“Yes, now what are we doing today?” I ask, trying to change the subject. Sadly, I didn’t have any fun dreams last night.
“A date.”
“A date?” He nods and holds out his hand. I slip mine against his. My longer dark nails contrast against his skin, and I can’t help but to toy with a silver ring on his finger. This feels nice, comfortable, in a way that I thought would have faded after time and distance apart.
“Where does the Devil take one on a date?” I ask, knowing he hates the termDevil, but I enjoy getting under his skin.Is there any stronger form of foreplay than being a brat?
“I suppose he would want to take his date somewhere she had never been before. But I’m not sure if he should reward a smart mouth.”
I tug on his hand, catching his smirk. “Oh, you like it. Let’s go.”
He pulls me closer, our hands still locked, and his other hand wraps around my shoulder blades. It’s disorienting at first; it always is when someone else brings you along, but when I blink, taking in the world before me, I’m in awe.
“It’s the realm of the fated,” he informs softly.
“What does that even mean?”
He clicks his tongue and sighs. “Let me show you.”
It’s like we’re in a futuristic tropical paradise. All the colors of the trees, water, and ground are far brighter than anything I’ve seen on Earth. The trees' leaves are so brightly green that one melts into the next. The sky is cloudless and the brightest shade of blue I’ve ever seen. Two stark suns sit in the sky, and it almost feels like sensory overload. It smells like honeysuckle, and there’s a low lulling of birds chattering in the distance. We’re walking down a carved-out path, and my focus is on the view surrounding us, but it’s impossible not to feel Lucifer's presence.
It’s only when we reach the end of the path that I see what a futuristic planet this is. I’m still not sure about the difference between a realm and a planet, but I fear it’s too late to ask at this point.
It’s a metropolis of people wearing simple a-line outfits in bold colors like magenta and periwinkle. The men all have gray trousers and similar-colored tops. The people look human, but not quite. They are taller, their eyes and ears larger. It’s like they took humanity and made everything better here.
One thing I notice immediately is how everyone is walking in a couple, different gender pairings, but everyone is with someone.
“Everyone has a fated mate here?” I ask, and Lucifer nods his head.
He continues to hold my hand as we make our way to a futuristic pod-looking vehicle. The door automatically shuts behind us once we take our seats. It’s just large enough for two people to sit comfortably. The back is white, and the entire front is glass, so you can see where you’re going. I take in everything around me, from the tiny differences between this species and humans to how beautiful everything on this planet is. Everything is just close enough to being like Earth that it’s not too jarring, but everything is more colorful and less tainted than Earth is. The inhabitants of this planet clearly value it, at home all of these trees would have been taken down, but yet here, they thrive. Lucifer watches me as I take in the world around us, and I let him. The silence should be stifling, but it’s comfortable.
I should wonder why he brought me here, I’m guessing the scenery has to be the reason. I’m definitely not complaining about the location for a first date.
The pod lands by a lake that is nearly crystal clear. There’s just a light tint of aquamarine to the water, but you can see the rocks, crystals, and fish clearly from where we stand.
Lucifer unfolds a blanket placing it on the white sand next to the water. I take that as my cue to sit next to him.
“It’s beautiful here.”
“It is.”
“Why are we here?”
“You said no more secrets?” I nod, and he clears his throat. “This is where I first met you.”
I furrow my brows as I look him over, knowing damn well I’ve never been here before. “What?”
“Well, a version of you.” He glances over at me before looking back at the water. I can’t help but feel that we’re both overdressed for this little lakeside adventure. “I was already this,” he says, waving to himself. “But I came here to see the realm. Not many of the creatures here end up in Hell, it’s very rare. So I wanted to understand why. That’s when I met you.”
“What are you saying?”
“That you’re my reincarnated fated mate.”
I blink at him and let go of his hand, feeling like he’s full of shit. I’ve seen that Heaven and Hell exist. I’ve seen a myriad of supernatural creatures. But reincarnation?
I take a breath and nod. “Go on.”
“Everyone on this planet is destined to be with someone. You usually find them early on in life, it’s uncommon to not find your mate. Back then, your name was Lily.” I blink at him, thinking about my code name with Blair, and when I asked him who Lily was, he said that it was me. “You never found your mate, not that you were old, but when I came here to visit, it was clear that we were destined for each other.”
