PROLOGUE
He is Est Morningstar.
The son of Lucifer. A demon prince forged in chaos, heir to Hell's most powerful throne—and the Underworld's most dangerous crime syndicate.
Est doesn't do love. He conquers. He owns. He possesses.
But when he's cursed—banished to Earth by divine force—he loses everything: his power, his magic, and his control.
He's given one chance. One last way to return to his empire in hell: through a human man whose soul glows with forbidden light.
William Rivera—a quiet, soft-spoken college graduate turned undercover informant in a mafia-run strip club—has no idea he's the key to damnation.
Or salvation.
His kiss can take a demon prince back to hell.
But Est wants more than a kiss.
He wants him.
And he's willing to tear heaven and Earth apart to claim what's his.
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CHAPTER ONE
Black. Gothic. Sinister. The empire beneath the flames ruled by blood and war.
Est Morningstar stood with a boot on a groveling demon lieutenant's chest, a custom-made black coat sweeping around his ankles like the smoke of hell itself. The room trembled as the shadows thickened.
"You touched my obsidian bullets?" Est's voice was cold, silken, laced with threat.
"I—I only followed the Don's orders…" the demon whimpered.
Est cracked a grin. "Wrong answer."
With a flick of his blade, blood sprayed across the floor.
"Tell the next idiot not to mess with my gear," he said, licking a speck of crimson from his knuckle as he walked off.
---
Est is not just a demon prince.
He's the mafia king of the Underworld—a sadistic, unforgiving leader who commands an army of supernatural criminals.
Lucifer, his father and former Don, now lives in reluctant retirement, trying to keep his wayward son from annihilating their dwindling alliances.
When Est storms into his father's chamber demanding his weapons back, Lucifer barely looks up.
"You'll get them when you learn restraint," he mutters.
"Restraint?!" Est's eyes glow crimson. "I am restraint. You don't see me burning this whole damn realm down—yet."
Lucifer sighs. "You think power is pain. But true control is knowing when not to destroy."
Est scoffs. "No wonder you're fading, old man."
---
But Est's rebellion doesn't go unnoticed.
When he launches a forbidden strike against the celestial order, heaven strikes back.
He is cursed.
Stripped of power.
Cast to Earth.
And sentenced to feel.
Feel love. Feel pain. Feel need.
For one man.
A man destined to either save him—or destroy him.
---
EARTH
L.A, CALIFORNIA – THE GLASSBACK CLUB
William Rivera hated his job.
The bar reeked of whiskey and desperation. He adjusted his tie, keeping his head low as he moved through the club's private VIP section, where the real business happened.
He wasn't here to serve drinks.
He was here on a job.
Get information. Survive the mafia. And get out.
But nothing prepared him for Est.
When the mafia's mysterious new boss walks in, dressed in all black and wrapped in danger, the world freezes. His aura is suffocating, raw power hiding behind bored eyes and a devilish smirk.
Est spots him immediately.
A flicker of recognition.
"What's your name?" he asks, voice low, deadly.
"W-William," he stammers.
Est smiles.
"Oh... You'll do."
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TO BE CONTINUED…