43. Sydney
We had to get down to it. I had texted Wrathhog to put off my training, and she was fine with it. Even I knew that was suspicious as fuck because I’d been gung ho about learning. Angels were constantly stopping by and we couldn’t keep Lucifer being free a secret for long.
I told Wrathhog everything was finally hitting me and I needed time to process everything.
She asked if I wanted a girl’s night and I totally did, but I said I just needed some time alone to write.
I knew she’d pass that along to her dad.
The only reason Satan would come over after Wrathhog said I needed space would be because he was the one that kidnapped Lucifer and knew he was here.
I didn’t want it to be Satan, though.
Abaddon only came over if Satan told him he was needed. He was long checked out of angelic drama. If Satan knew to stay away and Abaddon showed up, then it had to be Abaddon.
The rest of them liked to ambush to throw me off, but I had a feeling finding Lucifer was gone would have one of them rushing over without backup.
But while we waited, I needed a lot more details.
Lucifer was looking much better, and I trusted Lilith that he’d be dealing with the trauma by wanting revenge instead of spiraling.
“I have a million questions about you and my mother, but I can ask them later. How were you kidnapped?”
“And I’d be happy to answer any questions about your mother, but I do have to answer some now.
I was all in before I knew she was pregnant.
I hadn’t told her the truth, but I’d broached the subject of cohabitating several times.
She was fiercely independent and didn’t want to commit to me until she was sure I was committed to her.
“I was. She was too young to manifest magic, but I eventually figured out why I was so drawn to her. I was comfortable around her and felt at peace. It was her, but it was also her angelic DNA. I knew it was going to be a lot to find out angels and demons were real because your mother wasn’t religious at all.
And then drop the whole Lucifer thing? I would have preferred you be raised always knowing the truth instead of how it went down, but it’s a lot for anyone on the mortal realm. ”
Yeah, he didn’t have to tell me that. It would have been harder for Mom.
She was an illustrator, and I was the writer.
We were both artists with huge imaginations, but I was the one with my head in the clouds who always wanted the worlds I created to be real, even when I was much older.
Mom would have wanted way more proof than just his wings, but I knew she would have judged him by the man in front of her instead of the legends.
“Then, I sensed you and I knew I was not only going to have to tell her, but I was going to have to convince her to be the Queen of Hell. Oddly, I was fairly certain she was going to punch me in the face about getting her pregnant first because we were so careful. I came home to meditate and center myself and then I was going to go tell her everything. I never made it.”
“Listen, I know when you want to keep something a secret, you’re a fortress, but did anyone else know what was going on?” Lilith asked.
“No. I never came close to figuring out who hurt Kir. I didn’t want a repeat, so I didn’t tell anyone I’d met someone new.
There were a few people I thought probably didn’t do it, but my brothers love gossip.
Lilith and I kept our relationship secret.
They thought Kir’s mother was a random human.
As far as they know, I’ve never been in love before.
They would think it was completely innocuous to share with each other that I’d found someone.
“But I was also gone a lot. I had needed a breather, so I was staying at one of my properties when I met her. I was staying there a lot because I didn’t want her to be suspicious.
I think she doubted I was totally committed because I never gave her a key to my place and asked her to call before coming over.
I didn’t want to risk me being in Hell or one of my brothers showing up. ”
“Dude, in woman speak, that means you don’t want to be caught cheating,” I snorted.
“I do not cheat. I find it vile.”
Lilith just laughed.
“I know that. She would have eventually learned that. But that’s what you say when you’re hiding something and generally it’s a side piece.”
“Well, I was hiding being the devil and not anything bad like a side piece.”
“Oh, my God, dude!” I shrieked, as I fell out laughing.
Because not everyone was going to hear him out that cheating was worse than being the devil. Mom would have, but still. Lucifer started chuckling and then gave a good belly laugh.
“Okay, so I get where some people might not think that. Anyway, when I crossed into the mortal realm, I always ended up in my apartment. That was another reason I didn’t give her a key.
Magic freaks mortals out when they see it the first time.
It’s not like back in the day when they knew it was angels or even the Fae. They just attack us.
“Someone was waiting for me as soon as I crossed into the mortal realm. It’s not easy to get the jump on me, even when I think I’m alone. I hesitated because I was looking right at Kir. I wasn’t looking at his shade, it was Kir in the flesh. His eyes were different.
“It was the exact same color and shape, but there was so much pain in his eyes. I knew it wasn’t Kir because I found his body, but I still stopped and asked what was wrong. That was how he got the needle in my neck with the drugs and got me to the volcano.
“He mostly left me in the care of imps, but he had to check in to bring their bribes and keep them in line. He always wore Kir’s face, but the look in his eyes never changed.
He regretted what he was doing. He also knew me.
Probably better than anyone. He knew using Kir’s face would disarm me, but he also knew I’d eventually catch myself.
He knew enough about my tricks to not fall for them. ”
“What tricks?” I asked.
“Similar to yours, but less bull in a China shop,” Lilith said.
Oh, yeah. That made sense. He was a lot older than I was, so he had time to hone his bullshit. It still left us with the same three suspects. It was someone close to Lucifer, so it had to be Mammon, Satan, or Abaddon.
And as much as I hated to say it, I was starting to think it wasn’t Mammon. From what I knew, he hadn’t been inner circle during the rebellion.
But maybe I was wrong.