“I still don’t understand. How is he the Devil if Heaven andHell aren’t what I think they are?”And how could I have fallen for Lucifer?
Dante joined them, and he and Ash explained who the real Lucifer was. How they had been as close as brothers and had fallen to Earth together. It wasn’t like any story Dex had ever heard. They’d been looking for their mates—Ollie and Harper—and Luc had betrayed them. He’d betrayed nature and magic and mortality, and damned all the Fallen to become demons.
That part Dex didn’t understand. Magic and mortality? It sounded big, but his brain was fried.
And that wasn’t all. Lucifer had gone on to violate Ash and Dante, cutting out some of their magic. He’d seized power over his fellow Fallen—demons—and trapped them all in a prison. Hell.
It wasn’t fire and brimstone, but it wasn’t sunshine and flowers either.
Still, the story didn’t seem to fit. Luc had been this sweet, disarming guy that Dex had met by chance. Except he hadn’t been that at all. The part that didn’t fit was their time together at Dorthy’s and walking along the river. The rest of it all lined up.
Luc was the Devil. He’d stalked and hurt Dex’s friends over the last few months. He’d ruined Ash and Dante’s lives for years and tried to recapture them after they escaped. They’d been fighting this whole summer.
Had Lucifer planned to hurt Dex as part of his war with Dante, Ash, and their mates? Dex still didn’t understand what they meant by mates, but he didn’t need to. All that mattered was that Lucifer had almost killed Ollie because of it.
Why had Luc been so understanding and willing to listen to Dex’s problems? Why hadn’t he fucked him and laughed in his face when Dex realized he’d betrayed his best friend?
Their connection had felt so real. Realer than anything Dex had experienced with another man.
“Did he put a spell on me?” Dex asked the room at large. “Is that why I felt so good around him?”
Ash’s gaze narrowed. “Felt good how?”
Dex balled his hands into fists. “I don’t know. It was easy. We clicked, and I was willing to give him a chance when I hadn’t been on a date in four years.”
Ash’s scowl deepened. “Do you still feel that way?”
Dex’s face flamed, and his stomach dropped out. “I hate him. How could I like him knowing what he’s done?”
Dante raised a calming hand. “Of course you hate him. What we mean is, when thinking back to meeting Luc or being near him, how does it feel?”
“I don’t know.” It was like a tangle of contradictions had grown inside him.
“We can cast a spell on you that will break any lingering illusions,” Ash suggested.
“Okay. Yes, do it.”Wash it away.Dex was sick, thinking Lucifer had coerced him with magic when he’d seemed nothing but respectful.
The demons cast their spell, and magic swirled around Dex in a hot wave.
Ollie watched him closely. “How do you feel now?”
“The same.” Dex had no more clarity, his feelings as scrambled as ever.
“When you think back to meeting Luc, it’s the exact feeling as before?” Ash pressed.
“Yeah. Is that bad?”
“No.” Dante looked concerned, nonetheless. “It means you weren’t under any kind of illusion or magical thrall.”
Dex sank further into the couch and covered his face. “So, I fell for the Devil out of my own stupidity?”
Ollie tugged at Dex’s wrist until he uncovered his face. “Don’t beat yourself up. You’re not stupid, Dex.”
“Luc is a charmer,” Ash agreed. “He could seduce anyone, even without magic. Hell, he had us fooled until it was too late.”
But it hadn’t been like that. What caught Dex’s attention were the awkward moments, not Luc’s charm. Though there was nothing to say it hadn’t all been an act.
“Why would he do this?” Ollie turned desperately toward Dante. “You said he wanted a truce.”
