Just when I was about to ask if the fire thing was permanent, the flames faded, revealing skin—skin that surprisingly carried the same kind of glow Zayne’s did, but brighter. It did the same thing my father’s did, an ever-changing kaleidoscope of pinks and browns before settling on a tawny hue that seemed neither white nor brown. As the glow receded, the first thing I noticed was that his features were clear to me—well, as clear as they could be in the moonlight, but definitely more visible than Roth’s or Layla’s. The second thing I noticed was how much he looked like my father, even his eyes. They were a vibrant, unnatural shade of blue, and the wings were the same—something else that surprised me even though I knew that Lucifer had retained his wings after his Fall and his grace. I just hadn’t expected them to be so white and pristine, because he was, after all, freaking Lucifer. They were as large as my father’s, stretching at least ten feet. The sculpted jaw and cheekbones were the same. The prominent brow and straight nose nearly identical. The fair, shoulder-length hair also similar. They could be brothers, and it struck me then that Michael and Lucifer were brothers, as were Raphael, Gabriel and all the rest.
Oh, man, wasn’t that a dysfunctional as Hell family.
That I was a part of.
Wait. Did that mean Lucifer was...was my uncle? My nose wrinkled. We had to have some really messed up DNA relatives on 23andMe.
But family genealogy was so not important right now, because finally, the third thing I noticed, unfortunately, was that he was naked.
Why were they always naked?
Keeping my eyes northward wasn’t a problem, though. I didn’t want to see any of what he did or did not have going on down below.
He came to a stop a few feet from Roth and Layla, his wings moving soundlessly behind him. A coldness drenched my skin and my bones as those ultrabright eyes drifted over us, and when he spoke, ice encased my soul. His voice...it was like a melody—a hymn. The kind of voice that could convince you to take part in any unimaginable sin.
“Bow,” Lucifer ordered. “Bow before your true Lord and Savior.”
None of us moved.
Or bowed.
We all stared at him, which probably meant we were seconds away from being brutally murdered in really horrific ways.
Lucifer clapped his hands together, causing me to give a little jump. “I’m just kidding.” He chuckled, and the sound was like dark chocolate, smooth and sinful. “So, I’m told I’m needed to save the world.”
“Yeah,” I said hoarsely.
Lucifer smiled, and I’d never seen anything so beautiful and so equally frightening before. Goose bumps broke out over my flesh. “Then let’s raise some Hell.”
26
“Can you put some clothes on first?” Roth asked.
I so seconded that request.
“Does my nakedness make you uncomfortable, Prince?”
“Yes,” Roth replied. “It does.”
“What about you two...?” Lucifer looked at Zayne and I again. His head tilted to the side. “What in the forbidden fruit do we have here?”
I wasn’t exactly sure which one of us he was referring to.
“A child of an angel...” He tipped his head back, inhaling deeply. “Not just any angel, though.” His chin snapped back down, and those eyes were no longer blue. They burned a deep crimson. “Michael,” he sneered. “You reek of Michael. I’ve been looking for you.”
Zayne was in front of me in a heartbeat, the sound of his shirt tearing as his wings unfurled from his back, bright white and streaked with pulsing grace. I thought I heard Layla gasp.
“And a Fallen? A Fallen with his grace? What has come of this world that the first thing I see is a nephilim and a Fallen still in possession of grace?” Lucifer’s laugh sounded like icicles falling, and I kept my mouth shut about the whole nephilim thing. “You think you can take me, Fallen? I’ve stripped larger wings than yours. Want to learn how that feels?” The scent of brimstone burned my nostrils. “I’ll be happy to oblige you.”
“I’d rather not, but if you make one move toward her, I’m more than willing to find out when I tear your wings off,” Zayne warned.
My eyes widened.
Lucifer let out another dark chuckle. “Cocky. I kind of like it.”
“That’s not really a good thing,” Roth commented from the sidelines. “He likes to collect things he likes.”
“And put them in cages,” Lucifer confirmed, and what the Hell was up with the whole putting things in cages obsession? “You didn’t tell me there was a Fallen involved, Prince.”
“I didn’t know there was one,” he replied as I peeked around one of Zayne’s wings. Lucifer was still eyeballing Zayne like he wanted to have him for dinner. “This is the Warden we were telling you about. The one Gabriel killed.”
“Aha, so you were given back your Glory. Restored to righteousness, but you Fell. For her.” Lucifer’s head snapped to his left, and those glowing red eyes met mine. “Peek-a-boo, I see you.”
I shivered. “Hi?”
He dipped his chin, smiling. “How is your dear old father? Haven’t seen him in a spell.”
“I really don’t know.” I stepped to the side and under Zayne’s wing. He cursed, but I ignored it. “He’s kind of an absentee father.”
“Well, don’t we have that in common?” Lucifer’s gaze shifted to Zayne. “And don’t you and I have things in common? But I still have my Glory, Fallen. Step to me, and I’ll have you in chains fashioned from your own bones, and your nephilim at my side and in my bed.”
Zayne tensed beside me as grace surged, overriding my already limited common sense. I took a step forward as the corners of my vision turned white. “If you touch a hair on his head, I’ll cut off what you think you’re going to use in that bed and force-feed it to you.”
Lucifer’s brows shot up as his smile grew. “Now, you shouldn’t flirt with me so obviously in front of your boy. That may hurt his feelings.”
“Boy?” The growl that came from Zayne reminded me of something a very large, very predatory animal would make.
“Guys,” Roth sighed. “Can we not do this? You both have big wings and all three of you have a whole lot of grace. Zayne isn’t going to step to you. Lucifer isn’t going to hurt Zayne, and, Trinity, you’re not cutting off any unmentionable pieces,” he said. “And can I also not be the voice of reason? I don’t like it. At all.”
“I kind of like it,” Layla said. “It’s a nice change.”