Dance of Wings (Curse of the Guardians #7)

14. Lucifer

Chapter 14

Lucifer

H e wasn’t sure what made him do it. He blamed the adrenaline from the fight, because he knew he should have just let Scarlet crawl back to her Archangel. But when she’d actually walked away from him…

Scarlet groaned when he released her after the drift, her skin somehow even paler than before, and with a fresh coat of sweat. “Stop doing that,” she hissed, eyes widening when she looked at their surroundings.

He’d brought her to the one place that no one knew existed, not even his brothers.

“Where are we?” she asked, turning slowly in a circle. There wasn’t much to see, the cabin lacking any electricity and built within the shade of the surrounding trees. There was more dust and cobwebs than he remembered, which made sense considering he hadn’t visited in a while. Fighting the urge to clean because she was there, he knelt before the fireplace.

“Somewhere safe,” he commented, using magic to light the logs left there from the last time he’d visited. The warmth was immediate, chasing away the bitter cold. Not that he really felt the cold anymore, not after spending the majority of his lifetime down in the Nether, affectionately called Hell.

Annoyance still vibrated his blood, but he’d calmed enough not to reveal it. He took a moment to just take Scarlet in, her blonde hair a mess of curls that had escaped her poor attempt at a ponytail. Soot dirtied her face, mixing with blood from the cut high on her cheek, the slice so thin it was unlikely to scar.

“You’re hurt.”

Red had splattered across her front, turning the pale fabric pink.

Scarlet looked down with disgust. “It’s not my blood.”

Why did that turn him on? Oh yes, because he was messed up.

“So, you wanna tell me why you’d put yourself between me and a ball of arcane?” he asked, searching through the various drawers and cabinets for any oils created by the last tenants. There were plenty of crushed herbs and potions, but none he needed.

She scrunched her nose, as if he had the audacity to question her intentions. “Because he was going to kill you.”

Irritation made his tone sharp. “You could’ve hurt yourself.”

Her shoulders stiffened, and her spine rigid. “Seriously? Did you not just hear me?”

“I heard you, but do you honestly think I’d believe you left your boss unprotected to save me?” Lucy chuckled darkly, getting more frustrated with each tiny empty drawer. After what felt like the hundredth one, he finally found the jar he was looking for. Pulling it out, he rubbed the dust covered glass with his thumb. “Come on, love. You can do better than that.”

“We’re bound, remember? I couldn’t risk you getting hurt, not if it could harm me.” A truth mixed with a lie, one she said so calmly it was as if she almost believed it herself.

“You’re marked, not bound,” he replied, the air crackling with animosity. It was electric, sizzling against his skin in the most provocative way. “Now, try again.”

Scarlet jerked her chin, her left wing so limp it was now brushing the grime from the floor. “Cassiel wanted me to make sure you weren’t killed.”

“Why?” Lucifer’s voice dropped in a dangerous warning, daring her to lie.

A second of hesitation, as if testing the situation. Lucifer stepped closer, expecting her to step back, but instead she met his gaze without a flinch and said, “I don’t know.”

Lucifer searched her eyes for any sense of deception, and found nothing.

“Are you going to tell me where we are?” Stiffly, she stalked towards one of the windows, the glass barely transparent. “We’re not in the city anymore.”

“No shit,” he said, opening the jar to give it a sniff and getting the overwhelming scent of lavender. “This is my cabin.”

Scarlet looked back over her shoulder at him, and after a heartbeat he shrugged.

“Stole it from some witches a long time ago, haven't been here in a while.” Narrowing his eyes, he looked in more detail at their surroundings. The cabin was derelict, with the majority of the furniture fitting the rustic décor. Most of it was made from wood, and because he hadn’t really tried to stop the elements from damaging anything, much of it was rotten.

He really hadn’t taken care of it.

“You stole it?” She wrinkled her nose, her finger leaving a clean smear across the window when she touched it. “It’s pretty dirty.”

“Firstly, rude. I made you a fire.” He held up one finger before adding another. “Secondly, as you’ve witnessed, I don’t take kindly to people summoning me. The least they could do was give me their creepy cabin in the middle of the woods.”

“I apologise I’m not more polite to someone who’s kidnapped me,” her tone was sharp, even if she rolled her eyes.

“I’ve brought you here out of the goodness of my heart, because I saw you were hurting.” Lucifer grinned, amused with her little glare in return, which seemed to be her standard expression when it came to him. His cock clearly didn’t understand, or even care for her lack of enthusiasm because he twitched at her attention. “And they say chivalry is dead.”

“Like I’d believe you have good intentions.” Scarlet seemed to finally notice her wing, her brows creasing in concentration as she lifted it from the floor. A muscle was clearly sprained, and she was struggling to keep it upright.

Lucifer stepped close enough she was forced to look up. He made sure to keep a cushion of air between them, the overwhelming scent of lavender and other herbs wafting from the jar.

“You’re hurt,” he said, matter of factly. “I thought maybe you wouldn’t want to be put in a vulnerable position with your Archangel.”

“So I could be vulnerable with you?” Rage tightened Scarlet’s lips. “How noble.”

Lucifer laughed, enjoying her attitude. “Just so we’re perfectly clear, love, I didn’t kidnap you. You’re welcome to fly back to the city at any point. But it’ll probably take you like, four, five hours with your wing?” With a final smirk he stepped outside, letting the breeze ruffle against his wings before he called them back into his body. His muscles ached, his neck a little stiff as he started walking down the cobbled steps.

He knew she’d follow, it wasn’t like she was simply going to stay inside on her own. Her footsteps were quiet as she came into step beside him, but there was a distinctive sound of something being dragged.

“Take me back,” she demanded, looking up at the sun’s rays breaking through the leaves and branches above. It created little patterns on the path.

Lucifer stopped, and turned, forcing her to stop too or risk walking into him. She skidded to a halt, exhaustion and pain evident across her expression. “Or what?”

A flush darkened her cheeks, returning some of her natural colour. She was beautiful in her rawness, pure, even with the blood and dirt smeared across her skin.

Scarlet moved her weight from one foot to the other. “Take me back. Please.”

“Hmm, no, I don’t think I will.” With a wink he continued down the path, pulling at the bottom of his T-shirt. It was ripped beyond repair, his wings having sliced through the back. Yanking the rest off, he balled the fabric up and threw it onto a large rock.

“Why?” she asked, and even her voice was stiff.

Seriously, did she keep a stick up her arse?

“Because I don’t do anything I don’t want to. Also, I don’t trust you,” he said with a shrug. The muscles on his back bunched, and he could feel he was still missing some aura. It would heal within a day or so, but until then he would be aware of the loss.

“This is ridiculous.” She kept pace with him as he moved, the trees thinning as they came to the reason he kept the cabin. The coven who’d once summoned him had created a large pool, carved straight from the rocks. The trees above had been twisted and preened out of the way, allowing the sun to glisten and concentrate its heat on the metal rods strategically placed around. Some of the branches had grown over, but from the steam gently rising from the surface they hadn’t interfered.

Shaking the jar, he emptied the entire contents into the water, gently mixing the dried herbs and iridescent oil with his hand.

Scarlet had stopped at the edge, looking down at the water with a strange expression. She only looked back up at him when she heard the noise of his zipper. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, eyes dropping to the gap of skin he’d revealed.

He tried to ignore the way his stomach heated. His cock ready to stand at attention after a mere glance, the hedonistic dick. Literally.

“What does it look like? I’m bathing.” Not bothering to turn around, he kicked off his boots and then his jeans. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen his cock before, and there definitely wasn’t anything for him to be embarrassed about.

With a tut of disgust she met his gaze. He would have taken offence if he wasn’t so confident with his body.

“Get in,” he said.

Yep, she was disgusted by him.

Rude.

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” she said.

“You're very spiky considering I can just fuck off and leave you to deal with your Archangel alone. Bet Fuckface would love that.”

“I won your stupid game.” Her eyes were like shards of ice. “You said we were partners, or are you going back on your word?”

Fucking frosty, but he found he was fascinated by her tenacity considering she was clearly wary of him. She just needed to thaw a little, that was all.

“It’s hot, love, which will help your wing.”

The water was delicious against his skin, like crushed opals as it shimmered with a spectrum of colour. The scent of lavender wasn’t as strong once it had been mixed, and the heat was perfect. It immediately relaxed his muscles as he sank beneath the water, and when he came back up, he found Scarlet hadn’t moved.

At her stubborn silence, he continued. “We should sit down and talk like civilised adults.”

“Yes, because being naked is important to that,” she muttered, clearly still focused on not looking anywhere but his face. Honestly, it was a little cute.

“I didn’t take celestrials to be such prudes.”

Her deep blue eyes blazed like an enraged maelstrom. Which was better than the whole ice queen facade.

“As you’ve pointed out, neither of us asked for this. So I think it’s a good idea to get to know each other.” After a pause, he stood so the water pooled low on his hips. “Okay, I’ll start. Hi, I’m Lucifer.”

“What are you doing?” she asked, eyes narrowing with suspicion.

“I like long walks on the beach, snow globes, especially if they have glitter, and to fly above the cloud layer so I can see the stars at night.”

Her upper lip twitched. “Snow globes?”

Lucifer raised a single brow, waiting expectantly. “Your turn.”

Scarlet looked around as if something would pop out of the surrounding forest and help her. “This is stupid.”

Lucifer shrugged, brushing his fingers through his hair. “Get in or not, I don’t care. You’ll just get cold standing there.”

“Celestrials aren’t affected by the cold,” she muttered, looking up at him. “We’re built to fly at a high altitude.”

“There we go, that’s one thing I didn’t know about you.” Lucifer splashed her a little, and she let out a little squeal.

“Fine,” she growled. “I’m Scarlett, and I’ve never been to a beach. I despise snow globes, especially ones with glitter and I... I like croissants covered in butter.” She looked surprised she’d admitted something, lips parting slightly.

“Croissants? I’ll remember that.” Pushing himself through the water, Lucy held out his hand. “Nice to meet you Scarlet, and don’t worry. I can convert you with the glitter.”

She looked at his hand like it was a venomous snake, but as soon as she reached over to shake, he pulled.