His fingers dug into the base of my wings, sharp and merciless.Searing agony shot through my back like liquid fire, spreading with an unbearable heat that consumed everything in its path.
A scream tore free of my throat—raw and ragged, echoing across the battlefield.My father tore asunder every shred of muscle and bone.Blood poured down my back in hot, sticky streams as he tore my wings from my back, piece by piece.
I gasped for breath between screams, my body convulsing with each savage wrench as Lucifer tore into me.He didn’t pause, didn’t hesitate.Every movement was deliberate, every second filled with unbearable torment.He wasn’t just ripping my wings from my body—he was destroying me.Shredding my soul.
Finally, with one last, excruciating tear, my wings were gone.The scream that escaped me was ugly.A burning void seared across my back where my wings had once been, and the pain, the loss, the overwhelming emptiness crashed over me in relentless waves.My father had ruined me, left me nothing more than a shattered shell of what I once was.
I sank into despair, wishing for the darkness to take me.If I could just sink into it, maybe I’d never resurface.Maybe I could finally be free.But amidst the torment, a sound cut through the haze.
A voice.Distant at first, muffled by the overwhelming pain.
“Lily!”
It was soft, but insistent, pulling at the edges of my consciousness.It pulled me away from the darkness, dragging me away from my father’s clutches.
“Wake up.Come on, Lily.Wake up!”
The agony in my back began to dull, and the searing heat pressing down on me faded.My vision flickered, and the battlefield—and Lucifer—dissolved around me.The voice grew clearer, more familiar, and something warm and solid held me in place.
I quickly realized I was dreaming, and that realization yanked me back into the waking world.
My eyes shot open, and my body jerked violently.Remnants of the nightmare clung to my mind and agony speared through my shoulder blades.I thrashed, arms flailing, but then I realized—I wasn’t alone.
“Shh, Lily,” came Rathiel’s voice.He wrapped his muscular arms around me, holding me tightly to keep me from hurting him—or myself.“You’re awake.It’s over.It was just a dream.”
Every inch of me trembled and sweat soaked my pajamas.My pulse pounded relentlessly in my ears.Phantom pains shot down my back and I cried out, arching in Rathiel’s grasp.It felt like my wings were still there, the weight dragging down on me.But I knew better.I knew they were gone.Forever.
Rathiel pulled me against his chest and his voice, low and soothing, cut through the remnants of my fear and pain.His hand moved to the nape of my neck, and he combed his fingers through my hair, gently stroking, his touch soft and reassuring.
“It’s okay,” he whispered, his voice a low murmur against my ear.“You’re safe now.I’ve got you.”
I shuddered, my body still trembling, but his steady presence anchored me.He brushed his lips against my forehead, the brief, tender kiss sending a small wave of warmth through me, cutting through the remnants of fear.His other hand moved to cup my cheek, brushing his thumb gently across my skin, his touch so careful, as though I might break.
Gradually, my breathing slowed, the violent pounding of my heart easing into a steadier rhythm.
“I know I’m not your favourite person right now,” Rathiel said, and I gave a watery laugh, “but do you want to talk about it?”
I instantly shook my head.I very much did not want to relive the horror I’d just woken from.The pain, the terror, it was still too fresh.
He stroked my hair again, in a way that had me practically purring in his arms.It didn’t surprise me that he knew exactly what I liked—but it did frustrate me.He knew far too much about me, like how to calm me when upset.
“Talking about it helps sometimes,” he said.“It can ease the fear, even if just a little.It’s like you’re releasing it into the world, so it doesn’t torture you anymore.”
I doubted that.I had a feeling this nightmare would haunt me for the rest of my life.Rathiel didn’t understand—I’d felt everything.Every rip, every tear.The loss of every single feather.And the fact that my father had been the one to torment me broke my heart.Not that Lucifer and I were ever close on the father-daughter scale.Even so, it hurt.
At the same time, I didn’t want to give my father that kind of power over me.I didn’t want his presence haunting me every single night.What I wanted was to stab a few more holes in him.
Sighing, I considered my options.I could keep the nightmare to myself and let it fester, or I could let it go.Perhaps talking about it would help.
I swallowed, then braced myself.“I was…on a battlefield,” I began, my voice shaky.“Everyone was dead.My soldiers, the rebellion.Their bodies were everywhere.My father—” I choked on a breath and closed my eyes.
Rathiel’s hand resumed gently stroking through my hair and my pulse slowed, responding to his touch.
“I can feel his grip on my throat, even now,” I whispered, my voice hoarse.“I couldn’t breathe.Couldn’t move.He lifted me into the air like I was nothing.I…I tried to summon the hellfire, but it wouldn’t come.I was so weak.He turned me to face the battlefield.All I could see were the bodies of everyone I had failed.There were so many.
“And then…” My voice completely broke, but I forced myself to continue.“And then he took them.My wings.He just ripped them away.I could feel it happening.Every tear, every drop of blood, every scream.It was too real.It didn’t feel like a dream.It felt like I was reliving it.”
Rathiel’s entire body went rigid, and his hand stilled in my hair.
