The flapping of large wings caught my attention. I stepped onto the shack’s porch, seeing two images I wasn’t psyched about—my bosses, Jophiel and Michael. If they’d shown up, then the news wasn’t good.
I walked to where they were standing on the beach, knelt, and bowed my head in front of the two of them to show respect. Beelz, Jay, and Brok came out of the shack behind me, Brok still holding De Vil.
“How can I be of service?” I asked.Has the news of Jay’s actions traveled that fast?
Jay was now a prince of Hell, and we were no longer a balanced pair. What would we be forced to do now? I was deeply in love with Jay, bonded to him, heart and soul. Would that be taken from us? Was it even possible to undo it?
Having dreamed of marriage back in my human days, I’d been upset that he didn’t want the human ritual, and I’d behaved like a stupid jerk. We should have talked it out instead of me acting like a spoiled brat. Maybe we wouldn’t be in the current fix if I hadn’t let petty jealousy override my common sense.
“Get up, Scotty. We have a problem.”
“It’s not a problem if we approach the Council to do the right thing. The balance is only off-kilter because Jay’s now a prince of Hell. If the Council—”
Jophiel held up their hand. “Michael, you know it won’t be that easy. Uriel was upset that Scott was promoted last time. After appealing to the Council on behalf of Jonas and Vale, I have no influence left, I’m afraid.”
“Excuse me. What’s up?” Jay stepped over and pulled me from my knees.
The man gave me an up and down. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” That was a lie. Nothing about me was fine.
Jay then turned to Michael and held up his fist. Michael touched it and chuckled. “Jay, I guess congratulations are in order, huh? You’re one of the bad boys now.”
Jay studied Michael and Jophiel, smiling a little. “I’m not sure what any of that means. I was told that if I ever needed the power of Hell, I should ask for it, so I did.”
Michael chuckled. “Did you forget the rest of the instructions?”
“What? About the consequences? I’m already going to be Lucifer’s valet. How much worse can it get?”
I turned to my love. “You’re one of the princes now, Jay. You’re more powerful than me, and I’ve reached the highest I’ll ever be in the Celestial Hierarchy. I can’t be a mate to a prince of hell.”
“It worked, so I’ll just give it back. See—no worries. Easy-peasy, mac ‘n cheesy.”
I wanted to puke. “Jay, love, it doesn’t work that way. You can’t return the powers like a shirt that doesn’t fit. You invoked the powers of Hell. You no longer have a choice but to accept them.”
Jay’s face morphed from his usual smirk to shock. “Of course I can.”
Beelzebub stepped forward. “Sorry, little bro, but I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way. If this sticks, the good news is that you won’t have to be Dad’s valet.”
Then, of course, Beelz laughed, and Michael joined him.
I turned to Jophiel. “I love him. What am I going to do without him?”
Jay stepped closer to me. “I love you, Scotty. I’ll figure it out, I swear.”
Beelz turned to Brok, who was still holding De Vil. “Bring him. Come on, Jay. Let’s go see Daddy and find out if there’s any truth to him being the father of Vagar and refusing to welcome him into the family. That’s pretty low. Maybe we canguiltLucifer into fixing this little FUBAR.”
Jophiel stepped closer to me and held my hand as she addressed Beelzebub. “What will you do with De Vil?”
“I think Gremon might have some good ideas about what to do with the idiot. He’s not your problem anymore, white lighter. Take care of Scotty. I’ll be in touch.”
With that, they all disappeared. My heart went right to Hell with them.
“Don’t panic yet. Beelzebub is cunning. If there’s any way to fix this situation, he’ll think of it. And Jay is quite resourceful, too. Don’t underestimate him. Call me if you need me. I’ll let you know what I find out.” Jophiel, disguised as Josephine, patted my cheek and left the home Jay and I were supposed to be making together.
I paced from room to room, swamped by memories of the dreams we’d shared. Since we’d only moved in the previous day, I wasn’t sure what to do, but I hoped Lucifer would at least allow Jay to return to his place and gather some things.
The princes of Hell had a huge home in Hell and spent most of their time there, so I assumed that was where Jay would need to live. Would I get to say a private goodbye?
