Page 24 of Unbroken

As I approach, Trys gets to his feet and leaps off the edge meeting me halfway. “Are you ok—" he stops my question with a kiss, cupping my face in his hands, he kisses me breathlessly. His tongue tangles with mine languidly, like there is no one else in this room but him and I. He pulls away and presses his forehead to mine, leaving me lightheaded and bereft.

“I don’t hear the voices anymore, sunshine, they’re all gone.” He smiles.

I look into his eyes, and I find peace there, no raging seas, just calm waters. Lucifer’s blood bridged the gap between their Demonic and Angelic sides, they are whole now. Thank the stars for that.

“See, perfectly harmless. Although, you must know, now you have to abide by the rules of the Underworld,” Lucifer says finally. I should have known there was a catch.

“What rules?” Rodyn asks, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“You’re bound to the Underworld. You have to be granted leave to live on Earth, but it is always temporary access. You must return here or die,” Bishop says. I look over my shoulder at Rook and Lyrik, they both nod their heads solemnly in confirmation. So, that’s why Lyrik returns to the Underworld every couple of months, he has no choice. None of them do. What does this mean for us?

“I wanted to tell them, Bishop.” Lucifer pretends to pout, and I want to slap his smug ass face. He knew this and he didn’t tell them. He didn’t give them a choice.

“You tricked them by omitting information,” I say accusingly. Even as the words leave my lips, it’s a weak argument considering the consequences of them not taking his blood.

“It doesn’t matter if I withheld information or not. The ceremony had to happen,” Lucifer snaps, his eyes blazing with anger, then he smiles maliciously. Talk about extreme ups and downs, he needs to pick an emotion and stick with it.

“How about a little I’m sorry I lied to you gift, sons. I have a surprise for you.” He holds his arms out like he’s about to give them the keys to the kingdom. With a wave of his hand a massive wrought iron cage floats down from the ceiling, hitting the middle of the platform with a loud bang. The person inside whimpers and I gasp in horror. This night just can’t get any crazier.

Hanging from a chain on her knees in the middle of the cage is a beaten and bloody Lucretia Larrieux.

ChapterFourteen

RODYN

“Hello, mother,” Trys says as he leaves a horrified Micah behind. Jumping up on the platform he and Ty move as one, approaching the cage from either side. Ty summons his knives and reaches out his arm to run the sharp tip against the bars. The clanging sound is jarring, echoing around the now empty, cavernous ballroom. The noise bounces off the walls, chilling and ominous, like a death toll, a countdown of her final minutes. This is not a gift, but an execution wanted by Lucifer, and he wants us to do it.

“Ty, Trys, not like this.” Micah shakes her head in alarm, eyes wide as she pads slowly toward the base of the platform with Rook and Lyrik not far behind.

Bishop stands protectively behind Marcus, Esme, and Sam, his wings spread, as if at any moment he might need to whisk them away from harm. His face is a neutral mask as he watches Lucifer’s every move.

I stand still and try to read the room. There is more at play here, information that we aren’t privy to. Just like before with the drinking of his blood, the omission of us being bound to the Underworld was a secret beyond our reach.

I quickly glance at Lucifer. The murderous gleam in his eyes, lips turning up slowly in a cruel smile while my brothers circle the cage like predators, is enough to give me pause. What am I missing here? Inside, I feel more like myself than I’ve felt in days. Trys just announced his voices were gone. Ty is Ty, his control is impeccable and he will internalize his feelings. There’s no rage, the darkness has receded but the sight of her alone evokes powerful hatred, too much trauma, way too much pain. I’ve fantasized about this moment, the three of us have wished and joked about the ways we would end her.

I step forward slowly, fists clenched at my sides, anger rising inside of me at the sight of the woman who manipulated me, used me and my brothers for her benefit. I will never forget the look on her face at the assembly weeks ago as poison coursed through my body while she smiled knowingly. Her cruelty knew no limits.

But not now. Her once impeccable clothes are tattered and blood-soaked. Her arms are chained up high, stretched to their limit behind her as she sags on her knees on the floor of the cage. Looking closer I see there are a plethora of three-inch spikes emerging through the floor, impaling her from below. Her blood oozes slowly, coating the base. My mother prided herself on her appearance. The stench coming from her prison makes me want to gag. I have to breathe through my mouth to get closer to her.

Her hair falls lank and dirty over her face, her breathing is shallow as she seems to barely cling to life. How long has she been this way? More importantly, how long has Lucifer been torturing her? I don’t give a shit what happens to her but with every eye in the room on us, the decision to kill her feels like the weighing of scales, as if the world itself is waiting to pass judgment on the three of us. I glance at Micah, her eyes beseech mine, pleading. Is she worried too? God, I want to talk this out, but we’ve been backed into a corner without even knowing. Another fucking game.

“I found her weeks ago when my gloriously vengeful brother decided to attack the Academy. She ran, afraid of the big bad Archangel, when she should have been afraid of me!” he shouts. My mother reacts with another whimper, her body trembling as she tries to cower, but the chains hold her in place. Is this an act? I can’t believe she would be broken so easily.

“Our deal was simple. She was to take the place of your intended mother. There was once a Lucretia Larrieux, that part was real. The Larrieux Coven never caught on. They thought their beloved daughter was cured by the Devil. I even loved the Witch. I wanted her, but it seems there are things even my power can’t reach. I lost her but I wanted you more.” He sighs as he paces back and forth.

“I needed a shapeshifter, and Rakashi can be whomever they want to be. Isn’t that right, Abaddon?” he calls her a name I can only assume is her actual one, but she remains quiet, shaking uncontrollably before us.

“I offered up a chance to live above ground and she took it. Any Demon would if given the opportunity. Oh, she played nice initially while she carried you three in her belly. I gave her free rein over HellNight Academy so she could kill and feed at will. I didn’t care about the students there, if they weren’t strong enough to survive her games.” He shrugs. “So be it.” Micah gasps and Esme covers her mouth with her hands. I can only imagine her thoughts right now. In my mother’s eyes the Blue Mountain Witch belongs to her.

“Is this necessary Luc? Why haven’t you—"

“This has nothing to do with you, Bishop. If my sons want to exact retribution on the woman who hurt, tortured, used, and abused them, they are well within their right. It is justice, right? This treacherous bitch hid them from me! How she managed to get in and out of the Underworld without detection is something I haven’t managed to cut out of her yet. But no matter, I will find out who helped her. I made her a promise that I will seek and destroy the rest of her kind for her betrayal. She doesn’t deserve to live.” Lucifer’s tone is lethal, his voice rises higher and higher as he speaks. The cage begins to rattle violently, jostling our mother and she screams in agony as the latch on the door gives way. Her body swings from the chains and she wails and sobs, arms painfully overextended, as if her shoulders are dislocated, maybe even broken. I should be enjoying this, but right now, I am disappointed. I want to ask her a million questions, but I won’t, she doesn’t deserve any ounce of courtesy, not even my voice.

“Then why don’t you do it?” Micah shouts, her fist pounds the platform, pulling me from my thoughts, but Ty and Trys are too lost in theirs. They don’t respond to Micah’s outrage and I’m beginning to worry if they are too far gone to care. Their memories, unlike mine, are more vivid, more violent, their punishments were too severe.

“Oh, young Nephilim. You need to learn to be bloodthirsty. Do you think you’re going to survive a battle with Michael without it? You need to be savage and so do they! All of you! You think you can go up against the Heavenly host and live to tell the tale, then you need brutality at your back, not compassion. I don’t know what your father is teaching you, but my sons will not be weak! Kill her!” Lucifer roars at Micah but she doesn’t flinch away. She struggles as Rook holds her back for the second time tonight. I want to call out and tell him to let her loose. She is our savior; I know that now. Nothing is a coincidence in this life and Micah Jones stepped into HellNight Academy to save us from ourselves.

“Luc, enough!” Bishop shouts. “They got what they came for, they are bound. It’s enough.”

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