John and Tiara held up their hands to surrender. Fortunately, the demons seemed to understand their surrendering without shooting.

From the crowd, a tall female demon with a leather bikini top and a long loincloth strolled toward John and Tiara. Her white hair hung out like a lion’s mane behind her long curly horns, and she wore leather heeled boots reaching her knees. Her muscled upper body looked thicker than her slender lower form. Besides Tiara, the she-devil was the only female among the demonic soldiers.

She turned toward Tiara and curled her lips up. “Welcome back, sister.”

Tiara removed her face mask and smiled back. “Hello, Zira. Did you miss me?”

Both of them sounded the same in their seductive, sharp tones. No doubt they were indeed sisters.

The tall demon woman giggled. “Nice suit. May I ask how you escaped from your imprisonment?”

She sounded very confident than being surprised to see her sister. Maybe all demons cared less about their siblings.

“With his help.” Tiara tilted her head toward John. “Meet John, my soon-to-be mate. He’s going to kill your men while I'll rip out your fucking heart.”

John rolled his eyes. Did she have to say we will be a couple?

Zira laughed. “You think you have the chance to overthrow me now? This is why you were exiled in the first place.”

Tiara snarled as she held up a fireball. But the demons stepped forward to aim their guns closer at John and her.

“You betrayed me!” Tiara shouted.

“You killed our father!” Zira shouted back.

“He killed our mother!”

Zira arched her white eyebrows. “Your mother, and she was weak!”

Tiara tightened her fist around the fireball. Smoked drifted through her fingers.

Zira stepped very close toward her sister’s face. “She wasn’t even a demon. Only demons are meant to rule Zargoth, and our father knew better.”

Tiara glared as tears dripped down her cheeks.

“While you were gone, I became queen so I can lead Zargoth into a better future. With Earth, we will have enough souls to strengthen us. And nothing will stand in our way.”

“You didn’t transport Earth to your realm,” said John. “It was human error.”

Zira turned toward him. “You’re seriously my sister’s mate?” She crossed her arms and rolled her yellow eyes. “She does have a bad taste.”

“He’s more noble than your kind,” Tiara hissed.

“You mean our kind?” Zira corrected. “You really are out of touch from Hell, dear sister.”

“I gave up Hell long ago since you exiled me.”

Zira clicked her tongue. “Rules are rules, dear sister. You would have ruined our kingdom if you took over our father’s throne.”

Tiara shook her head. “I don’t care about Zargoth. Vengeance is in my blood now.”

“Then I hate to say it, but…” Zira pushed her two index fingers together. “You lost that chance.”

Tiara opened her hand. Her fireball still shimmered in her palm. “Want me to prove that otherwise?”

Zira smirked and stepped back with her arms out. “Go ahead. Try killing me before my men shoot you first.”

The demons clipped their guns. John could smell their heat rising, ready to spill blood.

“Don’t do it,” John whispered. “We have to outsmart them first without getting killed.”

Tiara’s body quivered. She was ready to spill her sister’s blood all over the hangar bay floor. But she lowered her hand as her fireball evaporated.

Zira widened her smile. “You see? You are weak, just like your mother.” She walked up to Tiara and touched Tiara’s chin. “I could kill you both now, but that will be too easy for your suffering. You will watch me conquer this planet first, and then your greatest suffering will come.”

Zira stepped back as her eyes gazed toward her soldiers. “Take them to the brig, and place the beacon into the vault.”

The demons pushed Tiara and John to the floor. They handcuffed their arms together and pulled them onto their feet.

Zira stared at the floor and picked up Tiara’s mask. She smiled and placed Tiara’s mask back on her face. “I hate watching your ugly face cry.”

Tiara chuckled. “By the way, my mate killed your lover in the stadium. He made Torgek cry like an infant.”

That wasn’t quite true, but John wished that had happened. It would have made him laugh.

Zira shrugged. “Oh well, I can get better meat next time. Take them away.”

The demons shoved Tiara and John to move forward into the corridor.

*****

Inside their prison cell, John slowly returned to his human form and wiped the sweat off his face. The chamber was empty as a red force wall gleamed on the right side. It sure as hell looked uncomfortable.

After surveying the room, John turned toward Tiara. She stood in the corner with her arms crossed. Her mask laid below near her feet.

“So you two are princesses?” John asked.

Tiara wiped the tears off her face. “Hell knight sorceresses are special soldiers, not princesses. Our role was to protect our ruler without prejudice. If we killed him, exile is our punishment.”

“And what did Zira mean? Your mother isn’t a demon?”

Tiara turned her head toward the corner.

“It’s okay.” John held out his metal arms. “It’s just you and me in here.”

The she-devil sniffed and slowly glanced at him. “My mother was a human….. A witch who died at the stake. When my father found her, he admired her power and beauty. So he made her his queen and she gave birth to me. My sister was my father's first offspring. Her mother died after she was born."

"Why did your father killed your mother?"

Tiara glared at the floor. "My mother started to influence the demons to obey her. When they stopped listening to my father, he feared she might overthrow him. So he took her life, right in front of my eyes." She sniffed. "I was only young back then, but I dedicated my life to grow stronger so I can avenge her. When the time came, I took my chance to slay my father before he knew it, even if it meant breaking my Hell knight code. Then… You know the rest."

John studied her. "You don't look like a human hybrid."

Tiara giggled. "You expect pink skin?"

John smirked. "Nah, but you're still hot as hell."

Tiara blushed until she stepped toward John. "That made me feel better."

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his lips. John’s spine twitched, but he sucked Tiara’s lips as her moans echoed inside his mouth.

Even if she was a half-demon, both of them were already in hell. He might as well enjoy her delicious taste.