Pregnant by the Prince of Lust(BL)

Seraphel

Two months later.

Everything sucked.

Ever since coming here, I had hated my life far more than I ever did back in college. The training was thoroughly exhausting, draining me to my limit and messing with my head so badly that I felt like I was going to lose my mind.

To make matters worse, I hadn’t seen Azriel in person for two long months. We only spoke twice a week using the orb, and that was it. Finally, today, the moment this agonizing training session ended, I was actually going to see him again.

I wanted nothing more than to wrap up training as quickly as possible and rush back to prepare for his arrival. But the afternoon had turned into a total nightmare, because Master Paziel, my final teacher for the day, simply refused to let me leave.

Excitement flared inside me at the thought of finally holding Azriel again, but Paziel kept forcing me to repeat the exact same attack sequence over and over. He’d instructed me to split a massive boulder clean in half. I must have cleaved that rock a thousand times by now, yet he made me repeat the process endlessly, claiming my form lacked precision.

I knew I had improved. During my first week of training, I could barely leave a scratch, whereas now I was splitting the stone cleanly in two. But while my other training sessions had progressed, this specific class had stayed stuck in the exact same spot for weeks. It truly felt as if this master despised me.

He rarely spoke to me at all, staying cold and distant as he ordered me to strike rocks again and again. I had even reported his behavior to Rona, Luceriel’s second-in-command, since Luceriel himself seemed to have vanished entirely over the past two months.

Rona had promised she would look into it and help me, but nothing had changed.

I was starting to get anxious, wondering if she had forgotten her promise altogether, especially since she had vanished shortly after and I rarely saw her around the pavilion anymore.

If not for Analisse’s constant company, I was certain I would have gone insane by now.

Panting heavily, I wiped away the trail of sweat trickling down my neck, fighting to catch my breath as my shoulders heaved.

Everything about this was exhausting, and I still hadn’t managed to break through the first stage of my cultivation. One master claimed it was because I had drained my energy during the siege of Katula, while another argued it was due to the overwhelming, unrefined divine light resting inside me.

But regardless of the reason, two months had passed, and I hadn’t advanced a single step.

"When is this going to end?" I let out a frustrated groan, gently rubbing the small bump finally starting to form on my stomach.

As the weeks went by, I could feel the life growing inside me. It wasn’t kicking yet, not fully, but knowing a little soul was steadily developing there warmed my heart every time I was reminded of it.

My child with Azriel.

Goodness, I missed that foolish sin so much. I was dying to see him tonight, which was why I was so desperate to wrap up practice, head back to my quarters, and get ready. But Master Paziel just kept forcing me to slash through endless stones.

"When is this going to end?" I repeated, louder this time, turning toward the edge of the open arena.

He was sitting beneath the shade of a massive tree, legs crossed, eyes closed, leaning casually against the trunk.

That was how he spent every session, looking thoroughly uninterested, barely uttering a word, as though he were perpetually in a foul mood. It made every minute under his instruction miserable.

"Are you not going to answer me, Master Paziel?" I yelled, my voice echoing across the wide arena. "I am—"

My words caught in my throat as his face suddenly appeared an inch from mine.

I let out a sharp gasp, my eyes widening in shock. I nearly lost my footing and stumbled back, but I forced myself to straighten up, trying to put on a stoic, unbothered expression. "The training session was supposed to end an hour ago, and yet I am still standing here."

Master Paziel glanced slowly around the arena, his eyes drifting over the mountain of rocks I had split in half. "I had no notion you were finished, and so quickly at that. What is it you’re so eager to flee, human? Your training, or my company?"

Human. There he went again, spitting the word as if he weren’t one himself.

"Because I was supposed to be done an hour ago, and yet you made me split even more rocks."

Master Paziel placed a long finger against his chin, considering my words. "Hmm... impatience," he murmured, beginning to circle me slowly, like a predator. "You have yet to breach even the first stage of your cultivation. Most of your kind would have crossed that threshold weeks ago, already climbing toward the second stage, or the third. Yet here you stand, pitiful and frail, unable to pass even the first gate. Tell me, how does someone so wretched come to slay Mirevale? How do you carry Castiel’s light within you?"

My eyes widened in shock at the mention of Mirevale. Only the sins, Thamiel, Malachi, and Anomas knew the truth about Mirevale and Castiel’s light.

A wave of suspicion washed over me.

This was the first time we had ever spoken for this long, and I could tell at once that he was no ordinary master. In fact, he might not be human at all.

"I know well enough the curiosity you carry toward what I am," Paziel said smoothly, "just as I know everything concerning you."

"How?" I demanded, my chest tightening. "Do you... can you read my mind?" The thought of him silently picking through my thoughts as he watched me made my skin crawl.

Master Paziel shook his head softly. "I have no need of your thoughts when your every emotion is written plainly on your face. Your desperation to unravel me shows in how you stare, in how you startle each time I draw near," he added, letting out a low, dark chuckle.

I furrowed my brows, giving him a questioning look. He made it sound as though I were somehow mesmerized by him, when in truth I was only staring because I was convinced he was some kind of dangerous imposter.

"You carry so potent a divine light, so formidable a child," he purred, his voice curdling into a sneer, "and yet you remain just as pitiful. Much like your beloved Azriel."

Directly disrespecting the Prince of Lust? This was definitely no ordinary man. There was no need to doubt it any further. His words, his aura, and his sheer audacity were proof enough that something dangerous hid beneath those dark purple robes. He knew about the light, the unborn child, and my bond with Azriel.

None of the other masters had ever dared bring those things up, but this man was entirely different. His tone was condescending, carrying an edge of cold pride that was somehow worse even than Luceriel’s.

"Had you cultivated your first stage properly," Master Paziel said flatly, "a stone would split like this."

He extended a single hand, almost lazily. Without a sound, a giant boulder across the yard split cleanly down the middle. Unlike my messy attempts, his cut was effortlessly smooth, leaving behind not a single pebble or cloud of dust.

My own strikes had sent jagged debris flying to every corner of the arena, which was precisely why he had been resting under the tree in the first place.

"I..." I opened my mouth to defend myself, to remind him I was still entirely new to magic.

"Were it not for him, I would have rid myself of you long ago," Master Paziel said, cold and precise, a dark, mocking smile on his lips. "I regret ever making that promise. Had I known you would prove this pitiful, this much trouble to teach, I would have ended you the moment I first set eyes on you."

A violent shiver ran down my spine. This was our first real conversation, and already he was openly voicing hatred, and a violent wish to end my life.

He wasn’t joking, either. The terrifying flare of deep amethyst light in his eyes proved he meant every word.

"Is this how you mean to face your enemies?" he thundered, his voice booming with such sudden, crushing force that the entire arena shuddered beneath our feet. "Is this how you’ll protect your child, your mate, your kingdom? By relying blindly on divine light until it tears you apart and shreds your soul to pieces?"

I stumbled back a step, my heart hammering against my ribs. He was right, and yet the terrifying aura radiating off him made me fear for my life.

"Who are you?" I cried out.

Master Paziel chuckled darkly. "The one who’s going to end you."

"What the hell!" My foot caught on a stone, and I lost my balance, tumbling backward onto the hard ground. "Are you... are you from Elysium?"

"Worse," he grinned, stepping over me. "Far worse than that, little prophet. I won’t give you my name, but if you truly wish to be of use, prove it through your strength rather than whimpering like some untrained pet—"

A sudden burst of blinding green lightning crackled across the arena, cutting him off mid-sentence. We both turned as a spatial tear split open, and Luceriel stepped through into the open air.

I hadn’t seen him in two months, but relief flooded through me at his sudden appearance. At least now I wouldn’t have to face this insane master alone.

"Look who’s finally decided to show his face," Paziel drawled, turning toward him. "The Prince of Pride, emerging at last, after weeks spent hiding from me."

Luceriel’s eyes narrowed into cold slits. "I was perfectly content never looking at your face again."

Master Paziel clutched his chest with theatrical flair, letting out a fake, wounded gasp before chuckling softly. "How heartbreaking. And here I thought we were destined for one another."

"Shut up!" Luceriel snapped coldly. He turned his gaze down to me, brow furrowing. "Why are you still out here training? Shouldn’t you be in your quarters, preparing to meet your mate?"

Before I could even answer, Paziel moved like a shadow. In the blink of an eye, he had materialized directly behind me, wrapping a thick arm around my shoulders and pulling me back against him.

I let out a sharp gasp, my mind racing in panic. Did they know each other well enough to banter like this? And why the hell was his hand suddenly at my throat?

My thoughts cut off as his fingers tightened hard around my neck, cutting off my air entirely.