Or were they?
He surmised that it was the truth.
Then who was the male standing in Lucifer’s image? How did he come to possess Ragnarǫk the Destroyer? The weapon obeyed no one, but Lucifer himself.
Was he thinking too much into it?
The girl was shivering violently in his arms. She whispered through chattering teeth, “Hypo… therm…mia…”
He furrowed his brows. “What?”
“I’m cold…” she murmured.
Chapter Eighteen
It felt so warm and comfortable.
The sound of the tiny flame crackled and reminded her of midsummer campfires and roasted marshmallows. Slowly coming back to consciousness, she yawned and stretched before opening her eyes. The fire was dancing and producing exciting little sparks. She relaxed her arms and they landed on a warm and smooth surface.
Amara snugged her cheek on the base of his neck and closed her eyes again. When her memories returned, her eyes snapped opened. She sat up immediately, becoming fully aware of his nudity and her own. Alarmed, she attempted to bolt away, but he held her firmly in place. She covered her chest with her forearms instead.
“Why are we naked?” She cried.
“You were shaking like a wet cub,” he replied straightforwardly.
She remembered passing out and falling into the water. Her hair was still damp. “This is awkward,” she said softly.
“This saved your life,” he corrected her.
It took her a moment to absorb the situation. “You saved my life…” She whispered. He dived into the dark basin to find her and carried her to the surface. She would have died in a watery grave if not for him. “Thank you…”
“The next time you fall into the water, try and fight for your life, instead of letting yourself sink like a rock.”
“It was not like I was too lazy to fight for my life. I couldn’t move!”
“Why couldn’t you move?”
“I reserve the right to remain silent.”
The nudity really bothered her.
Sleeping next to him every night was one thing, but being fully naked in his arms was another. Her face flushed bright red.
“Are the clothes dried yet?” she asked.
“No.”
She saw the clothes bundled up at one corner and frowned. “If you don’t hang them up, they’re never going to dry. Let me…”
He wouldn’t let her go. “Stay,” he said softly. It didn’t sound like his usual ordering her around tone.
“They’re never going to dry!” She retorted. “And they will smell like mildew.”
A hand went up her neck and dug into her hair. He guided her to look directly into his fierce, blue eyes. “I said leave them.”
She stilled.
Holding her gaze, he grated, “I have questions and I want truthful answers.”
“Questions?” she stuttered, feeling overly suffocated by the grave tension he’d created.
“Who is that man claiming to be Lucifer?”
Her first mistake was looking away. The question caught her by surprise. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He forced her to look at him in the eyes once more. “Don’t lie to me, mortal.”
“He is Lucifer.”
“He may look like Lucifer, but their personas are completely different! Lucifer had weathered an endless existence. His eyes are sharp and unwavering. All I could see in that male’s cold, blue eyes is an uncharacteristic melancholy. Who is he?”
She had to stick with her alibi until the end. She shook her head in denial. Her lower lip trembled from apprehension. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Do you take me for such a fool that I cannot tell the difference? I know Lucifer better than you think.”
She inhaled a deep breath, ready for whatever he had in store for her. “You can torture me all you want. I will not change my answer.”
“You are stubborn,” he said. “I do not know what you are trying to hide from me, but rest assured that I will find out.”
She looked up to prevent the screen of tears collecting in her eyes to fall.
Loyalty is all I have. You can’t take that away from me. You can’t!
They slid down her cheeks anyway.
“Who have you pledged your loyalty to?”
Shocked that he was invading her mind, she slapped him. “Stay out of my head! You have no right!”
She could see the rage dancing in his eyes. “I have every right,” he said in a low, threatening voice.
“My thoughts are solely mine!” She cried, the tears streaming from her eyes. “If you invade my mind again I swear on my life I will never forgive you!”
The rage in his eyes was replaced by something else. She couldn’t identity what exactly. His expression softened significantly.
She let out a sob.
“Hush,” he said, soothingly kissing her tears away. “Never again... You have my word.”
She didn’t believe him. She couldn’t believe him.
He was pressing very gentle kisses on her lips. Though she personally didn’t mind them, she couldn’t abandon her role. Amara’s feelings had no place here.
She reluctantly pulled away, but that only made him deepen the kiss. The more she resisted, the more he tried. And as he was taking, he gave back much more in return. He made her body ache and her skin crawl. The only cure was his touch. He awakened desires within her that she never knew she had.
It felt so right, but it was all wrong.
“No!” She protested.
A hand cupped her face. “Give in to me,” he asked of her with a smoldering look in his eyes. She wondered how many women could have resisted him.
She wished she could give in. “No,” she replied with a shake of the head. “No…”
She could only imagine how her rejection must have infuriated him and she braced herself for his wrath. She waited for his onslaught.
He made no further advances. The hand that was cupping her face guided her cheek to his broad shoulder. Gentle fingers were stroking the side of her neck.
The tenderness of the moment confused her.
Nala gave the miniature ship a push, so that it would sail around the shallow pool of her lavish, Roman style bath that even Cleopatra would have envied. It was her favorite place in her remote palace. She took pride in every little detail, from the polished white marble floor to the massive dome ceiling, which was covered in precious gems.
Fai, her pet beast, was taking a nap under the warm sun on the balcony.
Fera and Sere, her two favorite female attendants, were sitting by the poolside leisurely scattering jasmine flowers into the water. The girls were twins, each were gifted with unique talents. Fera was a skilled musician whose songs could melt any man’s heart, and Sere was an unrivaled weaver of fabrics and of dreams. Regrettably, both resided to a life of blindness since birth.
“Damian,” Nala summoned.
A handsome young male with chestnut brown hair and teal eyes answered her summon. He appeared at the edge of the pool. When he saw that she was in the bath, he diverted his gaze and bowed his head to her.
“I am at your command, my princess.”
“Have you located them yet?”
“I have not,” he replied, “but do not despair. They cannot hide forever.”
She waved a hand at him. “You may go.”
He remained. “Does your arm still causes you pain?” he asked after a moment of hesitation.
She lifted her left arm from the water. “The central nervous system is reconstructing the nerves, so it feels like being pricked by a thousand of needles every half a second.”
“You should sleep until the pain passes.”
She read the concern in his eyes.
The demon was madly in love with her, like half of the males she’d encountered. His loyalty and devotion to her were unquestionable. There was no doubt in her mind that he would throw his life at her feet if she demanded it.
A saddened thought invaded her mind.
She rose and walked to the other end of the pool. Her body, never an object of her embarrassment, was bare for him to see.
His breathing quickened involuntarily. He immediately turned around like the gentlemen he was. She climbed out of the pool and stood before him. He turned his head to the side to avoid looking at her. The muscles in his body tightened unnaturally.
“Look at me,” she commanded.
He slowly turned his head to her. His beautiful teal eyes revealed too many of his thoughts. They held her in adoration and worship. If she had flaws, one would never find any on her physical body. Beyond his admiration was a fierce yearning. And beyond that was an unblemished love.
The eyes revealed so much of a person. Nala wondered if her other half could see the love she had for him when she gazed into his eyes.
Damian was straining his fists to the point that his knuckles went white and his fingernails drew blood from his palms. He caught a wisp of her scent and his self-control melted away. He reached for her, pulled her closed and claimed her lips for his own. He kissed her hungrily, mindlessly, and possessively. His large hand cupped her breast.
His touch repulsed her. Every male’s touch repulsed her.
His passionate kiss repelled her. Every man’s kiss repelled her.
“I love you,” he breathed between each collide of their lips. “Be mine… only mine.”
He bent his head, licking and sucking obsessively on her flesh as if he wanted to consume her.
She felt nothing.
His hands explored her body, and then cupped her breast once more. He kneaded it roughly, passionately, as if she would disappear if he let go.
Her heart felt nothing.
Hollowness... Emptiness... Barren...
Heavy tear drops fell onto his jawline.
He paused, lifted his head, and stared into her eyes. He saw something that pained his expression. He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around her thin shoulders.
“Forgive me,” he whispered. “I overstepped...”
“No one could lay a finger on me if I did not allow it,” she clarified. “You may leave.”
“I am always at your command, Nala.” He knelt on one knee before her and pressed a kiss on the back of her hand. He rose and vanished into thin air.
Damian was one of the few who knew that she was still a virgin. Quite humorous, she thought.
Fera glowered. “You should not have teased him.”
“Who said I was teasing?”
“You meant to have him?” Sere inquired.
“The person I want to give myself to doesn’t want me, so what does it matter whose arms I end up in?”
“The prince will change his mind one day,” Sere consoled.
“He will have to accept the truth eventually,” Fera said.
Nala shook her head with an exhausted sigh, “He won’t be able to see it, because he doesn’t want to see it. He chose to be blind to it. If he hadn’t changed his mind over three thousand years, there is zero chance he will ever change his mind.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
Nala knew with certainty and she was already at her limits.
Having the urge to see her other half, she materialized into Chevalier’s apartment. Instantly, she knew Chevalier wasn’t home, but her other self was. She stalked to the bedroom. Her heart wrenched when she discovered him soundly sleeping on the bed. She came to his side, staring fixatedly at his sleeping face.
Perhaps the only time he didn’t reject her was when he was asleep. How rare the occasion. Her eyes trailed down to his neck, his shoulders, and finally his left arm. She carefully lifted his left hand and snuggled her cheek affectionately against it.
She could not resist the calling of her heart; she leaned over to kiss his lips. She breathlessly sighed at the perfect blending of the souls.
He woke, kissing her back tenderly, until reality shattered the perfect moment. He gripped her arms and pulled her away.
“Nala…!”
She smiled back at him.
He jabbed his fingers into his platinum grey hair in frustration. With another look at her, he stilled. He examined her. She was completely naked under the jacket of another man. He inhaled her scent and she saw something dark and dangerous lurking in the depths of his blue eyes.
“What are you doing here?” he asked with a fixed gaze on the red marks around her neck. The muscles in his jaw tightened.
“Please don’t send me away,” Nala pleaded. She leaned on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. “Let me stay like this. Even an hour will do. A brief hour will help me endure another century of this torment.”
“Nala…”
“One hour is all I ask of you. I need this. I need to feel you close.”
He reached for her, but stopped an inch short from her skin.
“If you will not leave, then I will,” he said firmly.
She held tight to him. “I implore you. I need this. I need to feel completion, even if it is only a few minutes.”
He disappeared from her embrace and reappeared on the other side of the room. He had made his point. He could always slip away from her fingers no matter how hard she gripped onto him.
“You are cruel,” she whispered, “for leaving me to the mercy of my immortality.”
Her expression turned sorrowful. She was equally cruel to those who loved her and there were so many that she’d lost count. She could obtain the love of any man, but the one that truly mattered to her. The irony burned like acid. She’d trade it all – her looks, her powers, her immortality – just to be requited. And she would do it without a moment’s hesitation.
“I am tired of explaining to you, Nala.”
She too, felt the exhaustion. “You have been trying to convince me that everything I feel for you is nothing more than a lie. The love I have for you is not real. I have been listening.”
If the love she had for him was not real, then nothing else would be.
In her previous life, she and Trent existed as a single entity. She was his instinct, a separate consciousness, and for most of his life, his best friend. There was a time when they even shared a sibling bond. To save their mother from a villainous plot, Nala had voluntarily separated from him and was planted into a body of her own. Neither of them had been a complete person since.
And then there was the equation he kept telling her about.
All things in life must follow the laws of order and chaos. Violations of those laws demand equivalent compensations. Their separation into two entities was unnatural. The universe demanded the equation to be balanced. Trent believed that they were forcibly drawn to each other.
Nala retained none of those memories and she could have cared less about the stupid equation.
Even if it were true, everything was a lie. She wanted to live in a blissful lie, which was something they could not agree on.
He would never accept her for what she was.
She envied other women who could openly come to him without any prior prejudice. He paid them little attentions, but at least he didn’t treat them like a disease, because they didn’t have the name ‘Nala’ attached to them. If he had taken any of them to bed, she would have sent the whore back to him in a pretty box. As promised.
He belonged to her. Always has and always will. Parts of him, the parts he’d tried to deny, knew it.
He’d denied her other things too, like comfort. She was not even worth the one hour she’d requested. She’d missed him terribly, but he had always kept her at arm’s length. The distance between
them could not be traveled.
The heavy tears slid down her cheeks again, continuing where they had left off before she came.
He was positively shocked by them.
It was probably the first time he’d seen them, because she couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried. She didn’t want the love of millions of other men. She wanted the love of the one man standing before her. He would never give it. Not to her… Anyone, but her…
There was her resolution. In order for him to love her, she would have to be anyone but herself. She began to plot. When everything came to a clear picture inside her mind, a smile bloomed amidst the tears.
The plan would have to wait until she repaid the dark god his just due. She was a fair person and she lived by a fair rule. Those who have good intentions for her would be rewarded tenfold. Those who crossed her would suffer a thousand fold.
“Nala…” It had been so long since her name came so softly from his lips.
She beheld him one last time in her own identity, before she vanished from the room.
Chapter Nineteen
There was one place the dark god could have gone to evade the demons. Unfortunately for him, there was not a place she could not reach. Heaven, the former home of her Lord and Father, was no exception.
After she’d crossed the boundary to the realm of Heaven on the back of the Condemned Divine Beast, Nala called upon her soul weapon, Obelisk. With a heavy blade seemingly larger than her own body, she boldly charged into perilous territory.
They did not travel far before they were face with a small army of archers. No question was asked. They fired on sight.
The beast dashed onward erratically in an attempt at an evasive maneuver. He leaped from side to side in fluid motions to dodge the arrows. A swing of Nala’s heavy blade destroyed the ones coming after her. She quickly summoned a protection spell around them. The arrows began to ricochet off the barrier.
The archers moved aside to make way for a radiantly beautiful man. The platinum sword in his hand gave away his identity. The owner of Ragnarǫk’s counterpart, Absolution, was no other than Archangel Michael. At the Archangel’s order, Absolution assumed the shape of a bow. The Archangel fitted an arrow into his bow and let it fly. It broke through her barrier and grazed her shoulder.