Braxton snorted. “Yeah, with swords.”
“Of course. It’s just like that famous saying…if something starts to bore you, just kill it quickly and get it over with.”
Devon barely stifled a laugh. “I don’t think that’s a famous saying.”
“It is now.”
Felix laughed. “You never change, Luc.”
“I endeavor not to.”
“I don’t know why you sound so pleased,” Braxton muttered. “That was not a compliment.”
“Why don’t you eat something, Brax. I think you’re getting hangry,” Devon whispered as she rubbed his arm.
She reached for one of the platters, but Braxton immediately took over the task of serving her. He chose a selection of her favorite foods to give her before filling his own plate with a lot less care.
“Thank you, sweetie.”
Braxton scowled. “You never need to thank me, mate.”
Lucifer sent her a fond smile. “My lovely daughter brings me nothing but joy, while you, my son, are a giant pain in my ass.”
Braxton muttered a vicious curse under his breath, making the rest of the table laugh.
“Dad, I’m working on an app that will bring mates together. But we need a way to make it function without it being too obvious that we are matchmaking, or people won’t use it. Do you have any suggestions?”
Lucifer grinned as he snapped his fingers. “I think I have just the thing to help you with that.”
A small object that looked like a broken, rusted teapot appeared in the center of his palm, and he held it out to Devon. Braxton grabbed her hand and pulled it away before she could touch it.
“What is that?”
Lucifer huffed out an impatient breath. “Really, you wound me, son. Would I give you something that would hurt you?”
“Yes, absolutely,” Braxton said without even the slightest hint of hesitation.
A fierce frown settled over Lucifer’s face, then he let out a burst of wild laughter.
The fucking lunatic.
“Okay, fine. You’re totally right. But it’s not like I would ever do anything that would permanently damage you. And I would never hurt my beloved daughter.”
Since Braxton believed him, he relaxed a little. “Why are you giving us a broken teapot?”
Lucifer scoffed. “It’s not a teapot. I forgot, there is a concealing spell on it to prevent people from seeing its true form.”
A few seconds later, the dull-looking teapot transformed into a shiny, gold oil lamp.
Devon gasped. “Oh, my—is that Aladdin’s lamp? Are genie lamps real?”
“Of course, my dear. There are several genie lamps floating around, but this is one of the originals. I…acquired it recently.”
“By acquired, you mean you stole it,” Felix said, clearly amused.
Lucifer flashed him a grin. “Let’s just say it was given to me in exchange for the life of someone who wanted to keep breathing.”
“Genie lamps are imbued with very strong magic,” Seraphina explained. “They are very difficult to create, so there are not many in existence. Initially, it was one of the oldest and harshest forms of punishment in our world, which was used to imprison only the most dangerous supernaturals before the creation of the Supernatural Prison. While all genie lamps are valuable, the originals were created using source magic. That makes them even more powerful. At least, that is the rumor I heard.”
