With a chuckle, I opened the door to a trio of trick-or-treaters. One of them was dressed as a little red devil, to my great amusement, though Jo’s tight smile told me she didn’t feel the same. We dropped some candy in their bags and then they scampered off to the next house. I smiled after them, enjoying the brief moment of normalcy.
As I turned away and began to close the door, it suddenly slammed open, crashing against the wall. Something cold and dark passed through me, and when Jo and I whirled around, Lucifer stood behind us. His black wings were spread wide as darkness swirled around him and his eyes blazed red. Shadows played across his face and his hands were clenched in fists at his side. He looked pissed as hell, and my traitorous heart beat faster and filled me with longing.
His gaze raked over me, like he was checking I was unharmed, before they landed on Jo. The entire room got darker and colder, like his anger was sucking all light and warmth from the surroundings. Jo raised her sword, which now glowed white, while Lucifer conjured a shadowy blade of his own made of pure darkness. Then he surged forward toward her.
With my heart in my throat I dodged in front of him, blocking Jo with my body, certain that neither of them would hurt me. “Stop!” I yelled. “That’s my sister!”
Lucifer drew back, his inky dark sword held high as he looked from me to Jo. “How is that possible?”
“It was in one of my past lives,” I explained, though it hit me then that Lucifer should probably know that… Shouldn’t he?
They stared at each other with hard expressions, until some sort of understanding passed between them, but that only made him angrier. His voice grew so loud it shook the walls. “Did you do what I think you did?”
“I had to,” Jo said. “All I want is to protect her. From Adam. From you.” She pointed her glowing sword at him. “It’s always you!”
“I’m her mate!” he roared.
I watched them like I was a spectator at a tennis match, back and forth as they yelled and exchanged meaningful looks. There was clearly a lot more to this story than either of them had told me. I wanted to snatch away both their swords and give them each a time-out.
I held up my hands between them. “I wish someone would let me in on what the fuck you’re both talking about! I’m sick of everyone hiding things from me. Can I have the whole truth, please? And put your damn weapons away already!”
Lucifer’s darkness blade disappeared like vanishing smoke. He spread his hands and bowed his head, as if to say he’d play nice. I looked at Jo and narrowed my eyes a little. She sighed and put her sword on the entry table.
“May I have a moment alone with Hannah?” Lucifer asked. I was surprised by how polite his voice had become. “I promise I won’t steal her away.”
“Absolutely not,” Jo declared. “Out of the question.”
I turned to her. “I’ll be fine. I spent a week with him and I’m unharmed, aren’t I? And if I want answers, how else can I get them if I don’t talk to him?”
“Fine.” She huffed as she narrowed her eyes at Lucifer over my shoulder. “You can use the library, but I’ll be in the living room. And leave the door open!”
I rolled my eyes. What was I, a teenager with her first boyfriend?
I led Lucifer into the library, where he eyed all the books I’d pulled out. He picked up the copy of Dante’s Inferno and snorted, shaking his head as he tossed it back in the pile.
“I see you’ve been doing some research,” he said, his voice dripping with disdain.
“Is it true?” I asked in a low voice. “Am I Eve?”
“Yes, it’s true.” He arched an eyebrow. “What else did Jophiel tell you?”
“Jophiel?” To me she’d always been Jo. I’d just assumed it was short for Joanna all this time. Now I was beginning to realize I didn’t know a single thing about her.
“Indeed. Your ‘sister’ is an Archangel. Did she mention that?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to contain my frustration. “No, she left that part out.”
“Of course she did.” He reached for me, but I quickly stepped back, and he paused. “Are you afraid of me?”
“No, I just…” I turned away and drew in a breath. “I have a lot of questions.”
He sank down in the chair I was sitting in earlier and leaned back, then gestured lazily at me. “Ask away, darling.”
“Is it true that I was married to Adam before you? That you abducted me and made me your mate?”
He let out a sharp laugh. “Abducted is a strong word. Trust me, you weren’t happy being married to Adam. He was still in love with his first wife, Lilith, and he had a horrible temper. He’s the kind of man who charms you with flowers, poems, and promises, and only once he has you in his grasp does he reveal his dark side.”
“And you’re not the same?”
“No, I'm completely up front about my villainous nature.” He smirked at me as he leaned forward. “You ran away with me to escape Adam.”
I swallowed hard. “But he followed us. And then…he killed me.”
Lucifer’s eyes darkened. “He did.”
“And this curse? Is that real too?” I clenched my throat, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. “Is my fate to die over and over at Adam’s hand?”
He rose to his feet and stepped toward me, with pain and sadness written across his face. “I wish I could tell you that wasn’t true, but I never lie to you, Hannah.” He reached up to touch my cheek, and this time I didn’t flinch away. “I’ve watched you die hundreds of times, and each time my heart shatters into a million pieces. My only solace is that I know one day you’ll return to me, but it’s little comfort as you take your last breath in my arms.” Darkness swirled around him like angry tentacles. “And then I usually rip that fucker’s heart out.”
An endless cycle of love and death, for all eternity. I blinked back the emotions threatening to drown me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He brushed his thumb under my eye, catching a tear before it fell. “It wasn’t the right time. You were just beginning to accept the supernatural world and your place in it as my mate. How could I add this burden on top of everything else? I planned to tell you about the curse eventually, but only when you were ready.”
“I’m not sure it’s possible to ever be ready for a revelation like this.” I drew in a ragged breath. “Do you know where Adam is now? Do you think he’s behind the attacks?”
“I don’t know.” Tension tightened the corners of Lucifer’s mouth. “My people have been looking for him, but haven’t found anything yet. All we know is that he must be human, since he’s reborn in a pair with you. It seems unlikely he could be behind the attacks unless he’s sided with some of the Archdemons somehow. Though he has gotten very crafty over the years…” His voice trailed off as he considered, but then he met my eyes again. “It’s more likely the Archdemons are trying to overthrow me again. It happens now and then, but my display at the ball should make them reconsider.”
I shuddered a little at the memory. The darkness holding the traitors in place, the blue hellfire that turned them to ash, the way everyone bowed… And the worst part of all, how it had secretly thrilled me, deep down, to see them punished.
“It bothered you, I see,” he said, cocking his head. “When I couldn’t find you at the ball, I feared the worst, but then I suspected you might have run away. I was almost relieved when I’d learned Jophiel had taken you.”
“I did run away.” I stepped back from him, my eyes wide. “I’m not sure what to make of you, Lucifer. History doesn’t exactly paint you in the best light. And in every one of these—” I indicated my large pile of books. “They tell the same story, over and over—that the devil is the personification of evil.”
“They also say I have horns and a pitchfork, and that’s obviously not true.” He cast a dismissive glance at my pile of books. “History was written by the angels, who have long sought control over Earth. They’ve hated me ever since I rebuffed their control an
d fought for humans to have free will. They paint me as the villain, making me their scapegoat, blaming all evil on me. As if any one person could have such power.”
He sounded bitter, but there was something else in his voice too. Vulnerability. Pain. Despite all my hesitations and fears, my heart ached for him. If he was telling the truth and they’d made him out to be this horrible monster that he wasn’t, that was incredibly sad. It would be a hard life to live, and lonely too. Especially in the long years while he waited for me to be reborn.
But was Lucifer telling the truth? Or was he deceiving me? I couldn’t tell. I’d learned so much about myself and the world over the past eight days, but I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
“Lucifer I… I need some time to think.”
He moved close and touched my face again, with the lightest of caresses. “I know this is a lot for you to take in, but it will all make sense in time. Come back with me to the penthouse. You know in your soul we’re meant to be together, even if you’re uncertain about everything else. Your place is by my side, ruling as my dark queen.”
I pulled back, out of his grip, and shook my head. “I’m not ready for that. It’s too much. Please just…give me some space for now.”
“You want me to leave.”
“Yes. Go. Please. Before this gets any harder.”
He searched my eyes, like he didn’t want to believe what I was saying, but then he bowed his head and stepped back. Without another word, thick darkness swirled around him, the shadows dancing and claiming him as their king.
When it cleared, he was gone.
27
Lucifer
Space. Hannah wanted space.
Fine. I could give her that. For now.
But that didn’t mean my business here was finished.
Using my power to become darkness, I slipped through Jophiel’s extravagant house until I found her office. White walls, white distressed desk, white chair… What a bore Jophiel was. If she hadn’t been an Archangel and the CEO of Aether Industries, she’d hardly be worth my notice. Except now it seemed she was apparently Hannah’s sister, though that was impossible. To my knowledge, Hannah had never been an angel in any of her past lives, and she certainly wasn’t one now. Her wings would have long emerged by now if she had been—plus I would have sensed it.
I pushed back Jophiel’s white chair and sat in it, then kicked my feet up on her desk, knowing the sight of me invading her space would drive her mad. It only took a few minutes of playing on my phone before she arrived.
She jumped when she saw me at her desk, and then her eyes narrowed with a look of pure, unadulterated hatred. “What do you want?”
The sight of her made my blood boil too, but I flashed her a devilish smile. “I want the truth. Isn’t that your area of expertise?”
Her mouth twitched at that. As an Ofanim, Jophiel was an angel of truth…and was one of the best at concealing it. All Archangels had a special, unique power—and Jophiel’s allowed her to erase or hide memories. “The truth will only hurt Hannah.”
“I’ll be the one to decide that.” I rose from her desk slowly, the shadows gathering behind me like menacing wings. “You stole some of my memories, didn’t you? Of a past life where Hannah was an angel. And your sister, apparently. Now you’re going to put them back.”
She raised her haughty little nose. “Why should I?”
I turned to shadow for a split second to glide through the desk, then I grabbed her by the throat while my eyes turned red with rage. “Because I demand it.”
We stared each other down, her body glowing with light and power as she faced me. The high and mighty Jophiel and I had never gotten along. For years, she’d blamed me for killing her former lover, Archangel Michael, even though I never would’ve done such a thing. He and I had once been enemies, that much was true, but we’d worked too hard to end the war and establish peace between angels and demons. Why would I kill him after all that effort? His death nearly undid the treaties as it was. Now we knew Archangel Azrael was behind Michael’s death, and he was in Penumbra Prison—a place where the angels, demons, and fae kept the worst supernaturals locked up. Yet she still hated me.
“I don’t take orders from you,” she finally gritted out.
I tightened my fingers around her throat, my darkness filling the room like ink. “Not even you can resist an order from the devil.”
“Villain,” she muttered. “All you do is lie and kill.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Enlighten me on the truth then. You know I didn’t kill Michael.”
“But you did kill my father!”
I rolled my eyes. Not that old excuse for her continued behavior. “Phanuel attacked me, as you well know. It was self-defense and we were at war then. We aren’t any longer.”
That only made her glare harder at me. “Not at war? Tell that to the angels and demons who died at Seraphim Academy last year.”
“We both know that was Azrael’s doing.” I cocked my head. “Wasn’t he your former lover as well? I heard the other Archangels have been suspicious about your loyalties lately.”
“My loyalties are to other angels and to my family,” she snapped. “Including Hannah. It’s your fault she’s doomed to die, over and over. I won’t let you hurt her again.”
I sensed she was talking about something specific, something from this past life of Hannah’s that I couldn’t remember. My anger exploded and wrapped inky darkness around her. “Show me,” I demanded, and even the Archangel Jophiel couldn’t deny a command from the King of Hell.
She finally relented with a sharp nod, and I let go of her. She drew in a ragged breath and then reached up to touch my forehead. Light burst in front of my eyes and warmth flooded my skull, radiating out from Jophiel’s touch as memories rushed through my mind. My anger washed away, replaced with a potent mix of happiness, pain, and grief, and I nearly stumbled under the weight of it. Within seconds I was hit with everything from the relief of finding my mate alive again, to the joy of being with her every moment I could, to the heartbreak of losing her.
I stepped back and bent over, gripping my head, as the memories consumed me. Our first meeting, our first kiss, our first time making love. Long talks into the night where she made me question my beliefs. Flying together, her wings silvery white against the moonlight. And then losing her in a way too painful to even focus on.
When all of it faded to a bearable level, I was left with the true knowledge of Hannah’s angelic life, and what the two of us had shared together.
And everything we’d lost.
My anger returned with greater fervor than before, making it hard for me to even think. An entire life with Hannah had been erased from my memories by Jophiel, who had no right to do such a thing. I held myself tense as I spoke through gritted teeth, then lifted my red eyes to Jophiel again. “How dare you? You’ve hidden this from me for years. Not to mention what you did to Hannah…”
“I only did it to protect her!” Jophiel said, as she stepped back from my rising darkness. There was nowhere for her to go. Her back hit the door and she glowed brighter, but she wasn’t a fighter. Not really. We both knew she had no chance against me.
“I should make you pay for what you’ve done.” My magic gathered around me as my wings unfurled, my darkness eager to do my bidding. I breathed through it, the desire to lash out and punish her for her actions almost overwhelming every other thought in my head. It would be so easy to let the darkness tear her apart limb by limb, a fitting punishment for her crimes, which I now knew went above and beyond erasing memories. But then I thought of Hannah in the other room, and the way she’d jumped in front of me to save this wretched angel. No matter what Jophiel had done, they were sisters, and I couldn’t hurt her.
I reined in my dark desires with effort. When I folded my wings and snapped them away, the shadows receded. “I won’t punish you.” Then I smiled, and not in a nice way. “No, I’ll let Hannah do that when she learns what you’ve done.”
Jophiel shuddered a little, but then looked me in the eye. “We both know my actions have kept her alive this long. Leave Hannah here with me. I can protect her better than you can.”
“Never,” I growled. “Her place is by my side.”
The second I said the words, doubt crept in. Perhaps the angels could do a better job of keeping Hannah safe. I’d done a shit job at it for thousands of years, after all. This newly remembered life of hers only proved that even more. Every time she was reborn, I swore to myself I’d protect her and that this time it would be different, and then I failed. Over and over.
My memories weighed heavily on me as though they were as fresh as the day they were created, and though I detested Jophiel, I knew she would protect Hannah with her life. Yet I couldn’t give up my mate completely either.
I moved to the window beside Jophiel’s desk. “I’ll leave Hannah with you…for now. But when she wishes to return to me, you must allow her to do so.”
She sniffed, back to being haughty. “Shall we make a deal for her time, like you did with Demeter over Persephone?”
I should have known she’d get in one last jab by reminding me of that mistake. “I’m done making deals.”
I pinned her with a dark look, before turning to shadows once again and heading outside, into the night. I hovered there, invisible to any mortal who might look up at the sky, as I watched Hannah through the library windows.
Children walked along the street below me in their costumes, many of them dressed as the creatures of the night I ruled over, while Hannah leafed through book after book. Reading about me, no doubt.
Halloween had always been my favorite of Earth’s holidays—a night when everyone embraced their inner wickedness and allowed themselves to love the darkness. Tonight though, it was me who was haunted.
My chest ached as I watched Hannah, wishing I could go to her, but doing my best to respect her wishes. I reached out as though I could touch her, imagining her soft skin under my fingertips, then clenched my hand into a fist. Damn this curse. It had killed her hundreds of times, putting her through so much agony, more than any one mind could possibly bear. No wonder she could only see glimpses of her past in her dreams. Anything more would shatter her mind. And me? The curse had destroyed me emotionally over and over, hundreds of times throughout the years, and would continue to destroy me still.
Demon King (Claimed By Lucifer Book 1) Page 19
