28. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Ama
My brain essentially short-circuited, and I blinked in confusion before saying, “I’m sorry, what was that?
” That was the nicest way I could say ‘What the fuck did you just say?’ I mean, was this guy high?
Maybe they were all high…or maybe I had passed out from a post adrenaline rush after experiencing torture and then healing in such a short span of time.
I felt like that was far more likely than the nonsense I’d just heard.
Luce exhaled slowly, seeming almost frozen in place, “Little Temptress—”
I turned to him and offered him an incredulous expression, but he didn’t meet my gaze, his eyes still on his brothers, “Did you hear what he said? If so, I may need you to repeat it for me. I’m not sure I can process the insanity that just came out of his mouth.”
Remiel spoke evenly, drawing my attention back to him, “You have proven so far, through your short span of existence, that you possess all of the desired qualities to be Ruler of Hell. You are fair and kind in the face of insult, compassionate to those who don’t necessarily deserve it, and seek the proper sense of justice and righteousness for each situation you find yourself in. ”
Woah, this guy was talking me up, and I was almost positive that none of those qualities applied to me…at least not how he made them sound.
“Despite having been put down since the time of your birth, you never gave in to treating others poorly,” Jeremiel agreed before smirking slightly. “Except for the occasional wing to the face.”
Aaaand they truly had been watching everything. Oh, devildamnit. Literally.
“Even in the worst situations, you never wanted to see people hurt as you’d been,” Jeremiel concluded on a more serious note.
“You fought for the people who had shunned you and belittled you, and in the face of conflict and possible harm…you united two sides of the realm in a way none before you had been able—or even desired—to do. In such a short time frame, at that,” Raguel added.
“You have forgiven those who have hurt you, despite not all of them being worthy of that forgiveness, purely because you know it is a strain on your heart and soul to carry that level of hate around.” Zerachiel’s words felt almost like they were filled with respect, which made me feel uncomfortable…
mostly because the way they were talking about me was nothing like how I viewed myself.
Raphael finally spoke, “But above all that, you never thirsted for power. You didn’t do any of that to claim a throne or grasp at power. You did it because you craved a life of love and peace that you believed everyone deserved.”
I was immediately shaking my head, knowing I wasn’t worthy of what they were saying.
Nor did I possess the qualities they claimed I did.
I was just...me. My thoughts quickly turned to how this would impact Luce, and my eyes widened as I considered the ramifications of this.
I looked back to Luce, who was standing frozen still.
I couldn’t even tell if he was breathing, outside of when he had said my name, his lips barely moving even when that had occurred.
He was upset…I think. I couldn’t tell what he was feeling, and it made me extremely uncomfortable.
Looking at the Seraphim, I immediately began protesting, “I think you’ve got the situation wrong here, and even if you didn’t—where would Luce go?
He can’t leave me. He’s my mate. How am I supposed to rule a realm anyway?
I have no idea what the fuck I would even do with that.
And how in the ever-loving hell do you expect an eighteen-year-old hybrid to gain the respect of an entire realm full of people who literally have ten times more experience?
I am almost positive you guys are mistaken.
Maybe you should go ask the Creator to double-check his list—there are people way more worthy of this than me…
Hey! What about my dad? He might be game, although he really isn’t a huge fan of his current job—”
“Breathe, young one, breathe,” Remiel demanded quietly before gesturing with his hands to take a deep inhale.
He waited for me to do it before giving in to the following exhale.
I literally felt like I was in the midst of a panic attack, and I had no idea how I was supposed to just focus on breathing or whatever nonsense he thought would help me.
“Okay,” Remiel nodded, “now, to answer your question—”
Raphael interrupted, “Luce has a choice to make. He can either stay in Hell and keep his soul, but be stripped of his power…making him a Fallen Angel of the realm.”
Oh shit.
“Or,” Raguel drew out, “he can choose to move on. To have his soul transported to be judged and find if he is worthy of reincarnation for another life.”
“To end the suffering he’s experienced in this realm,” Zerachiel explained, looking nearly sympathetic.
Panic streamed through me with the realization I could lose him—
“I’m staying here with Ama. Strip me of my powers, but I am not leaving,” Luce said instantly, snapping out of his haze. Oh, thank the devil. Wait…was I the devil now? Was the devil the term of the Ruler of Hell or was it kind of like a term of endearment for Luce? Fuck, I was so confused.
Also, I was so damned relieved it was absolutely un-fucking-real. I looked up at Luce and felt tears fill my eyes, “Are you sure? I know you haven’t loved being down here—”
Luce turned me to him and cupped my jaw, “Ama, I haven’t loved being down here because I haven’t had you. I would trade millions of lifetimes for just a few damned hours with you.”
Oh. Oh wow.
“Let me out of here right now!” I vaguely heard Finias roar from behind us, finally losing his shit completely. I didn’t blame him, honestly. I was surprised they’d lasted this long.
Luce snapped his fingers, dissolving the dome instantly and muttering, “I guess they’re safe now that we know my brothers aren’t here to kill us or anything.” I could practically feel the amusement in his tone. I had a feeling Luce was going to be doing shit like that a lot.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” Drayven growled, his tone icy.
“Don’t worry, I literally won’t have the power to do that again,” Luce said with an almost confused tone.
The expression on his face was a bit lost, and I started to feel anxiety creep up as I wondered if he would end up resenting me.
I didn’t want to take the position and powers from him if that would happen.
“What if I don’t want this?” I asked the five angelic beings.
“No.” Luce’s voice rang out, his eyes lighting with fire as he kept my attention on him instead of his brothers.
“They’re right, Ama. This is for the best. I knew from the moment you appeared in my dreams that you would be the queen of this realm, I just had thought it would be because you were joining in my isolation as the ruler.
This…this feels right. You will rule, and all of us will be by your side, helping you navigate this new adventure.
You never need to worry about being alone in this, Little Temptress. I am never leaving you again.”
“What the hell is going on?” Colt finally snapped, “Everything was muffled to us.”
My heart was racing erratically as I turned to face my other mates, swallowing nervously, “Apparently…I’ve been appointed the new Ruler of Hell? They want to give Luce’s powers to me.”
Simple, right? I felt like that was a very simple way of explaining the insanity and responsibility that had been placed on me.
Finias nearly jumped into the air in excitement, “Devil yes! He won’t be any more powerful than the rest of us now. Now, if need be, I can kill him for you, Ama.”
What a sweetheart.
Drayven smirked in agreement, “Or knock him on his ass. I feel like that is more deserved.” Someone was totally not over Finias’ ability to knock him unconscious.
Adrien grabbed my hand, drawing my attention, “I’m sure this feels really overwhelming, but Luce was right when he said we will all be here to help you navigate it.”
My heart warmed at his words, and my two Hellhounds came to stand at my side and rubbed my back soothingly. “There is no one more deserving of this position,” Damien stated quietly.
Jace nodded slowly, “You united the realm, Ama. It’s only right that you preside over it and keep the peace as we work towards a new way of life. You care for everyone equally—hybrid or pure-blood. No one else can say the same.” Doubt clouded my mind despite their kind and encouraging words.
Colt and Nico stepped into my line of sight as Adrien backed away.
“You aren’t alone in this, and you never will be,” Nico confirmed quietly.
“We won’t let you fail—something that is impossible for someone like you, anyway” Colt assured simply.
Damn, I could feel emotion clouding my brain…Was I seriously about to become the queen of Hell?
I turned back towards the Seraphim. “Wait, am I going to be immortal now? I can’t do that if my mates aren’t also. I refuse to grow old and watch them die.” I had already accepted that we had a massive future together, so hopefully they weren’t caught off guard by the question.
“You will all share immortality, as your souls are joined.”
Looking back towards all my men, I inhaled bravely before nodding, attempting to ignore the way my stomach knotted with nerves. I could totally do this, I was just becoming the queen of Hell… no big deal. Nope, not at all. Just another Tuesday afternoon, or whatever day it was.
When the Seraphim motioned me forward, Luce wrapped his arm around my waist letting out a dangerous noise. I looked up at him hoping to give him a reassuring look as he relaxed just a smidge and allowed me to step forward.
“If Ama gets hurt at all, I will kill you.” Finias’ voice was cold and unemotional, causing a bit of a chill to go up my spine as I noticed two of the Seraphim offering him cautious looks.
It wasn’t surprising… I mean the man was threatening angelic beings.
I had no doubt that if he wanted to kill them, he would find some way. He was a crafty assassin.
“Lucifer,” Zerachiel called his brother’s name and drew my attention, “it would be best of you to step up here as well, away from the mortal beings. During the transfer of power, it is likely you will radiate a good amount of power and we wouldn’t want to accidentally kill them.”
The smirk on his face at the end made me narrow my eyes on him. I couldn’t get a good read on them yet and didn’t fully trust them.
Luce nodded before taking my hand, his kiss to my temple soft and loving as the Seraphim surrounded us.
I closed my eyes trying to battle down anxiety as a weird almost soothing energy wrapped around me completely like a warm hug.
Silence filled the space and I almost opened my eyes, confused on what was going on, but before I could, the transfer began.
A surprised scream left my throat as what could only be described as a lightning bolt of energy hit me directly in the center of the chest. My frame seized as my ears began to ring and my knees broke, my hands gripping the stone underneath me as I curled my fingers around the broken debris.
My entire body felt electrified and every single nerve ending was on fire until I felt like everything from the center of my chest, spreading out, was bathed in molten gold.
I felt like I was both cold and hot, hazy yet alert all at the same time, my throat producing a high whining noise as the power continued to build and build to a precipice I wasn’t sure I’d survive.
Then it detonated.
I let out a hoarse scream as the power that had been filling my body suddenly exploded out in a sonic wave allowing me to hear, see, and experience everything.
I could hear the voices of those on the battlefield, helping the injured.
I could see hybrids in the Kingdom of Impurus looking up towards the sky as red and black streaked the space in a light show of color.
I could taste the berries that were growing in a small cave within the darklands.
I could feel everything from the stone underneath my fingers to the cold water on the opposite end of the realm.
The scent of fresh air mixed with blood from battle and I felt tears stream down my face realizing just how many we lost.
Not just in this war.
Images flashed through my mind of times before.
When war was waged against one another, face after face making a millisecond appearance before disappearing to give way to an aerial view of the realm, its beauty undeniable.
Despite the pain I felt, I could suddenly feel hope.
So much damn hope as I stared at the realm that was now mine to mend and bring together for an era of peace.
When the power came back to me, I felt my back hit the ground, the ball of energy pulsing through the center of my chest as everything in my body shifted and adjusted to allow room for this now ever present part of me.
It was my power, I could feel that, and it filled out every part of me until I felt almost euphorically high off of it.
I let out a small groan as it finally settled, not only having accepted where it landed but seeming to enjoy it.
I couldn’t imagine how I would have felt had my body tried to fight it off.
That would have been a less than pleasurable experience, I had no doubt.
Silence filled the space and moments later, someone’s voice said, “She accepted the power, she is going to be tired for a few days, but she is perfectly fine.”
“She better be,” a voice grumbled.
Was that Colt?
I blinked open my eyes to find the Seraphim standing in front of me. My vision was a bit blurry and my hearing seemed muffled, but I heard, “Take care, Amare, and remember the fate of this realm lies in your hands now.”
I so badly wanted to make a quip about ‘no pressure’ but I could only nod slowly, my vision clearing as I started to feel a bit more stable.
When the wind shifted, Zerachiel's head snapped to the side, his power lighting up. He disappeared, the others following, leaving just Raphael, who was staring out at the battlefield with an odd longing in his gaze.
“What?” I demanded, confused as to what in my realm could make him look that way.
The angel seemed distracted, offering a dismissive wave of his hand, “Nothing. I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again.”
The cryptic reply left me feeling uneasy as he blinked out of existence, and I looked up at Luce, who seemed suddenly amused. He kissed my brow before stating, “Don’t worry about that. I have a feeling they just found something they didn’t realize they were looking for.”