Page 181 of The Bonds of Indigo

“Not you too.” He doesn’t move. Of course he doesn’t.

“No, little slayer,” I say through the bond, amusement in my tone. “Unfortunately, you couldn’t. But cute attempt.”

Gesturing toward the bed, I command, “Get in bed now, little deviant.”

His shoulders jump, and he immediately moves to the side closest to us. He strips off his shirt first, revealing well-defined shoulders and the curve of his hip muscles. When he sheds his pants but leaves his boxers, his thighs flex… and I remind myself of her very clear statement about being tired.

I don’t experience drowsiness the way mortals do, but I know the moment I get under those blankets with them and close my eyes, sleep will take me anyway.

Lucifer glances at me briefly before slipping beneath the covers in front of her.

“I didn’t ask you that night,” she says as I move around to the other side of the bed, stripping off my pants. “I mean, it isn’t like we had the time or anything.”

Lucifer hums in question.

“Dollface. If you had called me that for the first time today, I’d have hated it. I see the cracks that happen—like I’m some porcelain doll shattering. But… this was before that. Why?”

I move in right behind her, adjusting so my front curves naturally along her back.

Lucifer has his fingers drifting down her cheek, then he gathers her hair, twirling the strands between his fingers. “You look delicate, but not fragile. Princess felt like a privileged term, and baby might have scared you⁠—”

“Yes, that would’ve been strange.”

I chuckle alongside Lucifer and shift my arm under her head, letting her rest against my bicep. It lets me slip my hand beneath his head too, sandwiching it between him and the pillow.

“Dollface felt right,” he continues softly. “I hope you don’t hate it.”

I press my forehead to the back of her head, close my eyes and smile. Nothing—nothing—can express the happiness I feel hearing the two of them. There are no words, no true emotions that encapsulate this moment.

“No, I don’t… I like it.”

“Me too,” he says.

“Me three,” I murmur into her hair.

The only sounds that follow are her soft yawn and the slight rustling of the bed. Lucifer’s arm snakes around her waist, and I feel his hand brush against my stomach in the process. I wrap my arm around both of them, pulling him closer and holding them both.

It’s been lifetimes since I felt this way, and that alone terrifies me. Calm never comes without a storm behind it. I need to protect them. I need to keep them close.

Losing either of them would destroy me. Losing them both?

That will destroy an entire realm.

I can’t believe how deep I slept. There wasn’t even a middle-of-the-night shift—I was out cold.

I’d love to bask in how clear my head feels, but I can’t. Not when the bed is completely empty. I sweep my arm across it just to be sure, but neither Lucifer nor Amarah are here.

Throwing the blanket off, I sprint to the en-suite bathroom.

Empty.

For a moment, just the briefest one, I let panic grip my throat. Then I force it down, taking a deep breath I don’t need. I listen. I could reach through the bond, but instead I search for a heartbeat.

They’re faint, but I hear three—one slower than the others, likely Zuhara’s.

I groan and rub between my eyes. Good thing I don’t get wrinkles or gray hairs. I swear they’d be giving me both at this point.

Making my way through the hall and toward the stairs, their voices come into earshot.