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Chapter 18
MICAH
Voice of Reason
ELIAS PARKS THE black Maserati along the curb instead of pulling into the drive leading toward the eight car garage. His hands shake as he clutches the wheel, and I nearly didn’t allow him to drive. But it was on his list of things to do before he succumbs to his cancer. Which will happen soon. I can see it in his soul. Hear it in his heart and lungs. My once-angelic companion and now mortal friend will soon join us by taking his throne in Hell.
Unfortunately, Elias can’t see things the same way I can. He’s fallen into a mortal cycle that has stolen the knowledge he once had, and now he carries fear in his mind. Death has been a part of living beings life cycles since creation. Yet despite knowing what happens after his final breath, he can’t grasp things completely. I just hope I can help him the same as I would’ve as an angel. I’m not sure I’m capable of such things any longer. I can barely control the vile darkness tainting my essence with Raven.
“Are you sure we should be here?” Elias asks after a quiet moment. “Maybe we should stay away a bit longer. I’m feeling fi—” His coughing fit gives away his lie, and he rests his head on the steering wheel.
I reach over and rub my hand over his back, unsure of what to do. “Dante said it was pointless. Lucian knows we have you.”
Elias groans and clutches his chest, his pain obvious on his scrunched features. “I hope the bastard stays the fuck away. I don’t trust him.”
“Then trust me. I made Raven a promise to protect you. I will not let either of you down. Why don’t you stay in my room? I can take the floor. We can share my time with Raven.” I fidget in my seat, messing with the hem of my shirt. “I don’t want you two worrying about anything you don’t have to.”
Elias cranes his neck, meeting my gaze. “Damn. I’m dying soon, aren’t I? Give it to me straight. You’re acting like a damn angel because of it.”
I sigh and lean back in the seat. “Not even I can tell you when for certain, but yes. I think things are wearing on your mortal body and the light that you carry wants to free itself. If you’d—”
“Raven, don’t walk away from me!” Lucian’s holler rumbles through the crack in the window.
Flinging my door open, I rush from the vehicle, missing whatever Raven says to Lucian. He roars and explodes into his true body, charging forward in an attempt to grab her. Raven flips him off and slams the front door in his face. He tries to chase her inside, but Kase materializes in the doorway, blocking his path. They threaten each other in silence, Kase blindly daring Lucian to do something.
Annoyance rushes through me as he stomps closer to the mansion and where Raven wants to only find reprieve from his intolerable behavior.
“Lucian! Lucian, face me! You will leave Raven alone!” I summon my hellish nature and erupt into my devil form. “Face me!”
Kase smirks and closes the door, not bothering to get involved, letting me handle it. I don’t know what happened between Lucian and Raven, but she obviously doesn’t want to be bothered by him.
Snarling, Lucian jerks around and swings his fire chain, trying to lash it at me to keep me back. All he does is push me to move forward. I wasn’t afraid of him when I was an angel and I’m far from fearful now. He thinks he’s above us but now without his tether to Hell, he’s on equal ground. But I have something he doesn’t. I have the need to protect Raven and her beautiful soul. I haven’t gone through everything I have, risked losing her light and affection to ensure I could care for her, or make the decision to be the best devil I can for nothing.
“Stay the fuck out of it and go back to your useless, dying boyfriend, Micah. Leave Raven for those who know how to control her.” Lucian whips his chain in my direction again.
I summon a sword, one glowing with my Hell power, from the depths of my kingdom and swing it. It cracks against Lucian’s whip, sending his chain toward him. The second he spins to regain control of it, I catapult from the ground and slam into him with my weight. In my devil form, I’m taller and broader. He might have horns, but I have tusks, and I will gut him.
I impale the ground on each side of his head, caging him down. He roars and fights beneath me, trying to flip me off his back but it’s no use. We’re matched in power and he struck a nerve deep within me. Seeing him chase after Raven and then trying to tell me to stay out of their fight set me off. He doesn’t have the right to tell me such things. He doesn’t have a mutual claim on Raven like I do. Her fight with him is my fight, and I won’t tolerate it anymore. I only complied to appease him and to keep my name on her contract. That no longer matters. Elias proved his love and loyalty not only as Raven’s soulmate but also as a devil by managing to end the contract with his death. He outsmarted Lucian and Cassius—all of Heaven and Hell for that matter—and I will ensure things continue to go Raven’s way and that her freewill will no longer be compromised by forces that think they’re as mighty as the Higher Power or more so.
“Tell me what you’ve done, Lucian,” I growl, pressing into him with my weight. “Raven has been trying to give you a chance, so if you have ruined it, you will face the consequences.”
“It’s none of your fucking business. This is your last chance to control yourself or you will regret trying to overpower me. I’m not fighting at my full power.” Lucian vibrates with a deep rumble of annoyance, humming from his core. He’s lying and we both know it.
“It is my business as one of Raven’s kings. I will protect her and do anything on her behalf, including dragging you back to your kingdom and figuring out how to keep you there.” I blow out a breath of hellfire, singeing the concrete around his head in a cloud of black residue. “I have tried my best to help you make amends and have encouraged her to give you a chance. All you’ve done is waste my efforts.”
“I never asked for your help, you wannabe angelic bastard.” Lucian breaks his arm free of my restraint and jabs a blade into my side, sending pain exploding through me.
I roar and rip my tusks free from the ground. Lucian doesn’t have the chance to move, roll, or even speak a word as I stomp my hooved hand into his back. He howls in pain, his bones cracking under my force. I swing my arm and turn him over, towering over his wretched form. His black eyes smolder with lava-like light, and I punch him in the face, yearning to see the power fade from his expression completely.
“You will learn your new place!” I shout, swinging my hoof and clobbering him again. “You will accept that Hell will change and grow. You are no longer in complete control. You gave up your incomparable power the moment you handed over the tether to Andre. You will obey our agreement. I will ensure it even if it means taking control and giving up my time here.”
“You wouldn’t.” Lucian heaves a breath, no longer fighting me. We both know that I’m right. He can act like he’s the epitome of Hell power, but the Mortal Realm has in fact weakened him.
“I already plan to. Elias will need my guidance in taking his throne. His descent into power to help Raven rise to her rightful place is all that matters.” I summon a sword once again. He will feel the truth of my words.
Lucian clenches his jaw, his body rippling with his fury. In this moment, I feel his fire burning out. He’s officially realized the consequences of letting his desire to join the Mortal Realm consume him. Without the tether to Hell, he will face the same punishment he dished out before weaseling his way here.
And I can’t wait to hear him scream and beg for mercy.
