Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
He can’t—he’s not—
“No.” Gritting my teeth, I turn toward Lucifer. “You…you…” I start, feeling magic gathering around my fingers. My breath quickens and my heart is racing, pounding so hard I can hear each and every beat echoing in my ears.
“Callie,” Lucifer says, face set. His hands are out slightly at his sides, and he takes a step back. “You need to calm down.”
“Are you fucking serious?” I quickly inhale and suck back a sob. My brain refuses to accept what happened. Because it didn’t. Lucas isn’t—no. He can’t be. “Calm down?” The energy gathering around my hands increases and the earth below me starts to vibrate. “You…” I start, remembering Lucas’s words. If Lucifer had stayed in Hell, if he sat on the throne, none of this would have happened. I was so blinded wanting to see the good in him, I didn’t allow myself to see the truth in Lucas’s words.
But he was right.
Bael. The Horsemen escaping. Paimon.
None of that would have happened if Lucifer kept his ass on the throne. I felt bad for him, but now I see that he’s selfish.
Blue energy sparks around me, rising from the ground. It cracks and pops, burning the already dried out grass and weeds beneath my feet. My lips curl back in a snarl, and I inhale, shock turning into rage.
“You could have stopped him!” I ball my fingers into fists, digging my fingernails into the skin on my palm. The pain only fuels my anger, and pure, white light starts to hum around both of my hands. It feeds the blue hellfire at my feet, and I stare at my uncle, one of the most powerful beings I know. “You just stood there and did nothing! If you would have let me go—” I cut off, energy thrumming around me. It’s causing the whole ground to vibrate, and the low hum reverberates off the surrounding trees.
“We didn’t have a choice,” Lucifer shoots back. “Osiris made a deal for four horsemen. Lucas knew it was the best chance—”
“Bullshit,” I interrupt, words sending a pulse of energy right at Lucifer. It jolts him back a bit and his eyes widen in surprise. “We could have killed them all.”
“No, you couldn’t, Callie,” he says almost gently. “And Lucas knew that too.”
“Don’t,” I start but the words die in my throat. I blink and see it all play out in front of me again. Lucas isn’t gone. He’s still in there, somewhere. And I’m going to do whatever it takes to find him, yank him off that damn horse, and bring him home to me.
To our daughter.
Because I can’t do this without him. I won’t do this without him.
The rage starts to swirl inside me at a dizzying rate as the fire at my feet grows taller and brighter. I clench my jaw and look at Lucifer through the flames. He knew. He fucking knew. Julian made the deal and Lucifer knew. But he didn’t say anything. He couldn’t be bothered to come here and fill me in on the plan. Julian is dead. If my dad knew then Lucifer knew too. There’s no way I could have known about the deal unless Lucifer told me about it.
“They were right about you.” I swallow the lump in my throat, splaying my fingers in front of me as blinding white light sizzles around them.
“Who?” Lucifer lowers his hands, face falling.
“Everyone,” I growl and bring my hands up and spin around to look at the spot where Lucas just stood. Famine’s body is on the ground, laying in a crumpled heap. It’s like a knife to the heart remembering the way Lucas shuddered as the darkness took over, working through every single part of him.
Tears pool in my eyes and anger surges through me. Tipping my head up, I scream and release the dark energy I’d been gathering. It ripples through my body, vibrating with the pain that’s tearing me apart. A single tear falls as I squeeze my eyes closed, feeling my heart break in two. I can feel the energy coming off me in waves, and I open my eyes when there’s a shift in the air.
Lucifer has been knocked back and is getting to his feet, staring at me with wide eyes. His lips part but his words fail him. But he doesn’t have to say it for me to know. I can feel them behind me, and I turn my head slightly, looking at jet black feathers.
“Callie,” Lucifer says again, and stops short. He doesn’t look mad but instead looks worried. He flicks his eyes to the dark sky above us for a moment. “Callie,” he repeats, not sure if I heard him.
I turn again, and this time the wings move with me. My wings. It’s the weirdest thing. I can feel them yet at the same time they weigh nothing. And this proves there’s a lot more archangel in me than we thought. Maybe I am immortal after all, and Lucas won’t have to go on after watching both his wife and his daughter age and die.