“But you care now that you’re nothisqueen anymore.” When I went rigid in her arms at the mention of Abaddon, she pulled back and struck me with a look of pride. “What you did yesterday was amazing. You saved my life, Dear Sister. After you barely remembered who I was, you didn’t even have to think about it. You just did it.”
“You would have done the same for me.”
“Yes. But you were the one to do it for me, and I will always love you for it. Not to mention the entire Second Circle is in a tizzy about what you did to Abaddon. I don’t know if Cerberus is embellishing but the way he tells it...” She dropped her voice to a low pitch, the corners of her lips twitching as if holding back a grin. “Did you really make him rip off his own manhood and gag him with it before he died?”
I bit my lip to hold back the devious smile taking over my mouth, which made hers break out in full form. “You did!Not even a full hour after you got your memories back, and you made good on that promise you made with your beast all those years ago. You really are Lilith,” she went on. “Not that I had my doubts, mind you. I knew it the second I laid eyes on you. Your hair is different now, and you’ve got more curves now that fast food is a thing.”
She ignored my indignant “hey” and stood back to look at me, shaking her head in disbelief.
“But it’s still you. You smell like the surface’s sun, just like you always did. I can sense your beast pacing around inside you. Is she going stir crazy?”
“Sometimes. She became absolutely crazed when I was at work. She wasn’t into the whole rat race thing. Being Queen of Hell is more her speed.” I plopped back onto the bed, covered myself with the sheet, and Nyx moved to sit beside me.
“It doesn’t bother you that I appeared in my demon form?”
“No, I’m glad you did. It makes Reckless Jess— My beast, I mean, happy.”
“You don’t miss shifting?”
“Honestly, not really. As you’ll recall, I never really liked it.”
A sad smile overtook her beautiful features. “It’s as if you were always meant to end up like this. I don’t know why they planned for things to turn out this way, but I know this is what the triplets intended the whole time. Things will turn out in our favor, Sis. Even if it’s a long time coming, things are finally working out for us.”
“Lucifer said you went to visit them in the Tenth Circle?”
She gave a grave bob of her head, and for a split second, her expression hardened, like she was going back to some dark place in her mind. “It was a terrible place. There is no light there at all. It’s like a black hole. It doesn’t matter if it’s from a campfire, a flashlight, or the Eye of Sauron, it sucks up all light.”
“Then how were you able to find your way through?”
“That’s the weird part. I was able to navigate through it without much of a struggle. Probably because of the archdemon blood in my veins.”
“How were they?”
“Cryptic. They live like we used to, basically like animals in a cave, but they’re happy.”
“And Erebus?” I was almost afraid to ask, but I couldn’t keep a cap on my curiosity.
“He was there.”
“And?”
“He... He wanted me to stay.”
“Nyx! That’s great! Why didn’t you?”
“Because I was waiting for you to return here. I knew Lucifer was getting close to finding you. He could feel you were alive and living in Seattle. That meant it was only a matter of time. I’m glad I came back.”
I was so happy that Nyx got to see her mate and daughters, but part of me couldn’t help but feel guilty for being the reason she wasn’t with them now. Gleaning my guilt, she clasped my hands and smiled at me.
“Don’t do that. This moment is all worth it. I love Erebus and our daughters, but my place is here, for now. I take great pride in helping the king keep things nice and orderly in the nine circles while he conducts his business on the surface. Now. Let’s get you into something that’s going to make that mate of your putty in your hands.”
21
As the Rolls-Royce limo rolled up to the curb of Siren’s Supernatural Club for Wicked Gentleman, the neon light from the flickering sign streamed in through the windows, bathing my mate’s flesh the color of sin.
I looked over at her, unable to bring myself to get out of the car. All I could do was stare at her, completely transfixed by her beauty. I’d seen her caked in mud and shit. I’d seen her naked more times than I could count, in scrubs, jeans, and frilly lingerie, and I loved her in all of it. But nothing compared to how she looked now, dripping in crystals and diamonds like the goddess she was.
Nyx, as usual, did not disappoint.
