Page 78 of Redeeming the Angel

“Lucian!”she grabbed my arm and cried brokenly.“Please don’t leave me.”

I jerked my arm from her grasp.“Not only am I leaving, but when this foul world does kill you, don’t come to Jagwolfe clan territory looking for me.I never want to see you again.”

I charged out of the house before my own tears could come.Kerainne chased after me, sobbing and calling my name.

I used a transport crystal to get me as far from her as possible.When I arrived in some desert in the middle of nowhere, I wished I’d kept the knife.I ended up using a sharp rock to gouge out my femoral artery.The pain was nothing compared to the aching place in my chest where my heart had been torn out.

Once I arrived in a welcoming hall, I donned a robe and flew to the Leonine clan’s palace where I hurt Kerainne one more time.

I told Queen Silvara, “I found Kerainne.But she’s no longer your granddaughter.She’s been impregnated by Mephistopheles and she intends to birth and raise a monster.”

It wasn’t long before all of Luminista heard the news.And when Silvara and Lucretia proposed a betrothal between me and Nikkita, I went along with it, since I was certain Nik would never return.

Lucian

Present

I fell silent, and hung my head in utter humiliation at what I’d done.Finally, when I gathered the courage to meet Xochitl’s eyes, I was astounded to see that they weren’t blazing crimson.

Instead, she gaped at me in open-mouthed shock.“Holy fuck, dude.”

“I know.”I looked away again, shame washing over me in burning waves as I took a drink of my third hard cider.“I wronged her in so many ways.And you as well.If I hadn’t told Silvara, Kerainne never would have been imprisoned as soon as she died on Earth.And the betrothal, that I never should have gone along with in the first place wouldn’t have happened.”

“Yup.”Xochitl nodded in merciless agreement.Then her brow furrowed and her amber eyes narrowed with speculation.“But Del lied to you.He’s the one who brought Kerainne to Earth and took care of her and gave her money when she overspent, which was all the time.What if he’d told you the truth and explained about the Prophecy?”

“I still would have been furious, but maybe if I’d had more time to process the shock and think about it, I would have then gone to Earth and been…more understanding.I might have even done as she asked and raised you with her so I could be there for you after she died.”

“Which then would have led to me never meeting Akasha and Silas.Who not only watched over me and my friends, but also supported our band in ways that led directly to Rage of Angels being a success.Especially after Razvan came into the picture.He gave us priceless advice and got us our first long term gig.”She lifted a finger at each point she listed, “No band success, no Prophecy, and no magic coming back to Earth.”

“Holy fuck,” I echoed back to her.“Do you think Del knew all that when he told me he hadn’t seen Kerainne that night?”

“He most definitely did,” Xochitl agreed.“Uncle Del doesn’t like to lie.It’s usually impossible for the faelin.But I’m pretty sure he bit you that night too, which definitely isn’t cool.”

“What?”

“You said after he hugged you goodbye, he stared deeply into your eyes and then you dozed off, still standing, and woke up when the sun was coming up and he was long gone,” Xochitl explained in a thoughtful tone.“He probably needed the power and energy to be able to go back and forth between Earth and Aisthanesthai.Especially when the lack of magic on Earth was so draining to people from here.But it was still a dick move for him to lie to you about Mom and feed off you without you knowing.”

“Oh.I am definitely going to have a talk with him about that.”My mind jerked me back to the current, more important thing.“I’m not going to ask you to forgive me for what I did to you and your mother.All I ask is that you give me a chance to make it up to you.”

Xochitl remained still and silent for the longest time, letting me see more of Kerainne’s features in her.“Well, if Mom is giving you a chance, I suppose I should too.But, you’re going to have to do a lot of groveling.Not to me, but to her.”

My heart sang in triumph and I smiled at her in gratitude.“I will do so for as long as it takes.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Kerainne

Present

When I awoke from my nap and came downstairs to prepare for the big strategy meeting, the last thing I expected to see was Lucian walking into the dining room alongside my daughter, smiling and laughing together about something.

Lucian held the biggest bouquet of lilacs that I’d seen.Xochitl carried a box with a ribbon tied around it.

When they reached me, Lucian bowed with a flourish and presented me with the lilacs.Despite the cute, melodramatic gesture, there was nothing cute in his eyes.Instead, he regarded me with sincere remorse and abject adoration.

“What’s this for?”I asked, unable to hold back a giggle.

“Queen Xochitl told me I need to grovel more.”He gestured for my daughter to open the box.

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