Page 83 of Wicked Believer
“What did you expect, Charlotte?” Michael scoffs at me. “For my brother to defend humanity all because he fell in love with a human? Nowthatwould be a twist no one would see coming.”
I look toward Lucifer, my eyes pleading. “Tell me it isn’t true. Tell me you weren’t going to sit by and do nothing to stop him, or worse, actually help him while—”
“Quiet, Charlotte,” Lucifer snaps, reminding me of my place.
My heart stops. My muscles tighten and my jaw sets.
Well, fuck that.
Fuck all his goddamned secrecy.
Either he’ll treat me like an equal moving forward, or he won’t have me by his side at all.
I throw off the sheets, coming to stand beside where he remains on the bed with only a blanket to cover myself, but he catches my wrist, a silent reminder, as if he means to say,Choose your battles wisely.
I can practically hear the words spoken inside my head. Like I imagined them.
And here in front of Michael isn’t the time nor the place, so I swallow down my rage. Save it for later. For my own safety.
Lucifer has at least helped improve my self-preservation skillsthatmuch.
“Well, you called this little meeting, Luce.” Michael makes a show of stretching and shaking out his wings. “So, what do you have to offer me?”
“I want in,” Lucifer says. “Call off the Righteous. No more attempts on Charlotte’s life.”
No . . . this . . . he . . .
“And?”
“And in exchange I’ll open the seals for you.”
“What? No!”
I don’t knowexactlywhat that means, but considering we’re talking about an impending apocalypse, I know enough from all my years of Bible study to gather that it can’t be anything good. Lucifer and Michael both ignore me.
“Father may have given you the scrolls, but He gavemethe power,” Lucifer says coolly, holding Michael’s gaze. “You need me.”
Michael hesitates, glaring at Lucifer like it physically pains him to consider it, but then abruptly he stands, kicking aside his chair so that it scrapes across the floor. “Done.”
For a moment, I’m too stunned to say anything. Then my brain comes back online, my thoughts reeling.
“Lucifer, you can’t,” I try to plead with him, but for the first time in a long time, his eyes are cold. Nearly as empty as when he first met me.
“It’s too late for them, darling,” he says softly.
Them.
Them meaning . . .
Humanity.
The panicked feeling inside my chest starts to tighten, becoming a very real, very urgent thing, until I can’t help but repeat the same word over and over. “No. No, no, no, no, no.”
Neither of them pays any attention to me.
“Father would likely agree.” Michael shrugs. “Mother, too, of course.” He smirks. “Well, in that case, I look forward to having you back on the team, brother. I’ll be in touch.”
With that, his wings give an almighty flap, and he’s gone in a blink.
