Chapter Twenty-One #2
“Lily.” Eliza rubbed her brow. “You can’t just tell me you’re fine and expect me to take you at your word. We made a deal. You made me swear to end you if you turned dark. And what I saw out there…”
“But I haven’t gone dark,” I assured her, absently rubbing Purrgy’s ear. “I mean, here I am, sitting calmly, talking with you. No black eyes, no black veins, no—”
“Forcing creatures like that dragon to obey you?”
I flinched again. “I’m not Lucifer,” I said, though even I could admit my voice didn’t come out particularly strong.
“I know you’re not,” she said quietly. “But, Lil…that was a lot. And it really feels like you’re starting down a slippery slope.
Today, you’re commanding a dragon, but what if tomorrow you’re sitting on a throne made of bones, cackling about how mortal flesh tastes better with brimstone and hot sauce? ”
I blinked, more than a little disturbed by the image she painted. “Listen—our pact still stands. If I turn into Lucifer, kill me.”
“That wasn’t the exact deal we struck,” she murmured, “but I get what you’re saying.”
“Just…give me a little more time. I think being here has strengthened my powers, and I just need to learn how to control them, like any other power. When I first starting conjuring fire, I could barely make a spark. But now I can conjure infernos.”
Eliza considered my request, then finally nodded. “Fine. We’ll see how it goes. But only because I love you and really, really don’t want to kill you. I really do consider you my best friend, Lil.”
Vol playfully rolled his eyes.
I smiled, my entire body relaxing. “You’re just saying that because I dragged you to Hell, and there’s no one else here,” I said, chuckling. Though that comment had my gaze straying back to the shared pile of gear. “Well, no other girls here—that aren’t hellspawn.”
Eliza huffed a quiet laugh. “Hey, you’re also my ticket home, so I’d strongly prefer you survive, ‘kay?”
I snickered. “Okay.”
She leaned over and looped an arm around my shoulder, giving me a soft squeeze. “I’m here for you, girl. Fate hasn’t dealt you an easy hand, but you’ve got this. And if you don’t…well…”
“Then you'll finish the job,” I whispered.
She gave me another squeeze. “Yeah, but only cuz you asked me to.”
For a moment, I let myself sink into that comfort. But deep down, something stirred. The darkness didn’t like this conversation—didn’t like me making promises that involved its death. It coiled low in my gut, whispering, restless and sharp-edged, as if testing what I hoped was my ironclad control.
A shiver ran through me, but before the shadows could slip free, I clenched my fists and forced the power down, shoving it deep until the burn dulled and the whispers faded.
“Right,” I said, desperate to change the topic. I pointed a finger at the messy corner. “Anyway, I want to know what’s going on over there.”
Eliza’s focus darted to her and Levi's gear, and her cheeks flamed so hot I practically felt the heat. This was our first time alone since our group had expanded to include my army, her new angel boyfriend, and a fallen angel-slash-nightmare-demon, so I wasn’t about to miss the opportunity for a little girl chat.
“You’re not going to let up about this, are you?” she demanded.
“Ha! Nope. Payback’s a bitch. Details. Now.”
She groaned, tilted her head back against the wall like she was hoping the stone might swallow her whole. “Fine, but this stays between us!” Then she shot Vol a look. “And you! If you so much as repeat a word of this to anyone, I’m sewing your mouth shut.”
Vol blinked, then lifted a hand and said, “Cross my impish heart and hope to die.”
“You will hope to die if you break that promise.”
He simply grinned, flashing us his pearly white fangs.
“Not reassuring,” she muttered, then blew out a long breath. “Okay, so yes, Levi and I are together.”
Well, I knew that. She’d already told me they’d slept together. “Details, I said.”
“What kind of details?” she growled.
I leaned forward and shot her a grin. “Everything. How’d it happen? What was it like? When did it happen? Are you in love with him—cuz it definitely looks that way to me.”
She rubbed her temples. “Fine. Ugh—you’re annoying. We’ve only slept together once so far,” she admitted, a wistful smile curling her lips. “But it was just…”
“Incredible?” I supplied.
She hummed her agreement, then waggled her eyebrows at me. “It happened the night before Sable’s death. We couldn’t sleep. You and Rathiel had taken off. So we decided to go for a walk—”
“Ah, yes, a romantic walk in Hell along the lava pits and brimstone.”
Eliza shot me a flat look. “Do you want to hear this or not?”
I mimed zipping my lips.
“Anyway,” she continued. “I started telling Levi about my life on Earth, describing home to him, when he got this look in his eyes and kissed me. But it didn’t stop there.”
I leaned forward like a gossip-hungry teenager. “Define didn’t stop there.”
Her lips pursed. “You know exactly what I mean.”
“Oh, I do. But you’ve had your nose buried in Rathiel’s and my relationship since we got here. So this is me returning the favour. You slept with an angel, girl! Tell me everything. Was it slow and romantic? Fast and desperate?”
“You sleep with a fallen angel!” she argued. “I assume it’s no different.”
Oh, I highly doubted that. Rathiel was all darkness, in the most delicious ways.
When I didn’t relent, she growled in exasperation. “You’re the worst. It was slow at first, tender. Then things grew more heated. Almost desperate. Like if we weren’t touching each other, we’d both stop breathing.”
Delight bubbled within me in a way it hadn’t for days, and I excitedly clapped my hands. “That’s great! What was it like sleeping with someone while knowing your powers weren’t affecting them?”
Eliza pretended to faint. “Amazing.”
A grin tugged at my mouth. It made me happy to see her like this. She deserved it.
“So?” I asked, wiggling my brows.
She eyed me. “What?”
“Do you love him?”
“Lily—”
“Nope! Come on! No backing down now.”
She stared at the ceiling for a moment, but she wore a grin wide enough to crack her entire face. “Yeah. Yeah, I love him. It’s hard not to. He’s…”
“A damn angel,” I said. “And not only in the literal sense.”
“He’s definitely raised the bar,” she said, laughing.
I chuckled and nodded. “So have you two discussed what sleeping together means?”
Her brow pinched. “What do you mean?”
“Well, he’s an angel,” I repeated. “They aren’t supposed to…you know.” I flicked a finger at her. “Dally with humans. Not that you’re human. But I suspect the rule still applies. He dipped the forbidden wick.”
“Oh my gosh.” She clapped her hands over her cheeks when they reignited. For a siren, she sure blushed a lot. “Um, no, I never thought to even question that.”
“I admittedly don’t know the rules for up there. Can he even go home now that you two have…”
“Lily,” she groaned. “I don’t know. And I don’t want to even think about that right now.”
I nodded. “Fair enough. Let’s move on. Do you know if he loves you back?”
That damn grin again. She nodded, her eyes glowing in a way that had nothing to do with her siren magic. “He told me so last night. He asked me to promise myself to him, which I did. I…I kinda thought that means he plans to stay?”
I blinked. “He asked you to promise yourself to him? What does that even mean?”
She chuckled again. “I think it’s an angel thing. You know how in romance novels the werewolf couple are always ‘fated?’ I think angels have something similar.”
That didn’t sound familiar to me, but again, I had little to no experience in the romance department when it came to angels. He didn’t follow Heaven’s rules—he’d broken free of their control thousands of years ago.
“He said promising myself would just help us stay together. I thought of it almost like a promise ring. But with words.”
“Okay, then,” I said. Strange how I was born a celestial and still knew so little about my own people.
“I figured I’d wait until after the war to figure it all out. It’s difficult to make plans when we don’t know if we’ll even be alive in a few days.”
I could understand that. Planning for the future was hard enough, but even harder when you weren’t sure if you’d live to see it.
I was about to ask a follow-up question when a loud knock rattled the door.
It cracked open without permission, and Eliza shot me a clear shut-the-hell-up look before pasting on a smile.
Levi stepped inside, golden light haloing his frame even in Hell’s gloom. His gaze landed first on Eliza, then drifted to me. “Ladies.”
“So, Captain Halo”—he blinked at my new nickname—“are my soldiers battle-ready?” It wasn’t the real question I wanted to ask, but for now, it’d do.
“As ready as we can hope. We’ll find out when it comes time to face your father.”
“Fair enough,” I said.
“When do you want to march?” he asked.
I contemplated his question, then immediately decided, “In the morning. Let’s give everyone one last night to prepare, then we’ll leave.”
Levi stepped fully inside. “You’ve done well, Lilith. Better than I expected, to be honest. I’m proud of you.”
I blinked.
“You’ve grown into your power in more ways than I ever anticipated,” he continued. “I have faith this rebellion won’t end the same as the last one.”
The words hit harder than I expected. For once, I didn’t feel the need to deflect with a joke. My smile came anyway, unguarded, burning bright in a place that rarely offered me light.
“Thanks, Levi,” I said. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”
He inclined his head, but his gaze lingered, steady and unwavering, before shifting back to Eliza. She softened instantly under the weight of it.
I rose from the stone bed. “I’ll leave you two alone,” I said, a smirk tugging at my lips as Eliza’s cheeks flamed all over again.
Purrgy trilled and hopped down to follow me, Vol already mounted on his back.
I closed the door behind me, Levi’s words still warm in my chest. I hadn’t realized how badly I’d needed to hear that—that someone was proud of me, instead of worrying about me, or fearing what I was becoming.
It bolstered me and filled me with a newfound strength. One that told me I would win this war.