"What are you doing?" Death asked with a cold laugh. "You cannot stop me."
I released my Famine powers, but instead of taking energy, I gave it. I channeled life from my family and funneled it into Death, making him scream. Lucifer also released War's powers, but he reversed them, sending feelings of love and peace into our son instead of anger and hatred.
"Death will not take my son from me," I called out, as I felt Death fighting back, trying to quell my life-giving power. "I am a goddess of life, and my children carry that gift too. You cursed me to die again and again, but being reborn over and over only made me stronger. Now I give that power to Belial."
It was working. Death was weakening his hold on Belial. I saw my son's eyes shining through again. But I wasn't sure it would be enough, even with all of us sending life and love into him. Death was just too damn strong, like a black hole that sucked everything into it.
Then Aurora suddenly flew out of my grasp toward Belial, and I let out a little cry as I reached for her. It was too late though, and she landed in his arms, grabbing onto him. Belial lowered his head to her, his movements almost robotic as he caught his baby sister in his hands. I held my breath as I waited to see what would happen next. I was terrified, but I had faith too. Faith that Belial wouldn't hurt his sister. Faith that love would prevail.
"Yes, you will be an excellent host one day," Death said, and my hope faltered.
But then Aurora reached up to touch Belial's face, and they stared into each other's eyes and something passed between them. Power. Life. Love.
“Be be be," Aurora said, her voice clear even among the battlefield. Was she trying to say his name? He blinked at her, as if he wondered the same thing. She looked at him with pure baby adoration, her eyes shining with love for grumpy older brother, and that was enough to push him over the edge.
Belial threw his head back with a roar, and an inner war waged inside him, one we could do nothing more to fight. It seemed to last for an eternity, but then Belial prevailed, and all the purple glow around him vanished back inside his body. He staggered, and I rushed forward to take Aurora from him, while Lucifer caught him in his arms.
Belial coughed. “He’s… He’s gone.”
"Yes, my father is gone," Lucifer said. "But Death remains. You are an Elder God now."
"How do you feel?" Kassiel asked.
"Fucking great," Belial said sarcastically, as he pulled away from Lucifer and stood on his own.
"How is this possible?" Damien asked.
I gave a little shrug as I smiled at my sons. "Love is stronger than death."
Lucifer nodded. "Yes, love persists, even after someone is gone. It's the reason we grieve someone, or smile at the memory of them. It was the one thing Death hated more than anything else, and the reason he cursed me and Hannah all those years ago. Love is the only thing he could never kill."
"That's lovely, but would you mind stopping your undead horde before they kill my grandmother?" Damien asked, tilting his head toward the battle behind us.
"Oh. Right." Belial lifted his hands in silent command and the undead all fell, their bones collapsing to the ground or becoming dust once again.
Once they were gone, the battle was over. The remaining shifters, imps, and other traitors surrendered, and we could all breathe a little sigh of relief at last.
I drew Aurora into my arms and wrapped her tightly to my chest, dropping kisses into her wisps of blond hair. “Good girl,” I whispered. “Did you see what you did? You saved your brother.” I hugged her to me again and her fingers batted my cheek. I turned my head to kiss her little hands as Lucifer gathered us both against him, wrapping us in his arms and his wings.
He released a sigh and bent to kiss Aurora’s head. “You're both incredible."
Aurora giggled and reached for his feathers. He let her touch them for a few moments before he took her from me, and his wings folded away. I went straight to Belial next.
"Are you all right?" I asked, wrapping my arms around him and giving him a long, tight squeeze. I'd almost lost him today.
"I'm fine," he said, slowly pulling out of my pincer hold. "Thanks to you."
He said that, but I was his mother, and I knew it was a lie. Something about him was different. Colder. Emptier.
But of course he was different. He was a god now.
Lucifer walked over next and clasped Belial on the shoulder, while still holding Aurora. "I knew you could do it."
"Did you?" Belial asked, genuinely surprised.
He nodded. "I never had any doubt you would find your way back to us."
"Be be be," Aurora said, and Belial gave her something that was almost a smile as he held out a hand to her.
"But you sacrificed your soul," Kassiel said. "What does that mean?”
Damien tapped his lips. “Father sacrificed his memories, but those were returned. Could Belial's soul be restored too?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I hope so.”
Lucifer put an arm around my waist. “We’re all here. Together again. If there's a way to save Belial's soul, we'll find it.”
Belial rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. Really."
He did seem all right, so it was hard to tell what exactly losing his soul had done to him. I prayed it was nothing, and that he would be able to move forward with his life—now with a bit more power. Either way, I knew I'd be back in the library looking for answers as soon as we returned home. That was what I did, after all.
A pale horse suddenly galloped over to us and bowed its head to Belial, who looked surprised by this turn of events. He was a Horsemen now, like Lucifer and I were. But there were only three of us on Earth now, and perhaps that meant the threat of the apocalypse was over. After all, all the prophecies said there had to be four.
As Hell quieted down around us, I leaned against Lucifer as we gazed across the battlefield at the aftermath of our apocalyptic war. A war we'd somehow won, despite all odds. Marcus and some other angels were healing the injured. Romana and Azazel had rounded up the remaining enemy soldiers and subdued them, while Cerberus growled and kept the prisoners in line. I spotted Demeter among the fae, adjusting her armored crown. Everyone I loved had come to fight this battle with us, and we'd prevailed.
A huge wave of relief washed over me as I turned toward Lucifer, who was still holding Aurora. I wrapped my arms around the both of them, holding them close. We were free. Free of Death's curse. Free of Adam's threat. Free to have a normal life. Well, as normal as life could be when it consisted of angels, demons, fae, babies who could fly, and three-headed hellhounds. Not to mention a couple Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
"We did it," Lucifer said, before pressing a kiss to my lips. "We won."
I nodded, tears of happiness filling my eyes. "Let's go home and celebrate."
36
Lucifer
Hannah and I entered the conference room in The Celestial, which we'd decided would still be our base of operations for our empire, even though we made our home in southern California now. Las Vegas was the main hub for demons on Earth and that wouldn't change. After all, with the internet and a private jet we could rule from anywhere. Damn, I loved this century.
My queen and I took our places at both heads of the table and I let my gaze slowly fall on each of the people in front of me. It had been three weeks since we'd stopped Death and Pestilence, and I'd called a meeting of Archdemons, both new and old. I had some changes to make to prepare for the future of our people, to usher them into a new era.
Lilith sat to my left, fully recovered after her kidnapping and looking as lovely as ever. On my right was Baal, wearing a suit that looked like it has been made during Victorian times. Next to him was Romana, across from Samael, both of them looking stoic. Then down by Hannah was Valefar, representing the dragons for the first time, and Bastet, the leader of the feline shifters, and the newest Archdemon in our ranks. She'd been quick to pledge her loyalty to me after Fenrir's death, swearing her people would root
out the corruption and bring the other shifter clans in line. Since the insurrection had mostly involved wolves and bears, I was willing to let her try. Besides, she'd hated Fenrir for thousands of years, and was thrilled to take his place—and that was enough to keep her loyal. For now, anyway.
The final seat at the table stood empty. No Archdemon had been chosen for the imps yet, and from what I'd heard, their ranks were in chaos. One of the many things on today's agenda.
"Thank you for joining us today," I said. "We have much to discuss."
"Yes, big changes are coming," Hannah said, as she took her seat with a smile.
The Archdemons bristled and glanced between each other. "Are the rumors true?" Romana asked. "Are you stepping down?"
A hearty laugh erupted from me. "No, of course not. Why would anyone think that?"
The demons settled down at those words. Immortals didn't like change. They tended to be stuck in their ways, even if those ways were outdated and it was obvious that a new way would be better for them. Of course, change was necessary for the survival of our people. I'd been doing a lot of thinking over the last few weeks, and realized that was where I'd failed as a ruler before. I'd been either too hesitant to change, or I'd embraced it too hastily. But now I had Hannah ruling with me to help find the right balance.
I slowly sat in my executive chair like it was a throne, my back straight, letting my hands languish on the armrests. "The first business on the agenda is a promotion. Samael, please rise."
"Yes, my lord?" He reluctantly stood up, towering over the rest of the table.
"Samael, Hannah and I are pleased to announce that you are now officially an Archdemon, representing the Fallen."
"I... I don't understand," he said. "The Fallen don't have an Archdemon."
"They do now," Hannah said with a big smile for her friend.
I nodded. Until now I'd acted as both Demon King and leader of the Fallen, but it was time to delegate more. Plus, Samael deserved a promotion for everything he did for us. "It's something I should have done centuries ago."
"Agreed," Lilith said, giving Samael a sultry smile. "You've basically had the job all these years anyway, Sam. It's high time you were recognized for it."
"Thank you," Samael said, bowing his head, and the other Archdemons offered their congratulations. "I will do everything in my power to serve the Fallen as their leader."
"I know you will," I said. "And I hope this will address another issue—the belief among some that Fallen are not true demons, or that I favor them over other demon races. That is false. We are all creatures of the night and children of Hell, and Hannah and I will rule over all demons equally and impartially."
This was something Mammon had brought up as a reason why he was trying to overthrow me, and after speaking with some of the other Archdemons privately over the last few weeks, I'd discovered it was a larger problem than I'd realized. I hoped that by making Samael the Archdemon of the Fallen it would solidify him as their leader and representative, and allow me to treat all the demonic races as equal subjects. After all, I wasn't really Fallen, not anymore, and neither was my queen.
I steepled my fingers on the table as we moved on to the next order of business. "As for the imps, we will give them one more week, and if an Archdemon is not named, we will choose one for them. Does anyone have a person they would like to nominate?"
"That won't be necessary," a lilting voice said from the doorway. Audible gasps went up around the room as our unexpected guest strode into the room. I hadn't seen the man in hundreds of years, and though he could change his appearance at will, I recognized that cocky swagger immediately—Loki.
Today he wore wavy black hair, cheekbones that could cut glass, and mischievous green eyes, with his trademark crooked smile. An ancient imp, he was the cousin of Nemesis, and also the father of Fenrir, who had taken after his wolf mother in his powers. Was Loki here to swear his loyalty—or here for revenge?
I rose to my feet, preparing myself in case he launched an attack. "Welcome, Loki. It's been a long time."
"Where have you been all these years?" Bastet asked, with a toss of her dark brown hair. The way she said it made me think they had once been an item.
"Oh, you know. Here and there." Loki waved a hand with a mysterious smile. "I've been hanging out, doing my own thing, but it seems I'm needed now. I'm here as the new Archdemon of the imps, and ready to swear my loyalty to good ol' Lucifer and his lovely queen." He winked at Hannah as he said that, and I barely held back a growl.
Instead, I raised an eyebrow at Hannah, silently asking her if he was speaking the truth. She studied him closely, no doubt reading his aura, and then nodded to me.
"Oh good, I see I have your approval." Loki swept into an elaborate bow before us. "I am your humble servant, my king and queen. I pledge my loyalty to you, and swear to serve as your Archdemon to my best capabilities."
I didn't like this, not one bit. Loki was the most famous trickster of all time, and damn crafty too. If he'd emerged after centuries there had to be a reason, one we might not know for many years—and I didn't believe for one second it was because the imps needed him. But what was that saying—keep your friends close, and your enemies closer?
I flashed him one of my own charming smiles. "We're so pleased to have you with us. Please, take a seat."
Everyone's eyes were on Loki as he draped himself across the chair. "With pleasure."
Hannah cast a warm smile around the table and drew everyone's gaze back to her when she spoke. "Now that the Archdemon issue is settled, we can move on to the next thing on our agenda. Hell."
"What about it?" Baal asked.
I sat back in my chair. "We're going to start rebuilding it."
That got everyone's attention.
"Do you plan for us to return there?" Valefar asked. It was another thing his father, Mammon, had wanted. After speaking with the other Archdemons, it seemed many of my subjects also wanted that—while many others had absolutely no desire to leave Earth.
"Eventually, yes," Hannah said. "Once we've rebuilt some of Hell and determined it is habitable again, we'll open passage to any demon who wants to return there. We know many have made their homes on Earth and will not want to leave, but there are others who long to return to our old realm."
"We'd like to set up a team with representatives from all seven demon races to lead this project," I said. "Please choose five of your people whom you think would be best for this task and report back by the end of the month."
Baal gave me a respectful nod. "This will go a long way into reuniting our people."
"Will it?" Lilith asked. "Or will it set up another divide of Earth versus Hell demons?"
"We'll try to prevent that from happening by allowing demons to pass freely between the two realms," Hannah said.
Valefar stroked his chin. "My people would approve of that. Hell is much safer for my dragons than Earth, but with our numbers so few, we also need to be in this realm to reproduce and rebuild our race."
Bastet leaned toward me and asked, "But will you be ruling the demons on Earth or the ones in Hell?"
"Both." I leveled a gaze at anyone who might try to challenge me, then gave them another disarming smile. "Although I won't be able to do it without my Archdemons. I'll need all of you more than ever. I see a bright future for our people—but it will take all of us working together to usher the demons into the next era."
Loki gave me a slow clap and then grinned at the others. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm sold. Sign me up, Old Scratch."
I tried not to grit my teeth at that old nickname and instead kept my smile on my face. "Excellent. Now, if there are matters that any of you would like to discuss, the floor is open."
Bastet began speaking about her plans to deal with the various shifter packs, and the others chimed in with some ideas or questions. As the meeting went on, I found my eyes drifting back to Hannah, watching her command the room with ease. She'd changed so much
, it was hard to believe she'd once been the innocent woman who'd come to my door asking me for a favor. My Eve. My Persephone. My Hannah.
Her eyes met mine, and she gave me a smile that was just for me, filled with love and respect. She was my equal. My mate. My wife.
My queen.
37
Hannah
I stretched and rolled over in bed, not really wanting to be awake but being awake all the same. Not that I needed sleep, of course. I just liked it. It made me feel a little less...godlike.
“Good morning.” Lucifer’s voice was warm and full of promise, and as his hand skimmed my hip, I suddenly didn’t mind being awake at all. He kissed my neck, his soft hair brushing my cheek, before I’d even opened my eyes. I had a feeling he'd been up for hours. Unlike me, Lucifer couldn't be bothered to sleep.
“Morning,” I murmured back, luxuriating in his touch and warm mouth as he nibbled his way along my jaw.
The house was so quiet. Peaceful.
My eyes flew open. “Aurora.”
Lucifer’s hand was against my cheek, his eyes looking into mine. “She's still asleep. Just be here with me.” He resumed his gentle nibbling as his hand swept my hip again, then rested over my ribs so his thumb pressed softly against the underside of my breast.
I wanted to offer him encouragement, but couldn't tear my thoughts away from a sudden mental onslaught of party plans, caterers, guests, and a one-year-old birthday girl. There would be time for Lucifer later. I'd make sure of it.
"As much I'd like to continue this, I have shit to do," I said with a sigh.
Lucifer laughed at my eloquent words. "What shit?"
“Party shit,” I clarified. “Aurora only turns one once, and people are coming here expecting a party, not to join us in our bedroom for the world’s most powerful orgy.”
Infernal God (Claimed By Lucifer Book 3) Page 19
