As warm as Alus was, Arek kept to business.Saer paused, then lifted his chin.“You went to the surface, Areknar.”
Greed’s lavender eyes tightened at the corners.“I did.Observation only.After my report, he dismissed me to continue our work until you woke.”
“What did you see?”Saer allowed some of his urgency to lace through the question.
Arek tapped his claws on the boulders he still held.“Men.Women.Children.”
“Children?”
“Boys and girls.They grow into men and women, but all start as helpless, pink things.”
Saer blinked and Arek’s lip corner pulled at one edge.“You’ll see.”
He wanted to ask more questions, but one rose above the rest.“Did you sense the cure in them?The humans?”
A flash of clever consideration passed through Arek’s gaze.“I didn’t get close enough.But something…” He ticked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.“There’s something under the surface.”
So, Arek had sensed it as well.
When Saer asked nothing more, Arek inclined his head in acknowledgment and turned away.
His encounter with the Twins kept Saer’s mind off the dissipating ache in the rest of his muscles as he ambled towards—he hoped—the central chambers.True to Arek’s earlier statement, after he’d turned enough corners, all sounds of their ongoing banter disappeared.
The corridors widened after another stretch, and the familiar echo of Lucifer’s enraptured voice found his ears.The sound both drew and chilled him, and Saer’s gait stuttered as he crossed the threshold into the familiar arena where he’d been made.Neyu worked across the room, and while she offered him a sideways glimpse, she didn’t give him any other indication she’d noticed him.
The disregard panged low in his stomach.
As though sensing his presence, Lucifer stopped Its work long enough to offer Saer a sharp glance, neither pleased nor displeased.Some embedded instinct demanded he throw himself at the fallen angel’s feet, the need for approval distressing—and at war with innate pride.
The more time Saer spent away from Lucifer, the stronger the kaleidoscope of confounding impulses highlighted when he stood in Its presence.
Which side of his mind did he listen to?
Lucifer ripped Its attention away from Saer and leaned over the finished shell of the FifthDaemoenic.
Her skin reflected the crimson of blood, with sinewy muscles honed to deadly precision.Their maker built her for combat and destruction.Her body, without a sound, howled for war.
Wrath herself boasted claws, hooves, and winged talons of shining ebony.Her similarly onyx horns jutted forward, threatening to gore anyone in her path.She’d been made smaller than her prior kin, though it would be the gravest mistake to underestimate her.
Saer thought all this before he knew her name, before she opened her eyes.
When Lucifer kissed her eyelids and bade her gaze upon It, the First went to Its side and lowered himself to a waiting kneel as he observed.
“Runeakaelishalentannas.My Runeakael.Welcome.”
Runeak focused on their maker with eyes the color of swirling, soulless void.She regarded Lucifer, then shifted her attention, pausing upon Saer.
Gooseflesh rose on Pride’s arms, but he lifted his chin in acknowledgement.
Runeak’s head craned to the side, spurring an insane thought—that her gaze could cut through metal like the keenest blade through thick, pink skin.
Sister.Again, the instinctual connection formed, different from Neyu, different from the Twins.A first impression, made and solidified.
“Runeakael.”The fallen angel’s hand cupped the side of her monstrous face as It led her through the same vow of servitude.Runeak growled her response through razor-sharp teeth, equal parts murderous and hungry to obey.
“You’ll craft a training ring for me,” Lucifer said.“Find my Alustar and Areknar to clear a space large enough for all theDaemoenicato engage in battle.You may communicate with them to achieve your ends.Do you understand?”
The demoness’s low voice carried a constant, dangerous edge.“Yes, Master.”
