“No buts, Gall. I know you’ve been reduced and used and degraded your whole life. I’m here to end that. I’m quite powerful—you may have heard?”
I swallowed, my mouth felt sticky. “Yes. Very powerful. But evil power. Dark.”
The man shook his head. “No, Gall. That’s where Melek was wrong. I’m not evil. I am merelystrong.And you might have noticed that your Papa, your father of the heart, Melek—he doesn’t like to be challenged.”
I thought about that, because it was true. Papa really only got angry when people pushed him when he thought he shouldn’t be pushed.
“You see?” Lucifer said softly, like I’d said the thoughts out loud.
I swallowed hard. “Can you…read minds?”I whispered, in case it was a secret.
Grandfather smiled like I’d pleased him. “I can hear any thought, see any action that aligns with my purpose, Gall. But that’s a conversation for another day,” he said with a wink. “I brought you here because even the man you call Papa, who means well and loves you, has sadly misinformed you, Gall. You were never made for humility. You were never made to be the servant.”
“I wasn’t?” Papa said all leaders were servants, too.
“No. Gall. My blood runs in your veins. You were born fornothingexcept torule.”
Fear twisted my guts. Didn’t he know I was different? I wasn’t good at leading other people, but I didn’t want to upset my grandfather when he said he was proud of me. I wasn’t sure—
Lucifer smiled again. He seemed to do that a lot. “Your life is about to change a great deal, Gall,” he said quietly. “All for the better. I promise. So, don’t be scared. I’ll help you.”
“But… Istral—”
“She’s here. We brought her here for you, because every king needs a queen and she is clearly yours.”
I frowned, and wanted to curse. Ihatedit when someone said things out loud that I didn’t understand. Sometimes I could get it. But it took longer. If they wouldn’t keep talking about it, I couldn’t grasp it, and…
Lucifer didn’t seem annoyed, though. He kept smiling, and touched my arm again.
“So humble, Son. But there’s no need to be afraid. That’s why I’m here: To show you thetruth.You are the one who was born to be king. And I am going to make certain that everyone—including your Papa—knows it.”
“But—”
“Gall, you aren’t just the king’s bastard. You’re hisson.You’remygrandson—and my power is the strongest in this world.”
“Except God’s,” I added for him, because we all knew—
“Oh, Gall,” Grandfather sighed, still smiling. “God abandoned you alllongago.” I blinked, because I knew I should argue. But he leaned closer. “If God has the power here, where is he?”
I swallowed hard. “He’s everywhere.”
Grandfather’s lips curled higher on one side and his brows rose. “Yes, butwhere?”He looked left and right, into the darkspaces beyond the light behind me. “If God’s so powerful and so good, and I’m so wrong, where is he? Why isn’thehelping you?”
I wasn’t sure what to say. Something in my chest got tight.
Lucifer tipped his head. “I don’t see him. Do you?”
“No, but…” I swallowed again.
Lucifer—Grandfather—smiled again. “I’mhere—you can touch me and see me. Ask me anything, I’ll answer. If you want proof, I’ll give it. I don’t hide in the shifting shadows, under the guise ofnoble intention.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, but he said it in the same voice Papa used for the Nephilim who raped women, and that didn’t seem right. “I, um… I’m not sure—”
“It’s okay, Gall. Whatever you want to ask, just ask me. I won’t get angry.”
“What’s a guise?” I asked, embarrassed.
He smiled even broader. “A guise is pretending to be something people want to believe. In this case, it’s God telling people like you something to make himself sound good—even when it’s not really true.” He rocked back on his heels, straightening, gesturing towards the walls and the dark. “Look around you, Gall—if I was truly the worst kind of evil, wouldn’t God simply have killed me by now? He has the power to do so, yet he hasn’t. So, what does that tell you?”
