Chapter 15 — Abandon all hope?
Lana:
My eyes feel heavy as I slowly awaken. I do a full-body stretch before I tuck my head closer to Lucifer’s neck. His fingers traverse gently down my spine, and his chest rises and falls with his steady breaths. After a moment, I glance up at him from the fringe of my lashes. He must feel my gaze because he stops caressing me and smiles. “Good morning, mate,” he mutters huskily.
A corresponding smile stretches across my lips. Even with all of the things that have been happening, I can’t but feel extremely contented to be in my mate’s arms. It also makes something inside of me heal when he calls me his mate.
Lucifer angles us both to face each other and slides his fingers down my face with a gentle expression. “How are you feeling, luv?”
Biting my lower lip, I slide my hand up to his waist until it’s resting on his chest. “I’m…sad and hopeful, I guess.”
“Tell me?” he mutters softly.
I shrug my shoulders, unsure of how to reply. “I guess I’m sad about everything that is happening and hopeful because I have all of you helping me.” Sliding close, I kiss the tip of his chin. “…and when I’m with you, I don’t feel so alone.”
The sheets rustle when he wraps me in his arms and slants his lips across mine. His intoxicating kisses make me feel so heady that I quickly forget my sadness. After a moment, he pulls his lips away and snags my attention with his smoldering gaze. “You will never be alone again, Lana. You’re mine now, and I refuse to let you go without a bloody fight.”
Euphoria courses through my body at his honest words. Smiling happily, I caress my fingers across his luscious lips. “So I’m yours? You know this is the twenty-first century, and women are no longer considered property.” I ask with a hint of reprimand.
Lucifer snickers, “I think you forget that I’ve been around for millennia, and I do not prescribe to this new way of thinking. However, for you, I’ll be a bit flexible and say that I am also yours.”
Lucifer narrows his eyes at my eye roll, places his hands on my waist and tickles me. Laughter escapes my lips as I writhe above him. “How dare you roll your eyes at me. Do you know who I am?” he calls out amusedly. I shake my head and try to escape until we both end up rolling around the bed.
It’s only when we hear a knock on the door that we both break apart. Lucifer sits up and calls out, “Whoever it is, you better have a bloody good reason for disrupting my time with my mate!”
Blushing profusely at his unfettered reprimand, I cover my face against his back and listen. Fallon’s muffled voice echoes behind the door. “It’s me, father. I’ve brought Bree and a few other people who need to speak with you and Lana.”
Lucifer sends me a heated look from over his shoulder before he responds, “We’ll be out in a moment!” he calls out.
Fallon grunts in reply as his footsteps fade out of hearing. Lucifer rises from the bed, letting the sheet slip from his glorious body. My mouth waters as I take in his muscular chest and abs. I almost swallow my tongue when I see that his cock is standing proudly. He arches a brow when he notices my intent gaze. “Perhaps you can take care of that later, luv?”
I toss a pillow at his head and snort in reply. “You’re such an arrogant asshole!” I call out with amusement.
His lip quirks, “I’m not the one staring at my cock like it’s my next meal.”
Before I can toss the other pillow at him, he takes it out of my hands and pulls me against his chest. “It’s alright,” he glances down at my covered breasts and bare thighs. “I see plenty of things I’d like to eat too.”
Rolling my eyes, I push at his chest and slide out of bed. “Get dressed, you horndog,” I toss him his jeans as I reach for my own.
Once I’ve brushed my teeth and hair, I make sure that I look presentable and walk out of the door with Lucifer beside me.
He takes my hand in his and leads me to the throne room.
As soon as I walk in, a small body slams into mine, followed by a joyful squeal. “Lana, I missed you so much!”
I grip my sister tightly and swallow down the emotion that threatens to choke me. “Hey, sis,” I manage to mumble against her chokehold.
Bree pulls away and looks sweetly into my eyes. Her golden eyes and gentle smile are a balm to my pained soul.
“I’m so glad you’re here, sis,” she mutters happily.
I give her a careful smile before I meet the eyes of the other room’s occupants.
Amara and her mate, Kell, step forward and give me a welcoming wave, “Hey, Lana,” Amara mutters kindly.
Amara and I are not close friends, but I have hung out with her and the others in the past. Once a month, Zoe would have a girls’ night where she’d invite some of Azazel’s friends’ mates. It allowed us to hang out without the guys around. All of the women are a different supernatural species. We already know that Zoe is a siren; my sister is descended from oracles, Nevaeh is a Nephilim, Jules is a hunter, and Amara is a Breija. I guess it can be a little intimidating to be around so many powerful women. But none of them act like jerks. In fact, they’re all pretty sweet.
Lucifer steps forward and faces the couple. Amara gapes for a moment, making me realize that she might not have met Lucifer. Kell wraps his arm around his mate’s waist and faces Lucifer. “Hey, Lucifer, this is my mate, Amara.”
Amara waves, “Hi, it’s nice to meet you, Lucifer.”
He nods, “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Amara.”
Bree clings to my arm as Lucifer leads us to his throne room and ushers me towards what looks like a female’s throne. The throne is surprisingly stunning, with brass inlays wrapped around the glass structure. The central part is covered in plush cream-colored pillows. I look at Lucifer from the corner of my eyes and snicker. Lucifer gives me a sly grin. “My queen deserves her own throne.”
I roll my eyes and take a seat. Leave it to Lucifer to make such a blatant statement. Of course, a large part of me feels giddy, but I don’t let him see it.
Bree gives me a wide-eyed look and takes the seat beside my throne.
Once everyone has been seated, Amara begins to talk. “So we’ve been working on finding a way to help you and your angel. As I reviewed the tomes, I found that the fates seemed to be mentioned as key figures in the prophecies, which is why I chose to focus on the fates rather than the prophecy.”
She stops and gives me an intent look. “Just as I did, my powers kicked in, and I ended up astral projecting to one of the fates. It was only for a moment, and though I didn’t see the fate, she did communicate with me. She knew why I was there and made vague statements about books not being the answer. When I asked her to elaborate, she told me that she’d only answer the destroyer and that you’ll find her when you need her.”
“She wishes to speak to us?” Lucifer asks.
Amara rubs her hands across her thighs warily as she gazes her eyes upon one of the most powerful beings in the world. “Yeah. I mean, it makes sense. The fates are the catalysts to Lana’s existence, and they might be able to give you the information you’ve been looking for.”
I look at Lucifer, “She’s right. Since we can’t ask The Creator, we need to talk to the source of the prophecy. I guess we just need to find the fate’s location.” I look at Amara, “Do you remember where you saw her?”
She nods, “I went to a map and was able to pinpoint her position. According to the map, the fate can be found in Santorini.”
“Greece?” Lucifer asks,
Amara nods, “Yeah, every time I hone my power, it leads me there, and the fate stated that you’d find her when you need her.”
I take Lucifer’s hand in mine, “It looks like we’re going to Greece.”
He nods, “It would seem so,” he looks at Amara, “Thank you for bringing us this message.”
Amara gives us both a warm smile. “I’m just glad to help, even if it’s this small thing.”
Kell, being the loving mate that he is, takes her hand and mutters. “We should go, beauty queen.”
Amara wishes me luck and says her goodbyes before turning to Kell and letting him lead her away.
Once they leave, Bree rises from her chair and adjusts her jeans, “Well, then we better get ready to go see this Fate.”
Fallon stops beside her and gives her a patient smile. “You won’t be able to go with them, luv.”
Bree arches a brow and scowls, “Lana’s my sister. I go where my sister goes.”
Fallon shakes his head, “No, luv. You can’t go because fates have powerful auras that can cause irreparable damage to humans if you stand before them. That’s probably why the fate didn’t present herself to Amara when she astral projected. On the other hand, Lucifer and Lana can be in her presence because angels can resist the aura.”
Lana’s lip curls into a pout. “Well, that sucks,”
I wrap my arm around my sister and kiss the top of her head, “It’s okay, sis. I’ll text you when I get back.”
Lana squeezes me tightly and gestures toward my throne, “It looks like there’s a lot we have to talk about when you get back,” she whispers slyly.
I push her playfully toward Fallon and mutter, “You need to get a handle on my sister, Fallon.”
Fallon wraps his arm around her shoulder and grins, “I try, but she’s quite a handful.”
Lana lightly punches his tight stomach while giving me a feigned glare, “Fallon knows better than to say anything, sis.”
Lucifer stops beside us and waves his mobile. “I texted Michael and asked him if he would join us. Fates can be cruel creatures when crossed.”
Bree’s brow furrows. “Why is that? Aren’t they like Oracles or seers?”
Lucifer shakes his head, “Actually, Fates are the few gods left in the Greek pantheon. When the Greeks and Roman Pantheons got too big for their britches, The Creator chose to put an end to their reign, leaving the three fates alive because he had use for them. Due to that, the fates can be a bit temperamental and suspicious.”
“But one of them practically gave us an invitation to talk to her?” I ask, bewildered.
Lucifer snickers, “Which is why we have to be wary, luv. If she invited us to speak to her, she most assuredly has ulterior motives.”
I nod and look back at my sister, “Can we talk for a moment?” I look at the men, “Give us some privacy, please.”
Lucifer and Fallon nod and walk out of the room.
Bree arches a brow and pulls me to sit next to her. “What’s wrong?”
I take her hands in mine and puff out a deep breath, “Listen, sis, I need you to do something for me.”
She nods, “Anything.”
I bite my lip before I continue. “I need you, Zoe and the others to stay out of this until everything is resolved.”
Bree snaps up from her seat with a reproachful scowl, “What? No…”
I shake my head, “Please, Bree, I need you to do this.”
Before she can argue, I hold my palm up and continue, “Apolliana is a psycho, Bree. She doesn’t care that you’re my sister or that Zoe is my friend. All she wants to do is destroy everything, and I don’t want you to be close by when she decides to snap. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.” I take her hands again and give her a tearfully pleading look, “Please, Bree…please…It’s already hard enough to control myself without you being around, and even now that you’re here. Right now, I’m struggling hard not to turn into that monster.”
After a moment, Bree gives me a tearful nod. “Okay, I’ll do what you ask. But if that’s the case, I will need you to keep in contact with me. Text me every day. Even if it’s through text, I need to know that you’re still there.”
I pull her into my arms and embrace her tightly, “Thanks, sis, I know how hard this is, but it needs to be this way until we can figure out a way to stop Apolliana.”
Bree clings tightly to me before she steps out of my arms and takes a step back. She wags her index finger in front of me, “Don’t forget to text me.”
I nod and nearly choke on a sob when she walks away. She just left, and I already miss her. But I know this is how it has to be. If I were to hurt her, I would never recover.