Page 98 of Fallen
Every demon, succubus, and Chosen scrambled to fall to their knees and pressed their faces to the floor.
Better. I won't let them forget who they owe their loyalty to again.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned to Anna and ran my hands over her flesh. "Are you okay?"
"Lucian," she breathed, sitting up and glancing around. With a wiggle of her pinky finger, she sighed. "You healed me?" She tugged at the tattered bits of clothing to cover her exposed body.
"Of course." I immediately commanded the darkness to clothe her naked flesh in charcoal colored Hellsteel armor.
"O-oh," she stammered, slowly standing to hold out her arms for inspection and rolling her shoulders. "Yeah. I think I'm okay." She bent and wiped the bloody hairpin on a piece of torn cloth. "I have a feeling your birthday gift protected me not just from that monster, but when I'd been in the car wreck."
So, she knows it wasn't just God who saved her that day.
Pleasure swelled in my chest. I could've gloated or reminded her I'd always thought about her protection, but that wasn't true. I'd abandoned her when she needed me most. I had a lot to make up for.
Sometimes falling didn't lead to tragedy; sometimes it led to love and repentance.
"This wasn't exactly the way I wanted to show you around my plane."
"It wasn't how I'd imagined, either."
"Come," I said, holding out a hand. "I'll take you back home where it's safe and normal."
"No." She pressed a hand to my chest. "I'm all right. I’m better than all right. I've always been so afraid of taking the wrong path, of not being sinless like the sisters, of repaying the debts I owed God, but now I know."
"Know what?" I waved a dismissive hand at the kneeling crowd. "One moment, Love." I didn't want them to witness any more into my personal life. "Go. I will call another assembly tomorrow. Those who aren't in attendance will be considered mutinists."
They quickly dispersed through the front entrance.
I nodded at Samael, then tilted my head toward Malachi and Lilith. "Can I trust you to keep an eye on those two for a bit?"
"Of course." He flicked his black hair from his neck. "Does it mean I have to sit on your tacky throne?"
Insolent as always.I ignored his attempt to rile me.
Steering Anna by her elbow, I pulled her into the back hallway where all was quiet. "What did you want me to know?"
A line formed betwen her brows. "Thereisno sinless path, no black or white, just shades of gray. I want to watch you judge souls. I can pay it forward in other ways, ways I've never thought of before." Anna shrugged. "Fighting back against that…thing—"
"Marzan. He was a lesser demon—an imp to be exact—who'd been begging to become unbound from Hell. I'm sorry for what happened. I—"
"Hush." She pressed a finger to my lips. "Fighting against him and what he wanted gave me a small taste of what my mother must've gone through. I couldn't save her, but I can save others. I want to hunt the rapists, the child molesters, the humans who do such terrible things to one another." Blood flushed her neck and cheeks. "I can use my art to get me started. Those images that come into my head from touching certain objects show such wonderful things, but also terrible things. I can't think of a greater atonement than getting the bad people away from the innocents."
My Anna had changed from a soft caterpillar into a bold butterfly and my heart overflowed with love.
"I will deny you nothing."
"Then kiss me, Lucian. I need you, more than I've ever needed anyone."
I threw an arm around her waist, pulled her armored body to mine, and devoured her lips, blinking us to my bedroom at the top of Sheol.
In the distance, past the gently waving curtains of the windows, Mount Ignis spit molten rocks and magma into the air like a round of fireworks.
Laying Anna down on the black silk sheets, I unbuckled her chest piece and moved my mouth along her throat, tasting the sweet, salty skin. I would never get enough of this, of her. I wanted to lick her body ineveryplace and tongue her until she could do nothing but scream my name in ecstasy.
She moaned as I lapped at the soft flesh of her nipple. Arching her back, she pushed herself herself tighter against my mouth. "More, Lucian."
As much as I wanted to keep going, I knew I should stop.
