Page 105 of Sleeping Redemption
Despite his weakened state, Rook stepped toward the steps where Lucifer and I stood.
Before he got too close, Lucifer gave a wave of his hand, and an invisible force knocked Rook back into the metal pole of a streetlamp with enough force to bend it.
“Silence, abomination!” Lucifer’s voice boomed. His eyes lit up with his wrath as he stared down Rook’s limp form on the pavement. “You are the biggest embarrassment amongst my legion of demons! I should have destroyed you when you were just a pile of black goo under my fingernail!”
His words were sharp, and the wounds they inflicted were damn near visible even from where I stood. My heart clenched in response.
Atlas ran over to check on Rook while Sy drew his sword defensively, his wings immediately sprouting from his back.
“Rook’s right, Kinley is not going back to your land of brimstone and despair.” His eyes fiercely stared down Lucifer.
Despite the vicious look from the archangel, Lucifer seemed unbothered, with his body still set in a relaxed posture.
“Sylas, you have no power here. Not over me. Not over her,” he gestured at me. “It is not your decision to make. Kinley has already chosen me over you once before, do you think she won’t do it again?” A sly and dangerous grin spread across his lips.
Things were escalating quickly. If it came down to Lucifer against the three men set on defending me, it would be nothing but senseless bloodshed.
If all the angels in Heaven hadn’t been able to stop Lucifer from his departure from paradise, what chance did an archangel, a guardian angel, and a trickster demon have against him?
I stepped down to stand next to Lucifer, still carrying my sword in my hand like a security blanket.
“He’s right, Sy,” I stated softly as my eyes met his. “Given the choice, Lucifer has made me who I am. He’s given me freedom to thrive outside of the strict parameters of Heaven, I can’t turn my back on that.”
The tension faltered in Sylas’s body, surprise coming over his face as he stared at me.
Swallowing hard past the reality of things, I tried to push a sense of understanding towards what he must be feeling right now.
“This needs to end. I have been stuck in this circle long enough. You and I both know that it’s only a matter of time before something else drives me to the brink of snapping again,” I said with a sense of self-awareness I hadn’t felt in a long time.
I looked up at Lucifer, all his charm and power reminding me of my purpose here on Earth. If I was going to resolve this situation with Nico once and for all, a radical solution needed to be considered.
A look filled Lucifer’s eyes. For a moment, it almost looked like one of love, understanding, and a hint of satisfaction. But underneath it all, it looked like the biggest of the original sins: pride.
Squeezing Lucifer’s hand briefly, I walked to the bottom of the steps to where Sy awaited me with a look of pain behind his beautifully crystalline blue eyes. He sheathed his sword into the ether behind him as I approached.
I looked just beyond him, where Atlas had managed to get Rook seated upright to shake off the impact of Lucifer’s attack. Relief overcame me as I stared at two-thirds of my heart.
Turning my attention back to the final piece of my heart, Sy, my voice remained even with my certainty. “This is what I want. This is my choice.”
Rolling my shoulders back, I grimaced as I felt my dark wings emerge from my back. I spread them out behind me, shaking them out as I felt the stretch from their base to their very tips.
I closed my eyes and silently prayed.
Sylas, I can’t live in this madness anymore. You told me you’d always do right by me. Now, I’m asking you to do the right thing. You’re the only one strong enough. It has to be you.
Opening my eyes, I looked up at my archangel, the man who had always challenged and pushed me; I could feel his conflict.
I handed him my Divinity Sword.
He had always been a pillar of strength, even to a fault, and now I saw the cracks in the shield. His jaw clenched, and pools of icy blue glaciers melted into unshed tears.
The first hint of wavering emotion came through as I spoke with a cracked whisper. “Please. For me.”
Lucifer spoke up from several feet behind me. “Come, Kinley. The sooner we return to Hell, the sooner we can lay this to rest. Don’t keep me waiting.”
Sylas took my sword from me and nodded his head knowingly. His wings bristled behind him, showing just how unsettled he was.
With a curt nod, he leaned forward to press his forehead to mine as his strong hand gripped the back of my neck.
