Oddly, when in her presence, the lifetime of bitterness and anger faded away. He should’ve never let it be known he found her interesting the day of the pool party. If any of their kind believed he favored her—other than to use her for future nefarious purposes—she would be as good as dead. Perhaps Dina had stumbled onto another’s bad intentions and fell victim while defending Nadia. But if his theory were correct, why leave her alive?
Michael believed she was a taint on man—and angel—kind. He wouldn’t stop until she drew her last breath, exactly the reason the culprit couldn’t be him.
Luc’s gaze flicked to the cat.
He suspected she knew, but if she did, she held her secrets close. Clever girl. Her silence would save her own furry hide.
“Come here, Ariel.”
The cat turned wary. Her gaze darted from him to Nadia and back.
“I said, come here.” His voice boomed, and lightning illuminated the room.
Green, terror-filled eyes locked with his.
“I know your urge is to run for the balcony, but I assure you, you will never make it. Regardless, I’ve already said I’ll keep you alive for Nadia. Now come to me.”
The feline complied, stopping at his feet.
“I’m going to give you a gift. Transformation at will.” He scoffed when Ariel emphatically shook her head. “In return, you must promise to protect her. At the cost of your own life, if it comes to that.”
Narrowed eyes weighed his seriousness.
“Don’t abuse the gift,” he ordered before he knelt and touched his finger to her forehead.
Her silent scream in no way pleased him, despite what others would believe. He’d never set out to hurt another. It merely happened in the course of his life. The acceptance of his bestowal burned her, but only for a few rapid heartbeats. Just enough time to give him an adrenaline surge before it faded again. He sighed as the rush wore off as quickly as it had come.
“Oh, and I forgot to tell you, I rendered you powerless against me.” He chuckled as Ariel swiped her claws in his direction, unable to connect. “Don’t be cross, little angel. It was a fair exchange. Now go. I have a phone call to make.”
The contrary feline jumped on the bed and snuggled under Nadia’s chin.
Rage sparked inside him. His first instinct would’ve been to smite the furball anyway had he not risked physically hurting Nadia in the process. When he was able to control himself and shove aside emotion, he recognized his fury as a mix of her defiance and his unexpected jealousy. The latter was unfamiliar and required closer examination at another time. It did, however, make him see Dinathial’s death in a different light.
He stalked from the room and whipped out his smartphone.
Sal answered immediately.
“You fool! Do you know what you’ve done?” Luc snarled.
“I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” came the mocking reply.
Salvokos’s lack of confusion and fear confirmed what he now knew to be true. For decades, Sal had tried to get Lucifer to demote and punish Dinathial for her ties to the other side. It appeared, in the face of his distraction, the backstabbing bastard had taken matters into his own hands.
Luc fought to control his temper.
“You’ve fired the first shot over the bow. The angels will retaliate, and soon. I needed more time.”
“I didn’t lift a finger.”
No, perhaps not, but he was responsible nonetheless.
“The war was always inevitable, Lucifer. You know this. Have your way with the hybrid and be done with it. Then we shall have it all.”
“You presume too much, Salvokos.” His icy tone would’ve served as a warning to a smarter man. “Do you forget I am in charge?”
Sal’s voice was a thousand times more respectful when he replied. “Yes, my liege. Apologies.”
Not the least mollified, but unwilling to show his hand yet, Luc continued, “How long have you been in existence? How can you still not understand that it all boils down to free will? Nadia has to give herself to me willingly before I can weaponize her.”
