“And then magic infected humanity? That’s what Ash said.”
“Yes. A demon and a human had a child, and Hell was born to hold the resulting souls who couldn’t reincarnate. I tried to stop magic from overtaking humanity completely by trapping every demon in Hell. I bowled over anyone who said there was another way. What did it matter if we were prisoners? We’d failed to find our mates. I’d doomed everyone who’d followed me. Some hated me already. What was a little more hatred cast my way if it stopped magic from wiping out humanity and destroying mortal life?”
“Right…” Dex’s tone was flat, almost like he wanted to disagree. “But Ash and Dante have their mates now, so…?”
“So now, demons are free. They can find their mates and be happy. Ash and Dante mating was the biggest shock to everyone. I didn’t believe them. Their claims enraged me. The hunt for mates died over a thousand years ago. Hope was buried and forgotten. I hadn’t seen my brothers in centuries, and hadn’t been close to them in much longer. It seemed like they were taunting me, and it broke me.”
Dex went rigid in Luc’s hold. “And Ollie?”
“I took out my rage on him, needing to prove Dante a liar, while secretly hoping he was right, and hating myself for believing. I forced Dante’s hand in the cruelest way.”
Dex swallowed audibly but didn’t pull away. “Ollie said he wants to forgive you. He said it’s fated for you and the other demons to work things out.”
“Ollie can’t see the future any better than the rest of us. Maybe it’s fated, maybe it’s not. But he’s willing to give me a chance I don’t deserve. So we’ll see.”
They were quiet for a long time. Dex seemed to be trying not to move. In fact, he hardly shifted a muscle. It wasn’t natural for humans to be so still. Luc was desperate to know what was going through his mind, but was too much of a coward to ask.
He rubbed Dex’s back until he relaxed. The playfulness had left the bed a while ago, so Luc drew the covers over his mate, hoping he felt safe rather than exposed.
Dex’s finger traced a circular pattern along Luc’s arm. “What’s so bad about not reincarnating?”
Luc’s brows rose. Dex’s thoughts hadn’t gone in the direction he’d anticipated. “It’s a disruption to the natural cycle of human life.”
“Sure, but so what? Why can’t witches hang out in the same afterlife as my parents? Eternals live in the Eternal Realm forever, so not reincarnating can’t be bad.”
“True. There’s nothing wrong with having one life. I don’t know if there’s a reason for banning witches beyond punishing them for being something that shouldn’t exist.”
“Existing isn’t a crime,” Dex said in disgust.
“You’re right. Witches didn’t ask for magic. They’re being punished for demons’ crimes, which is wrong any way you look at it. I suspect that we, as the Fallen, are supposed to feel guilty for witches’ plight, and thus be punished further by our ownregrets. There wasn’t any other way for the council to punish us once they’d already banished us from the Eternal Realm. So they got creative.”
“But witches are still innocent.”
“I know. The council created the Realm of the Damned, not me, even if I trapped my kind there. If I could abolish the Realm of the Damned, I would. But granting witches access to the Eternal Realm isn’t within my power.”
“Ash and Dante said you’ll never be allowed to return to the Eternal Realm. So you can’t even go there to try and work something out?” Dex’s voice was so quiet, Luc almost missed the hint of hope hiding within.
Hope. Was it for witches, or was Dex thinking about something else?
Luc couldn’t keep the heaviness from his words. “No demon or demon’s mate can enter the Eternal Realm. We’ve been banished, and anyone tied to us is tied to this realm with us. For what it’s worth, I don’t think a demon’s mate could enter Hell either, or if they did, they might not return to Earth.”
Dex’s hand came to rest on Luc’s arm and squeezed. “Ollie and Harper wouldn’t want to go to Hell. I guess they wouldn’t have any reason to go to the Eternal Realm either.”
Not in the way Dex did.
Had he guessed that he was Luc’s mate? If so, he didn’t say, and Luc couldn’t force the words out. It felt painfully obvious—why else would Luc want to keep Dex and give him everything—but admitting it outright would hurt Dex.
Luc didn’t want the truth to pressure Dex or weigh him down with guilt. He should be free to complete his human life as the universe intended.
“Did you have witch children?” Dex sounded more curious than judgmental, and Luc was glad the subject had changed.
“No, I never had a child. But I brought demons to Earth. If I hadn’t, this never would have happened.”
“Leading demons here doesn’t make witches or them being damned your fault. Besides, if it never happened, what would that mean for Harper? Would he never have been born?”
Luc had never considered. “He’s Ash’s mate, so he’d have to have been born.”
Dex finally pulled from Luc’s hold and met his gaze. “Would Harper beHarperif he’d had a different life? Would Ash still love him if he’d been a completely different person?”
