Chapter 78 Where Power Begins to Die
Dorcas’ lips curved into a faint, knowing smile, but her eyes betrayed her sharp, watchful, calculating. A restless breeze coiled around her fingers, tugging at her hair as if nature itself leaned in to listen to her fear.
“Since she returned to Earth,” she murmured, her voice no louder than the shifting air, “her power… it’s fading again.”
She stepped closer to the window, staring at the storm-soaked horizon. Clouds twisted unnaturally, reacting to her distress. “When you took her to Hell, it surged back but now…” Her throat tightened. “She’s losing control again.”
Lucifer’s posture stiffened. “I can’t let you, sister.” His voice sliced through the room sharp, cold, absolute. His glare held a warning, but there was something else beneath it… a flicker of fear he refused to name.
Dorcas let out a brittle laugh. “You’ve always protected me like that, brother.” She traced her fingers along the wooden desk, leaves blooming under her touch before withering instantly. “But I didn’t think you’d guard another woman the same way.”
“She’s special to me,” Lucifer said not loud, not insisting, just a truth he allowed to settle in the air between them.
Dorcas’ eyes narrowed. “Then tell me everything I need to know about her.”
“And why,” Lucifer asked, his tone cooling into steel, “do you want to know more?”
The Queen of Nature eased into her chair, crossing one leg over the other with practiced elegance. But her mask slipped the tremor in her fingers, the way the vines on the walls curled inward as if sensing her weakness.
“Because ever since she stepped foot on Earth again…” Her breath hitched. “My power is slipping through me like sand. I thought you would keep her in Hell, where she could be yours and nowhere near me. But now” She pressed her palm against her chest as if steadying her heartbeat. “Now I’m unraveling. I don’t feel like myself anymore.”
A thin crack ran across the floor, an echo of the fracture in her composure.
“I know her mother,” she whispered. “I know Luca is her father. I know she’s half human and half vampire.” Dorcas lifted her gaze, eyes shimmering with equal parts fear and frustration. “But beyond that?” She shook her head slowly. “I don’t know who she truly is… and that terrifies me.”
Lucifer finally lowered his attention to the file in his hand. The parchment trembled not from the breeze, but from the power simmering under his skin. His eyes darkened, shadows curling around him like living smoke.
“She carries Hemilune blood.”
The words dropped heavy like stones.
“She’s the one the prophecy speaks about the one who will burn the vampire realm and throw the dark realms into war.”
Dorcas’ breath stilled, her chest barely rising. The wind around her halted mid-whirl, suspended as if even nature waited for Lucifer’s response.
“And you still keep her alive?” she whispered. The softness in her voice was more frightening than a scream. “If the prophecy is against her, she should be gone. You should have killed her.”
Lucifer’s lips curved into a dangerous smirk. “I can’t harm the woman I love.” His eyes glinted like burning coals. “My place is to protect her, not destroy her.”
Dorcas moved before the words fully settled. She shot to her feet with such force the ground cracked beneath her heels. A violent wind erupted outward, blasting through the room windows shattered in a chain reaction, glass raining across the marble like falling stars.
“Brother!”
Her voice boomed, echoing through the ruined chamber. Leaves materialized around her feet, spiraling upward in a furious dance, their edges glowing with energy. “Are you blinded by love? She cannot remain on Earth. This realm is mine. Her presence drains me.”
Her eyes glowed an eerie emerald, bright with panic.
“She is not welcome here!”
Lucifer rose slowly, but the air trembled with the power waking beneath his skin. His true form flickered in brief, terrifying flashes horns, wings, shadow. His eyes snapped open in a red blaze, but he fought the instinct to unleash it.
“We’ll find a way to restore your power,” he said, voice low, steady, controlling the storm inside him. “Just let her stay. We must understand why she affects you.”
“I already know why.”
Dorcas’ tone dropped into something raw and fragile.
“It’s her mother. A human. She once took her to Crimson Eden.” Her breath shook as she forced the confession out. “I am the protector of nature… protector of humans. But I failed. I stopped watching. I grew comfortable.”
Her fingers curled tightly until her knuckles turned white.
“And now her child threatens me.”
Lucifer took a step toward her, the shadows around him calming slightly. “Then we’ll find the source. I won’t let you fall. You’re my sister. I’ll protect you.”
Dorcas looked at him, something soft flickering beneath the fear. The glow around her dimmed, her shoulders sinking.
“You know what happens if I lose my power, brother. You know the consequences.”
She reached for his hand, her cold fingers trembling. “I don’t want you hurt because of me.”
“And I won’t be.”
He squeezed her hand once firm, groundingb efore releasing her.
Dorcas let out a shaky breath, the winds receding. “Now… is there any guest you have for me?”
“I visited Michael,” she said, almost too casually.
Lucifer’s head snapped toward her, the temperature in the room dropping. “And what did you discuss?”
Dorcas gave a smirk, but the fear in her eyes betrayed her. “He wants me to destroy you, brother.”
Lucifer laughed dark, sharp, echoing through the broken room. “That will never happen.”
But when the laughter died, silence pressed against the walls like a living thing.
Dorcas’ heart thudded painfully in her chest.
Because there was a truth she dared not say aloud
If her power slipped any further,
she didn’t trust what she might become.
Or who she might destroy.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thank you so much for reading this chapter, my loves. Every time you turn to a new page, you breathe life into these characters, and I’m truly grateful for that. This was an emotional chapter for me to write Lucifer torn between the woman he loves and the sister he has always protected, and Dorcas fighting a battle she never expected to face within herself.
Your support, your comments, and the time you take to follow the story mean more than I can ever explain. You’re the reason I push myself to keep building these worlds and giving these characters the depth they deserve. I hope this chapter pulled you deeper into their conflict and made you feel every spark of tension, fear, and love.
Thank you again for being here with me. You’re appreciated more than you know.
See you in the next chapter!