Chapter 9
Chapter
Nine
CHAOS
Michael’s question echoed in my ears, prompting one of the humans’ favorite quotes to float to the surface of my mind. Better the devil you know . . .
Lucifer could not be our ally. By his nature, he wasn’t loyal to anyone other than himself. But now he was here, mated to Merri, and therefore joined with all of us. Even if we didn’t want him.
I still couldn’t figure out how he’d successfully tricked her into mating him. That’s why I’d come down here. I needed to get answers only he could provide.
Possessive fury rolled through me like thunder.
He didn’t deserve her. She was ours. He was the enemy.
The one we were charged to protect her against. How the hell were we supposed to protect her from one of her mates?
And there was no universe in which Lucifer Morningstar would be willing to serve the greater good if it didn’t serve him first.
The air pressure shifted as the angels vanished from the room, leaving Lucifer unsupervised.
He hadn’t realized I was just outside the cell, and I observed him for a moment, taking in his unassuming pretty-boy facade.
He might look like a lean and dashing movie star with no real strength behind his physique, but underneath the beautiful veneer, there was devastating power.
“I’m going to start charging by the minute if you don’t stop leering at me.”
I jolted, fully caught off guard. So much for not knowing I was here.
“I wasn’t leering.”
“Drooling, then?”
“More like studying.”
Lucifer smirked, pushing off the wall and taking a step toward the doorway. He let out a huff of annoyance when the chains stopped him feet away from the exit.
“You won’t be able to keep me from her, horseman. She’ll come to me.”
“Maybe, but that doesn’t change the situation we currently find ourselves in.”
“Which is what, exactly?”
If I were a weaker man, I’d have punched him so hard his face would have gone concave. Instead, I stepped inside the cell and leaned against the wall opposite him. “We all have a vested interest in Merri. None of us are going to give her up. That means we have to figure out a way to coexist.”
“You can visit her once a year. How’s that?”
“I’m not the one locked up.”
“Easily remedied.”
“I fucking dare you to try. Please. Give me a reason to let go of the very fragile thread of restraint I possess.”
He let out a mocking laugh. “Oh, Chaos. You are such a simple creature. Try all you like, you won’t kill me. And no matter the state I’m in physically, there’s nothing you can do to keep me from slipping into her dreams and fucking her senseless.”
A growl tore free of me, and rubble dropped from the ceiling as a pulse of my violence went with it.
Lucifer’s grin turned smug. “Someone feeling a little inferior?”
“You aren’t as untouchable as you think you are.”
“Sure about that?”
He was getting to me. The fucker was trying and succeeding at rage-baiting me.
“Even if she doesn’t choose you? She doesn’t want you like she wants us. You tricked her into bonding with you. The rest of us are fated to her.”
A flash of real anger lit in his eyes for just a moment before he schooled his expression.
“Did she tell you that? She begged me to come inside her, Chaos. Clawed at my back until I was bleeding. Cried my name. Not yours. I hate to burst your bubble. Well, no, actually, I’m quite enjoying myself, but there was no trickery. She was chosen by fate for me.”
There was no way to know whether he was lying. But just the visual was enough to set me off. Before I could stop it, a rush of power escaped me, and the stone floor cracked from end to end.
Lucifer chuckled. “Careful. You’re slipping, Spartan.”
“And you’re lucky you’re still breathing.”
“I’m an angel. I don’t need to breathe.”
We were one yo mama joke away from a schoolyard brawl. I couldn’t let this shitstain get under my skin. But I couldn’t retreat either, not until I got what I came for. Perhaps I’d ask that Belladonna witch to mute him with a spell once we had what we needed.
“She won’t pick you in the end, Luc. You have to know that.”
He scoffed. “She’s already picked me.”
“Did she? If she picked you, why did she leave with us? Why did she run from you and fall straight into our beds?”
For a second time, his smug visage cracked. Not for long, but long enough for me to know my aim was true.
“She’s conflicted. It’s only to be expected after such a delicious plot twist. You four have filled her head with a variety of reasons to mistrust me. But she can’t ignore the pull of the bond. It’s only a matter of time before she comes slinking back.”
“You might be bonded to her, but that doesn’t suddenly change her loyalties. She’s on the other side of this war, or have you forgotten? She wants to live in the world she loves, not hell.”
“Don’t you think I want that as well? Hell isn’t my idea of a party. It’s simply a consequence of my circumstances.”
Confusion swirled within me. What did he mean by that? He was the ruler of hell. The king of all demons.
“Then why are you so determined to make Earth a hellscape? What do you gain by taking the throne and winning the war against heaven?”
“What the fuck is it with you lot and thrones? I. Never. Asked. For. This.”
“I’m pretty sure that was the entire point of your rebellion.”
He snarled. “Ugly hearsay. The presumed victor is always the one writing the tales. That doesn’t make them true. There are at least two sides to every story, Spartan. Surely you can understand that much.”
He wasn’t wrong. I’d learned long ago that truth lay somewhere in the middle of the stories told about every conflict.
“If you don’t want the throne, then what do you want?”
“What I am owed.”
“Which is?”
“My fucking freedom.” He rattled his chains as he rushed me. “Something the humans have taken for granted for all time.” He seemed to sag a little as the truth fell from his lips. “Free will. I just want free will. If I win against heaven, I’ll have that, finally.”
I stared at him. Could it really be that simple?
“So you’ll do what you must to win. Even if it means hurting innocents? Kidnapping pregnant women? Ruining lives?”
“Firstly, I am far from the only person with blood on my hands, War, so you can shove your virtue signaling right up your arse. Secondly, Merri isn’t pregnant, so what the fuck are you on about? I didn’t kidnap a pregnant woman.”
His vehement insistence lined up with Merri’s recounting, but I wouldn’t put it past him to puppeteer the entire thing from a distance, which is why I pressed the issue.
“Forget about Sunday already?”
Confusion twisted his features. “What does Sunday have to do with pregnant women?”
“Not the fucking day of the week—” I sighed, a headache building behind my eyes. “Sunday, the horsewoman’s daughter.”
“What about her?”
“Where the fuck is she?”
“How the hell am I supposed to know? I’ve never met the chit.”
“You kidnapped her. Her and Pan. You have them locked up somewhere to help you in your cause. Now, tell me where they are so we can get them back.”
Lucifer stared at me blankly. “I haven’t the foggiest what you’re talking about. There’s only one uterus that concerns me, and it’s in the other room.”
There was the unmistakable ring of truth to his words.
“If you didn’t take them, then who would dare?” I demanded, curious if he also suspected the horsewomen or if there might be other players we didn’t yet know about.
Lucifer spread his hands. “Literally anyone. The hordes of hell are running free in my absence. I’ve been a little out of pocket lately, as you may recall. Seeing to our mate’s needs took all of my focus.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“What reason do I have to lie?”
I studied him, trying to suss out just that, but again coming up empty. If he really was here for Merri, maybe there was a way to use that to our advantage. Work with him rather than against him to get Sunday and Pan back.
“Help us find them, then.”
“What’s in it for me?”
“Freedom from this cell, for starters.”
“Not enough.”
“Time with Merri. On her terms.” I didn’t really have the authority to speak on her behalf, but that wasn’t going to stop me from bluffing my way through this negotiation.
“That’s a given. She’ll require it soon enough.”
“Then what do you want in exchange for helping us stop this apocalypse?”
“Free will and unlimited access to Merri. Visitation rights for the four of you on my terms.”
“The only person who can decide for Merri is Merri. She’s not a bargaining chip.”
“That’s rich, coming from the person who did exactly that.”
The fucker had me on a technicality.
“I will speak to Michael and Gabriel about your situation. I can’t grant you anything without their approval. In the meantime, you need to do something for us. A good faith gesture.”
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fiiiine. I’ll locate your missing breeder. How’s that?”
It was more than I’d hoped for.
“That’ll do.”
“Peachy. Tell my mate I’ll be back in a tick.”
Before I could ask what that was supposed to mean, he fucking vanished, the chains that had been locked around his wrists dropping to the ground with a loud clang.
Despite all of Lilith’s assurances, I should have known they wouldn’t have been enough to keep him put.
Last time it had taken an entire coven and a magic cage buried deep in the earth.
“Motherfucker.”