My focus snapped back, and I sat straighter in my chair. “Nor did I take you for someone who’d risk all of Hell just to give Saraqael and your daughter more energy.”
Sam came back in at that moment, shutting the door firmly behind him. He wore his full disapproving healer expression—from the lines on his forehead to the tension pressing his tongue into his cheek. He clearly wanted to lecture Lucifer but kept it buried beneath professionalism.
Lucifer dropped his head back and sighed at the painted angels on the ceiling. “Saraqael is degrading fast. I don’t know what changed or why. Originally, I only carved one Transference Rune, and it helped—but then it started to fade. One moment she was stable, the next, her complexion faded to a sickly gray. She lost weight exponentially fast, and her heart nearly stopped.”
Sam approached the bed. “Based on what little you’ve told me, and all the healings I’ve been doing, I’ll surmise Saraqael realized she’s risking Lucille’s life by draining her energy to survive. As a result, she’s either trying to take as little as possible… or she’s giving up entirely, so your daughter can live.” He looked pointedly between Lucifer and me.
I stiffened. Sam wasn’t supposed to know that. Lucifer leveled him with a considering gaze. Seconds passed as they stared at each other, an unspoken conversation unfolding in the silence. Then, finally, they both nodded.
The steel in Lucifer’s expression crumbled, leaving only exhaustion in its wake. “How do we keep them both alive?”
“Explain their situation. Which type of Wrath Rune is it? Two-way or three-way?” Sam asked.
Lucifer tugged at the neckline of his healer’s gown. “Three-way.”
“The carver wanted to kill Lucille and give Saraqael her energy.” Sam didn’t assume or guess. His words were confident. He was not only the best healer in Hell, but one of the most intelligent angels.
“Yes,” Lucifer confirmed.
“I can only think of one potential way. Notice I saypotential, because Lucille is an anomaly in this situation. That being said, if we treat this like a normal three-way bind, then your best option is to limit Lucille’s power use to a designated time frame—that’swhen you can use a Transference Rune, Lucifer. But one. Not four,” he warned. “Every time Lucille uses her powers, she’s taking energy away from Saraqael. Not stealing it, but using it before Saraqael can. That could explain some of her decline and why she’s draining your energy as fast as she is. It’s also why I think you should cut her physical training in half. That will give your Transference Runes more potency.”
Lucifer grimaced, and the temperature dropped. “I can’t cut her training. Give me a better solution, Sam.”
“Why not?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Are we not the ones who dictate who trains and who doesn’t?” I wanted her strong, and cutting back to keep her and her mother safe didn’t sound like a bad idea.
The icy glow of Hell overtook Lucifer’s gaze, and frost crept along the walls. “Another solution, Sam.”
I stepping forward, planting myself beside the bed. “Whycan’tyou cut her training?”
My shadows writhed inside me, demanding release to wrap around his throat. Lucifer wore that same calculating expression he had when we first saved her, and they could sense something dangerous in his words.
“I’ve made a deal. And part of her demands was to train Lucille—hard and fast.”
“A deal with who?”
“That’s none of your concern, General.”
My fingers twitched, itching to either crack my knuckles or grab my sword and threaten him until he explained himself.
“If you won’t tell me who. Then tell me theotherpartof this deal.”
“Youare not the king. And until you are, you will not question me. Lucille has a predestined fate. As do you. I’d remember that, General. Unless you want your creators to know where you’ve been hiding.”
I tightened the leash on my shadows and clenched my jaw before I said something that would ruin everything.
“Since you can’t talk to Saraqael and convince her she’s not hurting Lucille, then the only other solution I can recommend is complete cessation of your power use,” Sam said. “I can continue to give Lucille energy crystals, and you can continue to carveoneTransference Rune twice a week. But that’s not a permanent solution.”
Sam’s words pulled Lucifer’s scrutinizing gaze away from me.
“That’s not a solution at all,” I countered. Lucifer needed his powers to judge souls.
“Thank you, Sam,” Lucifer said with a nod. “General, if you say a word of this to my daughter, there will be consequences. You’re dismissed.”
I shook my head and forced my feet to carry me from the room, my shadows pounding at my skin, desperate to be released. I could only imagine the terrors they wanted to create. I’d been in Lucifer’s mind once, back when I was proving he couldn’t use me like the rest had. He learned quickly to fear my power, just as I learned to fear his. But he still had the upper hand.
A part of me wanted to fuck the consequences and rip apart his memories until he showed me what he was hiding about Lucille.
He made a deal that decided her fate.
