Page 33 of Demon's Desire
“What the hell are you doing here?” Onyx hissed.
Luc had never sought him out on his previous trips to this realm. Only Ash and Dante.
Onyx pretended that didn’t hurt. It shouldn’t, when he never wanted to see his brother’s obnoxious face again.
“I wanted to talk to you,” Luc said, voice low and concerned.
Onyx’s rage bubbled like a cauldron about to explode. “Like fuck you do. Did you forget that the first time you saw me in two hundred years, you cursed me, knocked me unconscious, and left me on the fucking floor?”
“Onyx.” Luc laid a hand on his shoulder.
“No.” Onyx jerked away, glaring at his brother’s familiar chiseled face and tumbling night-black hair. “Don’t use that placating tone with me. Don’t fucking act like I’m making shit up.”
“I’m not. I’m sorry I cursed you, but I had to get away.” Pain lined Luc’s eyes, which were brown rather than flaming red. He looked like a damned runway model—beautifully human—in a sleek black coat that was completely inappropriate for summer.
“You’re sorry,but. Story of my life, Luc.”
“Onyx, I get that you’re mad. We still need to talk. That’s why I came to you.”
“No, you came because I’m the only one you could be sure wouldn’t try to kill you on sight.”
Lucifer grimaced, his fine features twisting in a way that almost looked regretful. He was a master of emotion. A master of faking it. Lying.
“Leave us alone, Luc.” Onyx took a step backward. “If you aren’t trying to drag us back into your shit?—”
“Then what? You won’t imprison me?”
Onyx held his tongue. He should call Dante, but he hesitated.
“I need your help, Onyx. Please.” Luc took two steps forward, bringing them too close together, and grabbed Onyx’s upper arms, his touch deceptively gentle.
“H-help?” Onyx spluttered. He couldn’t believe the nerve. “You want my help? Maybe you should have considered that before—oh, I don’t know—every single thing you’ve done in your life.”
“You can’t blame everything on me. You chose to fall.”
Onyx’s fire burned, and Luc’s wince told him he felt the sting.
“I’ve wronged you,” Luc continued in a rush. “I’m sorry. Can’t you believe I want to make things right?”
“No.” Onyx pulled from Luc’s grasp. “Stop trying to manipulate me. Just stop. Leave me alone!”
Luc ran a hand roughly through his hair, leaving it disheveled. He glanced around the empty bridge. He seemed jittery. Worried. Anxious even. Onyx caught himself, remembering not to believe any of it.
Then Luc disappeared. In a blink, he was gone.
Onyx’s eyes burned, his vision blurring. “Fuck you, you miserable shit!” he screamed at the deserted spot where his brother had stood. His fire burned even hotter, and he sucked in a ragged breath.
Stupidly, he felt abandoned all over again, irrationally mad that Luc was gone even when Onyx had never wanted to see him in the first place.
Casting an invisibility illusion over himself, he ripped off his shirt, freed his wings, and shot into the sky.
10
NICO
The Herb Emporiumwas quiet first thing in the morning, so Nico took the time to organize the new stock that had been delivered the afternoon before, then brewed a pot of coffee in the back room.
He had a steaming mug in hand when Harper bustled in.
