Page 100 of Demon's Desire
There wasn’t time to dwell on it. They had to escape. “How many does Valac have on his side?”
Luc stood, stretching his back with an audible click. “I’m not sure. At least half a dozen hung around him in Hell. He had me in a cell like this, and I saw three others when I arrived.”
Even if there were only four, they were still outnumbered. Not great odds. Onyx and Luc would need backup.
Wait. Was Onyx trusting his traitor brother just because he’d been beaten up and tossed in a cell with him? How fuckingfoolish. The bounty and threats of permanent death could be a ruse, with Valac working for Lucifer.
But it didn’t feel like a ruse. The hollow way Luc spoke of his death rang sharply of the truth. If he were lying, he’d lay it on thick with the self-pity.
Onyx shifted his stance, ready to strike at the first sign he had this wrong. “Why didn’t you tell me all four of us were on Valac’s hit list?”
Luc jolted as if he’d been shocked with lightning. “What?”
Was that genuine surprise? Obviously, Valac was after more than Lucifer, given Onyx was in a damn cell. “He’s hunting me, Dante, and Ash too, asshole. We’re all slated for permanent death. Why the fuck do you think I’m here with you?”
Luc’s face twisted, a mix of bereft and agonized. “I—I had no idea.”
Onyx’s anger flared, and for a brief flash, he couldn’t think or see. “Stop acting like you care! You treated us like shit for over a thousand years, and before that, you used us. Fuck you, Lucifer. You don’t get to act like we’re on the same side.”
Even if they worked together to get out, they weren’t allies. They would never be.
Luc cast his attention to the floor. “I do care, Onyx.”
He snorted. “Because now you need me. You have no one, and you’re grasping at straws.”
“No.” Luc lunged forward and grabbed Onyx by the shoulders. Onyx struggled to throw him off, and Luc’s grip tightened. “I do care. I love you.”
With all his inhuman strength, Onyx wrenched from Luc’s hold and slapped him across the face. “You’ve got some way of showing it. You stole my magic. The most integral piece of who I am. You kept me prisoner. That’s not love.”
“I’m sorry. I had to do something. I couldn’t let things get worse. It all got out of hand.”
“So what if your plan to find mates on Earth didn’t work out? That’s no excuse to treat us the way you did.”
“You’re right. Fear seemed like the only way to bring demons in line once magic infected Earth. But I was wrong.”
Onyx shoved Luc in the chest. “You were the one to infect humanity with magic and damn us all in the first place!”
Luc’s eyes flared, red flames dancing dangerously. “I wasn’t. I never fathered a half-human child. I only said I did.”
“Bullshit.” Why would he claim to be the one to damn them if it was a lie?
“It’s not bullshit. It’s the truth. The Eternal Realm was bound to retaliate for the creation of witches. I was responsible for the fall, therefore, I was responsible for anything that happened by default, even if the child wasn’t mine. What would throwing the rightful father to the wolves have accomplished?”
Onyx’s mind reeled. Could that be true? There was no way. Luc didn’t put anyone before himself. He wouldn’t claim to be the father of the first magical human to protect some other demon from the Eternal Realm’s scorn. Being the one that led them to Earth wasn’t the same as being responsible for destroying the balance of magic and mortality in the universe.
Fuck, it hardly mattered now. Onyx’s resolve hardened. “Maybe I’d believe you were that selfless if you’d acted like it even once in the last millennia. Attacking Ash and Dante’s mates the first chance you got tells a different story. Your words are empty.”
Luc scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m not proud of hurting them. I let anger rule me.”
Onyx scoffed. “Oh, you’re not proud? That makes it all right.”
“What do you want?” Luc advanced, grabbing Onyx once more. “What can I do to prove that I’ve changed and that I’m ashamed? I was wrong. How can I atone for my mistakes?”
Onyx’s pulse thudded in his ears, his breaths uneven. He should pull away, but didn’t. “It’s not my job to tell you how to make up for everything you’ve ruined.”
Luc gripped him harder, smoke tinging the air. “Fine. Then what can I do to earn your forgiveness? Tell me that. I can’t die like this.”
“Like what? Reaping what you sowed?”
