Page 14 of Undesirable
In no time, blood flowed from Frost to Lucifer. Gemini paced the floor. His hate-filled gaze never wavered from Lucifer. Riku walked away, disappearing into the next room. He still felt him.Riku sat on the couch, but his mind was still a black void. Lucifer had to focus on something else. He chose Frost. Frost was the one who hurt the least.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this.”
Frost chuckled. “Is it even helping?”
Lucifer turned inward. He could talk without feeling like there were razor blades in his throat, so there was that. “Yes, but you should stop.”
“I will when Lire gets back.”
Gemini released a low, deadly-sounding growl.
Lucifer ignored him, but they were on the same side. “It might be a long time before he returns. He might notcome back. Lire is a traitor to his kind. He shouldn’t be here.”
“I’ll remember that the next time your ass needs saving.” Lire pounced from the mirror onto the bed beside him. He held up two bags of blood. “One wants me to tell you this isn’t for you. It’s to save the world.”
Lucifer rolled his eyes. He hadn’t asked anyone for help other than Frost. This place would freeze over before he did so again. Next time, he would let the world burn, especially since he had obviously lost his mate.
Frost grabbed both bags and hooked a line to each arm. “Normally, I would never do things this way, but it’s you, so…”
Despite his situation, Lucifer laughed. The moment the first drop of fresh blood hit his veins, he recognized the connection. His nephew had helped. The other came from someone old and powerful, but he didn’t know them. Druids didn’t pass into Hell. They were reborn. They were all strangers to him.
Lire worked at Frost’s side, helping him set up makeshift IV poles.
Lucifer studied him. He was one of Lucifer’s favorite creations. His ability to destroy minds was… chef’s kiss. Lucifer hated that Lire had turned on him.
“Why did you betray me?”
Lire didn’t look his way, but a small smile touched his lips. “Only youwould think of my going to protect your sister and her grandson as a betrayal.”
“She turned on me first, so you speak on things you know nothing about.”
Lire shook his head. He finally met Lucifer’s stare. “Ultimately, it wasn’t about her. I was given two mates.”
Bitterness welled in Lucifer’s throat. He couldn’t offer that. That wasn’t his place in the circle of life. The best he could give was a concubine of deviant demons. He couldn’t compete with the power of soulmates. Lucifer had always been the disappointing twin. Of course, Celeste would use her powers to turn one of his favorites away from him. “That’ll do it.” He swallowed. “You all should go. I’ll either live or I won’t. You’ve done all you can.” They had donemore than they should or could by revealing his secrets and destroying his mating. He wasn’t angry with them. Lucifer felt nothing. It was him. He had always been the abomination. Lire and Frost exchanged glances and then both found chairs to pull close to the bed. Gemini draped himself across Frost’s feet with his gaze locked on the door. It was obvious he still expected an attack.
Lucifer was too tired to roll his eyes anymore today.
“How did Celeste betray you?”
Lire surprised Lucifer with the earnestness of his question. It genuinely sounded like he cared. That was… odd.
He supposed they had time to kill. Lucifer cleared his throat. “Despiteus being identical, it was always obvious I was different. It was like I existed to be the dark to Celeste’s light, but she was still the only person I loved. Obviously, we were close, so she knew from the very beginning about my curse. She kept it hidden. Protected me. Then I caught Jörmungandr’s eye. I’ve always done as I pleased, and it pleased me to do him.” An evil and dead-sounding chuckle escaped Lucifer. “I didn’t take it seriously. We weren’t mates. More than that, we were gods who could have and do whatever we wanted. It seemed so ridiculous to take our tryst to heart.” Lucifer shifted uncomfortably. He couldn’t sound weak, but the story was what it was. “In fact, there was a human with druid blood, who I enjoyed more than most. He fedme and kept my secret. There was no one else like me. Drinking blood to survive was unnatural in every way. As a druid, he saw the world differently. Blood is magic, and it made perfect sense to him that it would sustain me. After all, I was a god. He thought that’s what we all do. Admittedly, I allowed him to hang on to that belief, but it didn’t matter. There were no other gods that visited the plane Celeste had created. At least, that’s what I thought.” The rage still lived inside him and bubbled hot. Today, Lucifer didn’t know if it was Riku’s venom or the past that ate at his guts like acid.
“It seemed Jörmungandr thought we were more than I did. At some point, he followed me and learned everything. He struck up an affair with the druid to get even with me. That wasn’t enough,though. He began to let it slip to others about my affliction. When I found out—” Lucifer swallowed. It had been the first time he had blacked out and leveled a town. He had torn them apart piece by piece, including his favorite lover. Lucifer didn’t even recall doing it. He never did when the episodes hit.
“Let’s just say I didn’t handle it well. Celeste was furious and scared, but mostly just pissed. She banished me to this place and barred me from the heavens. Jörmungandr swore he would destroy me and level everything Celeste ever created for touching anyone else. Celeste is my sister. She should’ve had my back. I would’ve had hers. No matter what she did, I would’ve stood by her.” He shrugged. Lucifer refused to show his pain over theloss of his only family so she could keep her toys. “So, I made this place my own. She isn’t the only one who can create life. But I’m the dark one. Everything I make…” He motioned around him, knowing his creation would speak for itself. Maybe some of his demons had good hearts, but they were still poison.
Speaking of which. “Your mates. Are they human?”
Lire shook his head. “Vampire.”
Still, Lire’s touch would drive them insane. Celeste had created a race mirrored after him to protect her fragile beings from his creations. There was no way they had a good life together. Demons poisoned everything they touched. The venom literally secretedfrom their skin. The only way to stop it was at Lucifer’s will.
“Come here.”
To his credit, Lire didn’t hesitate or question him. It was obvious he was a warrior. Lucifer understood why Celeste had chosen him.
When Lire was close enough to touch, Lucifer set his hand on his arm. “There. For your service today.”
