A scream tore through the air, and a flash of blue streaked across the sky.
Malachi shocked Luc, turning toward the blur, but it was too late. Onyx landed on Malachi, plunged his hand into Malachi’s chest, and ripped out his heart. Malachi’s body went rigid and toppled, hitting the ground with a crack, dead until he regenerated the vital organ.
Onyx landed beside Luc and threw Malachi’s bloody heart at their parents’ feet. “You know, the only things I never missed about this realm were you, Father, and you, Mother. You think your disapproval means anything to us?”
“So you never longed for home?” Cenric cocked his head, hands raised as if to placate Onyx, but his gaze was knowing. “You never regretted your foolishness?”
Onyx winced, and Luc shot to his feet.
He growled, his voice bordering on the edge of incoherent. “Onyx is not a fool. You’re the fools for never loving him like he deserved.”
Cenric seemed not to have heard him. He was good at that. Acting like no one else existed. His raised hands glowed, and a satisfied smirk twisted his fine features.
The pull of the Eternal Realm tugging on Luc’s chest lurched, the intensity skyrocketing.
Luc screamed. It was as if all his innards had been ripped out. He clutched his stomach and looked down, but everything was intact. The tug of the Eternal Realm cut through his soul.
Onyx collapsed, writhing on the ground, his mouth open in a silent scream. Luc’s pain was physical and thus bearable, but Onyx had longed for home for two thousand years.
Luc dropped to his knees, reaching for his brother. “Stop it! You’re monsters. He’s yourson. Stop!”
“Leave and we will stop,” Isabella said with maddening calm.
Luc patted Onyx’s chest uselessly, grabbing frantically as if he could save him. There was nothing he could do. He couldn’t even sense the spell torturing him and was unable to counter it. Luc’s breaths grew shallow, coming too fast. His head spun. No. They couldn’t torture Onyx. He didn’t deserve this.
Luc was sinking. He didn’t know what to do. He was losing everything.
A squelching sound caught his frayed attention. Cenric screamed, and a blade erupted from his sternum. He collapsed, his heart destroyed just like Malachi’s.
Isabella gasped, but Luc had eyes for no one but Onyx. He’d stopped moving.
“Onyx.” Luc shook his brother, unable to stop himself.
The tug on Luc’s chest faded to a dull ache. Thank all that was damned that it had stopped.
“Fuck,” Onyx groaned, clutching Luc’s hand, and Luc sagged in relief.
“Traitor!” Isabella’s scream cut through the air.
Luc whipped around, not letting go of his brother.
Hollis stood over Cenric with a bloody sword, chest heaving. “It’s true, isn’t it? The sacred balance is a lie.”
Isabella fumed, but Hollis didn’t give her time to respond.
“When Eternals hear this, everything will change. They’re already whispering that their mates could be trapped in Hell.” He jabbed his bloody sword in Isabella’s direction. “They could be trapped, and there’s no point? Those souls could be here! With their Eternal mates!”
“Shut up, Hollis.” Isabella was as cold as ice. “Those whispers are unfounded. None of this nonsense will ever get out. No one in the Eternal Realm will hear Lucifer’s lies. Know your place.”
All other fighting seemed to have ceased. Everyone watched, waiting for the next move.
Ash strode toward them, streaked with blood. “It’s already out, Isabella. There is no unringing this bell.”
Her nostrils flared.
Luc pulled Onyx to his feet, and Valac and Dante joined Ash, blood marring their skin as well. They all seemed unharmed, or at least healed.
Ash crossed his bulging arms. “Our message is coming to the Eternal Realm whether you like it or not?—”
