Page 93 of Semper

One by one, the rest of us filed out of the room, leaving Phoenix in his element.

We had all learned to give him his due when it came to tasks like this. As we walked down the dimly lit hallway toward theelevator, I mulled over the situation and how to spin this with Lolita. As we exited Carcerem and stepped into the twilight, I felt a shift within me. It wasn’t just about what had transpired in that chamber. It was something more… something that had been weighing on me for days now, and I was finally ready to speak it out loud.

We gathered outside near the vehicles, my Magistri still buzzing from the day’s events. My clothes, still damp from earlier, clung to my skin, but the storm had passed. The Isle, once again, was content. But for me, the night wasn’t over yet. As I stood there, surrounded by my family, I knew it was time to share what had been weighing on me for days. The Rite was one thing, but this—this was something that would change everything.

Before we could part ways, I spoke, my voice low but carrying the gravity of my next words. “There’s something I want you all to know.”

The conversation around us halted, all eyes turning to me. My father, always perceptive, cocked an eyebrow. Emilio and Bishop exchanged a glance, both waiting for whatever revelation was about to drop. Uncle Corbin leaned against my father’s car, arms crossed, and Isaac paused a few paces to our vehicle.

“I’m going to be a father,” I said simply, my words dropping like a bomb between us.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. The kind of silence that wraps around you and amplifies every heartbeat. Then Emilio’s grin split wide across his face, his hand slapping my shoulder with enthusiasm. “No shit?”

I nodded, feeling the weight lift off me, though the seriousness of the situation remained. “Lolita’s pregnant.”

Bishop let out a low whistle, shaking his head. “Well, fuck me. And you’ve been holding out on us?”

“I haven’t known long and there were other matters to attend to.”

My father’s expression softened in a way I hadn’t expected. There was pride there, but it was more than that—satisfaction. His voice, when it came, was steady, filled with approval. “Move your Rite up,” he said, his eyes locking with mine. “Make it official.”

I didn’t need to ask what he meant. The Isle would be expecting it. Hell, they’d demand it once they knew Lolita was carrying my child.

"And do a cleanse," Isaac added, his tone more thoughtful. "It’ll reset everything, a fresh start. Perfect timing with the pregnancy."

Jamison, who had been unusually quiet, nodded slowly, his face serious. "That’s a good idea. Especially with the Clarice angle. Removing all the bad—it’ll show that you’re moving forward. That she’s your future now."

The weight of their words settled in my chest. They were right. This was the perfect opportunity to solidify everything. A cleansing, our Rite, a ceremony to make her truly mine in the eyes of the Isle. There would be no more lingering doubts, no more ghosts of the past. I glanced at Bishop, who was already on his phone.

“How quickly can this come together without it feeling too abrupt?” I asked, thinking through the logistics. We’d need to move fast, but it still had to look seamless, like it had all been planned from the start.

Bishop’s grin widened as he tapped away. "You’reDiabolus, it’s never too abrupt. The Isle is going to rejoice, and so will our people. I’m already on it." He held up his phone, the screen lighting up with whatever he was working on.

My father nodded, crossing his arms, satisfaction rolling off him. "He’s right. The Isle will celebrate this. Your heir, your legacy—it’s coming full circle."

Uncle Corbin chimed in, “And your aunt and mother have nearly everything in place. Lolita just needs to show up."

I felt a strange warmth settle in my chest. Not the obsessive hunger I usually carried for her, but something deeper. Something that only grew when I thought of the life she carried.Ourchild. My heir.

“Four days,” I said, my voice firm. “We’ll do it in four days.”

My father clapped me on the back, his approval solid. Emilio gave me a knowing smile, and Bishop looked like he was ready to burn the Isle down with his excitement.

I may not have expressed it the same, but I was just as excited. I could recall only a few other times I felt like that. When my siblings were born, the Isle chose me, and anything to do with Lolita coming into my life. It wasn’t just about having her physically. It was deeper than that, more consuming. Lolita was more than a possession to be claimed, more than a body to take. She was the answer to every hollow space inside me.

I craved her not just in the way a man craves a woman, but in the way a drowning man craves air. She filled a void that had festered for years, the void that came with the weight of leadership, the darkness of my role asDiabolus.There was something in her I couldn’t let go of. She had a fragility masked by tender strength. Some of what she endured would have broken someone’s mind, but she proved she was always meant to be here by overcoming it all.

Lolita was mine in ways she didn’t even understand yet. It was more than lust, more than love. It was a compulsion, a burning need to own her completely. Not just her body, but her mind, her soul. She’d become the center of my universe without even trying, and it terrified me as much as it thrilled me. Everymoment I spent with her, I was unraveling the layers that made her, crafting her into something that would belong to me and only me. The more I learned about her, the more I realized how deep I wanted to sink my claws in.

I was no fool.

I knew this obsession was a dangerous game, one I had to control. It wasn’t enough to simply have her. I needed to break her apart gently, to remake her into the perfect partner—a woman who wouldn’t just stand by me, but who would fall willingly into the darkness I ruled.

Lolita was meant to be a queen. And I was the king who would never let her go.

But I had to push her just a little further before our ceremony. She was close—so close to fully surrendering to me, body and soul. After this little incident, she needed to feel the weight of my absence. She had to realize how much she needed me. How much of her identity now revolved around being mine.

Two days. That’s all it would take. I would vanish—no contact, no presence. She would feel the distance, the silence, and it would eat at her. She would crave me, miss me in ways she hadn’t yet allowed herself to admit. By the time I returned, she’d be aching for me, desperate to be in my arms, to feel the security only I could provide. It was manipulation, yes. And it was necessary. She needed to understand that I was her everything, as much as she was mine.