Page 63 of Midnight with the Devil

“But she cannot be everything. Only our father is,” Michael insisted.

Lucien shook his head. “Love…that’s what makes her everything.”Love. He’d seen her love in a hundred different ways. The way she smiled just after waking, the way she laughed when he put pineapples in the grocery basket, the way she gave her soul away to save her father, the way she said she loved him with sweet kisses long after midnight had faded into dawn and she didn’t have to stay with him yet she did.

“You love her?” Michael stiffened.

It shouldn’t be possible, but somehow it was. He had fallen in love with a mortal, and now he was losing her. It was like he was falling all over again, the wind whipping his face, his back bleeding with the loss of his wings, and the awful aching inside his chest. Losing love was like losing his grace. He couldn’t survive that pain, not again. Grief weighed heavily upon him, and the scars on his back itched fiercely. If he still had his wings, he would’ve cloaked himself with them to hide his breaking heart.

“I do. I love her more than anything.” He couldn’t forget that moment in the hospital chapel when Diana had agreed to do anything to save her father. For love. He finally understood that truly human emotion in a way no angel ever could.

“Lucifer.” Jimiel suddenly appeared, breathless, his face ashen. He glanced at Michael and then knelt by Lucien on the ground.

“It’s not all lost. There’s still time,” Jimiel said.

“What?” Lucien grabbed Jimiel’s arm.

“You aren’t the only one who makes bargains. I’ve just come with the news…”

“Tell me,” Lucien growled, daring to cling to the tiny thread of hope the guardian angel provided.

“Your life for hers,” Jimiel said.

“My life?” He didn’t understand. He was an immortal. He could not give away his life—

“You give yourself up to Father, let him reclaim you for the heavens. Your life, your very essence, will be given to her.”

Comprehension dawned on Lucien. He would cease to exist. Returning to the light was an angel’s way of dying. He could make the sacrifice for her that she had been willing to make for her father. A life for a life. A soul for a soul.

“If you do that for her, she will live a long and happy life. It’s a promise from Father.” Jimiel placed a hand over Lucien’s.

“When did you find outLucienwas her purpose?” Michael suddenly demanded of Jimiel.

“When he felt her pain.” Jimiel stared at Lucien.

“What do you mean,Iwas her purpose?” Lucien demanded. He could feel the last of her life leaving, like a trickle of a river drying up. There was no time left.

“I knew Diana’s life was reserved for something special, but I wasn’t allowed to know until now.” Jimiel’s smile was sorrowful. “She was born to save you. It’s always been her fate. To find you and love you, even beyond death.”

“That was her destiny?” He could barely speak as he squeezed her hand tight.

“Only one woman in the entire world could be brave enough to love the devil, and she was.” Jimiel put a hand on Lucien’s shoulder, and he shuddered at the comforting contact.

Lucien breathed deeply, the movement hurting like knives cutting into his heart over and over.

“We don’t have much time,” Jimiel cautioned. “It’s your choice. You can save her. If you’re brave enough to let go of your hate and simply allow yourself to love.”

Love… He already loved her, and he simply hadn’t known then. Could he say goodbye to the dark and surrender to the light? Give up everything he had, all this power, to save one human’s life? He thought of every moment of his existence since the fall, the darkness, the pain, the agony of losing his joy, his grace, his home, his brothers, his father. It could all end. He could let it go and return to the light and save Diana.

“Yes,” he whispered. “I’ll do it.” He curled both of his hands around Diana’s. His throat constricted as he struggled to speak.

“Jimiel, swear to me she will have that life you promised. Every joy, every laugh, every love, every glorious moment in the sun. I need to hearyoupromise me that.”

“I promise. Father promises. She will have it all.”

“Good.” Lucien relaxed, his body, heart, and soul strangely free now that he’d made the decision to let go of his hate. The storm clouds broke about them, and sunlight lit the wreckage of the car.

“I love you, Diana. No matter what happens, I will always love you.” He spoke the words as his throat constricted with longing as he stole one more look at her. Then everything around him blazed brilliantly white.

The scars on his back exploded. The pain he’d held on to for millennia faded away. He had one glimpse of the glittering spires of heaven, and then he heard a voice inside his head.

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