“That’s why…” I breathed, my gaze locking with his, realization crashing over me like a tidal wave.“Lucifer tortured you because you sided with me.”
“Lucifer tortured me because Isavedyou,” Rathiel amended.“Your father was going to kill you.So many had already died trying to retrieve you from his clutches.I did what I had to do.”
“Why?”I asked.“Why were you so determined to keep me alive?”
Regret flickered in Rathiel’s eyes but he blinked it away.He squared his shoulders, his voice steady, as though reciting a rehearsed line, and said, “Because of the prophecy.You’re the one destined to bring him down.We just needed another shot at it.You had to live.”
My mind reeled.“So, you sent me here.To Earth.”
“Yes,” he confirmed.“It was the only place I could think of where you’d be safe.Where Lucifer couldn’t reach you.”
“How did you even get me here?How did you open the gate?”
“It wasn’t easy,” Rathiel admitted.“There’s a secret to opening them.One your father never figured out—but I did.It wasn’t easy.Like I said, forcing the portal open requires immense power.Sending you through took everything I had.I was…vulnerable.By the time Lucifer found me, I couldn’t fight back.”
My breath hitched.He’d sacrificed himself to save me.But as I replayed his words in my head, something didn’t add up.“Wait,” I said slowly, my stomach knotting.“If you opened the portal first, how did my father figure out how to use it?How does he know the secret now?”
But understanding crashed over me, sharp and unrelenting.And even though I was pissed at Rathiel, my heart broke for him.“You told him, didn’t you?”
He didn’t answer right away, but his frame vibrated with tension.“Yes,” he said at last, his voice low and fierce.“I told him.”
I placed a hand on my stomach, unable to fathom what my father had put Rathiel through.Lucifer was hardly a saint—he’d earned the name Satan for a reason.And even for someone like Rathiel, a decade of torture at my father’s hands was a long time.
Rathiel’s eyes darkened and his jaw tightened.“After ten years of torture, I broke and gave himsomething,anythingto stop him.He already knew where you were, but he didn’t know how to open the portal.I didn’twantto tell him, but—” Rathiel’s voice cracked, his eyes flashing.
A wave of nausea rolled through me.My father was a monster, and yet, hearing Rathiel admit it aloud made it worse somehow.My voice trembled as I asked, “What did he do to you?”
He sucked in a deep breath and quickly composed himself.I watched in awe as he pulled every emotion back, tucking it deep down inside him until his face reflected nothing more than a stone mask.“It doesn’t matter,” he said.“What matters is I’m here now.”
“It does matter,” I insisted, my hands shaking.“Rathiel, he—he tortured you for ten years because of me.”
His gaze snapped to mine, fierce and unyielding.“No, Lilith.He tortured me because he wanted to.Your father doesn’t need reasons to hurt others—he does it because he enjoys it.This was never your fault.”
I wanted to believe him.I wanted to cling to the absolution he offered, but the weight of it all pressed down on me, suffocating.I could barely form a coherent thought as the realization sank in.Rathiel had endured Hell’s worst—Lucifer’s worst—all to keep me alive.
“You sacrificed yourself,” I said, my voice barely louder than a whisper.“You sent me here, knowing he’d find you.You?—”
“Enough,” Rathiel said sharply, cutting me off.His jaw clenched, and he turned away, his hands gripping the back of the armchair as though to steady himself.“It doesn’t matter.I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe, Lilith.No matter the cost.”
He had so much pain hiding beneath the surface.I wanted to press harder, find out what exactly my father had done to him.But I feared doing so would cause him evenmorepain, and that was the last thing I wanted to do.I was Lucifer’s daughter, but I wasn’t a sadist.
I scrubbed my face, hiding the wetness pooling in my eyes.“And my memories?How did you wipe them?”
“I broke into your father’s vaults.He has a collection of powerful relics, some ancient, some dangerous.”
“You…stole from Lucifer?”My disbelief clashed with the strange mix of admiration and horror swirling in my gut.I wasn’t sure if that made him brave or utterly desperate.
“It was the only way,” he said, voice low.“You would have done anything to get back to Hell.I had to make sure you wouldn’t even try.The relic I used strips away—and stores—memories.”
My heart leaped.If it stored memories, then maybe… I took a step toward him, hope surging in my veins.“Then I can get them back?”
Rathiel’s mouth twisted in regret.“No.I lost the relic when Lucifer imprisoned me.I don’t know where it is now, or who has it.”
The hope that had surged within me quickly drained, leaving a cold, hard knot of anger.The most personal moments of my life—everything that made me who I was—now in the hands of someone else.
“Then we’ll get the relic back,” I bit out, my frustration boiling to the surface.“You did this.You fucked with my head.You stole my memories.Now, you’re going to make it right.I don’t care what it takes.”
“Lily—”
