Page 16 of Lucifer's Redemption

Hell has officially frozen over.Loki, for the first time in his life, was speechless. His brain was apparently trying to reboot after the information he received.

Oh, for fuck’s sake. I didn’t even know what to think! I rolled on my back with my wings spread across the gazebo roof; the white pillars contrasted against my blackened wings.

This girl was not cursed with some spell to lure me in. There was no ill will or sin in her heart and no damn bad intentions in her voice. Her intentions were nonexistent, other than trying to make a friend, get to know people, and live life around her.

“What damn cloud did you fall out of?” Loki whispered.

Uriel covered her ears again. “Does your mom know you curse this much?” Uriel huffed. “I can’t hang out with you if you keep spilling out bad words; only the uneducated use words like that.”

Loki stood up, offended. “So, you won’t hang out with me because I use bad words, yet you believe kissing brings on babies?”

Loki’s tone cracked, his hand slapping his chest, “Everyone wants to hang out with me! I kiss she-demons my age all the time! I’m the Prince of Hell. I’m popular!” Loki waved his hands in the air before sitting back down harshly onto the stone bench. He wouldn’t look at her, crossing his arms and huffing silently to himself.

Uriel stood up, pushing her white dress down her thighs. “I’d like to be your friend, Loki, but if you talk like that, then I can’t be your friend. I have standards. Continuing to use those bad words, when a friend asked you to stop, isn’t being a good friend.” Uriel’s hips swayed as she stormed out of the gazebo.

I snorted quietly. I hadn’t seen Loki this disturbed before in his entire life. Any other girl, or woman, would normally throw themselves at the Princes of Hell to get their attention, but she just walked away from him. My heart warmed to know that she would give up being friends with someone.

Maybe she had more brains than I thought.

Uriel continued to walk down the path before Loki screamed out her name. “Wait! Just wait!” Loki brushed back his hair. I listened intently as he rushed to her. Loki was only ten years old but was almost as tall as the little goddess.

Uriel picked at her nails, not wanting to look at him, and rubbed her toe on the stones beneath her feet.

“If it bothers you that much, then I won’t curse anymore. Okay?”

My eyes widened.The fuck? Loki just did something out of the kindness of his own heart.

The gold of Uriel’s wings glowed as she fluttered the feathers close to him. “Really?” Her eyes beamed.

Loki put out his hand for her to shake. “Yes. I will try my best, but it is a hard habit to break, you know.”

Uriel nodded, shaking his hand.

“Where is Uriel?”

The loud shriek came from the front of the palace. Lightning flashed and the entire garden lit up as brightly as Earth. Several gods, including Mother and Father, raced around the house, every single one of them disregarding Father’s rule about staying off the grass.

The hellhounds began to swarm from the stables, surrounding the now-massive crowd following behind the enraged goddess who was charging toward them.

“Uriel! There you are!” Hera’s sandals slapped the stoned path. “We must go! Now!” she hissed with her face hardened in disgust.

“Uh oh,” Uriel whimpered, retreating towards the gazebo.

Chapter 7

Uriel

Everythingwasgoinggreat.I made a new friend, even though he had a bit of a potty mouth. He even offered me candy! But of course, my stomach and chest had hurt when he said it would taste so good. I might have had too many honeysuckles and honey. I’ve never had a problem with too much sugar before.

Maybe I was just too excited to be here!

Yup, I was because I got to see some outstanding puppies and got to play in this exceptional garden, full of flowers that I had never seen before. The Underworld was an amazing place, for sure, and I didn’t want the party to end. I wanted to explore more.

Things with Loki patched-up nicely. I was worried about giving up my first chance at a proper friend, but he changed really quickly. It made my wings warm at the promise he made me—a real promise. Now I would have someone to give me a tour around the entire estate!

The flutter in my wings made me giddy until a bright light flashed at the front of the palace. Most of the area was darker than the Celestial Kingdom, so when the bright light came from the sky, Loki and I shielded our eyes. We both stared until we heard screaming—all too familiar screaming, to be exact.

It was Mom.

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