Natia turns our way, her features tight with worry, which softens as her turquoise eyes meet my gaze. “I’m not sure I can,” I say. “She is an addictive light and purity that my dark soul craves. Without her, the universe could return to the void and I wouldn’t care to prevent it.”
Michael sighs and squeezes my shoulder. “I don’t want to be the one to deprive you of the first piece of happiness you have felt since—” he pauses and tilts his head.
“That one night in Olympia,” I finish for him.
He nods. “Indeed, and I can see that doesn’t compare to what you have with Natia. But in this case, the human saying of ‘if you love someone, set them free’ has never been more relevant.”
Natia stalks towards us, weaving her way around the bloodbath that paints the floor. “Michael, good to see you’ve joined the fight,” she says.
He chuckles. “There are issues in the universe other than the battle you wage on Earth. You have the lion’s share of primordial support. I check in where I can.”
“You better be protecting those flying pigs.”
Michael’s eyebrows rise into his hairline. “Flying pigs?”
“You’d better not be lying to me, Reinheart,” she says, leveling a glare my way.
“Florinder, the planet with the pig-like creatures that have wings,” I remind him.
He nods. “Ah yes, nothing compared to Gasruff though.”
“Gasruff? What’s on Gasruff?” Natia asks, darting her gaze between us.
Lucifer pops into existence behind her, not a hair out of place or a wrinkle in his suit. Yet his haunted eyes tell me everything I need to know. “Gasruff is where your folklore of fairies originates from,” he drawls. “In fact, succubi and incubi are the product of a fae and demon liaison.”
She blinks and points a finger at me. “You never said fairies were an option. You’ve been holding out on me, Reinheart.”
I grab her finger and pull her closer, then bend my head until our lips are almost touching. “The universe is our oyster, Natia. When this is over we can explore it at our leisure.”
I catch Michael’s gaze over her shoulder. He shakes his head and turns away to begin the cleanup. It would normally be seconds of a job to cleanse the area of demon scum, but these weren’t demons. They were humans with families and homes. He will need to stage their death so that the human police force takes it at face value; a mass shooting, or a car crash. Natia slaps a quick kiss on my lips then turns to face Lucifer, whose dead expression is wiped away the instant she lands her gaze on him.
“Did you find them?” she asks.
He nods and jerks his head towards Zee and Aaden. She follows, babbling about Tinkerbell. Seeing the world through her eyes is like waking up and discovering it all again. I could never get despondent or bored with her coloring my life. But that was all about me, and nothing about her.
Michael’s hand lands on my shoulder again. “Let her go, brother.”
* * *
Zee and Aaden once more have their souls in their bodies. Having swapped our evening attire for our battle clothing, we gather around my dining table. The victory against Lawrence is bittersweet; Natia wanted that kill, but the bigger threat still looms. He was merely the middleman, someone Zeus and The Duchess used for slaughter.
Aaden sips the glass of water that Emi keeps topping up whilst Natia studies Zee from across the table with a frown. They are both pale and sweaty. Losing your soul, however temporary, is disorientating. I’d expected a stronger emotional response from Natia. An explosion of temper or plot to solve the issues herself. Her friendship memories of Duncan had been replaced with Zee where possible. The bond they have was so intertwined it was impossible to erase him.
“Now we go back into Hell?” Natia says, looking down and strumming her finger on the table. She’s nervous, and probably contemplating her fading god status.
I reach across the table and give her hand a squeeze. “You might become mortal, but you are still the daughter of the gods. Poseidon has trusted you with his prized possession. It will always protect you in your time of need. You have the command of the oceans in all dimensions.”
She stares at me as she weighs my mind and soul. Does it come up short?
Lucifer points to the next level of Hell. “As we enter, we can teleport to the end of each level, but we will need to pause briefly whilst the level recognizes the tax paid and transports us onwards. So at the end of Lust,” his gaze darts to Natia, her cheeks blazing red as she glares at the table. “Then Gluttony, Greed, and finally, Anger.” Several eyes snap to Natia, whose gaze remains focused on the table as Lucifer goes on. “If you weren’t on that level when we paid the tax, you will need to be holding on to someone who was,” he glances at Emi and Jed. “Are you both returning with us?”
Emi shakes her head. “I’m staying here with Aaden.”
Jed nods. “Count me in.”
“Wait, how can they enter the levels without paying the tax?” Natia asks.
Lucifer folds his arms and quirks a brow. “The tax we paid on each level is enough to allow ten people through, but they will have to be holding on to someone who paid the tax in the first place or they will be left behind.”
