Page 70 of Absolved In Death

To say I was shocked was an understatement.

Ares and Bash walked me to Lucifer’s conference room. I didn’t hear anyone talking through the door, most likely because they used a silencing spell, but I did feel apresence. Someone was in there with him.

We opened the door to find Lucifer and Desmond talking to a man. He seemed to be middle aged, with short black hair, brown eyes, and a long face. I had never met him before, but something told me he wasn’t a threat, despite his impressive power signature. Very few people were for me, nowadays. He wore a navy suit, but it wasn’t as nice as my father’s.

“Diana, meet Vaulo Roma, former Princeps Council member now defecting to the Morningstars,” he said, gesturing between us. “Vaulo, meet Diana Morningstar, my daughter, and two of her boyfriends. Ares, God of War, and Sebastian Black.”

22

BASH

“God of War and Personification of Chaos,” Ares corrected Lucifer. “As in I will make your life chaos if you harm my woman in any way, shape or form,” Ares growled.

Vaulo’s face paled, but before he could respond, I asked, “I’m assuming you’re not one of the Council members who charged us?” I wasn’t going to stand by and let a traitor into the fold, even if he had repented.

“No. As soon as Tabatha brought charges against you all, I went into hiding. No one in their right mind would go against you. When Desmond reached out to me, I came right away.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Vaulo. What kind of paranormal being are you?”

“I’m a serpent shifter,” he stated. “Each culture has their own term for us.”

Diana sat in the chair next to her father, giving the serpent shifter a neutral expression. I tried to mindlink her, but her mental wards were up, which was smart when meeting a new person. Especially one with his powers.

“Vaulo has connections to the American media and military, and we’re hoping he can use them to reverse some of the damage Red has done,” Lucifer explained.

“How do you plan to leverage them?” she asked.

“One of my powers is mind control. I’ll convince the media outlets to report the footage was fake, and retract the stories.”

“This solution could cause more issues than it solves,” Ares commented. “We have survivors in secure recovery locations, and you’ll need to alter their memories as well.”

“I can do that. But I rather humans argue and point the blame at the media, who they already distrust, than at you all,” he explained.

I agreed. The media was already shyte. Most humans took the news with a grain of salt anyway. The small amount of humans who would be impacted by us spinning the story was worth it to keep the entire world safe.

“Many humans already believed in the paranormal before Red’s breach. We need to get through this war without revealing my existence and that Hell is a real place. I’d rather stay in folklore, if possible,” Lucifer said with a laugh.

“I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with you being here,” Diana said calmly. “Your powers seem like the perfect solution, but they’re also a security risk.”

“Good point, LG. He can very easily warp our minds to gather intel and take that information back to Red. Or use his powers to take advantage of someone,” Ares added.

“Desmond promised me safe haven here from the Council and Red,” Vaulo said, sweat gathering on his forehead. “If you don’t take me in, they’ll find me and kill me. He turned to Lucifer and said, “You told me I could stay here.”

Lucifer sat back in his chair. His mischievous smile spread across his face, and I had been in enough meetings with him to know this was where he’d rake Vaulo over the coals. Theman was called the Prince of Darkness for a reason. He could manipulate anyone, and he was either using his daughter as a pawn to do so or she was in on it.

“No, I said I would be willing to let you stay here, but you’d have to run your plan by my daughter first. As my heir apparent, her opinion matters to me.”

I caught the faintest glimpse of surprise on Diana’s face before she schooled it back to cold indifference. She had to know she was second in line for the throne, right? It may not have been explicitly stated, but Oisín had made it clear he didn’t want it. Michael couldn’t take it unless he fell from grace. Maybe one of the guys would want it, but I highly doubted any of us would be accepted into the position.

Poor Vaulo was shaking in his boots. “What can I do to convince you?”

“I want you to make a deal with me and Lucifer, promising us you will only use your powers on our enemy and pre-approved targets. Myself, our leadership, our military, and anyone we consider under our protection who resides in Pit 13 is off limits. If you break it, you lose your power and we end your life.” She stated her terms calmly, like she had already thought of them ahead of time.

Can Lucifer strip someone of their powers?Ares asked me.

I have no clue, but he can break a soulbond and has threatened my claimbond on Diana, so I bet he can.

If anyone can do it, it’s Lucifer Fucking Morningstar, my nightmare of a father in law.

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