"What women?" Kassiel asked with a snort. "Hasn't Belial been celibate since the 1600s?"
Belial rolled his eyes. "Don't make me come over there and kick both your asses. I could do it without even waking her up, you know."
Lucifer chuckled softly. "As amusing as that would be to watch, there will be no fighting tonight. Don't upset your poor mother."
"I'm just glad you got her to sleep," I said, amused by their banter. It had been so long since we'd all hung out together like this, and I wasn't sure when it would happen again. I just wanted to sit here and soak up this moment for as long as I could. After all, none of us knew when another threat would emerge and put us all in danger again. It was inevitable, being who we were, and all we could do was try to enjoy the peace while it lasted.
25
Hannah
Time passed, and still no threat had emerged. I was starting to think my idyllic life might actually be the new norm. How was that possible? I didn't know, but I wasn't going to question it, not after living hundreds of tormented lives where I was brutally torn apart from everyone I loved. Maybe the universe had finally decided I should get a reprieve.
I sipped my coffee as I looked at the two babies lying on a mat in front of me. There was only a month between them, but while Brandy's son Isaac was content to sit on his butt and survey the world from the cushions that propped him in place, Aurora already seemed desperate to move and get going, rolling to things that interested her and attempting to inch across our hardwood floors like a worm. Occasionally, she got close enough to Isaac to take one of his toys, and that was the most animated he became—his voice loud until Brandy soothed his little hurt feelings with a replacement block.
We had baby playdates like this every week, and it was fun seeing our kids grow up together. As a first-time mom, Brandy was happy to have someone she could ask about all the new challenges she was facing. I just loved living so close to her, since it reminded me of when we were roommates and would hang out all the time. It was also nice to be around someone who was human, who treated me as an equal and not a queen, who reminded me of what it was like to be mortal.
Brandy handed her son another block to gnaw on and gazed at him with adoration lighting her eyes. "Six months and all he wants to do is chew on things."
"That's what babies do," I said with a laugh. "I'm pretty sure Aurora is getting her first tooth. She's been so fussy lately."
Aurora reached into the air like she could see something besides dust motes in the sunlight filtering through the open windows. The smell of the Pacific drifted in off a gentle breeze, and palm trees rustled and rattled together in our gardens. I leaned back against a cushion and curled my legs under me, content with this new calm, normal existence.
“How’s Lucifer doing, being so far away from his empire?” Brandy’s lips formed a mischievous smile.
"He doesn't seem to mind. Besides, he can run pretty much everything from his office here, and Samael takes care of the rest." Brandy didn’t need to know too much about demon business, no matter how much I loved my friend. Her life was much more simple, even though she was married to a former incubus. Besides, she was safer if she didn't know everything. "How's Asmodeus?"
"He's good, although he's super bored now that he doesn't have a job running Lucifer's strip clubs for all the Lilim. He's been joking he's going to open up a male version of Hooters called Peckers and fill it with incubus servers."
I nearly spit out my coffee as I laughed. "That would be hilarious."
"Yep. I think he might be serious too. He says succubi get all the attention, and he wants to provide more opportunities for incubi to get fed without hurting humans."
It was just like Asmodeus to still be watching over his fellow demons even though he was now mortal and removed from our world. "Then he should do it. I'm sure Lucifer would support it."
"Maybe. I told him he should just open some little cafes along the coast, but he said that wasn't sexy enough." She laughed and shook her head. "Once a sex demon, always a sex demon, I suppose."
I shrugged. "We can't change our true nature, even if we're made mortal."
Brandy was about to reply when her eyes widened. My head jerked back to Aurora, who wasn't on the floor beside Isaac anymore, but in the air, making unsteady progress as she chased a seed that had blown in on the breeze. Two wings had emerged from her back, one pure black and trailing darkness from it, the other as white as fresh snow and glowing brightly. They fluttered uncertainly, barely keeping her airborne as she made her way clumsily toward the window that held her fascination.
I launched myself to my feet, my breath stuck in my chest, my mug clattering to the floor and spilling coffee everywhere. "Aurora! No!"
I caught her in my arms before she fell out of the air and held her close to my chest, my heart pounding fast. Brandy jumped up and closed the open window, and I gave her a grateful nod. Aurora immediately started crying, unhappy that I'd stopped her from doing what she wanted, and oblivious to the danger of it all. Fucking hell. How was she flying already?
Lucifer rushed into the room, a sword already forming in his hand, darkness swirling to create the blade. "What's wrong? Is there an attack?"
"We're fine." I glanced down at the baby in my arms who giggled up at me as she moved her wings. "I think."
"Shit." His eyes raked over her and he ran a hand through his hair, blowing out a breath. "Wings? Already?"
"Is that not normal?" Brandy asked, glancing between us.
"No, not at all," I said. "Angels don't get wings 'til they're twenty-one."
"Oh shit," she said.
"Indeed." Lucifer took Aurora from me and held her up, examining her. She quieted down now that her dad held her. “I’ve never heard of anyone developing wings this young. Sometimes angels do get them early, either at seven or fourteen, but that is extremely rare."
"She's only seven months!" I said, my voice rising with my panic. "How can she have wings already?"
“They’re beautiful, though.” Lucifer lifted a couple of the black and white feathers and stroked them with care, and Aurora giggled.
A montage of all the ways Aurora could now hurt herself flickered through my mind, and I sank onto the sofa with a groan. Everything needed to remain closed from now on. And locked away. Nothing was safe from her now. "All the childproofing we’ve done… What use is it now?”
Lucifer lightly tapped Aurora's back between the feathers, and her wings vanished. "We always knew our baby would be special."
"Yes, but I never expected this! Not for many years, anyway."
Brandy handed Isaac another toy. "I don't envy you my friend. Aurora's definitely special, but I can tell she's going to be trouble," she said with a laugh.
Lucifer grinned. “Yes, she is. The best kind of trouble."
I glared at him, worried he wasn't taking this seriously. All our sons had wings, of course, but they'd gotten them at twenty-one. Back then, I'd thought that had been a challenge. Oh past Hannah, how little you knew.
"Let me take her out flying with me," Lucifer said. He'd been asking if he could do it for some time, but I'd been too worried to say yes before. "She'll be perfectly safe in my arms the entire time. She clearly wants to experience the feeling of it, and I can give her a taste of it and show her the proper way to use her wings."
I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Fine. Just don't go too far."
26
Lucifer
I looked down at Aurora, wrapped snuggly in the fabric Hannah had helped me wind around my body. I was pretty sure Hannah had wrapped us extra tight—more to prevent Aurora from taking off on her own than to ensure I didn’t drop her into the ocean. As we flew, I imagined what my enemies would say, seeing the devil with a baby strapped to his chest, but the thought only made me laugh.
Real men wore babies.
Aurora giggled as sea spray coated our faces with a fine mist of salt water, and her little wings moved uselessly against her wrap
. Oh, she was trouble, all right. And she wasn't even one yet. How were we going to handle her?
“One more loop around?” I looked down at her, and she shrieked her excitement again as I banked left and swooped a wide arc over the waves. I cupped the top of her head under my palm as water splashed higher than I’d anticipated. I’d never experienced protectiveness quite like this, even with my sons. It was different this time, maybe because she was a girl, or maybe because I knew she would be my last child.
“We need to head back, little one,” I said, and she pouted on cue. That face got me every time, and I dipped lower, almost trailing her through the ocean. She shrieked and laughed again, and I chuckled as I smoothed a hand over her wet hair.
“Your Mom’s going to kill me for bringing you back drenched in salt water.” But I looked at Aurora’s face and couldn’t find any regret in me. This time together was too precious.
I landed on our carefully manicured lawn, not far from the pool with the tiny Roman-style tiles that Hannah seemed to like. Then, as if thinking about her had summoned her, she burst through the door from the house, running toward me at top speed with a panicked expression on her face.
"Lucifer! There you are!"
Shit. We'd been gone too long, and now I was going to get an earful. I held up my hands in surrender. "We were perfectly safe the entire time, I promise."
"It's not that." Hannah pushed her windswept hair back roughly from her face. "Samael just called. Lilith is missing!"
My heart seemed to stop. “What? Three mates and they can’t keep it straight where she is?”
Hannah shook her head. "She was traveling without any of them. All of her guards were found dead. Ripped apart by shifters."
I swore under my breath in languages not spoken on Earth any longer. "Fenrir must have taken her because he knows she has one of the only keys to Hell."
Hannah's eyes widened. "That means they're going after Death. Oh no—Kassiel!"
She sprinted toward the house, and I followed right at her heels. Once inside the kitchen, she grabbed her phone and dialed Kassiel. If Fenrir was trying to release Death, he would need Kassiel—the only person I knew of who could open the tomb, since they'd have to be both born in Hell and carrying the blood of one of the people who had sealed Death away—me, Eve, Michael, and Oberon.
While the phone rang, I unwrapped Aurora. She immediately cried and reached for her mom, and I passed her over to Hannah and took the phone to speak to our son. Luckily, Kassiel answered on the first ring.
"Hey Mom."
"It's me actually."
“Dad?” He always sounded suspicious when I called him.
"Lilith is missing, and Fenrir might be coming for you next. You need to go into hiding. Take Olivia and her other mates with you for protection and leave immediately." There was no point in sugar-coating or small talk. We didn't have time for any of that.
"I understand." Kassiel's tone was serious. "We'll leave right away."
"Get a burner phone in case they're tracking us somehow and check in when you're safe."
"I will."
“Tell him I love him.” Hannah touched my arm, her eyebrows draw together.
“I heard," Kassiel said. "I love her too. And you, Dad. Look after my sister, okay?”
My chest swelled with a potent mix of love and fear. "I will. You look after yourself too. Love you, son."
We said goodbye and I turned to Hannah, whose eyes reflected all the same worries I had. It pained me that I couldn't be there physically to protect Kassiel. Maybe I should have had him come here. Or maybe that's what Fenrir expected. Maybe it was better if Kassiel was hiding somewhere that I had no knowledge of. Maybe it was better if he was far from Aurora if shit went down. Maybe not. Fuck. I hated having to make decisions like these.
“Is Kassiel safe?” Hannah cradled Aurora closer, pressing our daughter’s head to her shoulder.
"He’s as safe as he can be.” Then I blew out a sigh. "I need to call Samael."
"I spoke to him just before you returned. He's already sent people to search for Lilith. He's very worried, of course."
I nodded, but knew it wouldn't be enough. Fenrir was too damn crafty, even without Nemesis at his side. "We have to prepare for the worst. If Death is freed..."
Hannah shuddered. "We can't let that happen."
"But if it does, we have no way to stop him once he's released." I closed my eyes as I faced the inevitable. "We have to get the key to Void."
"I thought you might say that." Hannah nodded slowly. "Where is it?"
"In Hell. I hid it in the lowest reaches of our palace before I sealed the realm off. I figured it would be safest there."
Hannah considered this. "The palace is in the equivalent of Egypt. That's a long journey."
"I know. I'll take the private jet and come back as soon as I can."
"No way. I'm coming with you. I don't want to be apart from you for that long. Not after losing you for six months."
"What about Aurora?" I glanced at our baby, at her hands as they grabbed at locks of Hannah’s blond hair, at her wings fluttering in excitement. She still wasn't very good at putting them away yet. "That's a long time for us to be away from her."
Hannah shrugged. "She can come with us. Consider it our first family vacation. Besides, despite what Zel thinks, she’s safest with us.”
I rubbed my chin as I considered it. Hell should be completely empty, but if Fenrir was there waiting for us, we'd probably be able to stop him. After all, we were the Demon King and Queen. Who better to protect our baby in Hell? Whereas if we left her here with Zel, and Fenrir came here looking for us—or for Kassiel—Aurora might be in even more danger. Besides, Hannah and I were a team. After being separated for so long, both in this life and every other, we didn't want to be apart again.
"Very well, we'll go together," I said.
Hannah picked up her phone again. "I'll call Einial and have her make the arrangements."
I took the baby from her as she made the call. The private jet was only a short drive away, but then it would be a long flight to Egypt. Our daughter's first trip.
I hoped it proved to be an uneventful one.
27
Hannah
Our palace in Hell was located in the equivalent of the Valley of the Kings. After our private jet landed at Cairo Airport, we checked into our hotel room, and then flew out of the city on our wings under the cover of night. Considering it was her first time away from home, Aurora was doing amazingly well. She slept for some of the flight, and we managed to keep her entertained the rest of the time. Mostly she was just curious about everything she saw. Even now she gazed around from her position on Lucifer’s chest, her blue eyes wide as we swooped through the air, hidden from view by the shadows we’d gathered around ourselves.
Once we were out of Cairo, we found an empty patch of desert to cross over into Hell without anyone watching us. We landed gently on the sandy ground, and I glanced around, noting we’d managed to find somewhere actually deserted. "Here?"
"Yes, this should work." Lucifer had a protective arm across Aurora and he pulled the wrap up to shield her head against the sand that thickened the air. Somewhere along the way she'd fallen asleep, lulled into slumber by the sound of Lucifer's heartbeat and the feel of him gliding through the air.
I stood back as Lucifer produced a gem that seemed to swim with shadows. It emitted a black glow that was almost like the absence of light. A black hole, sucking all light into it.
“The key to Hell." Lucifer lifted it to eye-level, twisting it like he was examining the multi-faceted sides. Then he held it out in front of him and the dark glow spread out and formed an inky black portal before us.
A shiver ran through me as I wondered what I would see on the other side. Last time I'd been in Hell, it had been a battleground, and I'd been fighting for the other side. I also remembered it during our golden years, when I was Persephone and he was Hades and we filled our palace with love a
nd life. I was anxious to see what Hell was like now, after it had been abandoned for so long.
Lucifer entwined his fingers with mine, and together we stepped through the portal into the land of darkness.
People thought Hell was all fire and brimstone, but that was angel propaganda. Hell was an endless night full of twinkling stars and brisk air, with night-blooming flowers that faintly glowed with light and animals that could see in the dark. It was still all of those things as we entered it, but it was also a barren, gray landscape, where instead of the ground being covered with golden sand, flakes of ash drifted into piles and dunes. That was new—there had never been ash, at least not until the angels burned everything down. It pained me knowing I had once been a part of that, before I'd remembered who I really was.
"We're home again." As I spoke, the words settled into my brain with the ring of truth. Just like Heaven and Faerie, this was also my home. Maybe even more so than those places. I'd lived in Hell during so many of my past lives, sometimes for centuries, sometimes for only a few days, but this was my first time visiting as Hannah. Even so, my soul recognized this place as home.
“My domain.” Lucifer spread his arms wide as he gazed across the barren landscape. “I’ve returned."
“You know, since we’re bringing Aurora to Hell, we should also take her to Heaven sometime. She needs to connect with her angel heritage as much as her demon one."
He grimaced as a faint shudder worked through him. “You know, I think I’ve spent far too much time there already recently.”
"It'll be different this time. You'll have your family with you."
"We'll discuss this some other time," he conceded, and then let out a low whistle. His horse, Strife, appeared in the distance and rode toward us at top speed, with Shadow just a step behind. We mounted them when they got close, and they took off toward the south, leading us to our first destination.
Infernal God (Claimed By Lucifer Book 3) Page 14