He paused. “Yeah?”
“I wanted to say thank you. Again. I know Onyx thinks I’m being stiff, but I mean it. Before this can be a comfortable family dinner like I’m sure you’re all used to, I have to let you know how much I appreciate what you’ve given me.”
Ollie’s cheeks flushed, and Dante wrapped an arm around him. “I didn’t give you anything. You gave me Dex. I wanted to thankyou.”
“Me?” Luc looked at Ash for clarity, and he grinned unhelpfully.
“Thank you for giving Dex the life he deserves. He’s so into you. I’ve never seen him like this with anyone. Not even close. I want us to be friends, so stop apologizing to me. Okay?” Ollie glared like he’d been practicing. His level of menace wasn’t bad.
“Okay,” Luc said on a shaky laugh. “But you don’t have to be comfortable with me any time soon. We have years ahead of us. There’s no rush to get over what happened.”
“We know.” Dante nudged Luc with his wing. “We’refocusing on the future, not the past. On who you are now. You should do the same.”
“Focusing on the future sounds like a good motto to me,” Harper said as he sidled up to Ash, drink in hand.
“Thank you. All of you.” Luc was breathless, and everyone stared at him with varying levels of exasperation. “Last time, I promise.”
“I still can’t believe the Realm of the Damned is gone,” Harper said, mercifully changing the subject before Luc broke his promise and spewed more gratitude. “The Eternal Realm better be ready for witches like my father.”
“They will be,” Luc assumed him. “Bad people die all the time. A soul’s lifecycle is about healing. Even though witches won’t reincarnate, they’ll enter the same reflective stage as humans upon arriving. By the time someone like your father is walking around the Eternal Realm, I’d say he’ll be different than you remember.”
Harper’s nose wrinkled. “I don’t know what I think about that. I guess it’s good, but it almost sounds like a second chance.”
Ash frowned in response to his mate’s distaste, as if anything that displeased Harper offended him. “Second chance or not, it’s a positive thing. Witch souls in Hell didn’t enter any part of the reincarnation cycle. It’s better that your father changes than being left to fester.”
Harper huffed. “True.”
“Some souls are stuck in the healing stage for years, even centuries,” Ash went on. “I’d say your father will be occupied for quite some time, given how far he has to go.”
Ash and Dante had supervised the destruction of the Realm of the Damned, along with Valac. The three had stood at the gateway as the damned souls traveled through.
Hell was gone. Luc could no longer disappear to that cursed place when he needed to escape, and he’d never been moregrateful. Hopefully, he’d never need to run like that, and if he ever had the urge, he liked to think he’d stand and face whatever scared him.
According to Valac, word of the Realm of the Damned’s destruction had spread like wildfire through the demon population. Luc’s participation had changed some demons’ minds about him, but he wasn’t as weighed down by their opinions as he had been.
He had his brothers, and that was what mattered most. There was no need to reconnect with anyone else, at least not right away. Maybe one day. It was something to look forward to.
The news that witches and vampires were no longer damned hadn’t spread as quickly, but it was out there. Rowan, Catalina, and Nico had gotten the story circulating, but had been met with varying degrees of disbelief. Skepticism was fair. The magic world as a whole would likely take a long time to accept the truth.
Luc had told Rowan that he’d help deal with any Satan-worshiping covens who resisted the new reality. All Rowan had to do was ask, and with any luck, worshiping him would die out eventually.
“Hollis said he might join us one day,” Dante said, shaking Luc from his thoughts.
“Really?” Luc couldn’t picture it. “He’d fall? Why now?”
“The same reason you did. He’d rather not live under the council and hopes to find his mate here one day, but he wants to see how the transition in the Eternal Realm goes before he leaves. To make sure the council doesn’t twist things around.” Dante’s eyes flared. “I told him we appreciate him keeping an eye on things.”
“That’s very good of him.” Luc couldn’t get his head around more demons falling after all this time. But why wouldn’t they,now that they knew coming to Earth wasn’t an assault on the sacred balance of the universe?
Strict duality didn’t dictate the realms, and falling wasn’t inherently wrong. The Eternal Realm could still ban travel between the two, but there was no moral reason not to come to Earth. The ability for Eternals to leave without guilt might actually help the Eternal Realm change for the better. If the council didn’t want people looking for a better life elsewhere, they’d have to make living in the Eternal Realm seem like the best option.
“Hey, Luc, I was wondering…” Harper waited for Luc’s attention before continuing. “Didn’t you see Dex the day you followed me into Seaside Coffee?”
Luc’s muscles tensed. “What? No. Dex wasn’t there.”
“Huh. I mean, he was there. I talked to him. Maybe he went out back after making my coffee, and you missed him.”
“I didn’t order coffee that day. I went into the restroom and disappeared back to Hell after you saw me. I didn’t want Ash catching on. He was nearby.” Luc threw an apologetic glance Ash’s way.
