by Leigh Kelsey
Lili frowned, but she had no way of knowing if he told the truth, even if he again sounded genuine, and even if Lili desperately wanted to believe he wasn’t lying. If he was telling the truth, she’d be spared. She’d live, and … and be given the chance to make Gabriel pay for what he’d done to her. Slowly, Lili clarified, “You’re telling me I won’t be punished?”
“I am.” He rose to his feet, towering far above her and holding out a hand to help her to her feet. “Bath,” he reminded her. “I’ll find you something to eat and a healer while you soak.”
Lili wanted to bolt, wanted to attack him, but confusion made her weak. And the wounds on her back were throbbing; a bath would be nice.
If Lucifer wasn’t going to torture her, who was Lili to complain?
For twenty minutes, Lili pretended to believe it. She lowered herself into hot water, let the scent of jasmine bubbles and rose petals lull her into a false sense of safety, let the water soothe her wounds, and she inhaled her first full breath since she’d Fallen. The bath was made of white marble veined with grey, and it was big enough to fit three people, or one angel or demon with wide wings. Lili’s wings … she blocked out the thought. She was safe, no one had betrayed her, she wasn’t at the mercy of the devil, or in his home in Hell with no idea how to get out.
She was safe, back in her rooms at the academy. She’d never gone back to Wisteria. Everything was normal.
But the water cooled, and when she rinsed her hair and stepped out, wrapping a fluffy charcoal towel around her body, cold pricked her skin. Reality came crashing back. Her wounds ached, and her heart hurt even worse. She’d been so stupid to believe someone as beautiful and respected as Gabriel would want her.
A knock on the door startled her out of her self-pity and Lili squeaked, “Hello?”
“Clothes,” a soft voice told her. That voice … warm and measured, threaded with worry. It was the man who’d found her on Earth. Lili moved before she could think, swinging the door open and staring at the man on the other side, the demon on the other side.
He was more muscular than Lucifer, though still compact, but not as tall. Long blond hair, curling on the ends, fell into eyes the colour of pale topaz. It was a soft blond, not burnished gold, and though his face was handsome, it was a rugged handsome, a real sort of handsome; nothing like Gabriel’s untouchable, perfect beauty. And unlike Gabriel’s flat expression, acute worry rippled across this man’s face. There was a watchfulness about him, a stillness. Lili was glad for it, even if the first flash of his hair, his tawny skin, had made her recoil.
“You,” Lili breathed, meeting those crystal blue eyes as her heart beat faster. He was around the same age as Lucifer; were all the men here older? And … good looking? “You’re the one who … who found me. I recognise your voice.”
He nodded, smiling tentatively as he held out a neat bundle of clothes to her. Lili accepted them in one hand, grasping at the knot of the towel to keep it from slipping with her other hand. But her shoulders were bare, as well as her left arm, and Lili watched his eyes graze over the rippled flesh of her scars, shock slackening his face. Self-conscious, she held the clothes closer to her chest until his eyes lifted to her face instead. There was no disgust on his face, no repulsion, nothing that gave her the sense he was recoiling; merely surprised.
“I found you,” he confirmed, hiding his surprise to give her a warm smile. Lili got the sense that he was a man of actions, not words; he seemed to use as few of them as possible.
“Thank you,” Lili whispered. Even though she’d been brought to Hell and the devil instead of rescued and returned to her father’s tower, those two words still felt inadequate. Without him, she’d still be broken on the ground where she’d Fallen.
The demon nodded, looking away, blonde curls falling into his face to shield his expression. Silence fell, so awkward that Lili’s shoulders curved inward and she wondered how rude it would be if she ducked back into the bathroom without another word.
“I found them,” he said finally, something in his posture reluctant, as if worried of her reaction. Lili lifted her head to watch him approach the bed where … where her wings had been laid out, snowy in places but mostly dirty, caked in blood at the roots.
Lili stumbled towards them with a sob, her eyes filling with tears even though she’d barely stopped crying minutes ago. She dragged a fingertip over the ragged edge of a feather, her beautiful wings in dire need of preening, but they were here. She still had them. There were surgeries that could reattach them.
With a strangled thank you, Lili threw herself upon the stranger and hugged him tight, her gratitude far beyond those two words. He stood stiffly, unmoving as she held tight to him for a long moment, but then his palm skimmed her lower back, pressing against the towel, and tension left Lili’s shoulders. When embarrassment curled through her and she stepped back, his blue eyes had softened. He didn’t look angry that she’d hugged him, just surprised. A smile formed on his mouth.
Lili stepped back, grabbing the clothes from where she’d dropped them. “Thank you for these … I don’t know your name.”
“Cerny,” he told her, still watching her carefully. Because he thought she was dangerous? Because he knew she was a spy? Or … because she was bleeding?
Lili ducked her head, not sure why his calm attentiveness made her face heat up. With a mumbled few words, she ducked into the bathroom and pulled on the clothes—leggings and a long-sleeved, flowy top in the softest purple cotton—feeling better now that she was dressed even if they weren’t her clothes.
By the time she opened the door again, about to ask him where specifically he’d found her on Earth, to thank him again for finding her wings, for rescuing her and making her feel safe, if only for a moment, Cerny was gone.
Alone and with nothing better to do, Lili explored the bedroom. She rifled through ebony drawers, finding nothing but clean sheets and pillowcases. She opened wardrobes, finding tall, empty spaces awaiting clothes. Pots of ink, old-fashioned quills, and notebooks upon notebooks were arranged on a desk by the window, the curtains still thrown open to show rooftops, minarets and spires all built out of indigo, sapphire, and lilac stone.
The bedroom was … nice. As nice as her room back at Michael’s tower, she had to admit, even if her bedroom was done in pastel pinks and purples while this room was all dark wood, with white and red fabrics. She could almost convince herself she was in Heaven—if not for the view beyond the window.
This city—Iarlon, she suspected, the largest city in Hell, never once pinpointed on a map by angels—was so different to Wisteria’s moonstone and golden buildings, its bright emerald parks, lapis domes, and turquoise columns. But unlike Wisteria, a bright river snaked around the streets here, sparkling like hammered silver. It was beautiful. Not what she’d expected from Hell.
Lili sighed, her shoulders sinking the longer she looked. How had she ended up here, among her enemies? With her enemies being … nice? Giving her clean clothes and warm baths? She didn’t know what to think of it all, except she was exactly where Gabriel wanted her. And that made her angry.
“Liliana.”
Lili turned, her heart in her throat until she saw it was Lucifer. How bad was her life that she was relieved to see the devil? She’d thought, for a split second, that Gabriel had come for her.
“Hi,” Lili said, and then realised how stupid she sounded. She opened her mouth to say something better, something more befitting her captured-spy-in-extreme-danger status, when she realized there was a woman with him. Middle-aged with silver braids wound around her head and a frown on her brown face. She wore slim black trousers and a white shirt rolled up at the sleeves.
“The doctor I told you I’d bring,” Lucifer told Lili, and alarm must have shown on her face because he added, “She won’t hurt you. If she does, I’ll kill her.”
The doctor blinked but that was the only sign of alarm she outwardly showed. Lili stumbled back a step, hitting the desk behind her har
d enough that it jarred her wounds and her eyes watered, her jaw locking on a scream.
“Come here,” Lucifer murmured, “before you injure yourself any further.”
Lili wished she saw a way out, but even with the window cracked open and a door across the room, she was in the devil’s house. She would try, one day soon, to escape. But not while her back was leaking blood. Not without her wings.
Lili made herself take a step towards him, and then another, and let Lucifer lower her to the bed on her stomach. The soft purple top Cerny had brought her was soaked through with blood. A pang of regret tightened her stomach at ruining such lovely clothes.
“I’ll need that shirt removed,” the doctor said, her voice deeper than Lili expected, like soft velvet.
Lucifer brushed the hem and Lili stiffened. “May I?”
She had to swallow twice, fear obliterating any other emotion she’d felt before. Laid on her front, unable to see what was happening behind her… She would kill Gabriel for putting her in this position. “Okay,” she croaked, flattening her shaking hands to the mattress to still them.
The bed dipped, and Lili dared to look. Lucifer had sat beside her, his light brown face set in a very serious expression, his lips a thin line. Air hit her lower back as he gently peeled the shirt away, and then pain exploded through her shoulder blades as he lifted it higher. Every bone in her body tensed and Lili muffled a scream in the mountain of pillows beneath her. He stopped instantly.
“Are you very attached to this top?” he asked casually.
“I might be, literally,” Lili gasped on a sob, tears streaking her face.
“I’m going to cut it. Stay still.” Lili did as he ordered, more out of fear than obedience, wishing the whole time that she’d stayed wrapped up in the damp towel. When the fabric slid away on either side of her, cold air brushing the agony of ruined flesh at her back, Lili slumped into the mattress in relief.
“I see,” the doctor murmured. “The wings could be reattached if they’re in good condition but the skin needs to be fully healed first.”
Lili pressed her wobbling lips together. How long? How long until she could have her wings back? Weeks? Months? Lili let the cries pour freely, not caring that a doctor and the devil were watching her body tremble with shattered sobs.
“Do what you can for her,” Lucifer ordered, “and get out.”
Lili cried the whole time the doctor cleaned her wounds, sewed her shut, and applied something that smelled of tea tree and mint. It was only after the woman had left, the door softly closing behind her, that Lili realised her hand was held tightly in Lucifer’s and he was talking to her, telling her a story about someone called Bernard getting trapped in a ring of hallucinogenic trees while hunting a rogue spirit. He came skipping back to Iarlon singing about all the faeries he’d made friends with.
She shouldn’t have, but when he finished telling the story, his thumb brushing the back of her hand in soothing circles and the pain muted for now, she murmured, “Thank you.”
Lucifer squeezed her hand and let go, the bed rising as he stood. “Stay there, be careful not to open your stitches. I’ll go find you some food.”
“Why?” Lili whispered, turning her head to track his movements to the door.
He hovered on the threshold, his ruby eyes settling on her. “Because you haven’t eaten in hours and you need your strength to heal.”
“No, I mean—you’re the ruler of Hell. Why are you looking after me yourself? Don’t you have people to do that for you?”
He laughed softly. “Of course. But like I said, I know what it feels like to Fall. I know how lonesome it is. And I want your help in destroying our mutual enemy.”
“Gabriel.” Lili snarled his name, power surging through her in response to her rage. She held onto it, if only because it wiped out the bone-deep hurt for as long as she gave it room in her heart.
“Exactly,” Lucifer agreed. “You strike me as a good ally to have, Little Lilith. So I will ensure you are treated the way I wish by caring for you myself.”
Lili tried to shrug and inhaled sharply at the pain.
“Careful,” Lucifer warned. “I’ll be back soon.”
With that he disappeared out of the door, leaving Lili to dissect his words. She told herself it was all lies but in her aching, affection-starved soul, she badly wanted to believe him.
Even with a belly full of chicken and lentils, Lili struggled to sleep. She should have passed out, she was so drained—both physically and emotionally—but her body refused sleep, her mind turning over everything that had happened. It had been two days, she’d discovered, since Lili had been shoved out of Heaven, a full day and a half spent healing the worst of her body’s trauma.
But just thirty six hours to heal a fall from Heaven? Cerny had used magic to save her. It was the only thing that made sense. When she’d half woken, delirious on Earth, her battered body had been healing, crackling like lightning through her veins. She owed Cerny so much—for finding her, for saving her wings, for healing her, and for … for bringing her to safety.
At least she hoped it was safe here. It felt safe, but Lili wasn’t sure she couldn’t trust her judgement anymore. She’d ignored every gut feeling with Gabriel, pushed aside the too-rough, unfeeling moments and swaddled herself in the warm feeling of being wanted. She knew, if she let herself, she’d do the same thing here; she would ignore the fact they were demons, that the devil himself tended to her, just because it felt nice to be cared for.
And it did. No matter how afraid she’d been at first, no matter how nervous she still was, it felt good to have Lucifer hold her hand and bring her meals. It had felt good being in Cerny’s arms as he carried her from Earth, even if she was battered and bruised. How long had it been since she’d been held? Gabriel didn’t count; he barely touched her. It was so obvious in hindsight that he hadn’t loved her, had barely tolerated her. How could she have been so stupid?
With a mad huff, Lili rolled over in bed, flopping down too hard on her side facing the window and wincing as pain arced through her back. She was supposed to be being careful of her injuries, not taking out her anger on the mattress and its many cushions.
Hot fires of anger moved through Lili again, and in the dark of her room—no, not her room, the room—she allowed herself to examine it. It filled her veins like lava but it didn’t hurt; rather it felt empowering, like it strengthened every part of her it touched. It sank into her muscles too, those flames, and replaced the marrow of her bones.
“What can you do?” Lili whispered to her magic, holding up her hands in front of her in the ray of cornflower blue moonlight that slipped, gauzy, through the curtains. Her hands looked normal, if a bit scratched from digging her nails into her palms while the doctor patched her up. She ignored the pang of hurt in her chest when she asked herself why Cerny’s magic hadn’t healed her wings.
“Can you heal me?” Lili asked her magic, turning her hands over to inspect the freckles on the back of them. Her magic flared in response but the skin didn’t heat between her shoulder blades; there was no itch of healing. “Worth a try,” Lili sighed, and turned over again, more carefully this time.
Her eyes traced over the carved ebony furniture, the whorls of red tone-on-tone flowers painted on the walls, the outline of the door. She hadn’t even tested if that door was locked, and that seemed like a mistake. Lili meant to climb out of bed and try the handle, but a surge of tiredness finally swallowed her, and her eyes became heavy.
In the morning, she decided, and let sleep drag her down.
Gabriel’s cold laugh hit Lili like a slap. His words hurt as badly as the fresh wounds on her back.
“How stupid could you be, to believe I’d want a girl like you?”
He prowled closer and Lili backed up, scrambling away on her hands and bum as he towered above her. Where once she’d seen burnished beauty now she saw cold, golden hatred. She dragged herself further away from him, her white sundress ripped down the b
ack and blood pouring from her shoulders. He’d kicked her wings off Wisteria’s cliff edge, the same edge her fingers brushed against as she backed away from the archangel, loose stones scattering into the clouds. The drop was so far down, she never heard them hit Earth.
Wind tore ruthlessly at the scraps of her dress, her tangled hair, and Lili knew she was one false move away from following the little rocks down to brutal Earth.
“Why would I want you?” Gabriel sneered. “An angel with demon blood. A pathetic little girl who’s never done anything important, who will never amount to anything. You only attended the academy because your father paid them to admit you.”
“Stop it,” Lili pleaded, her throat swollen and tears burning her eyes. There was nowhere else for her to go, the sharp drop inches behind her, but she’d rather fall off the edge than listen to his words. It was everything she’d thought about herself, every hateful thought she’d ever had, turned on her.
“I could have anyone,” Gabriel said, a cold laugh threading through his voice, “and you deluded yourself into thinking I’d choose you? You?”
“Stop,” Lili gasped. The hole in her chest where her heart had been was a gaping, torn-up mess. Lili expected blood to be seeping from the wreckage in her chest, joining the blood from her shredded shoulder blades. She scrambled back. Her fingers slipped over the sharp edge of the cliff and a shadow fell over her, Gabriel’s hate-filled face sneering down at her.
“Every time we slept together, I imagined someone else,” he spat at her, and Lili flinched. “I’m happy to be rid of you.”
He smiled. Gabriel, who never did more than smirk, grinned wide as he kicked her over the edge.
Lili screamed as air whipped past her, stinging her eyes, lashing her brutalised back until her throat tore from the strength of her scream—
