Page 124 of Lucifer's Redemption

My heart clenched in my chest.Our sperm donor was alive, and now they feared he escaped from his prison.

Gasping for air, I sunk to the floor as the world around me became fuzzy. I don’t know if I could ever face such an evil entity. He stole everything from me. He stole my younger years. The fear lives in my nightmares every night, and now he could be walking amongst us, or worse yet, ruling over all the gods.

I shivered, burying my face in my hands as I fought to regain my composure.

What kind of god am I?

Silas took the message, walking down the hallways with his tentacles popping steadily. Stopping, he turned his head over his shoulder and asked Lucifer, “Are you going to stop him?” Silas’ eyes softened. “Are you going to stop the madness, and help heal our Master of his nightmares?”

My heart capsized again in my chest.

How could he possibly know? Am I that loud when I sleep? Does he hang by my door, listening to me cry into the night?

Embarrassment flooded me. I was too scared to even close my eyes because it would remind me of the darkness of the pit of my father’s stomach.

“I’ll do more than that,” Lucifer growled. “I’m going to destroy every piece of matter that created him.” Lucifer’s heavy promise halted my panting. His words held truth, and his determination radiated throughout the room.

Loki backed away, seeing Lucifer’s smoldering red hands. “I will do it for my mate, and in turn, if that helps Poseidon, so be it.” Lucifer turned, glancing at Loki as he trailed behind him down the hallway.

Shamefully following down the hallway, hoping to not be seen, I watched as he opened the door to the lounge room where all my creatures relaxed. Once the work was done around the palace, they went there to play, love life, and talk amongst themselves.

Sometimes I would join them to play their card games as to speak among them. I did not once feel judged by them. Many had been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Many even roamed the Earth realm for a time until I recalled the ones that were not tainted by evil that wanted to destroy the humans before they were destroyed.

They craved the sunlight, but this was where they were safe. I would keep them safe for as long as they let me.

That moment was now. I would not let my children be taken from me. I will be a better creator and father to them than my own father ever was to me.

Uriel sat in the middle of the sofa. Her golden eyes gleamed when her mate strode into the room. She did not fear him, not one furious step he took toward her made her cower. Uriel looked at him with such love and adoration, it made me yearn for something like that.

“Maybe we can take these guys.” Loki waved his thumb around the room. His eyes filled with mischief as he poked at one of thenagas—a creature I created who had the top half of a human and the bottom half of a snake.

“No!” I stepped forward. My body took on a mind of its own, donning me in the battle attire that I had not worn for thousands of years: my trident in hand with my belt tightly woven around my torso.

My creature’s eyes glanced toward me, shocked by the anger was now spilling from me. They had never before witnessed this side of me.

“They will not help you,” I grunted, pointing my trident to the rest of the room. “They are my children, and I will not dare risk them being harmed.”

“But won’t harm come to us if you lose?” Rhos whispered. “We can help, and we can—”

“I said no!” I bellowed. My eyes turned as red as one of the scales on the coral naga’s tail. “I will protect you.”

A fire burned in my belly that I had never before felt. The drive to protect what I called my own and ensure they would be safe—that the future would be safe from Kronos—strengthened my resolve.

“Silas tells you too much.” I gritted my teeth. “What do you know?”

Silas peered in the doorway. His eyes blinked, filled with guilt. “They know why the guests are here: to hide Uriel and to protect the princes from the evil,” he spoke, gripping the floors with popping noises. “They deserved the truth. They deserved to know what’s happening, what evil this is, and now that it sounds like it might be—” Silas abruptly stopped his words, looking at the marbled floor. He knew not to bring up Kronos’ name.

“Who might it be?” Rhos spoke again, his soft clicking of hooves across the floor echoed into the silent room.

“Kronos,” Uriel whispered. Her eyes shone bright, looking into my eyes. Stepping forward, she dragged her mate with her as she held out her hand for me to take. I looked at her and her hand; she smiled, pushing it forward more encouraging me to take it.

Before I took her hand, a dark, red mark peeked out from her low-cut dress. Lucifer also had a mark on his bare chest; I could see the full picture of her mark there—a kneeling lamb staring right at me.

“Fates,” I whispered, not daring to put my hand in hers.

This prophecy that was briefly mentioned in the letter was falling into place, and they dared to try to stop it? She was a sacrifice, an innocent sacrifice.

Did Lucifer not know, or did he dare not try to see?

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