Chapter 20
Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore. I begged Cole to stop, because if we kept going, I would give in to my desire to ride him and give him something he didn’t deserve.
He obeyed without question, holding me as we fell.
Life was falling.
Life was this endless vortex of darkness.
Life was this bleak, empty existence, devoid of anything beyond Cole.
At least that was how it felt.
But then he said, “It’s almost time.”
I stiffened. All I saw was endless black.
No, wait.
There was gray. A deep gray horizon appeared at our feet, rolling into existence like we were about to fall into the heart of a storm.
My hair stung my face as we fell faster, my wings unable to slow our descent.
“Close them,” Cole instructed.
Hesitating, I fought the pain as the battering winds tore at my wings unaccustomed to the drag forces and forced them to close.
“We’re falling faster. What’s going on?”
“We’re nearing the gate,” Cole said.
“The gate?” Instinctively, I looked toward him.
“Yes.” He tugged on my waist.
I allowed him to pull me closer. “Tell me about this gate.”
“The vortex is a construct that is spelled to make the travel between realms take longer than it should, but at the end of it all, this is just a conduit—a bridge between realms. We’re going to find ourselves somewhere on Earth—and soon.” His voice took on a grim note. “Very soon.”
He focused all his energy on flight now that the air provided resistance, his massive wings pounding furiously. It seemed as though his attempts were pointless, though, because we kept moving faster and faster until the winds were screaming by.
Then we tumbled out of the vortex, spat out into the sun’s smoldering, humid heat. We were spinning, speeding toward the hard ground beneath us before Cole finally stopped our descent.
The sun’s glare blinded me and I blinked rapidly, trying to make my eyes adjust. The light was painful after the vortex’s endless darkness, but finally, I could see.
“Where are we?” I asked softly.
“I’m not sure.” Cole held me by the waist, his eyes studying me instead of our surroundings. “This is my brother’s construct. Not mine.”
“We need to find out where we are,” I said.
“And when,” Cole said. “I’m not sure how long we were in the vortex. Lucifer wanted you out of the way for a reason, and for a specific time frame, I’m sure.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Nodding, I closed my eyes and reached out to Kaito.
The connection was instantaneous.
Lily! There was a brief pause, then his presence flooded our connection, his relief so palpable, words weren’t necessary. You’re okay.
“Yeah.” Glancing at Cole for a moment, I managed a faint smile before focusing on the connection to Kaito again. “Things didn’t exactly go as planned.”
I’d say not.
I jolted at Kaito’s response—he was cold now, his words undercut with an anger I hadn’t expected from him. “Kaito? What’s wrong?”
What’s wrong? Now his voice boomed inside my head. You’ve been gone for three fucking weeks, Lily! I never should have agreed to this idea of yours—going to Cole was just plain idiotic. This is all my—
Our connection went silent, Kaito cutting himself off mid-tirade.
Three weeks? While I had fallen for a considerable amount of time, it most certainly hadn’t been three weeks.
Which meant the construct had been a break through time and space, altering how much time passed on the outside while we fell.
I’m sorry, Lily, Kaito said, his mental voice quieter now. This anger… it’s not natural for me. Cole is with you, isn’t he?
“Yes.” Stiffening, I turned away from Cole. I needed to focus on Kaito right now. We didn’t have time for his shit and he needed to get that through his head. “Kaito, I don’t know what your—”
Lily, stop. Listen to me. Your twins, your mother, everyone—they’re going to face Lucifer with or without you. There was a faint sound, almost like he sighed in frustration before he continued. We can’t win, not without you.
Dread filled me and I turned to look at Cole. He made no attempt to hide the fact he was listening. While he couldn’t speak to Kaito, perhaps he could hear when we communicated.
The angels and Sonya are going after Lucifer. Their plan will fail, Lily. They don’t stand a chance on their own. I’ll be altering Lucifer’s portal when it opens, and you need to be there when I do.
“What…” I sucked in a breath and squeezed my eyes closed. “They want to face him head-on? What’re they thinking?”
They were thinking that you and Cole disappeared right in front of them and since they couldn’t find you—none of us could—they didn’t see any other alternative, Kaito said. The words came out matter-of-factly and cool, not insulting or casting blame.
But I flinched nonetheless. “It was Lucifer,” I said haltingly. “I asked Cole for help on what we could do and he had an idea, but when he went to show me, there was a trap.”
None of that matters right now. Lucifer is going to be in Seattle tonight. You have to get there. I’m still stuck with preparations for our weapons that might save us… but I need more time. Just, can you stall them?
“It’ll be all right, Kaito. I’ve got this.” Sighing, I grabbed Cole’s hand. “Come on, Cole. You have a brother to find.”
“You understand this will end badly,” Cole said.
Nodding, I kept my eyes on the masses gathered below us.
I had no doubt this was going to end badly, but one way or another, we were going to face Lucifer.
And we’d found him. I looked down a hill as he paraded around on a stage as if he was going to be the rockstar of his own bad boy band. Humans acted like groupies and threw themselves at him, making me feel sick.
Lucifer was down there, humanity gathered around him like he was their king.
The image that gave me sent a shiver down my spine, because that was what he was seeking—to be the ruler, to be not just in control, but to be worshipped.
“Lilith?”
I looked at Cole.
“We have no weapons. We have nothing that will help us gain an edge on him.” Cole’s eyes held no fear as he met my gaze. “I know my brother’s strength and I know mine. I cannot defeat him.”
“That isn’t your job.” I looked back out at the people gathered around Lucifer. Power sizzled and sparked, so potent, I felt it even up here. “It’s up to me to stop him.”
“I’m not sure you can stop him yet, either.” Cole took my hand.
“Do you want to leave?”
“No.” He squeezed my hand. “My loyalties don’t lie with my brother, Lilith. They lie with you.”
“Thank you.” I wanted to say more, but I didn’t know where to start, or how. The truth was, I wanted to leave. We were looking at a slaughter but I couldn’t leave my mother and my angel Virtues to die in my place, fighting a battle that was meant to be mine.
Anger at Lucifer sparked and I focused my gaze on him. “Do you have any sort of plan, Cole? Because I’m fresh out.”
Planning had never been my strong suit to begin with.
“I’m of a mind to wait and see what your angels have planned,” Cole admitted. “I haven’t seen them. Have you?”
“No.” I could feel them, though, and wondered if they could feel me as well. I didn’t want to risk distracting them by reaching out.
Then there was no time, because the power Lucifer had been calling abruptly crested.
“He’s going to open the Gates of Hell,” Cole said. “This is it, Lilith.”
“Let’s go.” I spread my wings and held out my hand.
Cole needed nothing else, helping me aloft as I turned toward the airspace above Lucifer. Massive dark banners kept us hidden, but the camouflage wouldn’t work for long.
The air there had a tight, trapped presence, as if reacting to the magic Lucifer was pouring out.
The fabric between realms tore and the people gathered below us screamed—but not in panic.
They were ecstatic, delighted by this show of power from the one who called himself their king.
The Gates swirled open with red-hot heat, flames licking all the way up to the skies and warming my skin.
I recognized the layer Lucifer had opened, one of his territories near the barracks.
But then the portal shimmered and the image shifted, the destination morphing to the edge of Fortune Academy Underworld.
An army of students wielding the Blood Stone Blades waited at the ready.
This was what Kaito had been doing, why he wasn’t here yet.
He knew we were here and he wasn’t going to let me go without a fight.
Those blades he’d helped retrieve from the Astral Realm were now in the hands of the students from Fortune Academy and those students now faced Lucifer from the other side of the Gate, the entire student body forming units broken down by species and skill.
They all looked ready for blood.
At the front, Sam, Azra and my mother, Sonya stood ready.
“We’re landing… Now.” Cole plunged, the speed stealing my breath and heart.
The seething masses below us went silent as we landed, a ripple of shock on both sides as the humans shouted, praising the arrival of Lucifer’s angels.
Although I thought even Lucifer looked mildly surprised at our arrival.
Why would he be surprised?
Then I realized it. The void wasn’t meant to have an end. Cole had been the one to form an exit.
I glanced at him as I landed at his side, raising an eyebrow. Perhaps he could have left at any time. Instead he wanted that time with me.
Time I could have used to prepare.
Time that could cost my mates everything.
“My brother,” Lucifer purred before he slanted his dark, malevolent gaze my way. “Be a dear, Lilith, and stand down. You don’t stand a chance.”
Freya glowered from behind him, unimpressed by my entry.
Probably not, but giving up just didn’t come naturally to me—I wasn’t even sure I knew how to give up. With a saccharine smile, I blew him a kiss. “For somebody who doesn’t stand a chance, you sure as hell have invested a lot of time in getting in my way. Why is that?”
Cole chuckled. “My brother isn’t as confident of his victory as he makes himself out to be. If he was, he’d face you on your terms, instead of surrounding himself with cannon fodder.”