“Thank you, Ollie. Together, I believe we can.”
The tension returned to the room, this time with a crackling undercurrent, like lightning about to strike.
Onyx stepped forward. “All right, no more declarations.Let’s get on with it, or we’ll be here forever. We can all have a big moment when we get back.”
Luc playfully shoved Onyx in the shoulder, and he shoved Luc back.
Nerves coursed through Dex. There was no way around this. All he could do was wait. That, and give his mate one more kiss.
26
LUCIFER
Five figures waited on the roof of Rowan’s building rather than the four Luc had expected. He cut a sidelong glance at Onyx.
Onyx shrugged. “Nico didn’t say anything had changed. Damn vampire.”
Luc landed first, Onyx and the five other demons close behind him. It was good that Onyx, Ash, and Dante had brought their own allies, and that Valac’s crew weren’t the only fallen Eternals joining them, considering they’d been hunting Luc, Onyx, Ash, and Dante not long ago.
Luc hadn’t had much to do with Lillian, Maxwell, Pamala, or Ren over the centuries. Ren, he hardly recognized, so she must have kept to herself. The other three had never liked him, but hadn’t been as vocal about it in the Realm of the Damned as Valac.
He wouldn’t hold it against them. How else had he expected demons to react? He’d never desired a court of pleasers or favor seekers, same as he’d never wanted to be worshiped by witches on Earth.
Not that Luc held it against anyone who’d tried to get close to him in Hell either. How much could he judge them for sidingwith evil when he was that evil? They’d all had to survive the best they could. At least now, they were all free.
It was time for everyone to start over. Even if the masses hated him, the team currently standing at his side believed he could change, and maybe that was all it took to turn the tide of hate.
Rowan approached, his stride unfaltering. “You’re early. Good. Let me introduce an additional supporter, Catalina, a lone witch whom I’ve known for decades.”
Luc held out his hand to the woman, and she shook it. “You’ve agreed to come with us knowing you might never return to Earth?”
Catalina looked about fifty, gray streaking her dark brown hair, and showed no sign of hesitation or unease. “It’s important for a witch to join you, and I’m no more afraid of being stuck in a gateway for eternity than in the Realm of the Damned. Witches deserve to be free.”
“You do,” Luc agreed.
A flutter of wings announced Valac’s arrival. He landed on the roof, followed by Isaac and his five companions. Everyone was here.
Luc nodded to Valac, who returned the gesture. “It’s time.”
He could have spent years gathering support, recruiting more demons, more witches, more vampires. He could have arrived at the gateway with an army. But a show of force risked sending the wrong message.
They weren’t aiming to fight, only to demand what was right. There was no reason to delay, and they needed to act soon. Luc had freed the demons, and witch souls deserved the same. The longer Luc waited to make that belief known, the more he risked his demands being misconstrued as a scheme.
“Ready to go for a ride?” Valac asked Rowan, flappinghis wings.
Rowan let his fangs drop. “More than ready.”
Valac scooped the vampire into his arms, and his companions did the same for Rowan’s coven members and Catalina.
Luc’s heart skipped, and he caught Ash’s eye. “Ready?”
“For this? Never. But let’s go.”
Onyx patted Ash’s shoulder. “It’s just the gateway, not home. You’ve got this.”
Ash smiled tenderly at Onyx. “Thank you.”
Dante gazed at the pair of them with naked affection. He’d always had the biggest heart, more capacity for love than anyone Luc knew. His dark gaze fell on Luc, shifting slightly but not going cold. “We’re on your side, Luc.”
