Chapter 72

Beatrice

The vulnerability in Lucifer’s voice caught me off-guard. I’d never in a million years have guessed I could make such a powerful man feel this way. I wanted to comfort him—a strange reaction for me. I’ve always wanted to comfort familiars but rarely people. With Lucifer, I wanted to make him feel better and tell him I’d never leave him over something like that. To do so would be a lie. Since I hadn’t seen his dark side, I had no way of knowing if it would be too much.

“I wouldn’t run from you, but you might be right about waiting,” I admitted. “We should probably get to know each other better before we take that step.”

He nodded, and his hands fell away from my wings. After taking two steps back to put some distance between us, he looked toward another mountain off in the distance.

“Is that it?” I asked. “Is that Heaven?”

“No,” Lucifer replied. “We still call that one Olympus.”

“Really?” I asked. “That’s where the Greek gods live?”

“Technically, they’re all fallen angels,” he corrected me.

“I know, but they were considered gods by humans,” I reminded him. “I used to love reading their stories as a child.”

“They are still famous, and they will never let you forget that,” he added with a laugh. “That’s where all except Hades live. He was never welcome there. Even short visits are still frowned upon.”

“Poor Hades,” I said on a sigh. “He’s always been excluded from the others on Olympus, hasn’t he?”

“Hades prefers it that way,” he assured me. “The others spent far too much time trying to pretend they were good and just gods. That used to piss Hades off.”

“I’m glad Hades isn’t completely delusional,” I remarked.

“He’s been moving in that direction for a very long time,” Lucifer added. “I will admit that he seems to be doing better lately. At least, he’s trying to do better. Of all the things I thought might improve his sanity, a woman named Persephone wasn’t on that list. I always assumed that, by the time he found the right Persephone, his mind would be too far gone. Before he met your friend, I was certain I’d need to end his existence soon. Not only was he getting too dangerous, it was beginning to seem like the kindest thing to do. And then, he met your roommate.”

“My friend is something else,” I mused before looking off in the distance. “Do you ever miss it?”

“Miss what?” he asked.

“Heaven,” I replied as I met his gaze. “Do you miss being there?”

He shook his head. “No. I was never happy there for the same reason Hades couldn’t be happy on Mount Olympus. The other angels all want to believe they’re good and noble, but they do horrible things. They’re still in Heaven because they didn’t start a rebellion or form their own pantheon. They’ve interfered in wars among humans and witches. I’ve even heard rumors that angel blood was used to make the first vampires. There are reasons we’re forbidden from creating a new species. The vampires could have wiped out the human population. Luckily, they were smart enough to realize they needed to limit their numbers.”

“Angel blood?” I practically gasped. “Vampires are descended from angels?”

“It would be a stretch to say they were descended from angels, and those rumors have never been confirmed,” he explained. “If an angel was involved with their creation, he or she wouldn’t want anyone to find out. They would be cast out of Heaven.”

“Have you considered that it could have been a fallen angel?” I asked.

“That’s possible but less likely. We have more contact with your realm, and we’d rather not see it destroyed.” He sighed before continuing. “We should head back before it gets dark.”

“I can’t believe it was already getting dark when we came here,” I remarked as I looked around. “It seems like midday.”

“It always does on this mountain,” he explained. “We’ve actually stayed longer than we should have. I’m not comfortable with you flying in the dark. There are some nasty things that come out at night.”

“Dangerous demons?” I asked a little nervously.

He chuckled at my question. “All the nasty demons come out during the daylight hours as well as at night. I was actually referring to night hornets.”

“Night hornets?” I asked. “I’ve never heard of those.”

“They’re about the size of my fist and extremely aggressive. We don’t want to run into one. I’ve been stung. It hurts like a bitch.”

“You probably shouldn’t have told me about them,” I said with a shudder. “They don’t make the demon realm sound like someplace I’d like to live.”

“Don’t worry,” he assured me. “They’re only in one region, and I do my best to stay out of there after dark. Unfortunately, we have to pass through there to get back to my place, so we should go.”

I nodded and tested my wings again. “It’s probably best we leave. Holding this form is using up a lot of energy. I’m exhausted.”

“Does this mean you’ll want to go straight to bed when we get home?” he asked in a seductive voice.

“You’re insatiable,” I accused.

“Only with you,” he assured me.

“You’ll have to do all the work,” I told him. “I’m too tired.”

“My pleasure,” he murmured.

I was pretty sure it would be my pleasure.