Epilogue
LUCIFER
TWO AND A HALF YEARS LATER
“ I know one of you is lying,” Lucifer growled at Hunter and Sythe, the younger cat unable to make eye contact while Sythe smirked. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hunter said, tugging at the sleeves of his hoodie.
“He’s right, without a proper description, we can’t be sure,” Sythe added with a shrug of his shoulders.
Lucifer bit back his laugh. “She’s about this tall.” He reached down past his knee, holding out his hand. “Blonde with cute little curls.”
“Hmm, not ringing any bells.” Sythe waved over at Thea, who was suspiciously blocking one of the cupboards. “Hey, you seen anyone this tall?” He copied the height, and Thea’s eyes twinkled.
“Blonde did you say?” Thea leaned against the kitchen counter, touching her chin as if in thought. “No, I haven’t seen any blondes today. Are you sure you got the description correct?”
A little muffled giggle, and Lucifer grinned.
“So you’re all sure you haven’t seen her?” He knocked his knuckles against the counter, moving slowly forward to where Thea stood. “How strange.”
“Like we’ve said, we haven’t seen her.” With a wink Thea stepped to the side, revealing the cupboard under the sink. “Have you checked with Harper?”
Another giggle, the door jiggling slightly.
“I’ve checked with Harper, she hasn’t seen the peanut, either.” Lucifer crouched, hand slowly reaching for the handle. “Well, I guess I’ll have to go ask Uncle Riley. Maybe he’s seen where…”
The door flew open, and his daughter shot out with a squeal.
“You can’t catch me!” she laughed, dodging his poor attempts to grab her.
He gave her a head start, stalking behind as she raced out of the room much faster than expected for an almost two year old. She ran across the house, everyone smiling as he gave chase.
He almost caught her when she was distracted with Sam, who was stretched in his leopard form across Alice’s lap. Auraelia brushed her small hand along his fur before heading towards the hall, bare feet slapping against the hardwood.
“I’m going to get you!” he called, her black wings dragging behind.
“Mamma, Mamma, help!” Her giggles exploded, chubby hands reaching up to grab at Scar who scooped her up with a smile. “Dadda no catch me!” Auraelia said, grinning at him from her mother’s arms.
“You’re too fast!” Scar said, her smile bright when she turned to him.
Lucifer just took a moment, feeling Scar’s soul burn so brightly against his.
Auraelia was born exactly as she was meant to be, with her blonde hair, pale skin and wings like her celestrial mother. Cheeky smile, sparkling personality, and red eyes just like her Daemon father.
“She’s supposed to be in bed,” Scar said, raising a brow. “It’s way past her bedtime.”
“No bed,” Auraelia said, scrunching up her little nose in a way that made his heart swell. “I want to fly with Daddy!”
He also wanted to take her flying, but from Scar’s slightly frosty stare, it really was past her bedtime. Plus, he already had plans.
“Come on peanut!” He opened his arms, and she leaped across the space, widening her wings to help. He caught her, swinging her around before sitting her on his hip. “I’ll take you out tomorrow.”
Auraelia pouted, pushing out her bottom lip. Her wings opened slightly, the pitch black feathers absorbing the surrounding light.
His daughter was never supposed to exist.
Daemons weren’t supposed to be able to have children. It was part of their sacrifice to keep the balance. It was well known that anyone who practiced black magic was sterile, and yet his daughter thrived. At first they didn’t believe it, thinking it was just a coincidence, but no, she was one-hundred percent his.
The running theory was something happened once Hadriel had locked down the realm, possibly blocking the magic that made him infertile. Add that to him having Scar’s soul, and the fact Cassiel had given her fertility drugs with the expectation of creating a child, boom.
The birds and the bees.
His Auraelia shouldn’t exist, and yet he will destroy anyone who ever makes her feel anything less than perfect.
“Daddy,” she cried. “Please!”
Lucifer dropped his voice to a whisper. “I can’t baby, I have to take Mamma.”
Auraelia placed her chubby hands on his cheeks, leaning in way too close. “You take Mamma flying?”
“Uh huh.” Lucifer nodded, making sure it was over the top dramatic. “I want to show her the stars.”
SCARLET
Brushing the hair from her daughter’s face, Scar carefully moved the baby mobile that Lucifer insisted they hung over her bed. It was his gift to her, Cassiel’s blood stained copper feathers tied together with string, and of course dipped in glitter.
Forever reminding her that her baby was safe.
Placing the mobile carefully on the side, she clicked on the faerie lights that Lucifer had arranged. A plastic snow globe was clutched in her little hands, as well as her favourite teddy bear that Auntie Harper had sewn wings on. Black, to match Auraelia’s.
Scarlet had never felt so grateful to have been welcomed into such a big family. When they’d found out she was pregnant, Scarlet had to threaten at least three of the Guardians because of their attentiveness. Then when Auraelia had actually been born, no other child had ever been so spoiled, or loved.
Warmth spread inside her chest, revealing Lucifer’s impatience. Blowing her sleeping daughter one last kiss she slowly exited the room and closed the door. Poe and Reaper prowled outside, waiting for the opportunity to sneak into bed with Auraelia. Shaking her head, Scarlet crossed the hall to the bedroom she shared with Lucifer, her footsteps light as she slipped inside.
Lucifer was already there, his hands roaming her body as if he’d been waiting for hours, rather than the fifteen minutes it actually was.
“Ah,” he purred. “There’s my mate.”
Scarlet wrapped her arms around his neck so she could reach up on tiptoe. “She’s asleep.”
“Good, Hunter’s agreed to watch her tonight.” With a wink he gripped her tighter, and she immediately tensed as he drifted. Her bare feet hit the wooden floor, the room warm as the fire crackled in the hearth.
Blankets and pillows leaned against the wall, fabrics draped above to create a little nook in his cabin. Candles were already burning, fighting the shadows of the night.
Long gone was the dust and grime, Lucifer renovating the space with his own hands. The windows were new, and the floors freshly varnished. He’d even added furniture that he’d made himself.
He’d created their little piece of paradise in the middle of the forest because he liked to show her the stars, and she liked to show him how celestrials dance.
Slipping her hand from his, she slowly began to remove her clothes.
Lucifer’s eyes glittered, his smirk slow as he watched her until she stood bare, nothing but the candle light flickering against her skin. She was no longer self-conscious of her scars, embracing them for what they were.
Marks that she’d survived.
Marks that Lucifer survived.
“Well?” she teased, tilting her head. “Are you going to ask me to dance?” Luckily the cold still didn’t affect her, but still her nipples pebbled beneath his attention.
Lucifer blinked, meeting her eyes for the briefest second before he tore at his own clothes, standing there naked and proud within moments. “Fuck yes, love.”
Her gaze roamed over his chest, loving every single tattoo and mark. He’d got every glyph replaced, his skin covered in the intricate designs she loved to explore.
“You made this too easy, I was planning to woo you.” With a roll of his shoulders his great wings shot from his back, scraping against the wood of the ceiling.
“Woo?”
“Okay, maybe beg.”
Scarlet laughed, walking into his arms. His hands roamed over her shoulders, palms shaping her skin. His lips were gentle on her neck, her body responding to the man that owned her heart, not just her soul.
Her hands found their way into his hair, nails scraping across his scalp before she tugged it. “Lucifer,” she moaned, wanting more.
The curve of those lips branded her neck with amusement. “So impatient.” He nipped at her skin before licking over the small bite. “Are you wet for me, angel?”
She was, but she refused to admit it. The man didn’t need a bigger ego.
Lucifer whispered against her skin. “Beg me.”
He laughed when she smacked his chest with her palm.
“Please,” she whispered, her pulse thumping in rhythm with his.
“Do you believe in fate, angel?” he asked, his lips moving so close to hers. “Because in the end, I believe every choice I made would’ve always brought me back to you. Want to know why?”
Scarlet smiled, rising on tiptoe. “Because we’re inevitable.”
He closed that last, agonising distance. “Exactly.”
Thank you so much for reading Dance of Wings! I hope you enjoyed Lucifer & Scarlet’s story, and the final book in the Curse of the Guardians series. Every single book has been a labour of love, and if you enjoyed, please leave a review so others can find this series.