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“And why are we here? My mates will not be very happy about you absconding with me and Wren.”

Lucifer’s smile dims slightly. “I want to get to know the two of you. I’ve missed out on the last almost thirty years of your life, and I don’t want to miss out on any more of it.”

Wren scoffs. “Maybe ask next time?”

Our dad’s cheeks flush as he nods. “Uh. Yeah. I guess I can do that next time, but since you’re here, maybe we can spend some time together?”

He sounds so hopeful, and I don’t want to burst his bubble—even if I don’t have the bandwidth to do much of anything right now beyond just existing.

“Sure. Since we’re already here.” I force a smile, hoping it doesn’t look too pained. “This is where you live?”

He nods, offering each of us an arm. “Let me show you around the House of Hades.”

“The House of Hades? That’s the name you went with for your palace?” Wren snorts.

“I’m not exactly the one who named it.” His voice is gruff as he scowls. “I tried to get the demons to call it something else, but they wouldn’t. So here we are with a place called the House of Hades.”

I’ll admit that our father isn’t anything like I thought he would be. When you hear stories about Lucifer, Hades, and pretty much any other underworld god, they’re always talked about with fear. Usually, they’re cast as the villains of the story. It’s hard to reconcile the stories I’veread and heard with the man who wants nothing more than to show his daughters around his home.

Speaking of stories I’ve read…

“I know you said most of the stories told by the mortals are wrong or only partially true, but as Hades, you’ve always been linked with Persephone. If you have a consort, why are you earth-side sleeping with mortals?”

Lucifer chuckles. “There are parts of that story that are accurate. I’ll give the mortals that. I most certainly didn’t trap her in the underworld. Why would I when she was here willingly? Seph and I were together for a long time, and we loved each other. But eventually, we were nothing more than friends, and neither of us saw a reason to stay together. We weren’t fated mates or anything. Chosen mates, I think, is the term most commonly used now. Our children were grown, and we just went our separate ways.

“She was one of the last gods left awake, but she was fading when communication cut off with Olympus. She’s the one who made sure the gates were closed. She couldn’t prove it, but she was sure it was the angels doing and since no one knew what they were planning, she didwhat she could. This was well before I met your mother. I don’t know how much she told you about our meeting.”

“You mean the fact that you were nothing but a drunken one-night-stand?” Wren grins. “We know all about that. Don’t worry. We don’t think you just abandoned us or anything. She made sure we knew it was a one-time thing and that you never knew about us. How could you when she never saw you again?”

He groans. “That doesn’t really make it sound any better, does it? It is what it is. If Seph and I had still been together then, I never would’ve slept with your mother. I might have loose morals compared to some, but I would never cheat on a partner. When I make a commitment, I stand by it. If I had known about the two of you, I would’ve been there for you. But there’s nothing any of us can do to change the past. So from here on out, I’ll be here for you.”

I consider that as he leads us down the hall, pointing out each room as we pass it.

“I don’t know that I need a father,” I admit.

His face falls, but he nods. “I understand. Then maybe I can be your friend.”

I don’t like how I feel about seeing his disappointment.

“We can start there and see how it goes.” I hesitate. “This is probably the worst time you could’ve come into my life.”

“The damned rejected mate syndrome.” Lucifer shakes his head. “You should just let me kill him. It would fix the issue.”

My heart drops into my stomach as I shake my head. “No. I don’t want him dead.”

I don’t think…

“Then what do you want?”

I can feel both his and Wren’s eyes on me as I stare forward. I don’t know how to answer that because I have no idea what I want, so I choose to remain silent.

Eventually, he leads us into the massive kitchen with its top-of-the-line appliances. Wren lets out an excited squeal as she rushes ahead to check everything out. She loves cooking, whereas I prefer not to. It was great when we lived together because she’s an amazing cook. When I had to rely on myself to be fed, well, let’s just say I ended up eating out or at my mom’s a lot.

“I know you don’t know me,” Lucifer begins, and I snort. “Meeting your father as a grown woman can’t be easy—especially not for you, since you’re already going throughsomething difficult—but I just want to help. You’re going to need to make a decision about Nex—and soon. You don’t want to go into a battle with this hanging over your head. You don’t want to fight like this.

“The apathy you’re feeling will be a detriment. It’ll make you put yourself into dangerous situations without thinking about the possible consequences. I just found you, and I’m not ready to lose you. Think of your other mates and what it would do to them if they lost you.”

“So, what? I should just forgive him or let you kill him? Neither of those options sound like ones I want to choose.”