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Wrath had seen human storybooks, and the palace reminded him of something from a human fairytale in its gleaming white perfection.
Finally, a sign of life as he stepped up to the guardhouse.
A sentry in a smart black and white uniform stepped onto the road leading into the castle and stopped him.
Wrath’s power crackled and spat beneath his skin, and he kept his wings unleashed.
The sentry eyed his wings nervously and said, “The master is not within.”
“And I’m supposed to take your word for that?” Wrath let his stare linger on the demon.
Sweat broke out on the sentry’s top lip. “The master left a message for you.”
That shook Wrath out of his purpose momentarily. “For me?” And then rage surged through him. Lucifer had known he was coming. It was further proof that his brother had Eddie.
Wrenching the sentry aside, Wrath strode into the castle. He didn’t want to end the demon, but if the fucktard followed him, Wrath wouldn’t hesitate to let him know he wasn’t going to be turned aside.
The great doors slammed against the wall when he threw them open. His boots resounded against the pale marble floors.
“Wrath.” A demoness in a starched and pressed white gown glided down the stairs toward him. With her long, dark hair and flawless bone structure, she was beautiful in the way Lucifer insisted all his household demons be. She stopped in front of him and inclined her head politely. “The master is not here. He warned us that you would not believe the sentry and would enter anyway.”
Her calm composure took the edge off his rising anger. “I’m looking for my daughter.”
“I understand.” She folded her long, elegant hands in front of her. “The master said you would be. He also said to tell you she is not here.” She motioned the palace with a graceful sweep of her arm. “You are, of course, welcome to search without challenge.”
Like he was going to take her word for it. Search, Wrath did, every inch of the place, and taking savage delight in leaving destruction behind him. He was looking for any clue to where Lucifer might be, or where he’d taken Eddie. It took him late into the night to finally admit the palace was clean of any trace of Lucifer or Eddie, or any hint of where they might be now. There was also no glimmer of Lucifer’s energy signature that was more recent than a week.
He took one of Lucifer’s chariots, again without opposition from the palace staff, and used it to search Lucifer’s demesne. Passing time pressed at him, but he didn’t trust anything where Lucifer was concerned. His brother was tricky and smart, and just because Wrath couldn’t sense the fucker, didn’t mean he wasn’t hiding somewhere. Finally, days longer than he would have liked, he had to admit defeat and turned the chariot back to Shade’s hell gate.
A week after he’d left Haziel with Ava, he was spat out into the basement of the Paradise Theatre, more pissed off than ever and thoroughly frustrated. He half expected Haziel to be waiting for him. Instead, Daniel appeared at the door moments after Wrath’s arrival. “Did you find Eddie?”
“No.” Failure made Wrath grind his teeth. His search had taken too long, and he’d returned here, hoping that Shade had found her while he’d been gone. Time they didn’t have, and Eddie didn’t have, was ticking by while Lucifer led the dance. “And I didn’t find any trace of Lucifer either.”
Daniel nodded his understanding and led the way out of the basement of the theatre. “Shade is not back yet.”
“Have you heard from him?”
Daniel nodded. “He checks in daily. The hounds picked up a trace of her a few days ago, and he’s following.” Daniel’s expression gentled. “But they haven’t found her yet.”
Worry whipped his simmering anger into rage. He pressed the agonizing possibilities of what was being done to his daughter into a mind box. “Is Haziel here?”
“No.” Daniel stopped and looked at him. “Isn’t she with you?”
“Wrath?” And, of course, his catastrophe of a journey wouldn’t be complete without Rosabella waiting at the end of it. She leapt into his path as he stalked across the corridor toward the stairs leading to the living quarters.
“Where is she?” Rosabella scanned the area behind him. “Where is Eddie?”
Wrath didn’t owe her any explanations, and the rush of anger he experienced as he looked at her took him by surprise. Brushing past her, he took the stairs two at a time. It had to be his constant worry about Eddie making him terse with Rosabella. Rosabella had been…was the love of his life. He stopped when he reached the upper level and turned. “I’m sorry, Bella. It was a waste of time.”
“Wrath.” Rosabella shrieked and clapped both hands over her mouth. “You can’t tell me that. Where is my daughter? Why haven’t you found her?”
“Our daughter,” he snarled before he could stop himself. Taking a deep breath, he gentled his tone “She is our daughter.”
Paling, Rosabella took a stair down and away from him. “Well of course she’s our daughter. That’s what I meant to say.” Tears swam in her eyes, the same color as Eddie’s. “You have to find my baby girl.”
“Wrath?” Dee appeared from the kitchen. “You didn’t find her?”
“No.” He hated giving Dee his bad news. “I searched the entirety of Lucifer’s palace and his demesne, and she wasn’t there.” Grim anger hardened in his gut. “And neither was Lucifer.”
