“Ah; that's my very point!” He exclaimed excitedly. “You direct it. There is a reason why I only have Light and yet, I'm very powerful. Light—like Darkness—is a pure magic. You can guide it in several directions; to heal, to hurt, to create, to destroy, and to transform. Fire has influenced your Light; made it hot. I believe that's why you can take Fire to such extremes.”

  “Because it's not only Fire,” I murmured.

  “Exactly,” Lucifer confirmed. “Light amplifies your Fire; turns it into something amazingly powerful, but also something very difficult to control.”

  “Are you saying that if I master my Light, I'll be able to control Fire?”

  “I think it will help,” he said carefully. “You know your Fire. Now, you need to learn how to make your Light cool. With both under your control, you could adjust yourself to whatever temperature you wish.”

  “Like water from the tap.”

  “Just so.”

  “How do I direct the Light into becoming cool? Do I focus on it and imagine ice?” I asked.

  “It's a little more complicated than that.” Lucifer shook his head. “Focus on your Light and picture the result you want while you feel it.”

  “Feel it?”

  “If you want Light to cool your anger, feel the cold,” he suggested. “After you learn what Light can feel like in all its different aspects, it will come as second nature to you. You won't have to picture results, simply think about what you want. Through your emotions, the Light will begin to learn your needs and desires and act before you command it to.”

  “What if I want to enjoy something passionate?” I asked with a sinful smile.

  “Then you tell it to turn up the heat. As I said; you'll control the temperature.” Lucifer smiled devilishly. “Would you care to try?” He held his hands out to me.

  “All right.” I took his hands and let out a deep breath.

  Lucifer closed his eyes. I stared at his perfect face—smooth and symmetrical as a statue—but then his magic rushed into me on a blissful wave and my eyes shut on their own.

  What were you saying about not feeling pleasure? RS asked.

  Shut the fuck up! I growled.

  She went silent in shock.

  I know; it was an extreme reaction, but Fire had jumped at the opportunity to take hold of me. It burned through my body and since I wasn't using it to fuel anything, it continued deeper than it had before. My blood boiled, my bones liquefied, and every hot emotion I had rushed to the surface. I didn't just hold Fire; I became Fire.

  “Now, focus on my Light,” Lucifer said gently. “Turn on the cold water, Elaria.”

  I saw it then; a soft glow hovering beneath the raging flames. Instead of simply allowing his magic to fuel mine thoughtlessly, I gave it direction. I asked for its cooling light to rein in my fury and passion. It blanketed me in frost, and I gasped at the sudden relief. My eyes shot open. I wanted to tell Lucifer it was working. But as soon as I looked at him, the Light inside me recognized him and reached for him. I felt drawn to Lucifer on several levels; spiritual, physical, mental. His magic drenched me with its need; the desire to return to its master. Except in me, that translated into straight desire. I fought its pull violently and lost focus on everything else.

  “Elaria!” Lucifer hissed. “Don't let go of the Light!”

  But Fire pulled me under; stronger than it had begun. I felt Lucifer try to help me but as long as his magic was inside me, it was also fueling Fire... and influencing me. I cried out and fell off the bench; my body flailing in automatic denial. Not this again! No! Lucifer held my arms and slid to the ground with me. His wings were away, but he was still a large man, and he had to slam his forearms on the tiles to keep from crushing me. Lucifer's jaw clenched, and I realized that I was still staring at him. I couldn't stop.

  I absorbed every angle of his face, every glint in his hair, and every nuance of his body. I tried to let go of his hands to run mine over his shoulders, but he wouldn't let me. Lucifer held on tightly and shook our joined hands in desperation.

  “Fight it, Elaria! Control the Fire! Use my Light,” he urged. “Focus!”

  My brain boiled. My sex ached. I couldn't think, only feel. And every nerve-ending I had ramped up into overdrive. I moaned and arched against the delicious male body on top of me; all those hard planes hitting me exactly where I needed them to. The Light inside me blazed. Yes! This man is ours! Take him inside; take all of him. Consume him! I cried out in need.

  Lucifer inhaled sharply and snapped his eyes shut as he jerked his magic out of me. The voice urging me to consume Lucifer disappeared but nothing else changed. The damage had been done; Fire fueled and released. I still wanted to take him inside me, but now the need was purely physical. I wrapped my legs around Lucifer's waist—my dress sliding to my hips—and pulled his pelvis tightly against mine.

  Lucifer's eyes shot open; aroused but not infinite. Safe for now. I smiled as I slid my hands out of his grip and ran them up his trembling arms. His lips parted as his gaze lowered to my mouth, and I darted my tongue out to wet my dry lips. Lucifer hardened against my sex—thick and long flesh cradled by my burning core—and my need rocketed.

  “Fuck me,” I demanded in a low growl.

  “Elaria, stop,” Lucifer whispered in horror. “You don't want this.”

  “Yes, I do,” I insisted before I covered his mouth with mine.

  Lucifer remained frozen beneath my insistent kiss. I moved my mouth over his and he tensed further. But he didn't move away. I knew he'd give in eventually. Finally, I licked the seam of his lips with the barest flick of my tongue, and he parted them enough to allow me in. I rushed in triumphantly to tease and seduce while Lucifer groaned deep inside his chest. His body dropped over mine—fell as if his strings had been cut—and his erection became a pulsing rod I needed inside me now. I writhed against it and pulled him closer.

  Lucifer jerked his head away. “Stop this!”

  I leaned forward and kissed his collarbone; the thick line of it revealed by his loosened shirt. Lucifer groaned and rolled his head back. His hips started pumping; pushing his cock against me. Only the thin silk of my panty and the cotton of his trousers separated us. I felt them both go wet and it was as if we pressed skin-to-skin.

  “Take off your pants and shove that thick cock into me,” I purred in his ear.

  Lucifer shuddered and sweat beaded on his brow.

  I lifted my hips to set his shaft more firmly against me and then returned my mouth to his. Something flashed in his stare; something dark and terrible. Lucifer's lips twisted and his hands grabbed mine to hold them above my head. He kissed me ferociously as he brought a hand down to knead my breast possessively. His pelvis bucked against mine as savage sounds clawed up his throat. His wings burst into being above us; a glorious display of power and desire.

  “Say it again,” he growled into my ear. Lucifer's voice had dropped into a bass tone too deep to be his.

  I shivered, but the Fire burned away all of my protests.

  “Say what?” I growled back.

  “Tell me what you want.” He shoved his cock hard against my sex, pushing my panties into me.

  “Fuck me,” I said.

  “Remember that you asked for this,” he snarled. “I'm going to fuck you until your screams of pleasure roughen your voice and you can only whisper for more. I'm going to fuck your pussy until it's swollen and raw. Then I'm going to fuck your mouth until your jaw aches and you choke on my cock. I'm going to fuck that soft cleavage between your breasts until my cum covers your face. And then, I'm going to fuck your ass until everything has healed and I can start all over again.”

  “Yes!” I screamed. “Do it! Fuck me now!”

  Lucifer—no; Satan—reached between my legs and tore my panties away. He tossed him aside before undoing his pants. He was nearly there—the head of him pressed against me—when he trembled violently and pushed himself away with a horrified roar.

  “Stay back!” Lucifer cried when I got to my knees.

  I smiled and moved forward. “You don't get to say shit like that to me and then just pull away.”

  “It wasn't me, Elaria!” He shouted. “And this isn't you.”

  “Then why don't we let those other people fuck?”

  He roared again; his whole body thrumming with tension, “Fuck! Don't come any closer!”

  “Shall I tell you what I'm going to do to you now?” I smiled viciously. “I'm going to suck that hard flesh of yours until its dripping wet. Then I'm going to shove you back and pin your wings down with my knees as I grind myself over you until I come. Then I'm going to climb over your face and rub my—”

  “Please don't make me use my magic on you, Elaria,” he cut me off. “Take control; you can do this. My magic isn't inside you anymore; you merely have to ride it out.”

  “Oh, I fully intend to ride it out.” I grinned.

  Lucifer's wings vanished, and he closed his eyes as he sought calm. His whole body shivered but all I could focus on was the sleek, glistening length of him nestled between the open flaps of his pants. I licked my lips and moved forward. I'd get it inside me one way or another.

  My love, stop! This isn't you!

  I paused. Kyanite?

  There she is, RS huffed. Welcome back, Slutty McSlutterson.

  Shut up! Kyanite snapped at RS. Then to me, he said, Focus, Elaria. Listen to my voice. We'll do this together.

  “Elaria?” Lucifer asked hesitantly as he quickly slid his shaft back into his pants. “You're doing it. Just calm your breathing; keep focusing.”

  I screamed in frustration and terror. What the fuck was happening to me?

  Sing, my queen, Kyanite said. Use magic to fight magic.

  The rising thumping of Ellogram's “So Cold” circled me before launching me directly into the song. I began to sing it automatically, head bent and shoulders hunched. My body trembled as a battle broke out inside me. When I looked up through the fall of my hair, I saw Lucifer staring at me with hopeful eyes. I sang on with a new determination.

  The steady pounding of drums helped focus me as I sang the haunting, mournful lyrics. A lover reaching for fiery passion and only finding a frigid heart. Cold skin, cold lips, cold soul. It was exactly what I needed, but the ice merely brushed the edges of my fire and melted.

  Focus, Kyanite said again. Calmly. Confidently. He knew I could do this.

  I called to the other magic inside me; the magic I'd been born with in this life. The Spellsinging rose beyond the song in a sparkling tide and fastened onto my will. My mind cleared and I latched onto the single word in the song that I needed. I could have used the whole of the song if only I wasn't so divided. But simple would work better for me now so I clutched the one word that mattered and envisioned its most basic meaning. Cold. Bring on the cold.

  I reached for the chorus and wrapped the word in magic. As I sang, the scales tipped, giving my spellsinging more power than the Fire, and I was able to dive further into the music. The longing of the lyrics resonated with me; the desire for love beyond the body. To hold more than a man's heart; to own his soul. To brand my love in his very essence and know that even my Fire couldn't burn it away. But I had that already and the certainty of it burst into blissful snowflakes inside me. The landscape of my soul burned like Hell but love steadily blanketed it like snow. The Fire shivered and settled beneath the icy will of my spellsong and the eternal love I shared with my men.

  I took a deep breath and let it all go as I fell forward onto my forearms.

  “Elaria?” Lucifer whispered as he laid a hand on the back of my head. “Are you all right?”

  I took a deep breath and sat up. “I am,” I assured him. “You were right; I needed to use my magic to control Fire; it just wasn't my Light magic.”

  “You did well,” he agreed but his expression remained stoic. “But you can't sing every minute of every day. You need to master the Light. I think perhaps your spellsinging is a way to work towards that.”

  “Practice with spellsinging until I'm ready to use Light?”

  “Exactly.” Lucifer finally smiled a little but it was shaky.

  “Fuck!” I whispered as I realized why he was so unsettled. “I'm so sorry, Lucifer.”

  “For what?” He sat back on his heels in surprise.

  “I practically raped you.” I made a strangling sound in my throat as everything that just happened replayed in my head. “Sweet stones; you nearly reverted, didn't you? I saw a change in your eyes, and then you... Your voice; the things you said...”

  Lucifer swallowed convulsively before he spoke. “I told you, Elaria, I will always be the Devil; he is a part of me. Just as Faenestra is a part of you. But if anything, this should prove to you that you can control the darker side of your magic. With enough will, any devil can be conquered.”

  “You can control your darker side,” I said with an impressed tone. “You pulled yourself back and protected us both. But I don't know if I can do that. I nearly betrayed my men today and your friendship. I'm so sorry, Lucifer. I can't imagine what you think of me.”

  “You have nothing to apologize for,” he said firmly as he helped me back onto the bench. “You told me the Fire enhances your passion. I should have been better prepared. It's I who am sorry for... taking liberties.”

  “No.” I shook my head adamantly. “You are not responsible for any of that. That's all on me.”

  “We'll do better next time,” Lucifer said gently.

  “I don't know if I can do that again,” I murmured.

  “You know how to stop it now,” he pointed out. “And I know to wear a chastity belt.”

  Lucifer said it so casually that I didn't catch the joke at first. I just gaped at him until he winked, and then I burst into laughter.

  “You know what, Satan?” I took his hand and squeezed it. “You're not so bad.”

  “That's the most horrible compliment I've ever received,” he declared and chuckled. “But I'll take it.” Then his face went serious. “I have to confess...”

  I went still.

  “Denying you was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do,” Lucifer whispered. “I didn't realize how much I desired you until I held you so intimately.”

  “And yet you pulled away.”

  “But I don't know if I could again. The chastity belt was a joke, but I think that next time, I shall run from you.”

  “You're going to run away?” I teased.

  “Now that I know you can recover alone, yes.” Lucifer nodded decisively. “I will run or I will fly, but I will put distance between us as soon as you start to spiral. I told you that the first step to controlling yourself is to know yourself. Well, I know that I won't be able to resist you again.”

  I don't like the sound of that, RS growled.

  It does have a threatening undertone, Kyanite agreed.

  Will both of you stop it? I snapped. If he wanted to, he could have taken me right here without me being able to hold it against him. Instead, he fought his desire and saved my honor. Can't you guys admit how amazing that is? Especially considering how desperately he wanted what I was offering.

  Sure. Amazing, RS said dryly.

  Kyanite remained silent.

  “Morning Star,” an angel approached us.

  Lucifer and I jolted apart guiltily, moving to opposite sides of the bench.

  “What is it?” Lucifer stood and straightened his clothing.

  I blinked and looked away as I realized that he still had an erection. A huge erection that he didn't even try to conceal.

  The Angel pointedly stared at Lucifer's eyes as he spoke, “A visitor is at the gates.”

  “A visitor?” Lucifer frowned as his stare went distant and then widened. “A goddess,” he whispered.

  “Which one?” I asked urgently as I got to my feet.

  “She says her name is Aza,” the Angel reported.

  “Goddess of the Kitsune,” I finished. “Fuck; I forgot about her.”

  “Thank you,” Lucifer said to the Angel. “Have Aza escorted to the palace.”

  “Yes, Great One.” The Angel bowed and left.

  “You know this goddess?” Lucifer asked me.

  “No; only that she freed herself,” I said. “Actually, as far as I know, she hasn't done anything awful. Yet.”

  “Then we shall welcome her.” Lucifer grinned at me and offered me his arm.

  This just keeps getting better and better, RS muttered.

  At least his hard-on has softened, Kyanite said dryly.