Page 112 of Reluctant Rebel

Lucifer shook his head. “You are a resurrection angel forpeople’ssouls, Sabre. You have no power over the beasts.”

“Bullshit!” Sabre immediately yelled. “More than half the supernatural population arebeasts. What about shifters? I’ve brought back plenty of them.”

Lucifer looked apologetic when he responded. “It’s not the same thing, Sabre. Shifter’s souls are inherently human. It’s their magic that allows them to become beasts. Styx has the soul of a hellhound.”

That wasnotwhat she wanted to hear. At all. And it sure as shit wasn’t going to be something she accepted. “Styx! Here, boy!” she shouted once more, moving past Luca.

“He’s fine, Sabre,” Lucifer shouted after her swiftly moving form. “I promise.”

Sabre halted abruptly. Her eyes kept scanning her surroundings, which were becoming less and less mirror-like of Purgatory and increasingly like Hell. There was still no sign of her favourite hellhound. She’d never had to hunt for a freshly transitioned soul before. Gage was the exception because too much time had passed since his soul left his body. And he had paid for that by becoming a living, breathing zombie.

She refused to turn when she felt a warm presence at her back. “I don’t want your promises, Luca. I want my hellhound.”

“Yours, huh?” Lucifer asked quietly.

Sabre looked over her shoulder, meeting the pearly eyes of the Devil. It was literally impossible to lie to him, so she didn’t even try. “Yes. Mine. And Jinx’s, Eric’s, Gage’s. Even that fuck-knuckle Draven. Styx is just as much ours as Brax’s because we all love him, too.”

Lucifer sighed. “You’re not wrong.”

Sabre faced forward again, biting her bottom lip. “I really can’t bring him back? There’s really no way?”

“You really can’t,” Lucifer responded from behind her. He hesitated momentarily before continuing, “But I would be lying if I said there was no other way. And we both know I’m incapable of lying.”

Sabre spun quickly, her feathers hitting Luca in the face. She ignored his yelp, studying his expression until realisation hit her. “Youcan fix him. What are you waiting for? Do it,” she demanded.

Lucifer shook his head and frowned. “It’s not that easy. Styx wouldn’t currently be curled up on my living room rug if it were. He would be here with you. But it’s against the rules.”

“The rules?” Sabre couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She’d known Lucifer for a very long time. They were friends. Yet he was refusing to save a cherished life when he was the only one with the power to do so? “Since when do you give a fuck about the rules?” she shouted angrily.

“Always!” Lucifer shouted back. He pinned her with his stare, his ivory irises seeming to glow from within. “I havealwayscared about the rules, Sabre. It’s why I’m Hell’s King. You know better than to believe a bunch of bullshit rumours. I am not here because I broke the rules. I am not here because I am being punished. And I am certainly not here because I am fallen.”

Sabre’s mouth dropped open when wings began to appear behind Lucifer’s back. She watched as they rose high, well above his head, spreading over six feet to the sides. He flapped them once, creating a gust of wind strong enough to make her stumble. She scowled, regaining her footing quickly as she took in the incredible visage of Lucifer in all his righteous glory.

Lucifer’s feathers were glossy black, so dark and deep that they absorbed the light around them, creating the illusion that he was standing within a black hole. The only reason she couldidentify his exquisite feathers was because every second one was golden. Not to mention the monstrosity of a halo floating over his dark head. The thing was radiating enough light to illuminate half of Hell. And if that wasn’t enough, the charm he wore like a second skin now appeared to be leaking out of his fucking pores.

The Devil was spellbinding in his beauty.

And his arrogant smirk told her he knew all too well. Sabre shook off her momentarily lapse into a fangirl, replacing her wide-eyed look with a scowl. “Enough with the radiance bullshit. You’ve made your point. You’re a righteous angel. Yay for you.”

Lucifer maintained eye contact for a heartbeat before relaxing. The halo disappeared, and although his wings stayed out, they no longer dripped with his grace. He grinned at her. “Jealous?”

Sabre scoffed. “Of what? The fact that you’re an angelic lava lamp? Or those golden feathers? I have more.”

Lucifer’s mouth dropped open in disbelief before he looked pointedly at Sabre’s wings. “You do not have more golden feathers than me. Turn around,” he ordered. “Let me count.”

Sabre’s lips twitched in amusement. He was just too easy. “Never gonna happen,” she replied, tucking her wings closely to her back.

“Whatever,” Lucifer muttered grumpily.

They stood in silence for a moment, and Sabre was relieved to find it comfortable. She didn’t like it, but she understood following the rules and doing your duty—even when it was shitty. Hadn’t she spent a lifetime becoming the antithesis of her kind in order to fulfil her purpose? So, yes, she understood. But it didn’t lessen the pain of Styx’s death.

“Zagan is dead,” she revealed abruptly.

Lucifer nodded. “I noticed.”

Sabre narrowed her eyes at Luca before glancing around suspiciously. “Is that walking disappointment close? I could takeout some of my aggression on him. Resurrect him only to kill him over and over again.”

Luca laughed. “It’s a fun idea. But this isn’t his Hell.”

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