“Idoknow that, Lily,” he said, offering me another kiss. “Because I know you. Because I’ve seen you at your lowest. I’ve seen you broken. I’ve seen you when you didn’t even know who you were. No matter the circumstances, you never stop trying to help people. Beings like Lucifer don’t become who they are byaccident. They become that way because theychooseto. It’s all the little choices they make until it finally adds up. You won’t become like him because you would never allow that to happen. You would never make the same choices he would make.”
Damn it, now I was full-on crying. “You always say the right thing.”
“Oh, now that isn’t true,” he said, laughing. “I hadno ideawhat to say to you on Earth. You confounded me there.”
I winced. Yeah, that had to have been a hard time for him. Watching me date another man, then watching me grieve him after he died. I couldn’t imagine how I would have felt had our roles been reversed.
“I’m…scared,” I finally admitted aloud.
“I know you are,” he replied. “But know that you aren’t facing this alone. We’re here for you.I’mhere for you. And we’ll do anything and everything we can to help you.”
Rathiel’s words eased the tension in my shoulders, and I melted against him. He was right. I wasn’t alone. And maybe, just maybe, we’d all get through this together.
Chapter Two
LILY
Eliza pouncedthe second I was alone, descending on me quicker than a hellcat in heat. She didn’t walk so much as appear beside me with Vol tucked up against her neck—or, as he liked to call it, riding shotgun.
“Oh. Uh, hi?” I said, one brow raised.
She didn’t say a word. Just silently kept pace beside me until we reached the bedroll I shared with Rathiel.
“So.” She sat and watched as I started grabbing my weapons. “Gonna resurrect the dead, are ya?”
“Mm-hmm,” was all I said. I sheathed my daggers, then reached for my swords. “It shouldn’t be too difficult. Levi, Rathiel, and Calyx will be there to help me, so I’m sure we’ll figure it out in no time.”
Eliza leaned back on her hands and crossed one leg over the other.
“Levi is right. It’s my father’s magic, which likely means I have the power as well, so?—”
“Damn, Meat Sack, you’re chatty when you’re lying,” Vol piped up.
I glared at my rude imp. “You know, I really should have let you freeze to death,” I said, referencing the snowdrift in Edmonton where I’d found him. At the time, I’d never seen anything like an imp, and the thought of leaving him there to die hadn’t sat well with me. So, I’d wrapped him in my scarf and brought him home. Since then, I’d regretted my choice. Many, many times over. He was the definition of a pain in my ass.
Vol gave a toothy grin that showed off his tiny—but deadly—canines. “And yet, here I am, warm, thriving, and suffering the grace of yourangelicpresence.”
He said “angelic” like it was a bad word, and my eyes narrowed on the little shit. He glared back, stuck out his tongue, then retreated into the shadows of Eliza’s hair.
“He’s right, though,” Eliza said. “Clearly, you’re not comfortable with this.” She raised a hand when I opened my mouth to argue. “And don’t bother with more lies. Do you think we didn’t see you and Rathiel having what looked like quite a serious conversation? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out you’re worried, Lily. So fess up.”
I stiffened, then reached for the edge of the bedroll, smoothing it out.
“You don’t need to fake anything with me,” she said. “I’m here to help you, remember? To protect your ass and help you kill your father. Just because some angel says you need to resurrect your army in order to win the war doesn’t make it gospel.”
I almost laughed at her description.
Eliza had only recently met Levi. She’d heard Rathiel and I discuss him before, but she didn’t know the full story.
Levi had spent millennia trapped in Hell, hiding in snake form and posing as a former friend’s pet just to stay close to me.He’d waited until I’d fully matured and could fight for myself to reveal the truth about the prophecy, the one that claimed I would restore Hell to its rightful state. He knew more about this war and had fought in it longer than any of us.
So, if he said I needed to resurrect my army, then I would damn well resurrect them.
I just wished I knew how.
“Look, clearly you’re scared, even if you won’t admit it to me,” Eliza said. “I saw it in your eyes when Levi first suggested all of this. I know you, Lily. Maybe even better than anyone else here.”
Oh, that wasn’t true. Not even close. But I wasn’t in the mood to correct her. The only one who truly knew me here was Rathiel. Eliza knew Earth-Lily, but that version of me was long gone now that I’d regained my memories. That Lily had lived her life on Earth free of responsibility, bloodlines, titles, and prophecies.
