Page 34 of Falling for the Devil

One last soldier stepped out, past the others, to come to a halt in front of Diana. He was taller than the rest, bulkier in the chest, and his armor showed scuff and burn marks. A silky purple cape cascaded from his shoulders. Topping his helmet was a lone white feather. The others did not have such ornamentation. His mouth was screwed shut in a scowl.

Deciding no one planned to introduce themselves, Diana swallowed her hesitation and performed the task... as anyone of royal blood would when faced with strangers who did not know to bow before a deity.

“I am Di... Artemis, daughter of the king of the gods, Zeus.”

Oops! Despite her name preference, no one outside the family would know Diana was Artemis. It was best to use her official name.

She tilted her head up, not knowing what to expect. Would angels bow to a goddess of lesser stature than the Creator? Lucifer had bowed. Olivier had bowed. But perhaps that was from mere politeness than protocol.

They did not bow.

Diana cleared her throat of the lump that had formed. “And who, may I inquire, are you?”

The silence was only broken by the pitter patter of rain hitting the leaves far above their heads.

“Are you mute? Deaf? Or both? I asked a question.” She used her most imperious tone, reserved for unruly acolytes caught sneaking the sacrificial wine from her altar.

The enormous angel, who she assumed was a general or other commander of the squadron surrounding her, lifted his face to the sky and laughed. That was no jovial chuckle either, but a harsh, cruel laugh that sent ice through her veins.

“Grab them!” he ordered before lowering his face to glare at her again.

The soldiers around them closed in. Puck yelped as he was ripped away from Diana. Her dagger hand came back up, but the weapon was knocked from her grip, landing with a clang against a bed of stones.

“How dare you?” she snarled while rough hands captured her wrists behind her back and shoved her toward the oversized brute in charge. “I am the daughter of Zeus!”

It was obvious that no one was impressed by her claim. Instead, her words were met with a chorus of guffaws.

“Likely story, miss. But considering you couldn’t even recall your own name... we’re not buying your righteous indignation act.” The commander whisked off his helmet, tucking it under an arm. He had a golden complexion, not unlike Lucifer’s, but more orange-tinted. His eyes blazed a violet hue that matched his cape. “Besides, little dainty goddesses have no business on this planet, and less business opening portals into hidden liminalities they should know nothing about.”

A liminality? That’s what Lucifer and Olivier had been discussing. The angels who had gone missing and slaughtered were supposed to have been observing from a place between places—a liminality.

And she’d had the brilliant luck to have found it all on her own! There was no way he’d believe she just stumbled upon it. No, the rage roiling in his eyes, exuding from every pore, meant one thing—he thought she was the enemy. How would anyone believe a lone woman and her helpless-acting companion could commit such atrocities? Regardless, according to their actions and sneering expressions, they did.

“This is an enormous misunderstanding,” her voice trembled with every word.

“Yes, yes!” Puck jumped in. “A misunderstanding,” he stuttered.

“Oh, I agree. But it is you that misunderstands. We will not tolerate acts of violence against our own kind. I don’t care if you are the sole child of the Creator himself. There is only one way you knew how to find us. It doesn’t matter how you discovered the secret of the liminality and how to breach its borders, but you have. Therefore, you must pay the price for your treachery.”

His hand reached down, unsheathed his sword. Its metal gleamed despite the lack of light around them. Puck’s terrified gasp ripped through Diana’s stoic resolve. She would not die without dignity. The edge of the blade bit into the skin at her neck. Instead of cowering or flinching away, she raised her head higher.

“It’s time your kind realized what a waste of energy you are.”

His sentiment received a resounding thump of approval from the others, evidenced by the way their fists beat once against their armored chests in response.

“Release her... Now!”

Relief washed over Diana causing her knees to buckle. The imposing soldier dropped his sword. It smashed Diana’s toes, but the adrenaline flowing through her veins was too swift for the pain to register.

In one fluid motion, every soldier kneeled in supplication.

Strong hands yanked her around. Warm, luminous eyes bore into her own. A mischievous smile ticked up the corners of full, sensuous lips.

“Can you not stay out of trouble for a single moment without me?” Lucifer shook his head as if he wanted to scold her but didn’t have the heart for it.

The grin spreading across her own face beamed up at him. “If I recall correctly, it seems to me that I land in more trouble when you are with me.”

THAT HAD BEEN A CLOSE call... too close. If he had been just a moment later, Aquifas would have done the unthinkable. Not counting the fallout when Zeus discovered his daughter had been murdered by angels, the entire squadron would already have been annihilated by himself. Damn! His heart thundered inside his chest that it was a wonder they hadn’t heard him coming from a mile away.

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