Page 3 of Premonition of Peace

“Are we going to talk about Lucifer?” Sasha’s question broke through the brief peace that existed in the room, and her words hit like an anvil in a pond.

“What the hell does that mean?” Piper bit out. Her eyes found mine and she arched an eyebrow. “Nathalie, what does she mean by ‘talk about Lucifer’? Is there something I need to know about your not-so-friendly neighborhood poltergeist?”

I cringed and opened my mouth to speak, but of course, bad had to becomeworseand Lucifer appeared beside me out of thin air. He was dressed in a three-piece suit and adjusting his cufflinks. I craned my neck to look at his face, but his ineffable mask of pleasantness was firmly in place.

“Not a poltergeist, thank you,” he said, “I’m her familiar, or didn’t she tell you? Either way, I like to think I’m quite friendly these days.”

My elbow shot out, nailing him in the side. The asshole didn’t even do me the service of pretending it hurt. I absently rubbed my arm where I was sure to bruise.

“I thought you were dead,” Piper said, appraising him like she would a bug that dared crawl beneath her boot.

“So, things progressed . . . unexpectedly.” I winced but held my hands up in surrender. “I’m handling it. I promise.”

“Yes, I was dead, thanks to the lot of you. What? No celebratory hug? Not even a high five?” Lucifer grinned like he wasn’t perturbed. If I thought it would make me feel better, I’d elbow him again. “Tough crowd.”

Piper lifted an eyebrow as if to question how well I was “handling it.”

“How exactly are we handling him?” Peace asked, poking her head out of the greenhouse.

“Trust Prime, she’s got it,” Caretaker said with a soft smile.

“I have this under control. Mostly.” I met her gaze and pleaded with my eyes.

“If your concern is ‘what will Lucifer do now,’ I can share my plans and put you at ease.” His words earned an eyeroll from both me and Piper. Ronan’s eyes were more focused on Sasha than Lucifer, which was telling given he and his brother hadn’t parted on the best of terms. It seemed they wouldn’t reunite on them either.

“Okay,” Piper said, putting her hands on her hips. “Lay it on me. What are these ‘plans’ of yours and do they involve me sending your ass back to the spirit realm?” She jutted her chin toward Lucifer, taking a not-so-subtle step in between him and Mist, who was pulling at her sleeves in discomfort.

“For starters, I have no intentions to usurp you from your metaphorical throne,” Lucifer replied with a disinterested look. “In fact, I have no desire to rule again at all.”

“As if you could,” Piper muttered in response. “So what, you just expect us to believe you have no purpose coming back? Just happy to be alive, huh?”

“Oh, I have a purpose.” Lucifer’s eyes locked on mine. “I’ve been given a second chance, and I intend to use it wisely.”

I swallowed under the weight of his gaze. Looking away, I noticed a coolness in Sasha’s features as she watched our interaction.

Anders moved forward and clapped Lucifer on the back. I wasn’t surprised he was the first to accept his return. They’d worked together for years and always got along well. “Glad to have you back, man,” he said with a crooked smile.

“Nice to see you in the flesh,” Sienna added, giving him a fierce one-armed hug while holding onto Sasha’s hand with her other. I could only imagine what she was feeling; her long-dead lover and almost-dead sister back in one day.

Sasha stepped forward; her eyes bright. “I’m so glad you found your way back to me,” she said, moving closer to him in a way that made my stomach twist with an emotion I refused to admit was jealousy. “We have much catching up to do.”

“Hmm.” Lucifer looked her over before flashing another half-smile.

His noncommittal response was not lost on Sasha, and it clearly didn’t please her. She pulled away and looked at her sister.

“I’m tired. I want to go home,” she declared.

“Of course,” Sienna said, nodding. “Hallie, come on?—”

“Wait.” I jumped in. The room snapped to attention. I internally cursed and told myself to tone it down. “I was going to offer for me or Piper to keep Hallie for the night, so you and Sasha could spend time together and she can get her rest.”

“Hallie, stay with me,” Orson added, instantly keen on the idea.

“We can have a sleepover,” Hallie agreed, holding hands with Orson in the pure way that only small children could.

I forced a smile again. “Is that okay with you?” I asked Piper.

“Oh yeah, for sure.” She frowned. “We’re skipping over some of the finer details of the whole Lucifer-is-back-in-the-flesh thing, but I’ll entrust this one to you.”

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