30
Chapter Thirty
Natia
Taureans; Hold my earrings, I need to put the devil in his place.
Bernard releases me and I crumple to the floor with a thud as I glare at my hand, and then at Lucifer before launching to my feet and shoving him in the chest. “You fucking bastard!” I hammer my fists into his stomach. He grips both of my hands—yes, both.
“That helplessness that you just felt? That fear? That’s what you put us through every time you go off on your own with a half-cocked plan. Perhaps now you will learn to fucking talk it through, understand and weigh the consequences of decisions with people you say are your friends. For once, maybe trust us.”
“Trust goes both ways,” I spit and push away from him, spinning to face the other men in the room. “Each and every one of you were in on the ‘make Natia forget her best friend’ plan. Where was my discussion? You claim to be my friends, but you rally together to scheme behind my back.” I turn back to Lucifer. “You call me selfish when you tried to manipulate me into continuing this fight.”
My gaze finally lands on Archan as I stride up to him. “And you, you are the worst of them all. You play with my emotions like I’m a puppet. You make love to me like I’m the queen you claim for yourself, yet treat me like less than a slave.”
His brow furrows as Zac reenters the room and glances between us. “I have never once treated you like a slave,” Archan growls.
My chest tightens with the scream I repress. “No? You tried to alter my memories so I could head into battle with a clear head, one I’m not responsible for. Unwilling soldiers are slaves by another name. Don’t pretend that you don’t like the fact that I’m becoming less than you. That I will be easier to control once I’m mortal.”
“You are my queen,” he grits out and takes a step forward. I snap out my hand, stopping him.
“Queens throughout history have been smothered under the tyranny of a man. The title doesn’t make me your equal, your actions do. And this, what you did to me, what you did to us, is unforgivable.” I shake my head. “You couldn’t have just let me grieve, take a breath, process. No, you had to be the ultimate control freak. I will never be controlled. Until you understand that, we are doomed,” I snap.
“For the record, I was against it,” Zee mutters.
I spin in Lucifer’s direction. “And you are a coward. How dare you call me selfish? I literally sacrificed myself to kill your insane son that was hellbent on ruining the earth. Naïve, maybe. But from that naivety something beautiful happened, something you have ruined; genuine friendship, which I imagine for the devil is difficult to come by.”
I turn to glare at Nathan, Jed, and Zac with a brittle smile on my face. “You are all so jaded, worn by the weight of time you are missing the best parts of life. It isn’t about control, it’s about freedom, love, friendship—everything you had from me.”
Jed runs a hand through his hair. “We made a mistake.”
The tears that have been threatening to fall leak down my cheeks as I close my eyes. “I am surrounded by the most powerful beings in the universe and I have never felt more alone. That mistake, I might have understood. But you just watched Lucifer terrorize me to teach me a lesson. That’s not friendship, Jed.” Jed winces as I drop his nickname, and Lucifer’s brows have pulled down as I drop Lulu in favor of the name that instills fear. It’s important I remember who he is and what he’s capable of. “That’s judgement without understanding, and it’s a weakness I can’t afford.”
I look Archan dead in the eyes. “I won’t give you that power over me again.”
His face hardens as we recall the memory on the boat of me telling him it would take someone special to give that power to again. I let my guard down and he yanked that rug from under my feet.
“So that’s it?” Jed asks. “You’re out?”
I shake my head. “No, I will see this war through. I can put aside my emotions to combine forces and defeat the enemy.” I bore my gaze into each of these gods that have stolen a piece of my heart. “But after? When the dust is settled? We are done.”
“No,” Archan states. “We will never be done.”
My broken heart lurches painfully and I force a devastated smile onto my face. “This is something you can’t control, Mr Reinheart. I will be mortal, only here for a brief span of time. You will continue your eternity in control and alone.”
“I won’t allow it,” he growls.
I sigh as I pick up the trident and strap it to my back. “You could threaten to tie me to your bed, lock me in your kingdom, cage my body; but you can’t have my heart,” I whisper. “I would be suffering and alone.” I spin to face him. “If you feel anything for me, I hope you can let me go.”
I glance at Bernard, who’s looking like he wants a box of popcorn whilst he watches my heart break. At least someone is entertained. I tug on Duncan’s arm and guide him towards the elevator. A single pair of feet follows us—Zee’s. “Is there somewhere I can clean up?” I ask Bernard. He nods and follows us into the elevator. The music picks this moment to get fucking serious, piping through Kaleo’s “Way Down We Go”.
Archan leaps into motion, running towards the elevator as the door is closing. I frown. “No.”
He pauses inches from the door. “I made a mistake,” he whispers. “One fucking mistake.”
I shake my head as my throat constricts. “Oh, Archan, you made too many mistakes. But this was the final one where I am concerned.”
The door sweeps closed. My legs give out, and I almost hit the floor before powerful arms wrap around me from the front and the back. Duncan and Zee. My heart shatters into a billion pieces. They scatter to the corners of the universe so there’s no hope of putting it back together. If he was ever to break into it again, he would find nothing but an empty husk.
