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I’m in his arms, and that makes everything feel all right. Whatever comes next, we’ll figure it out together.
Sleep creeps up on me like a shadow, and I let it take me, a soft sigh falling from my lips. Just as the last bit of consciousness fades away, I hear Lucifer murmur something into my hair. I try to make out what it is he’s said, but I can’t concentrate. I’m too satiated, worn out, and groggy to piece it together.
Then, with one more gentle tug, sleep pulls me all the way under.
Chapter29
Lucifer
Her body is pressedto mine and I focus on the shape of her, the weight and feel of her in my arms, her scent. I’m memorizing her, all of her, imprinting her being on my mind. I would hold her forever if I could. That knowledge beats through me, making the ache in my chest spread.
The angel in my arms—if she’d known what she was, we never would have gotten this far. She never would have left my office alive, if she’d ever dared to approach it at all. We would have been sworn enemies by default.
Enemies.
Today, I counted Uriel among my enemies, and an angel as my trusted partner in battle. The words don’t fit in my head, but the ache in my chest envelops them, consumes them. Sophia sighs in her sleep, content to lie against me. I would let her languish in my arms until the end of time, which confirms what my next move must be.
As gently as I can, I disentangle myself from her, making sure she doesn’t wake as I slide out of bed. She resettles, curling up in the middle of the bed, and sighs again in her sleep. I want her to always sleep so soundly, to always feel safe enough to close out the world completely.
Which is the very reason I sneak out of the cabin and head for the car. If Moloch followed the instructions I sent him in that text, the answer to at least some of our problems should be here. Popping open one of the small overhead compartments, I find exactly what I’m looking for in the form of a tiny paper envelope. I check the contents quickly, and when I’m satisfied, I creep back into the cabin and the bedroom.
These charms are difficult to make and even more difficult to find, but Moloch has ways of procuring things that no one else can. It’s a very sensitive piece, so sensitive that only the recipient can touch it. Even the creator must be cautious, or the charm will bind to them instead.
Holding the envelope open, I tip it against her bare shoulder. The charm meets her skin with an iridescent glow, clinging to her as I pull the paper slowly away. The whole of the glittering charm fuses to her, intricate runes braided around one another and laced with deep magic. It sinks into her skin, the glow fading as the charm takes effect.
It will be impossible now for Cephalus to track her.
He won’t be able to hunt her down and drag her back to Hell. He could be in the very same building, on high alert for any clue leading to her, and he still wouldn’t find her.
She stirs in her sleep, perhaps reacting to the charm as it settles beneath her skin. I kiss her hair, inhaling her scent, soothing her with my touch. She settles with a sigh and slips back into a deep sleep. I step back, gazing down at her, listening to her steady, even breaths.
Uriel was right to worry. In the moments before I disabled my brother, I demanded answers, determined to find out why he had tried to kill her. And what he told me rocked me to my core.
“Our father will never stop trying to use her against you,”he whispered. I can still see the desperation gleaming in his eyes.
“What are you talking about?” I snarled, furious. “He can’t—”
“Yes, he can.” Uriel’s eyes gleamed. “And he will. She’s your weakness, and you are hers. He will imprison her or torture her. He’ll do whatever he needs to in order to manipulate you. Your love for her will be your downfall.”
“Fuck you. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, I do,” he insisted. “I may be the only person who knows him better than you do, brother. Lucifer, listen to me!”
I had him pinned, hand raised, ready to kill him. But I hesitated, honoring the brother I thought was lost, while still keeping the enemy he had become at a disadvantage.
“If you fall in love, it will destroy you—you and your woman both. Lucifer…” His voice broke, his eyes gleaming with emotion. “I don’t want you to die. As long as Cephalus knows he can use her against you, he won’t stop. He’ll ruin her, and you’ll end up dying in his useless, never-ending war.”
I shake my head. It doesn’t excuse him, but his words resonated with me in a way I haven’t been able to shake. Because he’s right. Every moment that Sophia is in my life, she’s at risk. My father is relentless, and he’s a cruel, manipulative bastard. And as long as he sees an opportunity in my feelings for Sophia, he won’t stop trying to exploit them. He’ll use her against me, and he will never stop.
Uriel’s decision to try to protect me from my father’s manipulations by destroying Sophia is something I can’t forgive him for. But his actions opened my eyes to the pure, raw truth: as long as she’s with me, she’s in danger. And there’s only one way to keep her safe.
Still, despite knowing what I have to do, I can’t keep the truth inside anymore.
“I love you,” I murmur. It’s like a pressure release valve on the chaos roiling in my mind, relief rolling off my tongue. I never thought this would happen. I never thought it could.
The prince of lies, falling in love? How would that even work?
Catastrophically, apparently, because it has happened. I’ve fallen in love, wholly and completely. Now I find that my love could destroy the very person I worship. The woman I adore.
