The mating mark not only allowed Lucifer to always know Sheba's whereabouts, it also made him share her pain. He knew from the moment his heart wrenched that she was in danger—not just any kind of danger, but the type the mating mark would cause.
He felt even more pain realizing that someone else must have touched her than the pain the mate conscience brought. The jealousy that burned within him at that very moment threatened to set his whole being aflame, but he knew that before he could do that, he had to first skin the person who touched her alive. Cut their hands off, rid air from their lungs, and make them suffer tenfold the suffering the both of them were going through now.
Fortunately for him, finding this person was not difficult at all. He did not even need to track Sheba's whereabouts to know where she was and find out who it was; it was rather obvious who would dare lay a hand on what belonged to him.
Without hesitation, he stormed the Siren Shoal with fury. Dread seeped from his being as his thoughts remained clouded with the unfathomable desire to destroy Elisha.
Killing her had always been a fantasy he longed to live through, but every time an opportunity presented itself, she always managed to get away. Not this time, however—she had utterly gone too far. Farther than even Sheba could forgive—she used her song on her.
The siren song was Elisha's most deadly weapon, and he could only imagine how much strength it must have taken out of Sheba to bear the pain the mating mark brought and the striking chords of Elisha's song. However, he could not paint the perfect picture. The siren song was powerless against demons and witches. Their innate powers and sorcery blocked its effect from their minds. Spirits could be subject to the song, especially spirits of lesser spiritual energy, but a good number of the powerful ones could resist. Humans were its worst prey. They could not even harbor the will to resist the song, much less actually execute it.
Sheba was human after all. Her sorcery might be powerful, but her mind was still human. Her acquired sorcery gave her no power to resist the song, and Lucifer believed this was one of the reasons she had made a connection with Elisha.
He understood their romance was never something real to her—only lustful and born out of her endless thirst for control. A single song from Elisha could make her bend a knee before her if she so wished, and submission was not a word existent in Sheba's world.
Their affection and so-called "love" was her own means to control Elisha, to will her into doing her bidding and having her wrapped around her finger. Well, it did work out for her: Elisha gave her control over the Siren Shoal and would do anything within or exceeding her limits just to please her.
Unfortunately, it now seemed like everything had escaped Sheba's control. Elisha's obsession was now too powerful to be subdued, and she now wanted control, not the other way around. Pathetic. That would be over his deceased existence. Sheba was his now and he was not going to allow anyone to control her, especially if it meant hurting her—not even he himself. Today he was going to rest all his fury over Elisha's ripped bones right after teaching her the punishment that awaited those who converted what was not theirs to have.
Unexpectedly, she made it easy for him. She personally called for him in her inner chambers. No better place could be more suitable to spill her blood all over.
"On my count, you were long minutes late," Elisha greeted Lucifer with a bright smile, not minding the dread that clouded his whole being. "Welcome to the Siren Shoal, Lucifer. Would you like some kelp soup?"
"You foolish fish!" Lucifer drawled, closing the space between them swiftly, making to strangle Elisha, but she saw it coming and dodged quickly.
"How can you bear to be violent with me after I just offered you our shoal's best cuisine? Sad." She squeezed her face in displeasure, feign hurt.
"Where is she?" Lucifer asked, his breath seething with the pool of fury his insides boiled in.
"First appreciate my hospitality, Lucifer, and then I will consider answering your question. How does that sound?" Elisha revealed her pearly whites, her blue eyes glowing with the glitter of momentary victory.
"Listen to me carefully, Elisha," Lucifer sniffed, then continued. "If you do not tell me where Sheba is right now, I promise I will rip you to pieces and feed you to the imps of the demon realm. Your body has not enough vitality to nourish my worthy demons, so letting the imps have you is very typical; they usually help me with taking out overdue piles of dirt."
"Overdue pile of dirt?" Elisha weighed the insult; her anger was already rowing up but she chose to remain calm. She knew better than to let him believe he was in control. "Well, this 'overdue pile of dirt' still had Sheba craving her touch." She laughed.
Lucifer's face tightened, his throat probing as the bitterness within it threatened to erupt.
"She came to me, Lucifer." Elisha continued, satisfied with how much her words hurt him. "Begging, pleading for my touch, for my warmth. Clearly, she does not want you! She was so desperate for me to purge her of your taste, and I did. Oh, I did! With my tongue I licked every single part of her body clean. Goodness gracious, Lucifer, you cannot imagine how wonderful she tasted. I had her mewling my name so loud that the whole shoal heard the echoes of her sweet whimper. She loved it, Lucifer; she loves me. She always had and she forever will."
His fangs elongated while she spoke, his eyes dark as crimson, but she did not flinch; she continued speaking. Handling him would not be too much of a task for her—this was her territory.
"You…" he growled, his true form slipping out of his control, ready to devour Elisha.
"What?" Elisha scoffed. "Facing some difficulty handling the truth now, are we?"
"You confess about loving her so much and yet you used your song on her! How could you?!"
"I had to do what I must! She was about to run to you, just like you intended, and I could not let her. I would rather she died here, right by my side, and I bring her back to life than she return to you. I don't know what kind of manipulation you have on her, Lucifer, but just know that there is absolutely no way I am letting you leave with her. Not today, not ever."
"Don't you dare find a way to put that on me," Lucifer drawled. "You hurt her. You intentionally hurt her. I barely believed a word you said about your love for her being true, and now you have proven beyond doubt that I am right. Stop lying to yourself, Elisha; that would save you so much suffering from my hands. Release Sheba unto me right now and I will consider leaving the Shoal intact after destroying you."
Elisha forced a laugh. "You are such a depraved clown, Lucifer. You know I planned to put on a performance for you today, just like the one you had put on for me in the demon realm," her tone seethed with anger. "But it seems you are rather the one entertaining me with jokes, and I hate jokes." Her face squeezed into a frown, her blue eyes glaring deadly into Lucifer's crimson ones.
"Hearing time is over. Leave my Shoal now." She commanded; her piercing gaze gave Lucifer a deeper hint of dread than her voice and words.
"I said it before and I will say it again. Not in this lifetime Elisha. Sheba is mine now! Keep your slimy hands off her!"
"No can do, Lucifer. If you want her, you will have to kill me first." Elisha's nails elongated; she sensed the fight he was bringing and readied herself for it.
Lucifer made the first attack, his daggers swiftly slicing through the air as her movements too were too fast for him to catch up with.
She put her elongated nails to use, trying all she could to stab him before he could gut her. Her long, magnificent tail served as her spare weapon, making it almost impossible for Lucifer to focus well on attacking when he had more chances of getting hurt. His defenses were high, higher than his attacks, and soon enough it seemed like she was winning the battle. As expected, he was not at his full strength; he still bore the pain he shared with Sheba, and Elisha was one very powerful fighter.
In no time, she knocked one of his daggers off and it was sent flying to a corner of the room, but the sound of it hitting the floor was never heard. At that exact instant, another familiar presence was felt in the room, and they both turned their gazes to meet her naked form and tear-soaked face with the dagger held tightly in her grip.
"Sheba?" Lucifer gasped, taking his focus off Elisha to meet her immediately. But Elisha knew better than to just stand there and watch him take her away. She utilized her song immediately, trying to compel Sheba to return to where she had been laid.
"Stop the madness, Elisha!" Lucifer made another cut through and this time he finally got something. Elisha's left arm. He sliced it in half, but she did not cry out in pain, not even a whimper. She could not break the song because that would mean losing Sheba.
"You are hurting her!" Lucifer swung the dagger again, but Elisha rather knocked it from his hand with her tail, slapping his body with it too and sending him flying across the room just like his dagger. He did not end up in Sheba's grip; he rather ended up face first on the marble floor, coughing up lots of blood.
"Return inside, Sheba, and go back to sleep," the song continued. Sheba's cries were heard throughout Salt Kiss Keep, filled with pain and anguish.
She tried so hard to resist the song, but she could not bear it; it was trying to tear her apart, refusing to yield. But she was still determined not to obey. She had enough of the pain and, most of all, she had enough of the feeling of being controlled. Elisha was trying to control her and there was no way she was going to allow that. She was the Enchantress Supreme, not some petty human she could use her song on anytime she liked.
At that realization, her true form manifested. Her orbs glowed emerald, her leafy armor wrapped around her sharp curves, and her forehead mark flashed great light across the room, blinding Elisha in such a way that she finally shut up. She broke the song.
"Impossible!" Elisha was not willing to give up. She raised her voice again, making to use the song on her, but Sheba's next action put her to ultimate rest. With swift movements, she closed the distance between them and plunged her hand down into Elisha's throat, getting a good hold of her tongue from within and uprooting it out of her mouth.
Elisha wailed in pain; blood seeped out of her mouth uncontrollably as she slowly returned to her human form, her will defeated.
"The only use your tongue had was to lick my cunt clean. You transgressed, and even dared to think you could control me? Despicable." She spat, walked over her, then her sight met Lucifer crouched in pain.
"Wretched." She hissed, walked past him as well, and left the Siren Shoal heading straight for her Hexing Spire. She had her fun—worth the while if she was being honest.