Page 73 of Runaway Mate

“So the other souls are distributed down to the rest?” I asked. I couldn’t believe I was letting my curiosity over the dynamics of Hell out, but Lucifer didn’t seem like he meant us any real harm. Whynotlet my curiosity get the better of me?

“Up. Distributedup,” he corrected. “I control that area you came in through. It’s the lowest area, where I keep the souls who are of no use to the miscreants I listed before and me.”

“Is there a difference in each circle?”

“Not really, except for the ruler and their expectations. Now, we’ve gotten off track—I was asking about your family. You’ve met Alpha Bastille?”

I gulped. “Yes.”

“Then you must also know he’s batshit?” Lucifer chuckled. “He’s destined for my circle of Hell. I don’t usually get excited about punishing a naughty soul, but your uncle has been fed so much chaos and disorder I find myself growing curious about what his version of Hell will be.”

When Sariel and I only remained silent, Lucifer dabbed at his mouth with his napkin.

“Despite your uncle’s shortcomings, he was smart. I believe that had the madness not taken him, he’d have realized that your parents were simply fated mates,” he said offhandedly. “It was the madness that was his demise.”

“It continues to be his demise,” Sariel grumbled.

“Yes, well, it doesn’t help that your father is dangling a bone—in this case, your mate’s blood—at a rabid dog.”

“Am I interesting enough that you’ll help us?” I asked.

Sariel gave me an incredulous look, and even Lucifer seemed surprised by my question. He recovered quickly with a sharp laugh.

“Oh, Aria.” He smiled, all his perfect white teeth on display. “You have not evenbegunto suffer. What you have been through isnothingcompared to what is coming. If I helped you… I could lose the opportunity to find a tortured soul at the end of your life.”

Sariel and I both started to speak, but Lucifer silenced us with a sinister look. My heart pounded.

“You derailed me again,” he said slowly. “I have been around long enough that your little brain cannot fathom the time and space I have existed in. Do you know what has remained constant about all the beings I have encountered?

He leaned forward. “Theirburningcuriosity.”

I swallowed audibly as he drummed the fingers of one hand on the surface of the table. “The Upper Council despises crossbreeding because it produces beings more powerful than them… ones that affect them even after death.”

Sariel had learned as much from everyone else.

“But fated mates of different species?” Lucifer’s lips pulled into a mock frown. “Well, they were publicly executed. Accused of being blasphemous for even daring to say their fated mate was of a different species, even.”

I was squeezing Sariel’s hand so tightly it was shaking.

“How did your parents hide their relationship for so long, then?” he mused. “I bet that’s what you’re wondering.”

I was.

“To you, I might just be the ruler of Hell, the condemner of souls, but I have a little secret,” he whispered, leaning further. “I have a friend upstairs. A very, very good friend.”

I nodded, hypnotized by his voice, captivated by whatever he was about to say.

“He’s agreed to lend me your parents for a few minutes. Just for you, Aria,” he cooed.

I sucked in a harsh breath. My parents?

“The biological ones,” Lucifer clarified, a gleam in his eye. “He’s waiting for my signal right now.”

I breathed out.

“But you want something in return for this, right?” Sariel said. “What is it?”

Lucifer sat back slowly. Sariel had broken whatever hypnotic thing he was doing; my head cleared.

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