"I swear it on my life." Belial pressed a fist to his heart. "On my very soul."
They stared at each other and I sensed that the enormity of Lucifer’s trust in Belial had lifted a great weight between them.
Then it was time to begin. We hugged our sons again, and moved to stand in the center of the Giza plateau between the pyramids. Lucifer wore black and silver armor along with a spiked crown covered in rubies, and his entire body glowed with a slight red tint. Beside him, I wore the gold and silver armor I'd once donned as an angel, except I now wore a matching crown to Lucifer's, although mine had emeralds for the gemstones.
All of the people assembled before us quieted down, waiting for the Demon King and Queen to speak. I gazed out across the soldiers we'd gathered, an impressive mix of angel, demon, and fae, all willing to fight and die to rescue the people we loved and save the world from the impending apocalypse that Pestilence and Death would bring.
I waited for Lucifer to begin, but he gestured for me to take the lead. I cleared my throat and raised my voice, infusing it with power so it would boom out into the night. "Death has been released. He's free and he’s waiting for us in Hell, and he's taken my daughter and my friends. We must stop both him and Pestilence to prevent the apocalypse they will bring to all the realms. They have powerful allies, but we have an army too. One built of love and respect, not of fear and anger. Because of that, we will succeed. I have no doubt."
A roar rippled through the crowd, growing louder as the soldiers gathered before us fed from each other’s enthusiasm. Famine reached for their power until I almost glowed from it, though I made sure to send it back to them. They would need all their strength for this upcoming battle.
“We have a plan.” At the sound of Lucifer’s voice, everyone fell immediately silent. “We must stop this threat today, before Pestilence and Death spread their evil to the other worlds. I will open a portal to Void, and Hannah and I will force Pestilence and Death through it, while the rest of you keep their forces busy. Once they're through, we must close the portal to Void immediately, to make sure no other Elder Gods enter our world." He looked at me with love and devotion. "Failure is not an option, but we won't fail. They may have two Horsemen, but so do we. Let's show them what our apocalypse looks like."
With that, Lucifer held out the key to Hell and a huge black, shadowy portal opened up. Big enough for many soldiers to enter at once. I spread my silver wings, and Lucifer spread his shadowy ones beside me, and together we flew into Hell to save our daughter—and defeat two Gods.
32
Lucifer
My army poured through the portal into Hell, with Hannah and myself in the lead. The air on this side was colder, the sky was darker, and the scent of death was everywhere.
Death lounged on a throne under the head of the Great Sphinx. My fucking throne, which he must have had brought over from the palace just to spite me. He wore Fenrir's body, and I wondered what the Archdemon had sacrificed in order to gain Death's power. His eyes shone an eerie purple, and his body had already begun changing, becoming almost...skeletal.
What a fool. There was too much power for Fenrir to even stand a chance against Death. He couldn’t contain it, never mind control it. Not that he wanted to. All Fenrir wanted was to destroy me and take my place as king, and it seemed his interests aligned with my father's.
I held up a hand to halt my forces behind me as I took in what we were facing. Pestilence—Adam—stood to the right of my father, and on the other side of him was Theo. War's fury bubbled up inside me as I thought of all the things I wanted to do to them, but then my gaze landed on the cages just behind them. They were all made of jagged bone that looked like it had sprung up out of the ground and then been bent and twisted to Death's will. Inside each cage was someone I cared about deeply. Lilith. Azazel. Cerberus.
Aurora.
She made her way around her cage, her black and white wings fluttering to keep her airborne as she bumped her head against the bones with each jerky ascent. My rage became a volcano inside me about to explode at the sight, and Hannah’s hand tightened around mine, letting me know she’d seen it too.
I forced myself to look away, to study the horde my father had amassed all around us under the shadow of the pyramids. Shifters, imp, gargoyles, and others who had decided to defy their Archdemon to fight me. Their forces surrounded ours, but we could take them. Fuck, I could probably take them single-handedly with my rage at seeing Aurora in a cage. I was barely in control of myself, and Hannah gripped me tighter like she knew that. Fury burned through me, and I took a deep breath as Hannah and I landed in front of my father.
Death’s laugh boomed from Fenrir’s mouth, and it sounded wet, like something inside him was broken. "So good of you to join me, Lucifer."
“Father.” I looked straight at him as I greeted him, giving him the honor of our relationship without making myself submissive to him. I wouldn’t bow and scrape to Death, but I could remind him we were family once.
"And Eve, in a new body." Death tilted his head
