“Fuck!” I snap. I lift the sleeve of my coat and pinch myself—hard. Not a dream. This isn’t a fucking dream.
“What is that?” Gabriella asks.
“It’s ancient demon language, meaning, the fallen shall reign. They knew we were coming.”
Gabriella’s gaze narrows and her jaw tightens. “Well, they just didn’t know who they were fucking with.”
She lifts her hands to emit a devastating current of power towards the wall, but the neon electricity dies at her fingertips. She tries again, but her magic is reduced to sparks.
“Shit. Shit! There’s something nullifying my magic. Something more powerful than me. And there is no other magic on Earth more powerful than mine.”
“Unless it’s juiced with the blood of an archangel,” I comment, putting it all together. Dark magic plus Demoori Sheol. This is the work of a powerful warlock working with demons. “Can you flash us out of here?”
She takes my hand and steels herself, her brow furrowed in concentration. Her image flickers before my eyes but she remains in the same place.
“No. Shit! Something is anchoring me here. My magic…it’s useless.”
I aim my gun at the wall. If magic won’t get us out, maybe firepower will. But the bullets ricochet right off of it as if they’re made of rubber, forcing us to take cover to avoid being hit.
“We’re trapped,” Gabriella says, rising panic quivering her voice. “I can’t…” She’s panting, as if she can’t breathe, as if the darkness is strangling her. Clutching her throat, she drops to the ground, struggling for air.
I know what I have to do.
Passion. Desire. Longing.
I close my eyes and invite them all in, conjuring everything I felt last night. Everything I had blocked from memory in fear of becoming what I’d always known. I kissed him like his lips were the balm to my aching soul, letting his tongue soothe the loneliness and despair that had plagued me. I found healing in his touch as he caressed my backside, drawing me closer. And when I sucked his thick cock into my mouth, I tasted sweet solace in the tiny trickles of precum that slid down my throat. He buried his face in my pussy like it was the vital key to peace unparalleled. He fucked me so good I found freedom from my demons that haunted my nightmares. And in those quiet moments, with his cheek against my belly and my fingers playing in his hair, I discovered myself. I knew where I was supposed to be as if the answer had been engrained in me since before birth. As if it was carved on my ribs when I was still in my mother’s womb.
I remember.
I remember.
Lucifer, I remember.
Holy light erupts at my fingertips, hotter and bolder than I’ve ever felt it, forming two glowing orbs. I press my palms together to condense them into one giant ball of sheer, undeniable power that engulfs both my hands and take a deep breath. I conjure all my strength, all my focus, and with a straining roar, I push it at the wall, right in the middle of the demon symbols etched in paint and plaster. The light collides with the Dark magic shielding the wall with a deafening crack of thunder, right before a lightning bolt rips through it, fracturing it in two as if it were made of porcelain. I hold out an arm to shield Gabriella from the dust and rubble that kicks up towards us while also shielding my own face from the fallout.
“It worked,” I rasp, as the dust clears, revealing a gaping hole in the wall. “Gabriella, it worked!”
I reach back to help her to her feet, but my hand only captures air. I wave it through the remains of powdered plaster to clear my line of vision.
But she’s gone.
Heavy footsteps are a fear-driven stampede, and within seconds, Niko, Dorian, and Lucifer are rushing into view, their own hair and clothing covered in dirt and grime.
“Thank fuck,” Niko breathes. His shoulders fall in relief as he approaches and pulls me into his arms. “We couldn’t get to you. My magic—all of us…”
“This place has been spelled with a powerful darkness,” Lucifer finishes. His eyes are electric as he regards me closely yet keeps his distance.
“Let’s find what room Gabriella was trapped in and get the hell out of here,” Dorian grumbles, his bright blue eyes sweeping the space. Panic paints his beautiful features.
I don’t know what to say to ease his obvious distress. I don’t know what to do to make this right. I don’t even think I can. So I stand there, eyes wide with regret, bottom lip trembling with unspoken truth.
“Come on,” Dorian urges when I fail to make a move towards the opening in the wall.
Lucifer and Niko simply stare at me, sensing the root of my unease.
“No,” Lucifer calls out after Dorian, who is already in the hallway.
“We don’t have time for this.”
“No,” Lucifer repeats.
Dorian spins around and strides over to where the three of us still stand, each step a jab to my chest. “I swear to the Divine, if you don’t fucking—”
“She’s gone,” I blurt out, unable to bite back the quiver in my voice.
“What?” he seethes.
I swallow, but it does nothing to dispel the lump in my throat.
“I said, she’s gone. The Dark Queen isn’t here. I lost her.”
After searching every dark corner of the house, we arrive back at The Saint just as the sun begins to peek through heavy, grey clouds. We’ve barely even cleared the doorway of the Lucifer Suite before Dorian’s wrath breaks through his cool exterior.
“Tell me again,” he fumes, coming so close to me that I can feel the iciness of his breath. Even the temperature of the room drops several degrees.
I go over it all again, just as I did back at the mansion. I know he’s angry; he has every right to be. But also, I know he’s terrified. Gabriella is his wife, his queen. And I was the last person to have seen her. So I tell him how we came to a dark, empty house and how every room appeared to have been abandoned for months. I tell him how we both felt a presence that we couldn’t explain that led us to the stairs, and how badly we had hoped it was them. And I tell him how we came to that fated room and how the door vanished right before our eyes, leaving behind the demon symbols that had been haunting me for days.
“She…she couldn’t breathe,” I stammer. “We did everything. Everything! Whatever was in that room nullified her magic, and there was no way out.”
“It was the same for us,” Niko says, coming over to place a calming hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I think this was a trap for her. That’s why her magic was useless, but they didn’t even consider Eden’s.”
“Because they didn’t know,” Lucifer pipes up. “Eden can wield holy light, something that no other Nephilim can do. They wouldn’t have known she was able to conjure it.”
Niko draws his brother closer, pulling him away from me. “We’ll get her back, D. I promise. Gabriella is strong. They won’t be able to hold her for long.”
Dorian nods, but his jaw is still tight with contempt. He finally releases me from his glare and turns around. “We’ll send out all our forces. I want every last warlock searching for her. Call Cyrus. He needs to have the vampires on this.”
“I will. In the meantime, I need you to let me handle this. Your son needs you. You’re too emotional right now, and we can’t risk mistakes.”
“The mistake was letting you convince me that they could be trusted!” Dorian roars, waving a frantic hand towards Lucifer and me. I don’t say a word.
“This wasn’t Eden’s fault,” Lucifer pipes up, surprisingly coming to my defense. “This was the work of Dark magic. So if you want to blame someone, blame your father.”
“And where was my father supposed to be, huh?” Dorian challenges, clenching his fists at his sides. “Why isn’t he in Hell where we put him?”
Lucifer answers with a tight-lipped sneer and I’m grateful. While I appreciate him sticking up for me, I won’t allow him to fight for me. Not when this is solely on my shoulders. I should have spoken up. I should have tried to stop her, y
et I didn’t. With all she has to lose, I allowed her to overpower me and run into that room, knowing that something sinister was on the other side. And I can’t forgive myself for that. I can only try to make it right.
“She’s pregnant.”
The room falls eerily silent for a long beat before Dorian turns back to face me, his glare a glowing, blue inferno.
“What did you say?”
“Gabriella…she’s pregnant. She was going to tell you after. But now…” I swallow down the sob caught in my throat. “I should have tried to talk her out of going, but I didn’t, and I’m sorry. I wanted to respect her wishes.”
Dorian flashes to the space right in front of me so quickly that I don’t even have a chance to take a defensive step away. However, Lucifer sees the threat and materializes right in front of me and pushes him back, sending him sailing across the room to land against the stripper pole with enough force to bend it. Within a blur of a blink, he’s back on his feet and advancing. Niko catches him by the shoulders and pulls him back.
“I welcomed you into my home! I trusted you around my family! And you let my wife go into that house, knowing full well she was carrying our child?”
“This isn’t her fault, D!” Niko grits, using all his might to keep his brother from tearing my head clear off. “You know Gabriella wouldn’t have let anyone stop her. She made her choice. Eden had nothing to do with this. This isn’t her fault!”
“You’re fucking right about that. It’s his fault!” Dorian shouts, turning his ire on Lucifer. “You did this. You chose them as your Horsemen and now my wife and baby are gone.”
He shrugs out of Niko’s grasp yet doesn’t advance. “I swear on my throne, if anything happens to them, I will unleash all my Dark power onto your realm. There will be war.”
He turns and stalks towards the door, nearly ripping it off the hinges upon his exit. Niko turns to me with apology shining in his eyes.
“He’s just scared. It’s a miracle for Gabriella to even conceive. He doesn’t mean it.”
I can only muster a nod in my state of shock and shame before he follows his brother out of the suite.
“He’s right,” Lucifer quietly states. “It isn’t your fault. It’s mine. I should have known Aurora was setting a trap for us. She knew I would never trust her over Nikolai.”
I look at him through tear-blurred eyes, but I can’t say a word for fear that I’ll succumb to the barrage of emotion currently threatening to drown me. So I just turn and walk into my room, unable to face what I’ve allowed to happen. Unable to face him, knowing that it was the memory of him that even gave me the power to break free from the Dark enchantment.
I turn away from Lucifer, because that’s what I should do, not what I want to do.
I don’t know how long he stood outside my bedroom door, contemplating all the reasons why he should leave me to my own misery. But when he twists that knob and lets himself in, it takes everything in me not to collapse onto the floor.
I look up at him, my eyes rimmed with tears, and I say nothing. Because I know with him, I don’t have to. He knows what I need and he doesn’t require my consent.
Lucifer unzips my jacket and slips it from my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. The weapons it conceals clatter, but he doesn’t seem the least bit concerned. Right now, I’m not either. I can only focus on his fingers deftly unfastening the buttons on my pants and sliding them down my legs.
“Luc…” I try to choke out, but even the syllables cut my throat to shreds.
“Shhhh…just let me,” he whispers. “Just let me take care of you.”
And I let him. I let him pull my shirt over my head. I let him lay me down on the bed, and gently place my head on the pillow. And I let him lie beside me and draw my body into his.
Because in this moment, carved out of a broken universe where he isn’t who he is and I’m not who I am, this is all. This is everything. His body is king and the warmth of his embrace reigns supreme. And even as my conscience wages war on my emotions, the feel of his chest underneath my tear-slickened cheek is commander in chief and I am a mere subordinate to his touch.
I remember this like I remember my own name.
I remember him.
And while that should scare me, should terrify down to the marrow of my bones, it’s the only thing keeping me rooted to this bed, this room, this world. He is my anchor in this violent storm that’s twisted and pulled me in every way possible. His eyes, as boundless as star-flecked galaxies, remind me that there is beauty in darkness. And for now, that’s enough. It’s all I have left to hold onto.
He holds me tight and we lie in silence. There is no awkwardness or fear. No expectation of something more, when I have no more to give. My soul is on E, and somehow, his very presence sustains me. Not entirely, but just enough to keep me from letting shame steal me away.
I don’t want to fall asleep in fear of dreaming, yet somehow I do. Maybe it’s exhaustion, maybe it’s his body that chases obscurity away, but I don’t dream. And when I stir awake and the afternoon sun is streaming through my window, casting golden light over our frames, he’s still here, still holding me. Watching me as if I’ll disintegrate into sand and slip right through his fingers.
If this were another time and another place, I’d be embarrassed at my state of undress. I should be embarrassed. But instead, I’m grateful that he’s here. And that, too, should fill me with shame.
“You snore,” he whispers, flashing a soft, playful grin.
“I do not,” I retort before turning away. We’re down to less than a handful of days, and now we don’t only have Legion to find, we have Gabriella. I can’t afford to hide in bed with him any longer, even if that’s all I want to do.
“You also talk in your sleep.”
I peer over at him with narrowed eyes as I pick up my shirt. “I did?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” I can feel the blood in my cheeks heating, which is absolutely ridiculous. “What did I say?”
“Mostly unintelligible babble. But you also kept saying, I remember. Tell me, dear Eden. What is it that you remember?”
My one shoulder shrug is a bold-faced lie. “Beats me.”
“You sure about that?” His voice is spiked with skepticism.
“How should I know? I was asleep, remember?” I make my way towards the bathroom. “I’m about to get in the shower.”
Lucifer impishly wiggles his brows and scoots to the edge of the bed. “I’ll grab my loofah.”
“Nuh-uh,” I shake my head. “No way in hell. Not even if you owned the last bar of soap on Earth.”
“But…I’m dirty,” he replies, jutting out his lower lip.
And for the first time in a long time, I smile, and it isn’t tinged with pain or annoyance. I’m not doing it to mask my fear. I do it because somehow, in his own perverted way, Lucifer is being kind. And when kindness is a novelty, you take it where you can find it.
Even if it comes from the damn Devil.
I jump into the shower, and when I emerge, Lucifer is not only gone, but my discarded clothing has been picked up and the bed is made. I know he feels bad about the Horsemen thing, and losing Gabriella has to be messing with him just as much as it’s messing with me. But still, his behavior is so out of character that it worries me. Could he be compensating for another misstep? I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised.
He’s sitting it the common area, freshly groomed and dressed, when I step out of my room, the same book from before in his hands. I’d imagine he’s exceptionally well read and cultured, but it’s still a little shocking to imagine him as this refined, cultivated gentleman who gets his rocks off from rape and mutilation.
“What are you reading?” I ask by way of greeting.
He closes the volume and places it in his lap. “Some dusty old book I nabbed from Irin’s collection.”
I take the seat across from him and start to organize and reload the weapons I’ve brought out with me. ?
??Any good?”
“Riveting,” he answers, seducing each syllable with his tongue. “So, what are our plans for today?”
“I want to get out and search for anything that may point us in Stavros’s direction. He had to have been behind Gabriella’s disappearance. And if Stavros is working with the lesser demons, he’ll know where to find Legion. We have four days. Do you think we can ask the witches again?”
Lucifer shrugs a shoulder. “Worth a shot.”
I nod. “Good. Let’s start pounding the pavement. I want to check that house again too.”
The humidity is remarkably cloying, and if it weren’t for my modified jacket concealing my weapons, I’d lose it. I know it’s the South and all, but it’s winter. The cold months in Chicago are bitter and unforgivable. The air literally stings your skin. So it’s odd to be sweating as we make our way through the gates of the cemetery.
Lucifer stops dead in his tracks just before we reach Marie Laveau’s tomb and raises a palm in front of me to halt my advance.
“Something’s wrong.”
“What?”
“The witches…they’re denying us passage. They don’t want us here.”
“And…how do you know that?”
His eyes skirt around the empty cemetery. Days ago, this place was packed. Now, not a living soul exists within this place, not even the tour guides.
“Because they’re telling me. They’re…shouting.”
I don’t hear a damn thing, and it seems kinda silly that Lucifer seems so spooked over a bunch of dead witches. There’s too much at stake to play nice now.
I step forward, but Lucifer blocks my path. “No. They won’t help us. And if we don’t respect their wishes, there will be consequences.”
I roll my eyes. “Wait. Aren’t you Satan? Don’t they serve you?”
He shakes his head. “It’s not me they’re threatening.”
I blink, reeling back a step. “Me? They have an issue with me?”
“They know what you are. And what you’re destined to be. They won’t help us.”