“If they are getting up to no good, they will eventually!” I beamed.
“Okay, you’re kind of adorable,” Sydney said.
Yeah, most people never said that unless I was shifted. It was nice to be called adorable for my true face. I actually thought she was beautiful. Kujo rolled his eyes because he knew I’d get attached.
“We need to bring her to the princes.”
I knew wehadto, but I didn’twantto.
Istill wasn’t completely convinced I wasn’t hallucinating. I went through a whole phase in college and had hallucinated before, but that was drugs, not a head injury. Still, the burger and fries tasted fantastic, and I felt stuffed. That didn’t happen in college. So, I was kind of fifty-fifty on this being real.
“I texted my sister. She’s about your size. She’s bringing clothes,” Celix said.
“Tell her to bring toiletries, too. Sydney is probably going to want to be presentable when she meets the monarchy.”
Yeah, I could use a hairbrush, a toothbrush, and some lip balm, but I actually didn’t care about impressing anyone. I stopped doing that sometime around the age of thirty-five.There was a knock on the door, and an absolutely stunning cat woman strode in with a bag.
“Out,” she said, pointing to the door.
“Yes, ma’am,” they all said, shuffling out.
“Okay, youhaveto show me how you did that. I’m Sydney.”
“Almeth. I have a feeling you can be terrifying enough without my help. Your last name helps.”
“My last name is Bishop. I’m still not all that convinced Lucifer didn’t get sick of this place and get freaked out about being a father and fucked off somewhere.”
“He wouldn’t. Our history is a little different from what you’ve probably been taught. Lucifer and the rest of the angels just wanted free will like the humans had. They were refused, so they rebelled and were kicked out to Hell. Lucifer got his free will to a point. He can come and go and do what he likes, but Lucifer can’t leave this place without it coming undone, eventually. He’d have no place to go after that because he can’t go home.”
“Have any of you thought that’s what he wants?”
“He doesn’t and I’m going to tell you something those assholes probably didn’t. Lucifer had a kid before. He wasn’t evil. His son was an artist who made beautiful music. Do you know where I’m going with this?”
“Not a clue.”
“You aren’t losing your mind about being the Antichrist.”
“Not religious. The only time I’ve even read parts of it was for research for kinky books I was writing. Based on what I know about the Antichrist, I don’t exactly fit that glass slipper.”
Wasn’t the Antichrist supposed to be this wildly successful, magnetic personality? Yeah, that wasn’t me. I was successful because I didn’t have to talk to anyone in person. Almeth just laughed.
“The Antichrist isn’t a thing. Lucifer is still the big bad because the rebellion was his idea. Angels died on both sides,and some of them still want payback. He stopped having kids after what the angels did to his son and then left texts behind thatanyof his kids were going to bring about the apocalypse so the mortals would turn on them. If Lucifer broke that rule and sired another child, he would have brought you back here immediately unless he couldn’t. You were actually in danger the whole time you were on Earth. I know what his reputation is, but he’s not like that.”
That was a lot to process. There were a lot of things I was in danger from on Earth. We had to watch our drinks in bars, not walk alone at night, and the Value Menu at Taco Bell got me through some hard times and tasted delicious, but my guts revolted every time.
It was unsettling. Did Mom know? She was always protective of me. A littletooprotective. I went through a phase where I hated it and we fought all the time, but now I was grateful. She prepared me for nearly everything exceptthis,if this was real. I missed the fuck out of that woman. She wouldn’t be here. She was too good for this place.
Mom never shit-talked my sire, even when I did. I wanted her to when I was a kid, and when I got older, I thought she didn’t want me to hold on to that kind of bitterness. She had passed several years ago, so I couldn’t ask if she knew anything.
If this were real, I wasn’t qualified for any of it. I didn’t particularly care for nepotism hires or legacy admissions. Having Morningstar DNA wasn’t going to magically fix Hell or the souls escaping. I couldn’t exactly go back to Earth. I knew how this worked.
I had no magic before. If I did now, then it would be easier for the angels to find me. I was stuck here. I had plenty of friends back on Earth, but Mom was gone and I really needed to find out if cheaters ended up in Hell and I could personally request Wrathhog for my ex if they did.
“So, I heard you kicked Kujo in the nuts.”
“He had it coming.”
“He can be abrasive, but he had a rough life. It wasn’t his dad who abandoned him, it was his mom. It wasn’t a wham bam, didn’t know there was a baby. She literally gave birth to him at a hospital on Earth and left him there. His dad blamed him and treated him like shit. CPS eventually took him away, and he ended up in the foster system until his magic showed up. Salvon didn’t want him when he was brought here, either.”
