Page 104 of Lucifer's Redemption

Lucifer

Thehalf-octopusmalesmiledbrightly. His teeth pointed into fangs, but his eyes held warmth encouraging me to trust him—barely. Uriel clutched my shirt tightly behind me while Loki continued coughing violently. I side-eyed him, making sure he wasn’t trying to play a joke too soon, but the way Uriel held his hand told me otherwise. Mother had given him explicit instructions to go easy on Poseidon.

“Please, follow me,” Silas bowed, his tentacles turning his body most elegantly as we trod down the light-colored cobblestone path.

The palace was unlike anything I could have imagined for an underwater world. It stood tall with cemented shells that shone brightly, the most colorful corals decorated the walls. Vines, like you would normally see on lattices climbing an ancient castle, held kelp that swayed outward like it was underwater. This palace was solid, not weak in the slightest. With so few materials to construct such a fortress, I was highly impressed with its sturdiness.

The atmosphere was dense and heavy but still filled with enough oxygen for my small family to breathe. These creatures that I had neither seen nor heard of breathed it like it was water. The hair on Silas’ head swayed just like it was affected by ocean currents. There must have been some power that allowed their bodies to move in the gravity that was felt around us.

Inside, deep purples, blues, and greens donned the hallway. Giant chandeliers made of white coral and filled with candles lit the way. Statues of the gods, similar to those that my father placed in his garden, stood lining the way to the throne room.

Uriel, still holding onto my shirt as I wrapped my arm around her body, looked up in wonder as she pulled a sick-looking Loki behind us. As much as it concerned me that his face was darkening, he said nothing as we continued down the blue, sea moss carpet.

“Luci! Look!” Uriel pointed upward. Instead of a decorated ceiling filled with gods, demons, and angels, it was an aquarium, of sorts. Beautiful fish swam, looking down at us like we were the ones in the fish tank at a zoo. I blinked several times, holding onto Uriel.

That thing could break and squash us.

Sighing heavily, Silas’ popping of the suction cups on his tentacles accentuated the awkward silence as we approached the throne room. Clearing his throat, he turned, smiling brightly with his sharp teeth. Uriel continued to hold on to me for dear life, her body shaking as a shark swam by on the opposite wall of the hallway.

“Lots of teeth,” she muttered as a sea serpent stopped to stare. Its bright-yellow eyes lingered on Uriel, putting its snout up to the glass and tapping it several times. Uriel giggled as the serpent beckoned her closer. Her hand reached out but was still too far to reach the wall. Feeling brave, Uriel inched forward, pulling me with her. Chuckling, I followed like a hapless puppy.

Putting her finger against the glass, the serpent lovingly put the side of its head to the opposite side of the glass. It pulled back and forth, moving in a motion that seemed as if Uriel was petting it. Her finger bravely left the glass, only to put her entire hand on top of the serpent’s head on the other side.

“It’s purring,” she looked behind me to make sure I was still there. “I can feel the vibrations against the glass.” Giving her hand another reassuring squeeze, she pretended to pet the, once scary, creature.

“They can feel you,” Silas interrupted Uriel as she baked away. “The walls can be felt one-way. It is so our Lord can touch all his creatures to heal them if they become sick. Do not worry, they cannot hurt you.” Uriel’s small smile returned to the serpent that leaned against the class, begging for my mate to touch him again.

“You will have plenty of time to explore the palace. I would suggest meeting Lord Poseidon first.” Reluctantly, Uriel followed while Loki stood in the same spot, staring at the throne room double doors.

“Is he all right?” Silas nodded to Loki. Loki didn’t budge, and he continued to stare at the brightly-colored door with amusement. His head ticked as he caught the bright light shining on the jewels.

“I’m not sure,” I spoke. “It was his first carriage ride; he may be under the weather.” Silas eyed him again before opening the door.

“I must warn you: Lord Poseidon doesn’t receive many guests.” Silas looked over his shoulder as we followed. “In fact, he is reluctant to visit. Just be patient,” he whispered as the blue moss carpet halted before the throne.

Large green coral tentacles with orange wrapped around each spire sat behind the chair. Sea anemone donned the top of the hand rests, swaying to the ocean’s current. Uriel and I waited, watching the throne, but no being sat in its wake.

“He will be here shortly,” Silas muttered. “I’m sure he is still preparing himself. Please wait here, and I will have refreshments brought in.” As Silas popped his tentacles out of the room, Loki shook his head, rubbing his eyes.

“The hell is wrong with you?” I muttered, trying to keep Uriel from hearing my words. She had already wandered off, ascending the steps of the throne to watch the sea anemone with delight.

Loki groaned, fisting his hands to his eyes. “I don’t know,” he muttered. “The shiny stuff just makes me wanna stare at it, touch it, and take it. I wanna stuff all the pretty stuff in my damn pockets, and I don’t know why.” I raised a brow, rolling my eyes.

“This better not be some joke. Mother will have your head.” Loki scoffed, still rubbing his eyes. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Lucifer.” Loki continued to look around the room. The gems that donned the lower part of the throne caught his eye as he ran up the stairs to greet Uriel.

“Whatcha doing?” Uriel played with the sea anemone’s tentacles.

“Playing with this fun, squishy thing,” she mused. “Look, it has little fishies in it!” Loki stared but snubbed his nose after he caught sight of a brightly-shining ruby on the back of the chair. He tapped it with his finger, then tried to pull it away.

“Stop that,” I hissed, walking up the stairs and smacking his hands away. “You look like a damn fool doing that!”

“Luci,” Uriel whispered as she got on her knees looking at the shiny jewels around the bottom of the throne.

I swear I was watching a bunch of toddlers right now as they touched everything in sight.

I didn’t mind so much with Uriel, however. She was bent over, her short damn skirt now revealing her plump ass wearing lacy underwear. I leaned over to watch her crawl on the floor, counting all the diamonds that surrounded the throne.

Arranging myself so that my boner wouldn’t be the first thing our uncle would see, Loki pushed me, causing me to trip. “The fuck, man?” Loki shook his head.

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