“Too right. We have the heartthrob hustler and the scrumdiddlyumptious general on the other side of the door.”
Rolling my eyes, I stood, then walked to my closet and changed, wishing my stomach wasn’t in knots.
Despite my nerves, our run with the general and Alexei wasn’t half bad. Ronen led us at a steady pace, teaching us breathing techniques and how to hold our bodies when we got tired, while Alexei chimed in behind us. With their help and encouragement, we ran the entire ten miles. Although we had a slower time, I didn’t feel the slightest bit drained—but my lungs still burned.
Afterward, I met up with my father in the greenhouse. He sat next to me, hunching over in his nicely pressed suit.
I touched his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Dark bags sagged beneath his bloodshot eyes. “I’m fine. Shield.”
“I am,” I said hesitantly.
Lucifer nodded. “Good. Escape my hallucination and twist it into one of your own.”
He started the same way he always did, using my reality against me to make it seem like it wasn’t a hallucination. But this time, I felt his cold presence behind the scenes. Whether intentional or not, I didn’t know.
I waited on the bench for the illusion to play out, staring at the clear ice glistening in the golden sunlight. Rays refracted rainbows against the stone path. A smile tugged at my lips, enjoying the warmth at my back and the prism of color. But then the scene blurred and everything changed.
If I hadn’t already felt my father’s tampering, I would’ve known it was a hallucination by that alone—and the fact that I no longer sat in the greenhouse. Instead, I stood in my seven-year-old bedroom, and Michael had his black dagger raised right above the younger version of myself’s exposed back.
My father decided to let my subconscious take over instead of controlling the illusion.
“Do you know why you’re being punished?” Michael asked, lowering his mouth to my ear. “Helpless wimp.”
Young Lucy trembled, clutching at a stuffed animal rabbit. “Because I accidentally used my powers again?” she whispered.
I closed my eyes, wrapped the melody of my hallucination power around my mind, thought about fear, and pushed it toward the cold presence lurking in the background. My purple, frilly bedroom faded, replaced by the greenhouse and my father holding his head in his hands.
“Lucifer?” I touched his shoulder. Had it really been that easy to remove myself and push my power on him?
He didn’t move or even acknowledge me.
I let go of the song whispering in my ear and touched him again. “Father.”
He twisted and blinked. The movement was slow, his eyes glossy as if he wasn’t mentally present. Standing, he wobbled and steadied himself on the bench arm.
“You did a good job, my sweet Lucille. But I need some rest. We’ll practice in the Shard Field tomorrow.”
Did he just compliment me?
“Do you need help? Should I take you to Sam?”
He shook his head. “No. Get to training. I don’t need any help.”
I frowned after him, watching his retreat.
“Oh,Moira didnotlook happy after the general told her we were skipping training to go with him and Alexei,” Oliver said as we walked down the hall. “I bet tomorrow our punishment is gonna suck. Well—” He paused. “More than it usually does.”
“Mhmm.” I nodded absentmindedly.
Was my father sick or just extremely stressed? Was that why he switched the hallucination to the easier version?
Oliver said something as he pushed on the stone to open the hidden door that led to the castle roof.
“Mhmm, yeah,” I replied, not paying attention.
Something was up. Any other day, I would’ve never been able to escapethatfast. Sure, he was my teacher, but he was the master of hallucination.
