Ollie let out a sound of frustration. “That doesn’t make sense.”
It did to Dex.
He climbed out of the bean bag. “Why not? If this is all fate, like you keep saying, how do you know I’m not meant to be there with him? I’m the one who realized the whole magic/mortality universal balance thing was nonsense.”
Ollie shook his head. “Luc wouldn’t want you to go. He’d never want you in danger. You’re his mate. He’ll protect you at all costs.”
He would protect him, but Dex disagreed with the rest. “Luc would want me to go if it was what I truly needed to do. I don’t know how to explain it, but something is telling me my presence there will change things.”
Luc had faced his fears for Dex. He could do the same. And together, they could make the world better for everyone.
29
LUCIFER
Lightning flashed, reflecting off the mist, and filled the gateway with violent splashes of color.
Luc clashed with a guard and fought to strike past her shield. Ash caught hold of another guard and threw him into the mist.
“This is pointless,” Luc bellowed as he dodged a blow. “Fighting serves no one.”
“Then leave.” Malachi’s voice echoed.
Someone caught Luc from behind, and strong arms around his middle dragged him to the ground. A shadow loomed over him, and hands wrapped around his throat, crushing him.
Onyx appeared at his side and blasted the attacker off.
He held out a hand to Luc. “We have to stand firm. They can’t kill us without breaking their own rules and bringing the chaos they accused us of sowing onto their own realm.”
Luc clasped Onyx’s hand and strengthened his shield. It was time to deliver the final truth.
“Falling was never wrong,” he screamed at Malachi. “Magic and mortality have always been interwoven?—”
Red lightning hit Luc’s chest. Malachi’s power obliteratedLuc’s shield, stopping his heart.No. Luc had to lay out the consequences for ignoring them. They had a failsafe.
A second wave of power knocked Onyx back, leaving Luc alone on the ground.
Malachi stepped forward, shocking Luc before he could recover. “Stop this nonsense, Lucifer. No one wants to hear it.”
Luc received another shock, and he couldn’t speak. If his claims were nonsense, why bother silencing him?
Two figures appeared in the mist, one with white wings, the other black. The mist parted, and they stalked closer. Luc was trapped, unable to move as the two beings he’d hoped to never see again closed in.
His mother and father.
Isabella and Cenric had sat on the council for thousands of years before Luc had been born. They were less senior than Malachi, but their presence chilled Luc in a way Malachi never could.
“Lucifer.” Cenric gazed down at him with glowing eyes. “How disappointed we are.”
Malachi delivered another shock to Luc’s system. For once, Luc wished a stopped heart prevented him from hearing those around him.
Cenric continued as if his son hadn’t been harmed right in front of him. “Falling wasn’t enough? Disgracing us and this realm wasn’t enough? You had to ruin the magical order further, and now you have the audacity to return?”
Luc fumed. He’d be screaming if he had control of his body. How could they stand there after hearing the truth Dex had discovered? How could they condemn him? How could any of them hear this truth and not want to honor it?
Had they known all along, or were they that afraid of the unknown? So self-obsessed, they wouldn’t risk losing power, no matter the cost.
Isabella bowed her head. “It would have been better if you had never returned.”
