapped around her like a reflex. Soft but sturdy. Pure. It shimred with pale green light, runic edges pulsing like a heartbeat.
And for half a second, she thought she had it.
But the needles...
Cracked straight through.
Like they were made to break her.
The barrier shattered in a blink. Her breath hitched.
"Barrier..."
Another voice this ti.
Deeper. Calm. Terrifying.
Lux.
His barrier wasn’t elegant.
It was dominating.
Black tendrils laced with violet static wrapped outward from his palm, covering them both. Where Ely’s magic was refined and breathable, Lux’s was dense and final. It humd with infernal pressure, like the air itself bowed under his will.
The needles hit it.
They didn’t crack it.
They crumbled.
Fell in pieces. Clattered on the grass like tal confetti.
Lux’s eyes narrowed, red irises glowing faintly now. He didn’t say much.
Just reached out.
His hand slid around Ely’s waist.
A silent, unflinching gesture.
Not possessive. Not flirty.
Protective.
Ely froze. Her heart slamd hard in her chest.
Not because of the arm around her.
But because the power that had just crushed an entire volley of enchanted projectiles without even wincing... had co from him.
"...Lux?" she whispered.
"Calm down," he said softly, still watching the trees. "I ca to speak. Not to steal your bride, Eros..."
That’s when he appeared.
The trees rustled again. The shadows split.
Wings. Large. Black-veined, semi-transparent. The kind that weren’t made for flight but domination. A tail curled out behind him. Horns, too. Long and curved, elegant in a grotesque way. His boots touched the ground with barely a sound.
Eros.
Despite the na, there was nothing soft about him.
Yes, he was gorgeous. Ridiculously so. Movie star handso. Sharp jaw, thick lashes, golden eyes that looked like they belonged in poetry and perfu ads.
But everything else?
Demonic.
His aura rolled out like heatwaves, tinged with Lust but laced in irritation. Ely felt it in her bones. Her magic flinched just sensing him.
He crossed his arms and looked down at them like soone who expected an apology.
"Lux Vaelthorn," Eros said. "Seriously?"
Lux didn’t flinch.
He just smiled.
That sa dangerous, calculated smirk.
"Long ti no see, cousin."
Ely blinked. "C-cousin?!"
Lux didn’t look at her. "I told you," he said. "I’m not from this world."
Eros didn’t move. Just tilted his head like he was processing an annoyance. "What are you doing here?"
"Ca to talk," Lux said simply. "Visit, maybe."
Eros’ gaze flicked toward Ely, his golden eyes scanning her like a barcode. "With a girl?"
"I’m allowed."
"You? I thought you were going to marry spreadsheets."
Lux chuckled. "Still considering it. But this one’s charming. Doesn’t crash every ti I try to open her."
Ely flushed crimson. "I am right here," she muttered.
Eros didn’t laugh.
Instead, his expression shifted. Subtle. A little sharper. A little curious.
"She’s mortal," he said.
"Mmhm."
"And you’re touching her."
Lux didn’t reply.
He just slid his hand from her waist to the small of her back and left it there.
A silent answer.
Eros frowned. "You’re getting bold."
"Or nostalgic."
"You haven’t been here in twenty years."
"Exactly," Lux said. "It’s been too long."
A beat.
Then Eros sighed, wings folding behind him. "Fine. You want to talk? Follow . But she stays close. I won’t protect her from what lives past the second gate."
Lux nodded once. "Understood."
They walked.
Ely still didn’t understand.
Her legs moved on autopilot, feet crunching over leaves and stones, but her mind?
Still back there.
That barrier.
That aura.
That family connection.
Lux.
Lux Vaelthorn.
Cousin of this winged being.
So... it ant Lux was a demon?
"Bride," she whispered, still dazed. "What did he an?"
Lux didn’t look at her. Just guided her gently by the back with his hand.
"He’s married to an elf," Lux said. "t her here. Gave up Hell for her."
"Hell?"
He gave her a look. "The actual one."
She stared at him.
He kept walking.
"So... that barrier..." she tried again, voice thin.
"Was ."
"I noticed."
His eyes glimred. "You did good, by the way. Most people would’ve panicked."
"I did panic."
"You still cast a barrier."
"And it broke."
"But you tried," Lux said. "Not everyone does."
That made her chest flutter in the weirdest way.
She looked up at him. "So you’re really a demon?"
"Yes."
"And you have cousins?"
"I have entire departnts."
"...Departnts?!"
"Lust and Greed are very organized," Lux said seriously. "We have a structure. You don’t want to see the HR tree. It’s horrific."
She almost laughed. Almost.
But part of her was still frozen.
Lux was a demon.
Like real.
Wings, fire, temptation, soul contracts.
And yet here he was.
Guiding her through so secret demon forest like it was a walk in the park. Still with that sa lazy smirk and silky voice. Like he hadn’t just casually deflected a magical missile volley and dropped the word "Hell" like soone would say "the office."
And his hand...
It was still warm on her back.
She should’ve been afraid.
But sohow?
She wasn’t.
Because even though the darkness around them got heavier... even though demon birds scread in the distance and sothing hissed just beyond the trees... Lux’s presence made her feel safe.
Not normal.
Not human safe.
But safe in the way soone would feel when they stood beside a god.
Like no matter what ca out of the shadows, he would break it before it ever touched her.
Eros finally led them to a pavilion made of redwood and black iron. Vines crept up the sides. Lanterns floated mid-air, glowing with soft magic.
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