Page 60 of Inheritance
Luce exhaled slowly, seeming almost frozen in place, “Little Temptress—”
I turned to him and offered him an incredulous expression, but he didn’t meet my gaze, his eyes still on his brothers, “Did you hear what he said? If so, I may need you to repeat it for me. I’m not sure I can process the insanity that just came out of his mouth.”
Remiel spoke evenly, drawing my attention back to him, “You have proven so far, through your short span of existence, that you possess all of the desired qualities to be Ruler of Hell. You are fair and kind in the face of insult, compassionate to those who don’t necessarily deserve it, and seek the proper sense of justice and righteousness for each situation you find yourself in.”
Woah, this guy was talking me up, and I was almost positive that none of those qualities applied to me…at least not how he made them sound.
“Despite having been put down since the time of your birth, you never gave in to treating others poorly,” Jeremiel agreed before smirking slightly. “Except for the occasional wing to the face.”
Aaaand they trulyhadbeen watching everything.Oh, devildamnit.Literally.
“Even in the worst situations, you never wanted to see people hurt as you’d been,” Jeremiel concluded on a more serious note.
“You fought for the people who had shunned you and belittled you, and in the face of conflict and possible harm…you united two sides of the realm in a way none before you had been able—or even desired—to do. In such a short time frame, at that,” Raguel added.
“You have forgiven those who have hurt you, despite not all of them being worthy of that forgiveness, purely because you know it is a strain on your heart and soul to carry that level of hate around.” Zerachiel’s words felt almost like they were filled with respect, which made me feel uncomfortable…mostly because the way they were talking about me was nothing like how I viewed myself.
Raphael finally spoke, “But above all that, you never thirsted for power. You didn’t do any of that to claim a throne or grasp at power. You did it because you craved a life of love and peace that you believed everyone deserved.”
I was immediately shaking my head, knowing I wasn’t worthy of what they were saying. Nor did I possess the qualities they claimed I did. I was just...me. My thoughts quickly turned to how this would impact Luce, and my eyes widened as I considered the ramifications of this. I looked back to Luce, who was standing frozen still. I couldn’t even tell if he was breathing, outside of when he had said my name, his lips barely moving even when that had occurred. He was upset…I think. I couldn’t tell what he was feeling, and it made me extremely uncomfortable.
Looking at the Seraphim, I immediately began protesting, “I think you’ve got the situation wrong here, and even if you didn’t—where would Luce go? He can’t leave me. He’s my mate. How am I supposed to rule a realm anyway? I have no idea what the fuck I would even do with that. And how in the ever-loving hell do you expect an eighteen-year-old hybrid to gain the respect of an entire realm full of people who literally have ten times more experience? I am almost positive you guys are mistaken. Maybe you should go ask the Creator to double-check his list—there are people way more worthy of this than me…Hey! What about my dad? He might be game, although he really isn’t a huge fan of his current job—”
“Breathe, young one, breathe,” Remiel demanded quietly before gesturing with his hands to take a deep inhale. He waited for me to do it before giving in to the following exhale. I literally felt like I was in the midst of a panic attack, and I had no idea how I was supposed to just focus on breathing or whatever nonsense he thought would help me.
“Okay,” Remiel nodded, “now, to answer your question—”
Raphael interrupted, “Luce has a choice to make. He can either stay in Hell and keep his soul, but be stripped of his power…making him a Fallen Angel of the realm.”
Oh shit.
“Or,” Raguel drew out, “he can choose to move on. To have his soul transported to be judged and find if he is worthy of reincarnation for another life.”
“To end the suffering he’s experienced in this realm,” Zerachiel explained, looking nearly sympathetic.
Panic streamed through me with the realization I could lose him—
“I’m staying here with Ama. Strip me of my powers, but I am not leaving,” Luce said instantly, snapping out of his haze.Oh, thank the devil.Wait…was I the devil now? Was the devil the term of the Ruler of Hell or was it kind of like a term of endearment for Luce? Fuck, I was so confused.
Also, I was so damned relieved it was absolutely un-fucking-real. I looked up at Luce and felt tears fill my eyes, “Are you sure? I know you haven’t loved being down here—”
Luce turned me to him and cupped my jaw, “Ama, I haven’t loved being down here because I haven’t had you. I would trade millions of lifetimes for just a few damned hours with you.”
Oh.Oh wow.
“Let me out of here right now!” I vaguely heard Finias roar from behind us, finally losing his shit completely. I didn’t blame him, honestly. I was surprised they’d lasted this long.
Luce snapped his fingers, dissolving the dome instantly and muttering, “I guess they’re safe now that we know my brothers aren’t here to kill us or anything.” I could practically feel the amusement in his tone. I had a feeling Luce was going to be doing shit like that a lot.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” Drayven growled, his tone icy.
“Don’t worry, I literally won’t have the power to do that again,” Luce said with an almost confused tone. The expression on his face was a bit lost, and I started to feel anxiety creep up as I wondered if he would end up resenting me. I didn’t want to take the position and powers from him if that would happen.
“What if I don’t want this?” I asked the five angelic beings.
“No.” Luce’s voice rang out, his eyes lighting with fire as he kept my attention on him instead of his brothers. “They’re right, Ama. This is for the best. I knew from the moment you appeared in my dreams that you would be the queen of this realm, I just had thought it would be because you were joining in my isolation as the ruler. This…this feels right. You will rule, and all of us will be by your side, helping you navigate this new adventure. You never need to worry about being alone in this, Little Temptress. I am never leaving you again.”
“What the hell is going on?” Colt finally snapped, “Everything was muffled to us.”
