We agree to meet the Skotos royals three blocks away from the mansion where I first met Aurora in the parking lot of a dilapidated building that was never restored after Katrina. The three royal Dark Ones are all dressed in black fighting clothes, much like my own. Lucifer is the oddball in his usual tailored suit as if he can’t be bothered with pedestrian attire. Honestly, I couldn’t picture him any other way.
“So how do you want to play this?” Lucifer asks, giving point to Dorian. A show of respect and an olive branch.
“The three of us,” he begins, motioning to Niko and Lucifer, “Will surround the house and take out any…obstacles. Once we’re inside, Gabriella and Eden will move in.”
“I think it’s best they stay together,” Niko tacks on. “Gabs can hold her own in a fight, and will ensure Eden stays safe.”
“I agree,” Lucifer approves. “They’d be more effective together. Stronger.”
As annoyed as I am that they’re talking about us as if we’re not even here, I can’t argue, and apparently, neither can Gabriella. We know virtually nothing about what it means to be two out of four of the Horsemen. Plus, now that she’s pregnant and still keeping it under wraps, I’d rather stay as close as possible to watch her back. Even if I am the newbie of this group, I know enough to put a few dozen demons down. And what I don’t know, I’ll figure out. Like Cain said, I’m a quick study.
“You ready for this?” Lucifer murmurs once we’ve gone over the game plan in full detail.
“Definitely. Especially after what Aurora pulled last night. I’m next in line once Gabriella gets done with her.”
“Yeah. I guess you are.” He busies his fingers with flicking a speck of imaginary lint from his jacket.
“So, uh, we’re good, right?” I ask, which sounds insane even to my ears.
He withheld vital information from me, not to mention we slept together only for him to turn around and try to demean me.
I feel fucking foolish, honestly. But we’re about to walk into the unknown, and as confident as everyone seems to be, I know better than to underestimate our enemies. They’ve stayed two steps ahead of us, despite us exhausting every supernatural safeguard. So if Aurora is working with Stavros, thus working for Legion, we need to consider this a serious threat. And I don’t want to walk into that house with our last conversation gnawing at me like tiny mites of regret. I don’t want him to think that I don’t get it—that I don’t get him—because I do. He may say he doesn’t give a fuck, but I know that game. I’ve been playing it my entire life.
His sinister smirk is so seamless that it feels rehearsed. “Of course. Why wouldn’t we be?”
“Well, earlier…what you said. What I said. I get why you didn’t tell me, although I wish you would have.”
He shrugs. “And if I did, would you have come here? Would you have agreed to stay with me?”
Stay with me.
The truth ripped me open, yet those three words lick the wound, laving my hurt and rawness clean.
It was easier when I was convinced that I hated him. Even easier than that when I thought he hated me. And maybe he does. Maybe he’s better at this game than I thought, and I’ve been playing myself the entire time.
I shake my head dispelling whatever absurdity is trying to root its way into my thoughts and bloom, and give him as much honesty as I can muster for the moment.
“If it would have helped find Legion, yes. I would.”
He nods and snorts a sardonic laugh, but he doesn’t reply. I’m grateful for the reprieve.
The three males head to Aurora’s mansion first, dematerializing right in front of my eyes. I’d seen Niko dissolve into wisps of charcoal vapor, but I hadn’t paid attention to Lucifer’s ability to dissolve into a pocket of nothingness before. His power manifests differently than the Dark, and instead, he erupts into glowing embers that rain down and extinguish as soon they touch the chilly pavement. One second he’s there, and the next there’s only a light dusting of ash where he just stood. I’m reminded of Legion’s ability to fold himself into black feathers that disintegrate before they even touch the ground. Amazing.
“It won’t be long,” Gabriella states. She lifts her chins and scents the air, as if she’s listening to the breeze and waiting for our signal. “The house seems abandoned.”
“It was like that when I saw it too. There’s a spell cast over it.”
“If there are any wards, Dorian will break them.” She turns to me, and I note a shade of sorrow in her peculiar eyes. “Just in case I don’t get the chance later on, I wanted to say goodbye. After Aurora is dealt with, my family and I are leaving.”
“Back to Skiathos?”
“No,” she shakes her head. “Away. Where I can’t hurt anyone else. When the threat is resolved, we may return. But for now…” She sucks in a breath. “I can’t do this to another mother. I can’t hurt another child. I won’t. So we’re leaving. Me, Dorian, and my children.”
“You told him about the baby?”
“Not yet. Later, after we get through this. Telling him now would only distract him. Plus, he’d try to bench me, and I’m not great at being told what to do.” She smiles, but there’s sadness pinching the corners of her mouth. “Nikolai is going to take over Dorian’s duties. And if Stavros somehow escapes, he and my father will ensure that he is put down for good.”
“I understand.”
“I hope you do. I want to stay and help, but it’s too risky. I can’t live knowing that I could endanger so many innocent lives.” She reaches over and squeezes my hand, her touch warm and comforting. “I hope we meet again in this lifetime, Eden. And no matter the outcome, I want you to know that you are special, not for what you are, but who you are. You have a big heart. You shouldn’t be afraid to show it.”
I try to smile despite the painful knot in my throat. “Thank you. I wish I could believe that.”
“How could you not? Despite all you’ve been through, you still found the capacity to love. You still risk your life for the ones you care about when it is so much easier just to give up. And while every inner alarm may have warned you to flee, you took someone that is seemingly irredeemable, and you chose to see the beauty and goodness in him. The stuff that all others were too afraid to find. And you made him want to be better.”
I nod, biting back rising emotion. “Legion is worth it. He did the same for me.”
Her eyes narrow slyly. “I wasn’t talking about Legion.”
I frown. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I see the way Lucifer looks at you. Hell, anyone within ten miles can feel the chemistry between you two. I’m not judging, trust me. A few years ago, a mysterious stranger barged into my life with the intent to kill me in exchange for his freedom. I knew he was dangerous—everything about him was a flashing, neon warning label. And I married him.” She shrugs. “We can’t help who we love. And oftentimes, it’s the ones who may not completely deserve love that need it the most. So, if you feel for him as I suspect he feels for you, don’t run away from it. Let him find his redemption in you. Your heart may heal him.”
I’m stunned speechless. Luckily, Gabriella’s gaze flares and she turns around, as if she can sense something coming from the direction of the house.
“Something’s wrong.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. The house is empty, the wards are broken, but they can still feel a presence.” She pauses a beat. “Shit. I’ve lost contact.”
She pulls me closer to her side, her hand tightening in mine.
“Hold on.”
Just like in Hell when Niko kidnapped me in the bathroom and flashed me to my room, the process of disintegrating into nothing and rematerializing several yards away is disorienting. Bile roils in my gut and my head is spinning. But I only have a second to refocus my vision and regain my wits before Gabriella rushes up the darkened pathway, pulling me along with her. She pauses at the entranceway, and I take the opportunity to unsheathe a gun loaded with angelsbane bullets and The Redeemer.
Gabriella spares me a glance, and I notice that her eyes—one golden, one ice blue—are glowing. Electric neon webs of magic erupt at her fingertips and crawl up her forearms. Her entire body vibrates with supernatural power unlike anything I’d ever felt before. She is the Dark Light, the first being derived of both Dark Ones and Light Enchanters. Her very presence fills me with awe and reverence.
“Stay close,” she instructs. Then with a wave of her hand, the front door crumbles to rubble.
We step through plumes of rising dust and debris and cross the threshold. The house is quiet and dark, but my keen Nephilim senses kick in, telling me that we aren’t alone. I fling out my mental power, molding it into a blanket of awareness that covers the space in front of us. It only reaches a few yards ahead, just enough for me gauge what we’re walking into. I don’t want to cast it too far into the darkness, in fear that I’ll find something that could manipulate my mental hold and render me useless, just as The Many did in my dream.
Our steps are virtually soundless as we maneuver through a maze of furniture covered by white sheets. I touch a finger to what I assume is the table that was topped with dozens of glasses of champagne just last night. It’s caked in dust. This can’t be right. I tap Gabriella’s shoulder and point towards the hallway. My memory is fuzzy, but I know there are bedrooms back there. She follows my line of vision and steps closely behind, letting me lead the way.
One by one, we quietly and carefully survey each room. Beds, dressers, vanities, all covered with sheets as if they haven’t been used in months, maybe years. Some pieces stand out to me, triggering a sense of déjà vu. I know these rooms, I know these furnishings. Each detail is like a fragment of a memory, a piece of the puzzle that is last night. I’d thought it’d been scrubbed from my brain completely, but it’s been here all along, buried under Orexis magic and my own guilt.
We clear the first floor without any sign of the men. Shit. If it weren’t for my own memory, I’d think we were at the wrong house. I turn to Gabriella and find that her expression mirrors mine: confused, frustrated, and afraid. Something has happened to Niko, Dorian, and Lucifer.
A note of pressure against my temples and then I hear her voice echoing in my skull.
“What’s upstairs?”
I push my influence towards her and twist the lock on her mind. She drops her mental shields and lets me in easily.
“Five more bedrooms and four bathrooms. Follow me.”
We creep to the base of the staircase and look up. It’s quiet and still, but the presence I feel grows stronger, calling out to both taunt and seduce me. Something is up there. I just can’t tell if it’s who we hope it is.
“Anything?” I ask telepathically.
Gabriella shakes her head. Shit.
We head up as quietly as possible, our senses on overdrive, prepared to pick up even the slightest stir of life. Once we reach the top, I round the first corner, gun and dagger at the ready, with Gabriella at my back. The first room is much like the others—filled with abandoned furniture blanketed with dust. I’m not surprised when the rest are almost identical. However, when we stop at the last room, my hackles immediately raise. The presence is stronger. That sixth sense that someone is behind that door is so strong that I can damn near feel their pulse. Gabriella must feel it too because her eyes widen and she brushes past me to twist the knob before I can stop her. I try to cut her off as she rushes inside, but…
I feel it as soon as I cross into the room. Magic. Not jarring like Niko’s or weighted with pressure like Gabriella’s. Something wholly dark and inherently evil. It snakes over my skin like an oily serpent, trying to find a way to slither inside. Its breath wafts over me, an airborne enchantment that stirs the hair at my nape. It’s an ugly, noxious virus that steals my breath and squeezes my lungs.
“I’ve never been in this room,” I say out loud. The time for shielding our thoughts has passed. It would be no use.
Gabriella feels it too. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, this room was not in this house a day ago.”
She spits a curse. “It’s a trap.”
Simultaneously, we turn towards the door to leave, but it’s…gone. In the space it once was, there’s nothing but a wall. And right in the middle of it, is the symbol of the demon rebellion in Demoori Sheol.
“Fuck!” I snap. I lift the sleeve of my coat and pinch myself—hard. Not a dream. This isn’t a fucking dream.
“What is that?” Gabriella asks.
“It’s ancient demon language, meaning, the fallen shall reign. They knew we were coming.”
Gabriella’s gaze narrows and her jaw tightens. “Well, they just didn’t know who they were fucking with.”
She lifts her hands to emit a devastating current of power towards the wall, but the neon electricity dies at her fingertips. She tries again, but her magic is reduced to sparks.
“Shit. Shit! There’s something nullifying my magic. Something more powerful than me. And there is no other magic on Earth more powerful than mine.”
“Unless it’s juiced with the blood of an archangel,” I comment, putting it all together. Dark magic plus Demoori Sheol. This is the work of a powerful warlock working with demons. “Can you flash us out of here?”
She takes my hand and steels herself, her brow furrowed in concentration. Her image flickers before my eyes but she remains in the same place.
“No. Shit! Something is anchoring me here. My magic…it’s useless.”
I aim my gun at the wall. If magic won’t get us out, maybe firepower will. But the bullets ricochet right off of it as if they’re made of rubber, forcing us to take cover to avoid being hit.
“We’re trapped,” Gabriella says, rising panic quivering her voice. “I can’t…” She’s panting, as if she can’t breathe, as if the darkness is strangling her. Clutching her throat, she drops to the ground, struggling for air.
I know what I have to do.
Passion. Desire. Longing.
I close my eyes and invite them all in, conjuring everything I felt last night. Everything I had blocked from memory in fear of becoming what I’d always known. I kissed him like his lips were the balm to my aching soul, letting his tongue soothe the loneliness and despair that had plagued me. I found healing in his touch as he caressed my backside, drawing me closer. And when I sucked his thick cock into my mouth, I tasted sweet solace in the tiny trickles of precum that slid down my throat. He buried his face in my pussy like it was the vital key to peace unparalleled. He fucked me so good I found freedom from my demons that haunted my nightmares. And in those quiet moments, with his cheek against my belly and my fingers playing in his hair, I discovered myself. I knew where I was supposed to be as if the answer had been engrained in me since before birth. As if it was carved on my ribs when I was still in my mother’s womb.
I remember.
I remember.
Lucifer, I remember.
Holy light erupts at my fingertips, hotter and bolder than I’ve ever felt it, forming two glowing orbs. I press my palms together to condense them into one giant ball of sheer, undeniable power that engulfs both my hands and take a deep breath. I conjure all my strength, all my focus, and with a straining roar, I push it at the wall, right in the middle of the demon symbols etched in paint and plaster. The light collides with the Dark magic shielding the wall with a deafening crack of thunder, right before a lightning bolt rips through it, fracturing it in two as if it were made of porcelain. I hold out an arm to shield Gabriella from the dust and rubble that kicks up towards us while also shielding my own face from the fallout.
“It worked,” I rasp, as the dust clears, revealing a gaping hole in the wall. “Gabriella, it worked!”
I reach back to help her to her feet, but my hand only captures air. I wave it through the remains of powdered plaster to clear my line of vision.
But she’s gone.
Heavy footsteps are a fear-driven stampede, and within seconds, Niko, Dorian, and Lucifer are rushing into view, their own hair and clothing covered in dirt and grime.
“Thank fuck,” Niko breathes. His shoulders fall in relief as he approaches and pulls me into his arms. “We couldn’t get to you. My magic—all of us…”
“This place has been spelled with a powerful darkness,” Lucifer finishes. His eyes are electric as he regards me closely yet keeps his distance.
“Let’s find what room Gabriella was trapped in and get the hell out of here,” Dorian grumbles, his bright blue eyes sweeping the space. Panic paints his beautiful features.
I don’t know what to say to ease his obvious distress. I don’t know what to do to make this right. I don’t even think I can. So I stand there, eyes wide with regret, bottom lip trembling with unspoken truth.
“Come on,” Dorian urges when I fail to make a move towards the opening in the wall.
Lucifer and Niko simply stare at me, sensing the root of my unease.
“No,” Lucifer calls out after Dorian, who is already in the hallway.
“We don’t have time for this.”
“No,” Lucifer repeats.
Dorian spins around and strides over to where the three of us still stand, each step a jab to my chest. “I swear to the Divine, if you don’t fucking—”
“She’s gone,” I blurt out, unable to bite back the quiver in my voice.
“What?” he seethes.
I swallow, but it does nothing to dispel the lump in my throat.
“I said, she’s gone. The Dark Queen isn’t here. I lost her.”