Page 130 of An Unexpected Ascension
Ijust don’t love you.
Briar’s words still ring in my ears days after they’re said. They haunt me as I anxiously wait for the Gods to retaliate.
Days.
It’s been four days since Ada’s returned home and everything still remains silent. Not a word from the guards that stand outside this manor. Not a peep from the Hell dwellers down in the city. Not even an unusual howl from the Hounds echoing in the night.
It puts me on edge.
In a past life, I may have bombed Primordialis taking all the Gods down in one fatal explosion, brought the war forth and ended it without hesitation. Except two things stop me now: Lucifer getting reacquainted with Ada, and Briar.
The former has left me alone in the Great Hall where I dine in solitude and though the silence is familiar, it’s... unwelcome. I miss the daily morning banter, even the narrowed jade eyes of an angel desperate to break me.
As I sulk in front of my uneaten pastry, the doors to the Great Hall swing open in answer to my silent pleas for company.
Lucifer strides down the aisle to where our table sits, his wife in tow. Today, her eyes are brighter, her skin is cleaner, and she wears more clothes than she had before. I nod my greeting to them.
“Ada, I’d like you to formally meet my Second in Command, Lynx Cromwell.”
She smiles and curtsies, a foot sliding along the tile floor behind her. I chuckle, standing to my feet and extend a hand in greeting.
“Thank you, Lynx, for bringing me home.”
“We’re happy to have you home. This one never shuts up about you.” I gesture to the Devil.
Her face pinkens with a blush. She seems to be in better spirits, but the centuries of torture have permanently burrowed into her in many different forms: the circles beneath her eyes, the hollowness of her cheeks, the weakness in her muscles.
I immediately have the urge to feed her.
“Please, sit. I was just getting started with breakfast. Glad to have some company.”
Lucifer slaps a hand over my back and takes the seat at the head of the table, Ada taking the one across from me, where Briar would sit if she were here.
“How are you doing?” I ask, nearly wincing at the senseless question.
How else does one adjust after... well, after everything she’s been put through?
She only shrugs, her eyes just as hungry as her stomach, taking in the spread along the table.
“I can’t complain.” She starts as Lucifer adds a few berries to her plate. “I have my husband back.”
“But?” I sense she’s leaving something out.
“But it’s Hell,” Lucifer answers on her behalf.
I nod, contemplating it for a moment. “Was Primordialis any better?”
Her eyes widen. “No! No. It will just take some getting used to is all.”
She smiles at her husband, his fingers curling around hers. There’s utter relief in that gaze of his and it toys with my own heart. What would I do for the one I love? Would I wage a war?
Another entry into the room has our conversation halting. Briar stalks over to us, her black leather sucking the light from this very place as she claims the seat next to me. My skin sizzles at her nearness, though I don’t say a word for fear she’ll only try to rip my heart to shreds again.
“Briar Fenton,” she introduces herself and offers a hand across the table.
Ada meets it with a weak squeeze.
“You must be Lynx’s soul mate.” She smiles at the two of us.
