Lucifer turns away. I can sense the rage building inside him. I haven’t noticed that before. Not from him.
“I have to go,” Lucifer says, then he begins to transform, large wings appearing and spreading as he gets taller.
“Wait, alone? You said they could kill you!” I rush to him, grabbing his robe as it appears.
“I’ve failed my brother. It’s not the same for angels, but there’s still a connection. I didn’t sense him. I thought he was dead,” Lucifer’s voice is wracked with anguish and regret. “If he’s been held prisoner all this time, I can’t abandon him. I have to help.”
“But if you…” I shake my head, tearing up. “No, I can’t lose you. Please, I didn’t even know who my father was, but now that I do… just no. There has to be another way.”
“There isn’t,” Lucifer rumbles, the halo appearing above his head. “This may not be a battle I win, but I have to try. If I’m that close to him, he’ll sense me. He’ll know I gave everything, even if I fall.”
Lucifer prepares to take flight, but I cling to him. I refuse to let go.
“Wait, what if thereisanother way?” I ask.
“What do you mean?” he asks, clutching his sword in his hand.
“The Crimson Templars. They hunt and kill. What if they were the ones being hunted?” I ask. “I can reach out to other Scions. What if I called out to them all? Every single Scion? What if we… what if weallfought the Crimson Templars?”
Lucifer relaxes. He turns to face me with a curious look on his face. “As much time as has gone by, even with the Crimson Templars killing them off… there would be a lot of Scions out there.”
“There are,” I confirm, nodding desperately. “Enough to build an army. Enough to put an end to the Crimson Templars once and for all.”
“Then call your army, daughter,” he commands, his sword vanishing. “But if they don’t respond, or they don’t wish to fight, I’m still going after Gabriel.”
I sit down in the circle and concentrate. This is life or death now. My family is at stake.
Lucifer is going to the Vatican, regardless.
But he’s not going alone.
CHAPTER 41
Hayden
For a moment, I had everything.
Peace. Love. A family. A safe home. Not just the future of my pack, but the future of all wolf shifters. Joanna is a she-wolf, and she’s going to breathe life back into our kind.
Now, it’s all unraveling before my eyes.
“We’ll fight by your side, Lucifer,” I try to keep any hint of regret from my voice as I lean toward my father-in-law. “No matter what, we’re with you. You’re part of our family now… part of our pack.”
“That’s kind of you to say,” Lucifer rumbles. “But Ansley made it through most of her life without me. You can still stay here, where nobody can find you, and raise your child. I’m sure there will be more. I will not put her life in danger, nor will I put her mates’ lives in danger.”
“I don’t really have any powers other than cosmic whatever, but I’ll fight,” Daisy joins in. “Or I’ll try to. Just… please don’t let them burn me at the stake.”
“You arenotgoing,” Lucifer says firmly.
“But we are,” Jaxton asserts. “I still have a score to settle with the Crimson Templars. This could be the best shot we have of taking them down. Making this world safe forallScions. Then we wouldn’t have to hide.”
“Anything from Ansley yet? Has she been able to reach the other Scions?” Wyatt asks.
“Still trying,” Lucifer replies. “She’s been at it for a week now. I promised I’d give her time, but every day that passes, I get angrier. They’ve been holding Gabriel prisoner… probably since they shot him out of the sky two millennia ago.”
“Without his blood, the Crimson Templars only have their weapons,” Storm says. “We’re no match for them alone, but if there were more of us…”
“There will be,” Ansley says, walking into the room.
