He said that, but I was his mother, and I knew it was a lie. Something about him was different. Colder. Emptier.
But of course he was different. He was a god now.
Lucifer walked over next and clasped Belial on the shoulder, while still holding Aurora. "I knew you could do it."
"Did you?" Belial asked, genuinely surprised.
He nodded. "I never had any doubt you would find your way back to us."
"Be be be," Aurora said, and Belial gave her something that was almost a smile as he held out a hand to her.
"But you sacrificed your soul," Kassiel said. "What does that mean?”
Damien tapped his lips. “Father sacrificed his memories, but those were returned. Could Belial's soul be restored too?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I hope so.”
Lucifer put an arm around my waist. “We’re all here. Together again. If there's a way to save Belial's soul, we'll find it.”
Belial rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. Really."
He did seem all right, so it was hard to tell what exactly losing his soul had done to him. I prayed it was nothing, and that he would be able to move forward with his life—now with a bit more power. Either way, I knew I'd be back in the library looking for answers as soon as we returned home. That was what I did, after all.
A pale horse suddenly galloped over to us and bowed its head to Belial, who looked surprised by this turn of events. He was a Horsemen now, like Lucifer and I were. But there were only three of us on Earth now, and perhaps that meant the threat of the apocalypse was over. After all, all the prophecies said there had to be four.
As Hell quieted down around us, I leaned against Lucifer as we gazed across the battlefield at the aftermath of our apocalyptic war. A war we'd somehow won, despite all odds. Marcus and some other angels were healing the injured. Romana and Azazel had rounded up the remaining enemy soldiers and subdued them, while Cerberus growled and kept the prisoners in line. I spotted Demeter among the fae, adjusting her armored crown. Everyone I loved had come to fight this battle with us, and we'd prevailed.
A huge wave of relief washed over me as I turned toward Lucifer, who was still holding Aurora. I wrapped my arms around the both of them, holding them close. We were free. Free of Death's curse. Free of Adam's threat. Free to have a normal life. Well, as normal as life could be when it consisted of angels, demons, fae, babies who could fly, and three-headed hellhounds. Not to mention a couple Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
"We did it," Lucifer said, before pressing a kiss to my lips. "We won."
I nodded, tears of happiness filling my eyes. "Let's go home and celebrate."
36
Lucifer
Hannah and I entered the conference room in The Celestial, which we'd decided would still be our base of operations for our empire, even though we made our home in southern California now. Las Vegas was the main hub for demons on Earth and that wouldn't change. After all, with the internet and a private jet we could rule from anywhere. Damn, I loved this century.
My queen and I took our places at both heads of the table and I let my gaze slowly fall on each of the people in front of me. It had been three weeks since we'd stopped Death and Pestilence, and I'd called a meeting of Archdemons, both new and old. I had some changes to make to prepare for the future of our people, to usher them into a new era.
Lilith sat to my left, fully recovered after her kidnapping and looking as lovely as ever. On my right was Baal, wearing a suit that looked like it has been made during Victorian times. Next to him was Romana, across from Samael, both of them looking stoic. Then down by Hannah was Valefar, representing the dragons for the first time, and Bastet, the leader of the feline shifters, and the newest Archdemon in our ranks. She'd been quick to pledge her loyalty to me after Fenrir's death, swearing her people would root out the corruption and bring the other shifter clans in line. Since the insurrection had mostly involved wolves and bears, I was willing to let her try. Besides, she'd hated Fenrir for thousands of years, and was thrilled to take his place—and that was enough to keep her loyal. For now, anyway.
The final seat at the table stood empty. No Archdemon had been chosen for the imps yet, and from what I'd heard, their ranks were in chaos. One of the many things on today's agenda.
"Thank you for joining us today," I said. "We have much to discuss."
"Yes, big changes are coming," Hannah said, as she took her seat with a smile.
The Archdemons bristled and glanced between each other. "Are the rumors true?" Romana asked. "Are you stepping down?"
A hearty laugh erupted from me. "No, of course not. Why would anyone think that?"
The demons settled down at those words. Immortals didn't like change. They tended to be stuck in their ways, even if those ways were outdated and it was obvious that a new way would be better for them. Of course, change was necessary for the survival of our people. I'd been doing a lot of thinking over the last few weeks, and realized that was where I'd failed as a ruler before. I'd been either too hesitant to change, or I'd embraced it too hastily. But now I had Hannah ruling with me to help find the right balance.
I slowly sat in my executive chair like it was a throne, my back straight, letting my hands languish on the armrests. "The first business on the agenda is a promotion. Samael, please rise."
"Yes, my lord?" He reluctantly stood up, towering over the rest of the table.
"Samael, Hannah and I are pleased to announce that
