And I knew it for truth. I could feel him; his pain and disappointment in his children, but also his love.

  “Will you help me?”

  “What do you want me to do?” I asked him.

  “Sing, of course.” Lucifer smoothed the hair back from my forehead. “Allow me to strengthen your song and send it over Angelus; to calm and convince my children to lay down their arms and welcome me home.”

  “My stone is silent,” I murmured, a spark of something like panic filling me briefly.

  “I will be your music,” Lucifer declared. “Anything you need, I can give it to you, Elaria. Think of a song and I will play it. What would you like to sing?”

  “I don't know.” I sighed. “You pick.”

  A piano's light tinkling fluttered around me, and I recognized it immediately. “Open Your Eyes” by Bea Miller; a song written and sung while Lucifer had been asleep.

  “How could you have possibly known this song?” I asked him.

  “I am a part of you now, Elaria, and you are a part of me,” Lucifer whispered in my ear as he shifted me over to stand before him. He'd been enormous when he'd first emerged from the lake but now, he fit perfectly against me; the curve of his chest cradling my back as his head bent to nestle next to mine. “You sent yourself into me when you freed me, and I gave you my power to help you. Even though we've withdrawn from each other, I can still feel you inside me.” His lips brushed my ear, his cool breath feathering against it. “Do you feel me?”

  “Yes,” I whispered as my magic rose to my call.

  The lyrics left my lips sweetly; a song about the man who held me. How he loved his children, how he wept for them, and how they had betrayed him like toddlers throwing a temper tantrum. But Lucifer was willing to let go of the past if they would only open their eyes and see the future with him.

  I sent the keening call over the Host, and they went still; wings settling against their backs like doves into their nest. Every ear cocked to hear my cry, every heart opened at my bidding. The music crested like an angel flying too high; casting his ambitions to the clouds. I screamed it out; what they could be if they would only accept their mistakes and move on. Their god stood before them, willing to forgive, hands extended in love. All they had to do was step forward into his embrace.

  The Gates of Heaven opened, and the Host fell to its knees.

  “Marvelous,” Lucifer murmured as the song gently swept away. “Victory without a single drop of blood shed. Thank you, Elaria. You've saved the Host from harm and me from heartache.”

  I turned in Lucifer's arms and stared at the face of God. He made me feel like a goddess again and something inside me responded to that. I lifted my face to his, suddenly free of the weight of his magnificence, and met his gaze proudly. Lucifer inhaled sharply, his eyes going wide as he stared into mine.

  Lucifer's hand lifted to brush the tender skin at my temple. “Your eyes blaze with golden flames.”

  “I was a goddess of fire once,” I said.

  “No, Elaria, you are still the Goddess of Fire,” he chided me. “And fire has always been my weakness.”

  Lucifer's lips covered mine, and my hands swept over his shoulders to the back of his neck to pull him closer. Someone growled angrily beside us, but I couldn't focus on his protest. I was consumed by the light of the Morning Star. He shone through me and stoked the embers lingering in my heart. I felt my skin heat even as his hands cooled me, my tongue slipping around his as if I could taste his words. Then Lucifer eased back and laid his forehead against mine.

  “I fear you freed me only to capture me again,” Lucifer whispered. “But this time, I will not be bound alone.”

  The words sounded familiar, as if several men had spoken versions of them to me before. But I couldn't see their faces or hear their voices. A rush of wings drowned out everything else in my mind.

  “Show me our palace, God of Angels,” I said.

  “As my lady commands.” Lucifer lifted his head, his eyes narrowing at the city before us, and then led me into Heaven.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  I frowned as I stared across Heaven from my open window. A sweet breeze brushed my hair back and cooled my cheeks but the sound of screams lingered in my ears as did the scent of smoke in my nose. There had been blood, after all. Blood and ice. Fiery wings frozen; smoke from dying flames filling the room as heads fell from bodies. The pristine floor of the Seraphim's chamber ran red. I wondered if they'd ever get the stains out.

  “Elaria?” Raphael asked gently as he stepped up beside me.

  “Raphael,” I said tranquilly. “How are you?”

  “I... Elaria, what did he do to you?” Raphael cried as he snatched my hand.

  “He? Who do you mean?”

  “Lucifer, of course,” he growled. “You were right; he betrayed his promise to me. He says he's giving you a choice, but he's taken your mind and is making the choices for you.”

  “Lucifer freed me as I freed him,” I countered. “I feel the Fire again.”

  “The Fire?”

  “My goddess magic,” I explained. “I thought I cut it all away, but a small ember remained, and he found it inside me. I feel as if I'm whole again without being submerged beneath Faenestra. It's miraculous.”

  “Holy shit,” Raph whispered. “What the fuck?”

  “I told you that I didn't want you, Raphael,” I reminded him. “And yet, you forced me here. So, you'll have to forgive me if I don't sympathize with you now. You made your choice, and I will make mine. Despite his promise to you, Lucifer asked me to come here, he didn't force me. He asked me to help him fulfill his promise to you. And I will do that for him because of what he did for me. But at the end of two months, I'm certain my decision will be the same as it is today.”

  “And what is that?” His voice went low and angry.

  “Not. You.” I let go of his hand and calmly turned back to the view.

  “It seems that the Goddess has spoken,” Lucifer announced as he strode into my room. “You will have another chance to change her mind tomorrow, Raphael. For now, you must organize the Host. Do what you promised and lead our people for me.”

  Raphael's jaw clenched, but he nodded and even bowed to Lucifer before he strode from the room.

  “Do you like your chambers?” Lucifer asked as he joined me.

  “Yes, they're lovely,” I said immediately.

  “You haven't even looked at them.” He took my hand and led me around the suite. “Elaria, stop staring at me and look at the rooms I've given you.” He laughed softly, as if he wasn't sure if that were really what he wanted me to do. “I must know that you're happy here.”

  I pulled my gaze away from his face and glanced around. “The suite is lovely. I'm happy.”

  “You're not,” he said in surprise. “What displeases you? What do you require that I haven't provided?”

  “I don't know.” I turned away from him; I couldn't think clearly when he was near. “There's something—a feeling—inside my chest and my stomach.”

  “A bad feeling?” He asked gently as he stroked my hair.

  With Lucifer's touch, the ache inside my chest and the clenching in my gut lessened. I glanced at him and the unsettling emotions faded completely. I knew that should have bothered me but it didn't. I felt calm. Peaceful. But then faces started flashing over his. Lucifer's eyes lightened to sapphire, shifted to amethyst, then hazel, green, and, finally, silver. The angles of his jaw morphed. The shape of his nose. His lips thinned then thickened into sensual lushness. Lips I'd kissed.

  My heart began to pound.

  “Elaria?” Lucifer's hand brushed my brow. “You are unwell. Let me help you.”

  Cool relief seeped from his fingertips through my head and down to my feet. My mind went blessedly numb and my heartbeat slowed. I sighed deeply, my entire body relaxing with it, and looked up into Lucifer's eyes. Light faded from the stars within them, as if they'd just been shining. His lips turned up in a soft smile as his hands fell away.

  “Better?” He asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you suffer from headaches often?”

  “Headaches?” I blinked. Was that what had been wrong with me?

  “I assume your head was hurting?” A small frown marred his forehead. “Am I wrong?”

  “I don't know.” I rubbed at my temples. “I suppose not. It could have been a headache.”

  “Elaria, I need to address my people soon but before I do, there's something I want to talk to you about.”

  “All right.”

  “Come, let's sit down.” Lucifer led me to the love seat at the foot of a magnificent bed.

  I glanced at the golden teester that jutted out from the wall above the bed; a half circle of flames holding lengths of crimson silk that draped behind the gilded headboard and over delicate posters at each corner of the bed. The loveseat we sat on had the same color scheme; ruby upholstery and gilded frame. I idly scrunched my toes in the thick rug; patterns of roses and ribbons spinning away beneath me. Beautiful indeed, but it felt wrong. I should be sleeping beneath kyanite silk not crimson. I frowned again. Kyanite? Was that even a color?

  “Is the headache back?” Lucifer asked in concern.

  “No,” I said quickly and focused on him. “What did you want to discuss?”

  “I'm sorry you had to witness the punishment of the Seraphim,” he said sadly.

  “Seraphim?” I blinked as blood painted my mind red. “The Burning Ones. You froze their fire.”

  “Yes,” his voice went sad. “Raphael told me of their crimes. Combined with what they did to me, I couldn't forgive them. I want to be kind to my angels, but I've learned that I must also have a firm hand. I cannot show weakness ever again.”

  “I understand completely.”

  “I thought you might.” He let out a relieved sigh. “I'm sure you've had to do a few unsavory things as queen.”

  Screams shattered my calm, and I flinched. It was all inside my head; a memory of standing before a castle and watching it burn. Burn to ashes. Burn so hot that even the stones melted. Even as I cringed away from the image in horror, a small part of me gloried in it. To create that kind of heat—fire that raged hotter than the core of planets—made my heart rejoice. Lucifer was right; there was great power in me still.

  “I've done far worse than you,” I finally whispered.

  “Have you?” Something flashed in his eyes.

  Shock? Fascination? Curiosity? Admiration? I wasn't sure. Perhaps it was all of those.

  “Horrible things.” I nodded as guilt came for me again.

  “Let that pain go, Elaria.” Lucifer took my hand. “I understand that as well. The things we do out of love can sometimes hurt us, but they must be done. We must stay loyal to what we know is right. That one terrible act I committed today will ensure that the Host obeys me in the future. It will prevent more bloodshed. I know that whatever you had to do, it must have been something similar. You did it out of love.”

  “How can you say that?” I moved away from him. “You don't know me.”

  “How can you say that?” He countered using my words. “You filled me with your essence, and I gave you mine. We merged in the way of Gods while still within the confines of our physical bodies. I didn't even know that was possible.”

  “Merged in the way of Gods,” I murmured. Another memory hit; endless space around me and a soul inside of mine. Shivering, ringing bliss. Water to my Fire. Darkness to my Light. “Darcraxis!” I stood up in horror. “What have you done to me?”

  Lucifer sighed as he got to his feet. “I'm so sorry, Elaria. I don't want you to remember your lovers. Not yet. I must solidify my position here without the threat of your alliance hanging over me.”

  As Lucifer spoke, I tried to reach Kyanite, to ask his help in finding a song to defeat this god, but he wasn't there. I searched for him and the RS but found nothing. I gaped at Lucifer; it was Darcraxis all over again, except this god didn't love me. There would be nothing to keep him from hurting me.

  “Please don't look at me like that.” Lucifer's wings shivered. “I adore you, Elaria. I will never harm you. You freed me from Hell and touched me in a way I've never been touched before. I truly mean you no harm. If you wish to leave after the two months you promised me, I will return you to your lovers safely.”

  “If?” I huffed. “I only agreed to stay because you did some kind of mind-fuck on me.”

  Lucifer may have muted Kyanite and the RS, but he hadn't taken my magic, and I was going to use it to escape as soon as the opportunity presented itself. I just had to bide my time.

  “Nonetheless, you agreed,” his voice remained calm and kind. “I made a promise to Raphael. But I also made one to you; that you will have the choice when those two months are over. You can choose Raphael or your old lovers. But the reason I wanted to talk to you, Elaria, is that I wanted to offer you a third option.”

  Don't say; you, I begged in my head.

  “Me,” he said with a shy smile.

  I grimaced.

  “You're upset with me right now.” Lucifer held up his elegant hands in surrender. “I understand. I would feel the same. But please try to see it from my perspective. I felt your love for your consorts when you freed me, and your determination to use them to fight me and put me back in my prison. At the same time, I saw you, and you are magnificent. I felt desire for the first time in over a thousand years. Not physical desire but soul desire. I wanted you, and I felt your desire for me.”

  “I don't—”

  “Please, no more lies between us.” He gestured back at the loveseat as his wings sparkled away. “Sit down, Elaria, and do me the courtesy of hearing me out.”

  I sighed and sat down. Lucifer settled beside me but at a respectful distance; hard to do on a loveseat, but he managed it.

  “I know you're intent on putting all the rising gods back into a state of slumber,” he went on. “Perhaps with some of them, that's for the best. But I swear to you; I am done harming mortals to make myself feel powerful and increase my glory in the eyes of the Host. As I lay within the Lake of Fire, I dreamed. No... I had nightmares. I saw the horrible things I had done. I lived them over and over, and I felt regret. I want another chance, Elaria. I want my life back; my freedom. Most importantly, I want my children to love me and accept me. I am determined to prove that I can be a good father to them. That I can lead them and guide them and love them as I did in the beginning.”

  “And if they displease you?” I asked.

  “I will handle it with compassion and strength,” he vowed. “But these are only words. I'm hoping that I can prove myself with my actions; both to my angels and to you. Will you keep an open mind?”

  “Will you release me?” I countered.

  Lucifer sighed again. “You will only run and not allow me the chance to show you how I've changed.”

  I couldn't argue that. “But how do I trust you when you've messed with my mind and hold me captive?”

  “Yes; it's a difficult situation,” he agreed. “But I'm hopeful that my treatment of you will prove my good intentions. And I promise not to mess with your mind, as you put it, ever again. I'll even leave your memories of your lovers in place, despite my instinct not to. I give you my word that your thoughts will be completely your own if you will simply agree to weigh my actions before you pass final judgment upon me. Treat me fairly, and I will do the same to you.”

  I sat back and stared at Lucifer. His beauty had dimmed. Don't get me wrong; Lucifer's divinity gleamed from every inch of his body. But that irresistible pull I'd felt before was gone. Kyanite and RS were still missing from my mind, but I could think clearly; no worshipful haze clouding my head. All of my memories were restored. I was able to analyze Lucifer for myself; judge the earnest angles of his expression and anxious twitching of his lips. And I remembered singing him from the fire; feeling his soul. Knowing him. I saw something good inside Lucifer, something wondrous, just as he saw in me. And I had seen it before his magic sent me to my knees.

  Would I have acted any differently if I had been in his place? Yes; I would have. I knew exactly how Faenestra would have behaved. I would have come out of my prison swinging. I would have started a slaughter and probably burned Heaven to ash. But Lucifer came out smiling; hopeful. He asked me to help him take Heaven peacefully and then only killed the angels he felt compelled to punish. It seemed rather... well... kind. Reasonable. He didn't appear to be a murderous god bent on revenge.

  Let's see how reasonable Lucifer could be. Darcraxis had once released me and allowed me to make my decision freely. Perhaps, Lucifer could be convinced to do the same.