Cerena’s Perspective

Whatever it was that Lexi needed to discuss with Jim seemed important. Although it wasn’t her usual style to just sit back, she wanted to respect Jim and Lexi’s request for privacy. To Cerena, there seemed to be a different level of trust between the two devils. It made her uneasy.

She must have made a face as she was lost in thought walking with Kiri back to Jim’s office because the perceptive mantis asked her bluntly, “Is everything alright Ms. Cerena?”.

“You don’t have to talk to me so formally, Kiri. We’re friends, and we share the same spouse now too. That makes us practically sisters.” Cerena punctuated the statement by wrapping an affectionate arm around Kiri, who seemed unfazed.

“How exactly does that make us sisters? We aren’t even the same species.” Genuine confusion rose on her face.

“No, I mean…nevermind. Just Cerena is okay.” She conceded, not really sure how to explain her meaning. Kiri often focused on the literal meaning of words. It was a cute quality that made her endearing and almost innocent. Of course, Cerena knew better than to think Kiri was innocent.

A flash of memory hit her while regarding the mantis woman. It was one of her being ravaged by Jim. His muscled body rippled, while his regal horns and glowing purple eyes radiated demonic power. Kiri was held in a trance-like state screeching in orgasm as runes carved themselves into her body. It made her shiver slightly.

“You are exhibiting signs of arousal, Cerena. Please understand that I am happily married. I cannot reciprocate your feelings.” Kiri stated flatly.

“Wait. What?” Cerena asked, being shocked out of her imagination and releasing Kiri from her embrace. “I wasn’t…It wasn’t because of you.”

Kiri again looked up, studying Cerena’s face.

“Were you thinking about our husband then? I cannot blame you. Since our coupling, I too find myself thinking about him often. It’s odd. I feel compelled to seek his affection.” Kiri went on.

“That’s love.” Cerena returned.

“I’m not so certain that is all it is.” Kiri said. “I feel positive emotions about Mr. Holt…Jim. He accepts me for what I am. That’s not what I mean though. I cannot deny how strongly I wish to make him happy. I feel…hot when he looks at me. I feel like I would willingly do anything he asked of me.”

Kiri appeared to struggle expressing what it was she was describing. That compulsion to please Jim was the same as what Lexi had described.

“Do you think it has to do with the spell he put on you? Jim engraved his sigil on you, right?” Cerena asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes. The feelings have become stronger since I began to bear his mark.”

Cerena paused for a moment. Was that the reason Lexi had gotten so close with Jim? Is that why Kiri, who had been his partner for a much shorter period of time, had already garnered so much affection from him? Apparently, people marked by a devil could not lie to or disobey. That level of guaranteed trust would be impossible for anyone else. It was almost like it meant being part of the devil’s inner circle. The thought that she was outside that circle was dampening her mood even knowing she was now being sponsored.

“What did it feel like…being branded by his magic…to become his ****?”

Kiri paused for a moment. Her typically stoic face filled with blush like a newlywed. The sleeves of her kimono drifted to her abdomen, gently rubbing the spot where the sigil of Asmodeus had taken root.

“It felt good. The energy coursed through me, hot and electric, wrapping around my whole body. There was a pull, primal and undeniable, that stirred something deep inside me. My heart was pounding from the thrill that was impossible to ignore.”

Kiri seemed to fall into a dreamy trance, with an expression of happiness that was so rare for the mantis woman. Was the sigil’s magic so strong that it could make even Kiri sound poetic? Before she could ask more questions, Kiri continued.

“When he’s near me, the air around me feels thick, charged, almost alive, pressing against my skin in a way that’s both comforting and exhilarating. There’s this heat in my body, a mix of raw power and something deeply sensual, spreading through my chest, my limbs, and lower, igniting a hunger that isn’t just physical. It’s as though I’m being claimed by his energy. I feel like I am his possession, and it makes me so happy.”

Then Kiri closed her red eyes, became still, and raised her chin like a person trying to enjoy a rare cooling breeze on a hot day.

“His magic whispers to me constantly, not with words but with feelings—promises of indulgence, of stepping beyond the mundane into something extraordinary. My body feels stronger, my mind sharper, and yet there’s an undercurrent of reckless abandon that tempts me to let go, to revel in the rawness of it all. I don’t even think he realizes what it does to us.”

Cerena studied Kiri longer. Her face, always so flat in affect, was painted with a look of depraved ecstasy. It made her curious and jealous at the same time. Why had Jim done it to Kiri, but not to her?

She asked the question already knowing the answer. That considerate asshole was trying to be sensitive to her background. Devils created and enslaved hellhounds to do their bidding for centuries. Jim had spoken of his reservations of forming a relationship when he learned about being a devil. He never wanted to do that to her. She wanted it though. Her pleasure was always at its peak when they were locked in the throws of their master/**** play. When he had her pinned against the wall earlier today, vowing to make her suffer his delights, she could barely think.

He always backed off before going as far as she desired. He was always sensitive to her…always caring about her. Cerena loved that about him, but she also wanted what he gave to Kiri. She wanted him to let loose.

“Kiri, I need your help.”