“Soul magic is kind of healing. A forbidden kind.” Baba knitted so fast, her fingers were a blur of movement as she worked. No matter how fast the lines of yarn formed, the blanket never seemed to get any longer. “If you can heal a cut, you can heal heart. If you can heal heart, you can heal heartache in a soul. That gives you skills so you can know how to seduce her back into her body, nyet?” She nodded to Kelsie. “You have patient here who would be good for practice.”
“I don’t need anyone to heal my heart,” Kelsie snapped. “And don’t you dare try!”
Lucifer suspected if that was a lesson he needed to learn, he would have to test that kind of magic on someone else.
* * *
The sand in the glass passed too quickly. One month in the outside world was less than a week in theirs. Ravens came and delivered letters. Abigail told him about her life, about Godric coming to visit her and Izzy, and her progress in her studies. She talked about lessons she was learning in her schooling because she wanted to learn more about leshi now. Even her teachers thought they were dangerous.
MacCoinneach didn’t bring back the bottle of tears. Lucifer worried Kelsie might have scared him off. Or because they’d moved to another location, the leshi might have had difficulty tracking them down again.
After two turns of the month glass, Lucifer didn’t know if he would be able to learn all he needed within four more weeks their time so that he could find her soul and place it in her body.
He kept trying to find her soul in the afterlife, but the weaving didn’t summon her.
* * *
The day the ravens circled overhead, he knew what was coming. He simultaneously looked forward to and dreaded seeing Abby. The carriage pulled up around midday when he had just finished carrying water back to the cottage. Abby’s arrival reminded him he hadn’t yet succeeded in all he’d set out to do.
At least he suspected he’d gained enough skills to have a better grasp for the feel of souls.
Abigail greeted them with the same warmth and sunshine as she had before, kissing him and hugging him. Clarissa strode past them, joined by an austere woman in all black. Lucifer had seen her at Queen Vega’s castle when he’d taken a child to the school. He suspected this woman must be a servant.
She held her head high, marching past him without looking at him. On the other hand, from her height and slender frame, she looked like she could have been Vega’s cousin.
“I beg your pardon. Are you . . . ?” Lucifer swallowed, recognizing the midnight hair and elegantly sloped nose as being one of the Thatch lineage. “Do I know you?”
“No.” The woman looked him up and down, her smile amused. “But I know you.”
Her eyes were dark gray, the pupils dilated too large, like that of a drug addict.
“This is Odette Thatch. She’s Felix’s sister,” Abigail said, looking from him to Odette. “That means . . . she’s your sister too, right?”
Lucifer stared at the woman for a long moment. He rarely thought of his family, his sisters raised by the old Raven Queen. He hadn’t even known he’d had a family most of his life. He’d learned about Odette when meeting her for the first time in his adult life in the late Raven Queen’s castle. She looked different now, more color in her cheeks. Her expression was just as austere as it had once been.
Odette’s reputation for evil wasn’t reassuring. He subtly placed himself between her and Abigail.
“Nice to see you too, Brother.” Odette rolled her eyes and followed Clarissa into the cottage.
Abigail patted his arm. “She’s kind of like Vega.”
“In what way? Evil?”
She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Scary.”
While Odette had been occupying Lucifer’s attention, Izzy had climbed out of the carriage. She held her baby and greeted him with a peck on the cheek.
“I’m pleased to see you again.” Izzy flashed a shy smile at him and held out her baby. “Look how much Lucille has grown.”
Lucifer leaned in close and smiled at the baby. Lucille grabbed a fistful of his beard and tugged.
Izzy transferred the baby into his arms. Lucille smiled and made incomprehensible chattering sounds at him. Lucifer’s heart warmed holding this healthy baby that he had delivered. His affinity sparked and danced, taking pleasure in the simple enjoyment of the moment. Cuddling didn’t fuel him as rapidly as other physical sensations, but it always did him good, whether he was in his cat form or human one. He kissed the baby’s cheeks, fighting the urge to purr.
“Isn’t she the cutest baby ever?” Abigail asked. “Someday I want to have a baby just like her.” She leaned in closer. “Not like Queen Vega’s boy. Sebastian is a brat.”
Lucifer used his awareness to feel Lucille’s soul. He could see the difference now between an adult human’s and a baby’s. Abigail’s was somewhere in between, rapidly growing to fill the space.
Lucifer wondered how long it had taken Felix’s soul to heal after it had been removed. Baba had said it was painful to regrow. He hoped Abigail wasn’t in pain. But then, Abigail’s soul hadn’t been torn out and stolen by the former Raven Queen. Hers had slipped away peacefully while her body had occupied the shape of a tree.
“I never properly thanked you for saving my life,” Izzy said.
“No thanks are necessary. It’s better not to thank someone in this realm.” He waved her off.
“You did save my life. And Lucille’s. Not just once, but twice. You found us a safe home afterward as well. I will always be in your debt.” Izzy stared up into his face, her own full of earnestness. “If it weren’t for you or Clarissa and Abby, I don’t know where I would be right now.”
Lucifer feared he might have enchanted her with his incubus magic without intending to. “Truly, I’d rather you didn’t thank me.”
“You don’t understand.” Izzy swallowed. “I’m in your debt. And Clarissa’s. I don’t know whom I owe more. I’m like a servant with two masters. I don’t know whom I owe greater allegiance to.”
The desperation in her eyes was unnerving. Lucifer tried to smile and reassure her. “You don’t owe me anything. This isn’t a Fae court full of rules and bargains.”
He didn’t want to feel the rift in her heart—or perhaps it was her soul—the twisting sensation of her conscience being ripped into two halves. If he had known how to heal it, he would have.
He still had much to learn about souls and healing.
Abigail tucked an arm around Izzy. “We’re all friends here. It isn’t like the Verde Court. No one is going to hurt you. We won’t let Prince Mixcoatl hurt you or baby Lucy.”
Lucifer hadn’t ever heard the name of Izzy’s Fae lover before. He assumed that if Izzy and Abigail spent as much time together as Abigail’s letters implied, they were close friends. They probably told each other everything.
Izzy drew in a deep breath. “Mixcoatl wasn’t the one who beat me. It was his family. His sisters and cousins. When I couldn’t hide I was with child any longer, that’s when they publicly accused me.”
Lucifer didn’t know how Izzy could have hidden her round belly. But she was tall, and the gown she’d worn the day she had arrived had been full of flounces and layers. That must have helped her some.
“It’s a blessing in disguise that they threw you out of their court,” Abigail said, sounding very much like the Abigail that Lucifer knew and loved. “You were able to see their true character and realize how dangerous it would be for a baby there. And now you’re with us, and we get to be best friends.”
Izzy drew in a deep breath and hugged Abigail. Some of the anxiety in her subsided. He had a feeling there was more to her fears than what she’d said, but he didn’t know what to make of it.
Lucifer followed their guests into the cottage and handed the baby back to Izzy.
The cottage was too full of people again, and Lucifer suddenly felt cramped and crowded. Celestor magic clashed with Elementia and Amni Plan
dai. Nudges of pain pressed in on Lucifer. Someone’s bladder was unpleasantly full. He couldn’t tell who, nor did he want to. He hadn’t realized how sensitive his affinity had gotten in his weeks of practice.
When Clarissa began to pull food out of her purse, Abigail laced her arm through Lucifer’s. “Let’s go while they’re distracted.”
The savory aroma of cheese rolls and bacon filled his nostrils. He would have welcomed lunch, but he didn’t mind getting away from everyone and all these sensations in their bodies pressing in on him.
He wanted to spend time with Abigail more than eat. She took his hand, and they snuck out.
“Has your leshi friend returned to give you his tears?” Abigail asked.
“No. But it might be best for him to stay away. I don’t know what Kelsie would do to him.” If only Lucifer weren’t so busy with lessons. “I suppose I’ll have to go track him down again soon.”
“He might just be waiting for me to come back before he appears again.” She smiled when she spoke, but her eyes were sad. “I feel bad for him to be hated and so alone. It doesn’t seem fair that he doesn’t have any family.”
Lucifer bit his lip, uncertain whether he should tell her that she was the reason MacCoinneach had no family. Perhaps she already knew.
They sat in the shade next to the stream. Abigail laid her head on his shoulder. “Do you love me, Lucy?”
He stroked her hair away from her face. “Indeed. More than the stars or the forest or my magic.” More than his human body. He’d sacrificed that to be with her once. He would prefer not to have to do that again, but he would if it was necessary.
She closed her eyes and snuggled against him. He used his awareness to brush against her soul. There was a sad note of autumn layered over the springtime he’d felt before. Perhaps the encounter with the leshi had traumatized her gentle heart. He was careful as he prodded that wound inside her. He didn’t want to make it worse. Nor did he want his affinity to draw hers out and make her turn into a tree.
“You’re still going to try to make me whole?” she asked.
“I will do my best.” Every day, he tried. He kissed the top of her head.
They remained like that for a time, snug in each other’s arms. Movement caught his eye. Dappled gray and brown hides peeked through the trees as a herd of unicorns silently grazed.
He pointed and kept his voice hushed. “Look! Unicorns. I bet they’ve come to see you.”
“No. They aren’t here for me.” She stood. “Let’s keep walking.” Her face flushed, and she didn’t even turn in their direction.
“I thought you liked unicorns.” He waved to one he suspected was Clyde.
The unicorns remained where they were, ignoring them. Lucifer knew his incubus magic would repel them, so he altered the resonance of his affinity to keep from scaring them off. He projected the feel of freshly fallen snow, chastity, and springtime.
Three of the unicorns trampled closer through the ferns.
“Look, it’s that beautiful virgin,” one of them said.
Lucifer grinned. Abigail had never smiled so much as the day she’d ridden on a unicorn.
To Lucifer’s surprise, the unicorns completely ignored Abigail and nuzzled him instead. “Hey sweetheart, did you bring me any apples?” one asked him.
“Have you ever ridden bareback on a stallion?” another asked.
One of them nudged his hand, trying to lift it higher. “Touch my horn. Go ahead. I’m giving you permission.”
Lucifer toned down his magic. “I think Abigail is the one who you want to pet you.” He nodded in her direction.
A unicorn lifted his nose up at her. “No. We aren’t interested in dirty little sluts.”
“Hey!” Lucifer said. “That’s no way to talk to a young lady.”
The unicorn turned away, bumping Lucifer away from Abigail. “Hay is for horses—and donkule mongers like her.”
One of the unicorns snickered at the joke. “Are you going to tell him how you fell from grace?” He nodded to Abigail.
“Shut up! It’s none of your business.” Abigail clenched her fists and turned away.
“You are mistaken,” Lucifer said. “Abby isn’t. . . .” He swallowed.
She wasn’t his charge anymore. He didn’t know what her life was like at the castle or whether she even was in love with him. She might have taken up with a young man. A sharp pang of fear settled in his heart as he remembered how she had mentioned that Godric had visited. She also had a friend who was part tree.
Lucifer’s chest grew tight with anxiety. This was just like Adam and Coinneach all over again. Had she fallen in love with someone else? He remembered the story she had told MacCoinneach, brief as it was. She had said she lived with two parents and a wicked witch. Was that how she thought of him?
“Can we go now?” Abigail didn’t wait for his answer and set off on the trail back toward the cottage.
A unicorn stepped in front of Lucifer to block his path. “It’s my turn to give you a pony ride.”
Lucifer dropped the façade of virginity.
The unicorns backpedaled away. “Son of a Fae! He smells like pegasus excrement!”
One of the unicorns aimed his horn at Lucifer. His teeth drew back into a sneer.
“Do you still want me to touch your horn, or are you going to keep that thing away from me?” Lucifer growled, impatient to be done with the snooty beasts.
“Elfing donkule monger.”
They backed away, muttering obscenities at him.
Lucifer’s long legs closed the space between him and Abigail in a few quick strides.
“Abby?” he asked. “I’m sorry those unicorns are such muttonheads. Don’t listen to them, all right?”
She kept on walking. “They’re a bunch of chauvinistic jerks. They only like maidens.” She swiped the back of her hand against her eyes. “They won’t let me pet them anymore.”
“Yes. They’re particular about that.” His mouth was dry. “What was that about? About you not being a virgin? When did that happen?” He wanted her to refute it, to tell him the unicorns were mistaken.
She sucked in a quivering breath. “Clarissa said I don’t have to talk about it with anyone.”
“That’s true. You don’t have to. But you know you can tell me anything. I won’t get mad. I just want to make sure you’re all right.”
“I’m fine. I don’t want to talk about it!” She rounded on him, shouting. “Just leave me alone.”
She ran. He didn’t try to stop her. He didn’t want to crowd her if she needed space. He only knew she had gotten in the carriage they’d arrived in because he heard her crying within.
Clarissa glowered at Lucifer the moment he walked through the door of the cottage, as if he was the reason for Abigail’s tears. “What did you say to her?”
He bit down the insults he wanted to hurl. “Might I have a word alone with you, Clarissa?”
Kelsie’s eyebrows shot up in curiosity.
“Alone,” he added, giving Kelsie a pointed look.
She placed her hands on her hips. “Why do I have to leave? You two can go outside. I’m not stopping you.”
“Kelsie, be a dear and fetch us another bucket of water,” Baba said.
Izzy rocked the baby in her arms, her gaze flickering from Lucifer to Clarissa. Silently, she exited without being told. Odette wasn’t present, so she must have been outside too. Kelsie swore under her breath, slamming the door closed behind them.
“What did you do to her?” Clarissa demanded.
“I didn’t do anything. I didn’t say anything. It was the unicorns. They were rude to her.” Dread settled in his belly. “Because she isn’t a virgin anymore.”
Clarissa blanched. “That poor dear.”
“What happened? Did someone hurt her?” He spotted a flash of Kelsie’s blue hair duck below the window outside. He crossed the room and closed it.
Clarissa g
ave a sharp shake of her head. “No. It isn’t any of your beeswax.”
Beeswax, just like Abigail used to say to her children. He hated hearing Abigail’s words in her daughter’s mouth used against him.
He spoke through clenched teeth. “How can you tell me what happened isn’t my business? I care about Abby.”
Clarissa stood. “If Abby wanted you to know, she would have told you.”
Baba picked up her knitting and acted as though she didn’t hear them.
“I just want to know if she’s all right,” Lucifer said.
“She is fine. She just doesn’t like unicorns slut-shaming her.”
He glowered at Clarissa. “Fine. Don’t tell me. I’ll just use Baba’s crystal ball to gaze into her past and see who stole her virginity.”
Baba chuckled. “I teach you well. Resourceful apprentice, da?”
“No one stole anything from her.” Clarissa’s face turned nearly as pink as her hair. “How would you like it if I allowed her to spy on you during your most humiliating moments?”
“That’s different.” No one needed to see his many failed attempts at restoring Abigail.
Those were his most horrible moments.
“Is it different?” Clarissa asked. “Or are you too blind to see what a hypocrite you are? It’s probably for the best Abby is with me. She’s safe from an overbearing older man meddling in her private affairs.”
Older man? He wasn’t old? Kelsie even said so. He was only eighteen or twenty. Or maybe he only acted like he was eighteen. Maybe he was too old for Abigail, and she saw him like a father.
This was worse than Lucifer had guessed.
Lucifer stormed out. He wanted to say goodbye to Abigail, but he knew if he saw her, he would be tempted to ‘pry’ into her private affairs. He didn’t want to prove Clarissa right and be the villainous overbearing man she thought he was. More importantly, he didn’t want Abigail to see him that way.
Izzy leaned against a tree well away from the fence as she rocked her baby. She flashed him a sad smile. He wondered whether she knew. If he asked, would that count as meddling?
He needed a moment to collect himself.
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