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“This aspect of Lucifer follows the rules set forth long ago,” Gray explained, taking a seat at the head of the table.
There was already a massive amount of food on the gleaming marble top. It was a feast fit for a king. I was happy Eddie was here because I only recognized some of the dishes laid out for us. I was sure I had him to thank.
“There are other aspects, of course,” Lucifer said, holding the seat out for me. I looked down the table and saw Gray’s nod, telling me he was allowing Lucifer to give me such courtesies and I should play along.
“I know I’ve heard a story of the queen meeting you. She didn’t mention your obvious charms.” I could do this. I could sit here and eat some lovely food and not run screaming from the hall all the way back to the Earth plane.
How did I expect to steal from the man if I couldn’t sit in a room with him?
Lucifer seemed to search his memory and then nodded as he reclaimed his chair and the goblet he’d been using. “Ah, you mean the Queen of all Vampire. Yes, though when I met her she was merely a companion. I believe I called her a fuzzy bucket of blood.”
“This was when she was fighting that demon,” Lee recalled. “Halfer or some nonsense.”
“Brixalnax.” Lucifer sighed. “I miss him sometimes. Then I remember that he brought an angel down to the Hell plane and I pick my teeth with his bones. I have them, you know. Very handy at times. And when I met Queen Zoey, I was in one of my more irritable aspects. And apparently one with a good dose of misogyny because I utterly underestimated her. I didn’t even go deep enough to figure out she’s a nexus point. Do you know how few nexus points there are in all of the universe?”
“A handful throughout time,” Gray replied.
A nexus point is simply a weird name for a creature who has no fate. Apparently there’s really a thing called fate and most of us have one, but when we come into contact with these weirdos who don’t have a thread, we get pulled into their world and our fates can change based on how we interact with the nexus point. Zoey Donovan-Quinn was such a creature, and she’d been lucky that day because I would bet Lucifer would have had more interest in her had he realized how unique she truly was.
“Nexus points tend to change the world.” Lucifer looked thoughtful in the glow from the candlelight. It was stronger than it had been at dinner the night before, obviously trying to imitate something akin to morning light. “The fact that the queen is back at a crucial moment in time is precisely why I’m here today.”
“You want to meet my parents?” Lee asked.
“Oh, to that I say an infernal no.” Lucifer shuddered delicately. “I find your fathers to be annoyingly noble, and your mother, well, she’s simply annoying. If rumors are true, unlike the lovely Lady Sloane, the queen is carrying a pure abomination in her womb who could take us all out, but that’s a problem for another day. And before you scream how dare you call the sweetest babe in all the planes an abomination before it’s even been born, you should understand I like an abomination. Really gives one a good jolt of adrenaline.”
Lee’s expression had lost its placidity. “Why would you say that about my sister?”
“Which one? Because they both have obvious problems, but I assume you’re talking about the babe and not the dangerous creature sulking through the house and listening at the door behind us.” Lucifer sat sideways in his chair and pointed toward the kitchens. “Helloooo, Princess. Why don’t you join us?”
The door slammed open and there was Evan, her hair in a braid across her shoulder and her eyes narrowed in irritation. “Yes, I’d like to know why Lord Lucifer thinks the new kid is going to be a monster.”
Lucifer looked offended. “I never once said monster. I’m sure she’ll be perfectly lovely. She will also likely be a vampire, and a glowing one at that. Or perhaps something even worse. You see there’s a reason vampires can’t procreate, but as I said, that’s a problem for another day. Hello, you gorgeous princess. Is there a reason you don’t want your wings?”
Evan stopped, her whole body going stiff. “Wings?”
“Yes, they’re right there.” Lucifer’s tone went crooning as though he was talking about some amazing, decadent experience she would enjoy. “You can feel them under the surface of your skin. It itches sometimes right between your shoulder blades. The same way you feel your claws and fangs. Tell me something, Princess. Have you started craving blood yet?”
Evan’s jaw went tight, and there were tears in her eyes. “I never will.”
She turned and fled back to the kitchen, and I prayed Fenrir didn’t rush out here to defend his mate.
“Ah, there’s the dick,” Lee said with a shake of his head before taking a long drink from the goblet in front of him.
“Of course,” Lucifer agreed. “I wouldn’t be a good king of the demons if I wasn’t a massive tool. But I’m right about your sister.” He sat back up before leaning my way. “In this aspect I’m quite empathetic, but I can’t see everything. I can only do that when I’m whole, and even then there are creatures who I can’t read at all. Like the dark prophet. Or yourself, Lady Sloane. Or the baby king here. I understand Lord Sloane. His nature makes him unique in all of the Hell realms. He’s the only one of my nobility I can’t directly control if I like.”
And he didn’t like. As charming as he was attempting to be, there was still a hint of malice in every word. He didn’t like not controlling every aspect of his realm.
“You know biology plays tricks with us.” Gray had a plate of food in front of him, laid out by Tix. “The universe seeks balance, and you would be far too powerful if there wasn’t a single check on you, your infernalness. The vampires are a check on the power of the Hell plane.”
“Only God himself is a check on me.” Now there wasn’t a hint of malice. It simply pervaded the air around me, making it seem thicker than before. Like the very air could choke me if it wanted to. If he wanted it to.
If Gray was worried, he didn’t show it. “Of course. I was only trying to explain why you can’t delve into Lee or Kelsey’s heads the way you’re used to. Could you hear Evan’s fears?”
“No.” And he was clearly irritated. “You’re all annoyingly closed off, except the witch. Even the academic is muddy. I’ve always had trouble with the fuckers, but I can feel his desperation to save the witch. It’s funny. It tickles.”
“Then how did you know what happened to Evan?” Lee asked.
His lips curled up in a smirk. “Well, my darling boy, I do have spies in the world. I would be a terrible ruler if I didn’t keep up with the players of the plane, so to speak. I did receive a report that the king’s daughter had been injured and was revived by a primal. I caught a hint of her physical duress, and I do believe it’s because she’s fighting the change. She’ll lose in the end.”
