Chapter 43 #2
“You’re too far for my liking. Why don’t you come sit in my lap?”
My eyes widen. “But I’m still eating.”
“You can eat here.” He taps the table, then his lap. “Get over here. Now.”
That isn’t a request.
What did I do?!
“Amarah, a Grimhorn only appears when instructed by my husband,” Proserpina says directly to me as I rise from my seat. “Or they appear to collect a targeted soul for transport to the Beyond. And seeing as though you are very much alive, then… you are saying one went after you on Belial’s—”
“I said I did no such thing, woman. Did you not hear me?”
I’m beside Lucifer now, and both his parents’ attention has snapped to each other as they argue.
“Sit,” he commands.
He slides his chair back and takes my hand, but before he can guide me into his lap, I simply sit at the armrest.
“Do not command me like you own me, Lucifer.”
His eyes round.
“Got it?” I whisper.
“Got it, dollface… sorry.” He flicks his gaze to his parents, before returning them to me. “While they fight for a few minutes—” His shadows coil around my waist as if to secure me in place. “Tell me why you were attacked by a Grimhorn.”
“It’s a long story, and unless your parents are going to fight until breakfast, we don’t have enough time.”
His chest expands with a deep breath. My plate glides toward us on a trail of shadows, followed by my drink.
“Keep eating, please.”
I lean forward, take a bite, grab my cup, and do as he asks.
“You killed one?”
“No, it wasn’t me. But that’s an even longer story. Look, I know it isn’t your father sending them. But if he keeps pressing this issue, he’s going to make me stay here.”
“Why?!” he basically screams, the volume sharp enough to make me jump.
He winces. “Shit, sorry. Why do you say that?”
“Because that would mean I know who’s taking control of his creatures. You do the math.”
There’s a long beat of silence. During it, Belial and Proserpina settle from their little tiff, both taking bites of their food and sips of their drinks before turning their attention back to me.
“Alright,” Lucifer murmurs, “but you should tell me when we’re done here.”
Yeah. That’s not happening.
“My Grimhorn would not attack you unprovoked. Let alone drag you through to my realm,” Belial says.
I shrug, take another sip, and lift my chin. “A lot of your creatures are out of control these days, it seems. All the gates opening in the mortal world scream lack of management, if I do say so myself.”
Lucifer’s shadows tighten around me. “Okay, but let’s not piss him off, Amarah—bloody Beyond.”
“Quite the disrespectful thing to say at my own dinner table.”
“I don’t mean to be, but I do mean to be blunt, sir. That isn’t me being rude. I’m stating facts. Which I believe you’d prefer to me playing dumb and wasting your time.”
His eyes narrow on me, malice burning in the red glow that begins to seep outward. In the same breath, Lucifer’s hand slides up my lower back, and in the lowest part of my vision I see shadows coil over my legs. They’re ice-cold, but not painful, at least not yet.
“I can handle myself when it comes to your Grimhorn,” I continue evenly, “but maybe you should look into why your gates are opening everywhere. That might solve the problem.”
“I know damn well why my gates are opening,” he hisses. “As if I don’t know what’s happening in my own realm. My creatures would never attack without my command, never go to the mortal world without my sanction. Which means you attacked and killed one of mine for nothing.”
Keep calm. Just breathe. You’re alright. You’ve got this.
“Father,” Lucifer warns. “I don’t know where you’re going with this, but enough.”
“He wants me to do something for him as penance for killing one of his Grimhorn,” I say as I lean back further, my back resting against Lucifer’s arm. I cross my legs, keeping my voice even. “I don’t think it’s fair that you expect me to pay for defending myself.”
The power I feel coming from Lucifer has me working double time to keep my heart rate in check. The room feels thick, like we’ve been swallowed to the depths of the ocean but still are capable of breathing.
Belial opens his mouth, but his wife raises her hand.
“Enough of this. Honey, stop.” She turns to me—no, to Lucifer beside me. “Lucifer, it’s fine. Your father won’t hurt her. Not at my table.”
Belial grumbles, and Lucifer’s hand twitches against my back before moving to my waist.
Her gaze snaps back to her husband. “We’ll look further into this. It hasn’t even been a day since it was killed. There has to be answers, and blaming it on our son’s… Witch, isn’t the right course of action.”
Proserpina regards me with a gentle smile. “Stay for some time so we can clear this up. If it isn’t my husband sending a Grimhorn after you, then you’re in danger.” Her tone is kind, but I know the concern isn’t for me—it’s for her son, who is acting… surprisingly protective.
It’s nice.
“Vendra won’t appreciate me being kept here longer than intended.”
“That is why I’m requesting it,” she states matter of fact. “You won’t be a prisoner, but it is in your best interest. You understand.”
When I look at Belial, his deadly stare is locked onto us.
I know I can’t leave now. Because if I do, and Belial comes after me, I’ll be with Kayn. And while I’d have a better chance defending us in the mortal world, I cannot risk him. Not his life.
“I understand, ma’am. I’ll stay until it’s cleared up.”
Lucifer exhales sharply through flared nostrils as he looks at me. “You’ve really put yourself in a bind here.”
I’m not sure why I do it, but I lift my hand and graze it across his cheek. “I’m pretty much fucked in every direction these days. What else is new?”
It’s meant to be comforting, not seductive, but by the feral look in his eyes he takes it the latter.
Oh, no.
What have I done?
“Then you’ll respect my wishes, Mother.” His hands tighten at my hips, nails pricking my skin. “I’ll keep her at my place, not here. I’d prefer a bit more privacy.”
“I don’t trust you not to—”
Belial is cut off by his wife. “Leave them be. You’ve been begging for our son to get over that boy, and here he is doing it.”
I take a deep breath through my nose. I’ve been with Lucifer for only a few hours, and I can already see how ridiculous that notion is—him getting over Kayn. I’m more likely to turn into a Vampire before that happens; and that’s actually impossible for my kind.
I’m glad it’s like that, though; their absolute refusal to let go of each other. The way they orbit one another even in denial. Their obvious, stubborn devotion.
I want that for them. I want them both so painfully hung up on each other that it drives them mad with the need to be together.
That would make me happy. And wherever my temporary little life fits between them, I’ll take it.
The rest of dinner was basically suffocated in silence, but I did enjoy not only the food, but my time with Lucifer.
I’d mentioned the touching thing again but I could see how hard it was for him to keep his hands off me.
I’ll choose to believe it’s because he wanted to feel me under his fingertips, not that he was putting on an act.
It made the awkward quiet far more bearable.
When Belial abruptly left, he told Lucifer to see him in the morning. His mother lingered only a few minutes longer, leaving just the two of us in the dining room. I’d finished about half the plate when I started to yawn.
I’ll die before admitting he was right and any longer I may have curled up in his lap and just passed out.
Lucifer guided me up on my second attempt at hiding my exhaustion and brought me… here.
Where here is, I have no idea.
It resembles a greenhouse, attached directly to the dining room. I’ve yet to see the sky since arriving, and this space is no different—the glass is fogged over with some sort of shimmering film. It lets in a silver glow, as if the moon were shining through, but I can’t see anything beyond it.
I run my hand along a table filled with red flowers I’ve never seen before. Some are black, rose-like, though I can’t be sure. The air smells lovely, but it’s far too warm for my liking. I’m already sweating.
When a hand slides across the small of my back, I look up to see Lucifer smiling. “You handled that better than I’d have expected.”
I shrug as if it’s nothing. Deep down, I was terrified. I just didn’t let it show or allow it to fester enough to interfere with the only objective my brain seems capable of having anymore:
Survive.
“Thanks. You too. You know… not cutting your dad’s head off or anything.”
His chuckle is soft, and the half-smile that pulls out a dimple has me itching to touch it.
He has this sophisticated air about him.
Like I could find him in a grand library, hunting down a book he hasn’t read yet, with Kayn beside him listening contentedly as he reads aloud.
He just seems like the kind of man who could be happy simply existing next to someone he cares for.
He slows us as a few vines brush over the path, then stops entirely. “I’m going to take you to my home.”
“Right…” I peer around for a door, but the greenhouse has only the entrance we came through.
“I need to take you through my shadows to get there. It shouldn’t hurt.”
“Shouldn’t?” I snap my gaze to him. “That’s not very reassuring, Lucifer.”
He hums, the sound low, pleased. His smile warms in a way that makes my pulse skip.
“What?” I demand.
“I enjoy you saying my name.” He murmurs something else under his breath that’s too soft to catch, but it pulls me toward him without thought.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.” His lips curl. “If it hurts, I’ll kiss it better. How’s that?”
My eyes widen as heat climbs my throat. “I… no, that’s not necessary. But thank you…”
He tugs me fully against him, our bodies fitting together far too well. “It’s very necessary, dollface.”
I don’t get the chance to argue. He wraps both arms around me—one around my shoulders, the other cinched around my waist—and steps backward.