Chapter 39
RHI
Everyone in the room goes deathly still. The ensuing silence is deafening, an oppressive quiet that steals the breath from my lungs.
Or perhaps it is the sinister silhouette of the man who steps from the shadows.
Lucifer advances on a dark, purposeful stride.
The image of the man—no, the beast—before me is so at odds with the malicious aura he exudes.
Shoulder length hair the color of honeyed wheat sweeps to his shoulders in an even layer, his eyes a gleaming, hard gold.
He wears a simple gray suit with a burgundy tie, his attire contrasting with the medieval dressing of his Court, yet somehow, he fits right in.
Wickedness practically bleeding from his pores, he approaches in a slow, predatory manner, as though daring any one of us to run.
Belial and Baal bend a knee, bowing their heads as he passes them to stand before me.
They both stand once Lucifer’s back is to them.
Though Nick does not kneel, he inclines his head in a soft bow.
Me? I hold Lucifer’s appraising stare and raise my chin even higher.
“Defiant little thing, aren’t you?” His voice is sin incarnate, a luscious blend of seduction and shadows.
“The only man I get on my knees for is my husband, and it’s certainly not to bow to him,” I answer. A choked sound emits from Baal, and Belial wears a look of astonishment before he schools his features to neutral.
Easy, sorceress, Nick warns, but I can hear the smile in his voice.
Lucifer laughs darkly. “I can see why Nick chose you. You remind me a bit of my Victoria.”
My Victoria? I ask Nick, shocked at the note of affection in Lucifer’s tone.
He was smitten with my mother, is his answer.
Clearly.
Lucifer lifts his chin, eyeing Baal and Belial. “You two are dismissed.”
Baal wastes no time rising from his chair and rushes from the room. Belial takes his time, eyeing Nick and I with concern. He darts a swift glance at Lucifer, who pays him no mind, before he bows to his brother and Nick and leaves.
Lucifer leisurely rounds the table to take Belial’s seat opposite mine. He flips up his left palm, sweeping it across the table. “Please, sit.”
I glance at Nick.
It’s okay, he assures me.
When I move to sit, I catch Lucifer’s gaze on my exposed thigh through the high slit of my dress. But rather than salacious, his expression is curious, and I realize his focus is on the sapphire dagger sheathed on my upper thigh.
“Wedding gift?” he asks with a golden, arched brow.
“Something like that,” Nick responds.
“So,” Lucifer begins, golden eyes resting on me, “this is the woman responsible for the uproar in this Court.”
It’s a statement, spoken pragmatically yet laced with an underlying menace.
“I can be out of your hair as soon as you let your son leave with me.”
“No.”
“Why not?” I demand, holding Lucifer’s unrelenting stare.
“Why would I?” This time, he ping pongs his gaze between us.
“You are the perfect companion to my son. You have the blood of a ferocious monster and the blood of a Titan running through your veins. The children you bear will be indomitable, the blood of Lucifer flowing through their veins as well. And you have made it clear you will not leave without him.” He folds slender fingers, grinning like some sort of monstrous Cheshire cat.
“So, to reiterate, why would I let him leave?”
“Because we have another plan—” Nick protests but is cut off.
“Ah. Yes. To put Isadora Argos and my brother, Belial, on the Throne. Why would I accept that instead of my son, my flesh and blood? Especially since you have deprived me of one of my most efficient commanders?”
“Isadora will be a much better Queen than I would be,” I say. “I can promise you, I would also be a royal pain in the ass. Just ask your son.”
“I don’t care what kind of Queen she would be,” he fires back. “Just as I don’t care what kind of Queen you will be. My son will rule—”
Now, it is Lucifer who is interrupted as Nick cuts him off. “If you force us to stay, my wife will have a say in every single fucking decision I make, including the solider I choose to replace Argos.” Nick winks at me before returning his attention to his father. “Just thought I’d make that clear.”
I smile at my husband. “Isadora would make an excellent commander.”
He smiles back. “She would, wouldn’t she?”
Lucifer glances back and forth between the two of us. His expression remains placid, yet the tightening of his jaw evidences his annoyance. His golden gaze sears into Nick before his mouth curves in a cruel smile.
“I have no doubt she would, assuming she lives to see you name her as Commander.”
Nick stiffens. “You will not touch her.”
Lucifer stands from his chair, smoothing his tie. “You don’t command me, son. You took Argos. I will take his daughter.”
My heart lurches as Lucifer glides around the table. I shoot Nick a pleading look, shouting at his mind, but he somehow blocks me. I’m sure it’s to think, as I had done to him in the Trials, but Lucifer is getting closer to the door, and we cannot let him leave.
“You didn’t force Victoria to stay,” I shout to his back. “Why?”
Lucifer stops, his shoulders tightening. He slowly whirls, anger and pain washing his features. “I knew the prophecy would come to pass, and my son would end up right back here. He is what I wanted out of our union, not her.”
“Bullshit.” I rise from my chair. “I am excellent at spotting liars. You never wanted to let Victoria go, but you did because you loved her. You love her,” I amend.
“You may have wanted Nick, but if she had stayed, that would have made you happy. In fact, I dare believe you’d still be ruling Hell if she were by your side. ”
Lucifer remains silent.
I hear the scrape of chair legs behind me, then Nick’s footsteps as he joins us.
“You weren’t tired of ruling,” he says to his father as he settles by my side. “You are going after her. My mother.”
Lucifer doesn’t deny it, so Nick pushes. “How would she react knowing you kept her fucking son here against his will? Kept her from seeing her first-born child she raised alone?”
“She would never know because you wouldn’t be there to tell her,” Lucifer says through gritted teeth.
“She knows I live,” Nick argues. “She knows I am here in Hell. When she sees you, she’ll know you are the reason she no longer has her son, and she will despise you for it.”
A sudden chill sweeps the room, the temperature dropping to an uncomfortable climate. I resist the urge to wrap my arms around myself and instead increase my own body temperature.
Lucifer glances behind me at his son before his gaze drops to me. His mouth curves into a decidedly wicked grin.
“How about a wager?”
I feel Nick tense behind me, ready to object.
“What do you have in mind?” I ask before Nick can interject.
The nefarious grin widens. “You and my son are soulmates, a bond more powerful than beyond what Fate has forged—or so they say.”
I narrow my eyes.
Lucifer places his hands in his pockets, his gaze again bouncing between me and Nick. “Prove to me your souls will know each other in any shape and form, and you and Nicholas may leave Hell to live your life on Earth after you instate Isadora and Belial on the Throne.”
“How would you like us to do that?” Nick says from behind me, his tone wary, as though he knows exactly what Lucifer has planned.
“You,” he directs a diabolical glare at Nick, “will show her your monster. Let us see if she can love you then.” His gaze falls to me. “And let us see if that wicked thing beneath his skin recognizes its other half.”
I answer “yes” just as Nick replies with a stern “no.” I face him, eyes wide, my chest constricting at the idea he doesn’t believe in our love enough to win this bargain.
“Rhi,” he says gently. “You have no idea what you are asking me to do. This monster isn’t like the one you met in the Lyncus’ lair.
It operates on pure primal instinct and the desire for carnage.
” He cups my cheeks in his strong, warm hand.
“If I hurt you, I wouldn’t want to live.
And if I killed you—” He breaks off, eyes watering.
I grab his wrists. “Nick, you would never hurt me.”
“It won’t be me!” he shouts, dropping his hands from my face.
“I won’t exist. Don’t you understand? There is no part of me that could ever hurt you.
I would die myself before I let that happen.
I have, and I would do it again.” Every single ounce of air leaves my lungs.
“But once that monster takes over, I will cease to exist. It will not recognize you, Rhi. Please, don’t make me do this. ”
Silent tears fall down my face as I consider his request, a request I know I can’t grant.
I swipe the back of my hand across my cheeks and harden my stare.
“You might have died for me, but I died for you too. I came here a living, breathing mortal, something no one has ever done.” I approach him, and this time, I take his face in my hands.
His own come to my waist. “Your father took your memories, yet against all odds, you came back to me. Your heart knew me, even when your mind did not. Your soul recognized mine, even when you tried to convince yourself it was not possible. After all that, why do you still doubt yourself? Why do you still doubt us?”
Nick’s mouth opens, but Lucifer calls from behind in a snarky, mocking tone. “I’d hate to interrupt, but I am in somewhat of a hurry, as are you. Give me your answer or stay here and rule as King and Queen. Your choice.”
I shoot Nick a desperate, pleading look. His own expression mirrors mine: golden eyes glassy and cheeks flushed, mouth pressed in worry.
“Three…” Lucifer begins a countdown.
“You told me your heart will always know me in whatever body, whatever form, and whatever lifetime because you love me.”
“Two…” Lucifer taunts.
I reach up and brush Nick’s lips. “L'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle.”
“Deal,” Nick says on breath.
A relieved sigh rushes from my lungs, and I drop my hands to Nick’s chest. I try to meet my husband’s eyes, but they are pinned to his father. I crane my neck, finding a victorious smile on Lucifer’s face.
“So be it.” He pulls up the sleeve of his suit jacket to glance at a silver watch. “Meet me in the Throne room in one hour.”
He makes his way to the doors with a triumphant stride, still smiling to himself as he grabs the handle of one of the doors and opens it. Before he takes his leave, he peeks back at us, his focus entirely on his son.
“I look forward to a long, successful reign from you, Raphael.”
The door softly closes behind him, and Nick’s hands tighten on my waist. I face him once more, my heart nearly shattering at the look of undiluted terror on his face.
His next words come out in a horrified whisper. “What have I done?”