Page 39 of Premonition of Peace

My eyes flickered open cautiously and I trained my gaze on him for a solid moment. But I couldn’t help but see it—our connection. A thick, golden thread stretched between us,shimmering with an intensity that was impossible to ignore. It moved almost like it had a heartbeat, anchoring me to him in a way that was undeniable and unnerving.

I reached out, as if to touch the thread. “There’s a thread connecting us.”

Lucifer nodded and smoothed my hair back from my face. “I’m your familiar. Of course there is.”

“Ours is so thick compared to the rest of them.” I plucked my finger over the thread and almost felt the echoes of its vibrations in my core. A blush touched my cheeks as heat rose within me.

Note to self: don’t touch the threads on purpose.

It would be impossible to avoid it entirely. There were simply too many.

“That’s because it’s permanent,” he said with a self-satisfied grin. “I told you, little witch, you’re stuck with me.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his words because I didn’t feel stuck with him. Not really. I chose him. He chose me. It soothed something in my damaged heart to know he wouldn’t leave me. “I’m tied to you. There’s a difference.”

His wasn’t the only string that connected to me either. There was another bond, just as thick and vibrant. I focused on it, trying to feel who was on the other end to no avail. A third bond was forming, hundreds of individual strands twining together. Another piece, no bigger than a hair was settling over it, creating a rope of sorts. The last bond was smaller. Thinner. Dimmer. Something in my chest panged because I had a good idea who that one belonged to.

I closed my eyes again, this time for a very different reason. Lucifer smoothed a hand up and down my back, trying to comfort me.

“All the threads you see are the ties that bind us.” His words echoed my earlier thoughts. “Eventually, you’ll learn how to see around them easily.”

“How do you know?” I asked, trying to focus on something else; anything.

“Because the Eye originally belonged to my father.”

I peered up at him and realized that despite being down an eye, I wasn’t missing peripheral vision. The Eye of Parcae was truly acting as a replacement and letting me see not only what was natural, but what was not.

“You don’t talk about him much.”

“There’s not much to talk about,” he replied, hand settling on the small of my back. “I was the second born son to Erebus and Gaia. Erebus was the Harvester of the Otherworld—before Ronan. He ran his family the same way he did the world. Ruthlessly.”

I frowned, picking up what he was saying. “He wasn’t a good father to you.”

Lucifer hesitated. “He wasn’t much of a father to me at all. Ronan was the first born. He had chaos magic. He was the heir Erebus wanted.”

“And you?”

“I existed,” he said quietly. “He wasn’t necessarily unkind to me. I simply wasn’t a priority.”

I cupped his cheek, sliding my hand down and around to fist in the hairs at the nape of his neck.

“You were neglected.”

Lucifer tilted his head. “Some might say that.”

“What do you think?”

Lucifer sighed. His golden eyes dimming a fraction. “I think my father was a brutal man. When I was young I wanted his attention, but after all that’s happened, I think I was, perhaps, better off being left alone most of the time.”

My chest squeezed. “I understand that. Quite well, actually.” Gods did I. My own family had done the same. We were alike in that way. “Carissa was the eldest. Katherine was the prodigy.I was simply the spare. It didn’t help that my magic was broken and didn’t behave like theirs . . .” I trailed off, not willing to let myself get lost in thoughts of the past. “So your dad sucked. Tell me about your mom. Gaia.”

Lucifer smiled, slight and a little sad. “She was beautiful. Kind. She saw the best in everything, even me.”

“You loved her.”

“Greatly,” he responded with a nod. “She was my safe harbor for a long time.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What happened?”

---