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Cassidy gapes at me. For a moment, I worry that it’s too much, that she won’t be able to bring herself to believe me, but then she whirls on Lucifer, her eyes snapping furiously. “You hired her, you’re dating her, you’re afucking demon,and you didn’t think that might be a fucking problem?”
“Cassidy, hold on—”
She goes on, spitting with rage. “Now you’ve got my sister in another fucking dimension or whatever? And why? Jesus, Sophia, do you even like this guy?”
“Yes,” I say firmly. “I love him.”
“Yeah, exactly, and that’s—” Cassidy stops, eyes wide, and turns back to me. “Wait, what?”
I glance at Lucifer, who’s also staring at me. I can’t blame either of them. I’m a little shocked myself to hear those words coming out of my mouth, although I’ve been feeling them for a while now.
“Listen, Cassidy, this is rough and weird and wild, and I know I’m way out of my element. But right now, this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
Cassidy shoots a doubtful look at Lucifer, then steps closer to me and lowers her voice. I’m sure it doesn’t change anything. Her voice is the only real sound around us, and I’m sure he can still hear every word. “Are you sure this isn’t some kind of Stockholm syndrome or something? I mean, I trust you and everything, but you’ve always kind of had a weakness for guys who push you around.”
I smile at her, wishing I could hug her or squeeze her hands, wishing there was a way for me to send my reassurance through the ether to her. “I’m sure,” I tell her. “Besides, he doesn’t really push me around, he flies me around.”
She looks at me suspiciously. “Private jet or magic carpet?”
“Wings,” I whisper, grinning.
Her jaw drops. “Oh, well that’s just not fair,” she says, laughing. She looks at him pensively for a long moment. “You gonna fly her back to talk to me again, or is this a one-time thing?”
“I’ll bring her back whenever I’m able and she wants to come,” he promises.
“Okay,” Cassidy sighs. “I hate this so much, but I’m late and I’m pretty sure people are going to call the cops on me for standing here screaming at nothing and talking to myself. Just—you’re safe, right? Like, you’re okay?”
“I’m okay. Really.” Right now, this second, alone in the cave with Lucifer—so I’m safe. She doesn’t need to know that someone tried to kill me, it would only make her worry more, and have an existential crisis about what happens to people who die when they’re already in Hell, which is a crisis I’ve been putting off myself and don’t want to pass to her.
“Okay. Promise you’ll stay safe?”
“I’ll be safe,” I tell her.
She narrows her eyes at me. “Promise. Me.”
“I promise I’ll be safe.” My heart rate picks up a little bit; I don’t like making promises I’m not sure I can keep.
“Okay,” Cassidy breathes. She looks over my shoulder and grimaces. “Okay, people are definitely making calls on me now. I love you, Sophia. And you—Lucas, Lucifer,whatever—you keep my sister safe. Got me?”
“Yes ma’am,” he says, surprising me by not adding a sardonic smile to his somber oath.
“Go on,” I tell her. “We’ll talk again soon. I love you too. Be good, okay?”
“Yes, mother,” she says with a smirk. She takes a deep breath and walks around us. Lucifer puts his hand on the small of my back and turns me around. I wave at her as she disappears into the crowd, then let Lucifer lead me across the rapidly-fading scene. Soon the swirling white smoke is all around us again, and a moment later we’re stepping out into the sunlight.
His eyes burn intensely as he looks at me. The moment grows heavy, my words echoing in the silence between us. Slowly, deliberately, he slides my hands into his. I can feel his pulse race against my fingertips, and mine is dancing right along with his.
“Sophia.” My name sounds like a prayer on his lips and my heart flutters. “Did you mean what you said? About how you feel? You love me?”
I hesitate, feeling like I’m about to step over the edge of a cliff. That confession seems so much bigger here, in this place. So much more important with him than with anyone else, ever. It’s a confession which puts my heart in the same predicament as my body and mind. Wholly vulnerable to him.
But aren’t I already there? Gravity still drags you down, even when you’re not thinking about it. The wind still blows, even when you don’t want it to. And my heart is in his hands, even if I never tell him so.
“Yes,” I tell him. “I love you.”
Chapter17
Lucifer
