Then still.
Warning bells rang in Saer’s mind.
When the Sixth’s clawed fingers straightened at his sides, Neyu murmured, “What’s—”
Errshek opened his eyes, and the green brightened to the hue of the ocean, further to stark, glacial blue, then tumbled to the darkest black—blacker even than the Fifth, Runeak’s, irises.
Black as the abyss.
The First’s body ran cold, ice water flooding his veins.
Saer fell to his knees, eyes dropped, and Neyu followed suit within a breath.It was she, however, who found her voice first.
“Master.”
21
Saercurledhisfingersagainst the coarse grass under his palms, the ground cool and hard.“Master.”He repeated Neyu’s address, proud that at least to his ears, he didn’t sound afraid.
Errshek’s body expanded its wings, and released a quiet, approving groan.The clawed fingers stretched before relaxing.
Quiet fell.Saer’s mind scrambled.He hadn’t been aware his Master could embody—possess?—any of them.He knew Lucifer couldn’t come to Earth’s surface in Its celestial form, but there the curiosity always stopped.Was It strong enough where It hadn’t been before?Why here, why now?Why Errshek?Could his maker jump from living creature to living creature?Was the Sixth being punished, made to be some sort of example?To what end?
Saer couldn’t bear the silence any longer.“Master, have you come to witness our harvest?”
Envy’s hooves stepped towards Neyu.A razor sharp claw grazed the side of Lust’s face, leaving a thin white line on her porcelain complexion.Neyu shut her eyes and, to her credit, she remained otherwise still.The hand dropped, and a voice slidthroughthem.Errshek’s lips didn’t move as Lucifer’s calm, quiet tone echoed intheir minds like silk on skin.You haven’t been to see me in a long while, my Saerkhanum.
The hairs on the back of Saer’s neck stood to attention.“No, Master.”
The hooves shifted again, but didn’t leave Neyu’s side.My Neyuukhan has carried your messages well.
Neyu’s eyes opened at the sound of her name and she swallowed, but otherwise stayed staring at the ground.
“Yes, Master.”Saer fought to keep the uneasy confusion out of his voice, though he struggled.It had been a long time since he’d addressed the fallen angel directly—countless years.
Why?Lucifer asked.
Breath caught in the First’s lungs.The question teetered between curious and accusing.They’d been granted the ability to work alongside one another.That’s what Neyu told him, over and over again.
Had something changed?
“Master, I’m not certain what you’re asking.”
The hooves jerked.Saer squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for some sort of blow to land.
None did.
Instead, a quiet growl trickled into Saer’s ears, of Envy’s throat but not.Hot breath brushed his cheek.The searing warmth of his youngest brother’s frame hovered over and behind him.A honeyed voice mixed with that same rumble tortured him in the most delicate way.I’m not here to play word games, Saerkhanum.Do you know this hurts your kin?Do you know he’s screaming inside his own body right now?Does that delight you?
“No, Master, I didn’t know these things and I don’t delight in them,” Saer breathed his answer with haste, heart pounding in his chest.
He does it because it pleases me.
A lump lodged in Saer’s throat.
Because Errsheken knows I am his Master.
The First turned his head halfway towards Neyu, hoping to catch her attention, to see if she had any inclination to where the fallen angel led them.
