I kissed that smile away, then later cursed the echo in the tunnels that forced me to love her quietly, or announce to the entire army how stimulating she was.
29. Bend Your Will
~ JANN ~
“What do you mean, Gall’sgoing away?”
Lucifer stood over a buffet at the side of the Council Chambers, pouring himself a goblet of something. He didn’t turn at my question.
“I go to prepare the King for what is needed to face what comes,” he said quietly.
It wasn’t uncommon for Lucifer to keep his cards close to his chest, so I wasn’t immediately nervous. Until the Fallen turned, leaned back against the buffet as he brought the goblet to his lips, and stared at me over the rim of it while he drank. Deeply.
I waited, holding his gaze, keeping my expression as indifferent as possible. He was a trickster and a manipulator, and at times would challenge or pretend offense simply to see if a weak character would confess.
When he’d taken his drink, he set it aside, then looked at me again. “Why do you ask, Jann?”
I frowned like I was confused. “Because if you won’t be here, and I have duties, I’d like to understand—and prepare others with… whatever story you want them to believe. No one is going to sit well with Gall just disappearing. Not even the Council.”
“You leave the Council to me.”
“Of course, but—”
“There is nobut,Jannus. I’m telling you, we’ll be gone for a few days. And on our return, Gall will have announcements for all of you. One in particular, I believe you’ll enjoy.”
I had to work not to grind my teeth. “Announcements forwhat?Solstice? Surely even Gall knows the rituals? When will you return?Will you use the caverns here, or stay away for the ceremonies?”
Lucifer’s eyes flashed. “Does it matter? What pressing responsibilities do you have beyond serving your king at his whim?”
I let my gaze turn flat. “I have personal matters to attend to—if time allows,” I conceded.
Lucifer tipped his head. “What personal matters would you think to hide from me?”
The muscles at the back of my neck twisted tighter. “I had hoped to take my woman away, and attempt to break the curse.”
The bastard smiled. “That curse still worries you?”
“It has always worried me.” He pretended not to know that, yet he’d dangled it over my head at various times throughout my life.
Lucifer’s smile broadened, and he pushed off the buffet to come stand over my chair. “I’ve told you before, I could break it for you.”
That was a first. I looked at him warily. “How?”
He snorted. “It’s a dark curse, Jann. Hexed on a leader by a bitter witch using the power of her own death to seal it. Averytricky curse to break for a mortal, but I amimmortal,and theking of the powers of this world—including death.Ican simply choose to end it.”
I stared at him. He’d never offered that before, or even implied that he might. It was always something he treated as a joke—a burden for me to carry.
Lucifer leaned over me, dropping his voice, his eyes gleaming and locked on mine. “Not only can I break the curse, but I can remove the fingers of it that curl into your life in ways even you don’t recognize.” His eyes blazed. “I can make you stronger, and more vital. I hold the reins of death in my hands—and not just yours. I can make certainshelives through the birth. And the babe, too. It’s all mine, Jann. Every last piece—including your gasping little life. I can give you the safety you crave, the future you’d die to protect. I can do that. Me.Onlyme.”
I swallowed and let my voice grow hoarse. “Then why wouldn’t you have done it before? Haven’t I proven myself?”
Lucifer tipped his head in that odd mannerism he had, like a bird looking at a worm. His voice remained warm, though quiet. So, it took a moment to truly take in the darkness of what he said.
“You humans—or part humans in your case—are so… impermanent. So fickle. Your hearts and minds change on a whim.” He spoke like a parent exasperated with a child.
“My mind has never changed on this. I’ve wanted free of this dark collar since the day I learned it existed.”
Lucifer’s eyes glinted like the blade of a knife flashing. “I’ve lived more lives than you can count, Jann, and I have learned that withyour kindit’s better to leave the leash loose, but tug it every now and again, just to remind you that it exists.
