Page 72 of All's Hell That Ends Well

Though her head was angled slightly away, I all but felt her eye-roll.Ashtaroth is getting brazen, she said after a moment, dismissing the previous topic.She needs to be put in her place.

I fear it might not be done with bringing only her to heel.Flecks of ash swirled around me as I rode the air currents.Her treason-mongering falls onto fertile soil not so much because she is so convincing a speaker, but because there is truth to her claims. Lucifer’s negligence has become so bad that soon it won’t take much persuasion for the other archdemons to act.

Do you think it so likely that they’ll join forces?She cast me a doubtful glance.You have been among us but for the blink of an eye compared to the eons that I’ve seen pass. In all this time, there has never been a moment when more than three archdemons agreed on a big matter such as this.

And yet, I said, angling my wings to catch a stronger wind,neither has there ever been a moment when Lucifer has shown himself this vulnerable. Has there?

Daevi didn’t reply, but her power was a tangible thing in the air, prickling over my feathers with the anger emanating from her.

None of the archdemons had ever tried to take Lucifer on. Any and all attempts to attack him had been carried out by overzealous seraphim, many of them aiming to strike during the Fall Festival, which spoke volumes of their lack of intelligence. If ever there was a time when Lucifer expected to be confronted with rebellion, it was during that party.

Notably, and scarcely surprising, he hadn’t held a Fall Festival since Lilith had been murdered.

His current display of weakness is unprecedented, I said into the silence,and it’s the reason why half the archdemon council seems to be more or less openly contemplating the possibility of an attempt on his life.I paused, then added,That would have been unthinkable eight years ago, and you know it.

And what would you have me do?Her mental voice brimmed with frustration.

You need to talk some sense into him, I pushed.Tell him to snap out of it and take the reins again, or else his days are numbered.

Though there was no love lost between me and Lucifer, I didn’t want to see him toppled—mostly because the alternatives were all shit. Those who wanted to overthrow him were the worst possible replacements, all of them even more vain, greedy, and cruel than my grandfather. Just the thought of Ashtaroth, Baal, or Gadreel sitting on the throne and being in supreme command of all of Hell was fuel for nightmares. And Abaddon wasn’t much better either.

Not to mention none of them would feel compelled to respect the truce struck with Heaven, as they couldn’t care less about Naamah and her continued well-being. Which meant that if any one of them rose to power, Earth would be fair game. Another war would break out, and it would devastate the world of humans.

Daevi’s dry laugh was nearly caught and swallowed by the wind.What makes you think I have that kind of influence over him? The last time he listened to me was when I petitioned for you and Azmodea to be able to visit Naamah.

There must be something you can do, I ground out.Or someone else who can still reach him.

He has alienated many of those who would have given him good counsel, she replied, distant lightning flashing over the black of her wings and hair.Lilith was the one who could always make him see reason.

Well, we’re in this mess precisely because she is no longer here, I snapped.

Temper your tongue, Azazel. She shot me a reprimanding look.I am not the one to be angry with, and you would do well to remember that I, too, lost someone very dear to me in Lilith.

We flew in silence for a moment, then she said,You should speak to Naamah. She wishes to see you, and you could relay your concerns to her and ask her to reach out to Lucifer. Perhaps he’ll listen to her.

Different kinds of hurt overlapped inside me, folding into a nauseous ball of emotion along with regret and guilt. Ihadbeen meaning to meet with her after Zoe and I had talked, so this was one more reason to get over myself and see my mother.

Have her set the time and place, and I will be there. I nodded at Daevi, then took my leave and signaled my entourage to head home.

CHAPTER 21

Zoe

Over the next couple of days, I trained several times with Lucifer, honing my skills and becoming more and more secure in how to wield my power. As before, we usually went outside to practice far from any structures or other demons. That way, I could use my energy to its full potential without risking damage to people or property.

I could now confidently aim a nearly nuclear blast of my power at a specific target, and if it had been anyone other than Lucifer standing in the way of my strike, they’d have likely been pulverized, depending on their own inherent power level. According to Lucifer, an archdemon could take a full-on blow from me as well, since that was where my strength was on the hierarchy, courtesy of Azazel.

Anyone below that would be toast.

Before, right after I’d bonded with Azazel, my power level had been roughly that of a seraph, but apparently more of Azazel’s archdemon strength had flowed into me over time, with the connection between us settling.

To think that I would likely be able to go up against an archdemon was mind-boggling to me. I couldn’t fathom that, had seen myself as weak and struggling for too long. It would take time for me to fully accept my new strength.

Training with Lucifer helped. He was relentless in how he pushed me—just as he’d promised, he didn’t coddle me. I regularly cursed him under my breath for his draconian training style, but I could see the effectiveness of it in the speed with which I made progress. And while I often felt drained and exhausted after a session, I did appreciate the improved control over my power he was whipping into me.

Several times, though, when I’d come by his room so we could go outside and train, I’d found Lucifer asleep, much like those previous two instances. I’d waited for him to wake, then, which he did, eventually.

But it was definitely strange how much he slept. Was it a physical need, after all? A sign of him weakening?

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