Let him in

Dyvian's POV 

The chilly wind nipped at my skin like a warning as I stood in front of the mountain. 

The vast, motionless sky above watched as though it understood the gravity of what lay beyond this location. The safe space Nana had built. A place of refuge for witches, free from demons. Free from me.

I lifted my hand, fingers tracing a pattern in the air. Magic stirred, coiling, and ready to be used. The portal came to life, shimmering as the energy took form. Just one more step and I could be inside.

But I was hesitant.

Coming here wasn’t something I decided on a whim. 

Nana hated demons. Hated me. But she knew more than anyone about the balance of power, about what my father was planning. 

If Lucifer was to awaken, the witches would be the first to suffer. They had to know that. They had to understand why I was here.

I stepped through the portal.

The shift was immediate. 

The scent of damp earth and burning sage filled my lungs, the air thick with magic. 

Everything in this place was alive, including the whispering trees and the voices I could not quite make out in the wind. It was different from the underworld, from the human realm. Antiquated. Powerful.

And then, the attack came.

My chest was struck with such force that I staggered back. Enraged and alive, magic crackled in the air. From the trees came figures, their hands raised and glowing with strength, hoods pulled over their faces.

“You have no place here, demon.”

The voice was piercing and poisonous. A violet-eyed woman with piercing eyes stepped forward, her magic encircling her like a living creature. The others remained motionless, awaiting her cue, but it was obvious from the way their magic pulsed that I was not welcome.

Shaking off the spell's lingering effects, I rolled my shoulders. “Nana knows I’m coming. Step aside.”

She didn’t move. “Do you think her knowing means you are welcome?”

I grinned back. “No. But I’m coming in either way.”

Magic surged forward, the first strike thrown. I dodged, but another spell followed, then another. The trees shuddered from the force, the entire space reacting to the fight. 

I retaliated, curling shadows at my fingertips as I twisted my own power against theirs. They weren’t weak. But neither was I.

Then a voice broke the commotion.

“Enough.”

The enchantment ceased. The witches froze, their eyes snapping toward the figure stepping through the trees.

Nana.

She gave me a look that was impossible to read. However, I could sense a warning behind her gaze.

“Let him in,” she said.

And just like that, the fight was over.

After Nana let me in, I scoffed at the witches still watching from the entrance. Their glares burned into my back, but I paid them no mind. “I told them I was close with you, but they didn’t even listen,” I muttered, following behind Nana.

“They have no reason to,” she said without looking back. "Your presence here is enough to set them on edge."

She didn’t speak again until we reached her Celestial  building. The aroma of burning incense and herbs filled the air. Then, she turned, her expression neutral, her voice showing no empathy. “What do you want? How could you even show up here at this hour? Do you want to get yourself killed?”

I smirked. “Do you think I can’t handle a few witches? I was being lenient because of you.”

Her gaze remained fixed. “They’re trained for demons like you. If you think they would hesitate to kill you, you’re a fool.”

I rolled my eyes. “Say whatever you want, Nana. I came here for something more serious.” I lowered my voice, pretending to be depressed. “I really do need advice… but that can wait.”

She must have been struck by something in my tone because she stopped being normally uninterested. With a sigh, she stepped aside, leading me in.

I let out a slow breath, rubbing my temple before looking at her. “My father is trying to awaken Lucifer.”

Immediately she turned to face me, her calm eyes shifting. “He can’t do that.”

But we both knew he could.

Before Lucifer had been forced into his deep slumber, the world had nearly torn itself apart. His existence alone had thrown everything into chaos. For witches, it had been worse than war—it had been survival.

Nana had fought to keep her people hidden, to protect them, but Lucifer was the only one who had ever been able to break through her power. If he returned, the balance she had maintained would shatter.

The witches would have no place to run.

She knew it. I saw it in the way her fingers twitched, the way she clenched her jaw as though she could suppress the very thought.

“That’s why I need your help, Nana.”

She exhaled, shaking her head.

“If Lucifer awakens, it’s over. So I need your help to find the only key before Azrakel lays his hands on it.”

I watched as Nana absorb my words, her fingers twitching slightly at her sides. A tell. She wasn’t as unaffected as she wanted me to believe.

Then, she exhaled, slow and measured. “I don’t know about any key.”

I tilted my head, studying her. “That’s funny,” I murmured. “Because I know you do.”

Her jaw tightened, but she didn’t deny it. She only turned away, moving deeper into the room as if putting distance between us would shake me off. It wouldn’t.

“I’m not helping you, Dyvian,” she said finally, voice calmer than before but firm. “Not with this. You’re asking me to risk everything.”

Everything. Like she hadn’t spent centuries doing just that. Like she hadn’t already fought demons before.

I scoffed. “You think Lucifer will care if you sit this one out? That he’ll let your little sanctuary thrive when he wakes up?”

Nana didn’t respond. But I knew the answer.

Suddenly, the doors burst open.

A young witch stumbled in, breathless, her face pale. “Something’s wrong.”

No further explanation. She didn’t need one.

I turned, stepping past Nana and into the open.

The sanctuary was shrouded in unnatural fog, which rolled in like thick, slow waves. No wind. No sound. Just the mist, creeping in, curling through trees and swallowing the space between us.

Not fog. Smoke.

Something cold settled in my stomach.

Then, the whispers started.

Low and guttural. Slithering through the trees.

I knew them.

Demon trackers.

I clenched my teeth, breathing slow through my nose. So, my father had finally sent his hounds after me. Took him long enough.

I was expecting Nana to reprimand me or even push me out with the trackers and sincerely, I was willing to do that much for them.

They came because of me, after all.

“They came into my home,” Nana said suddenly, taking me by surprise. She stepped forward, rolling her shoulders. “So they will have to pay.”