Page 7

At his question, everything inside of me goes cold. I’m reminded why I’ve been feeling so badly—reminded of everything that’s been pulling me down until I was distracted.

“Yeah, we’re not talking about that.”

If I let it, the sorrow and dejection will swallow me whole. I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling myself shutting down once more. I can’t do this right now.

“What—” Lucifer cuts off as Wraith and Wren appear beside him, and I have to hold myself back from launching myself at them and dragging them away from him.

No one says anything for a moment, then another, and another.

“Are we seriously just going to stand here in silence?” I grit my teeth, trying to rein in my impatience.

I want answers.

I need to see my mom.

I need to know what the hell is going on.

“Where are we exactly?” Lucifer asks, eyes finding the broken window.

“This is Michael’s home—where he’s been staying since he killed Wren,” Wraith offers, finally coming to join me and the others with Wren right behind him.

Lucifer hums before turning his attention back to me and Wren. “I’m sure the two of you have questions. I might not be able to answer all of them, but I’ll answer what I can. Why don’t we have a seat?”

“You want to talk here?” I ask, glancing around. “What if Michael comes back?”

He grins wickedly. “I hope he does.”

Well, okay, then.

I grab Wren’s hand and pull her to sit beside me on the couch. Brenden sits on my other side while Donovan lowers himself to sit on the floor between my legs. Cassian and Wraith sit on the arms of the couch, leaving Lucifer to sit in an armchair opposite us.

He doesn’t look intimidated in the least as the six of us stare him down, but I guess that’s to be expected when he’s aliteral god.

“How can you be so sure we’re your daughters?” I blurt out the question, unable to hold it inside any longer.

He inclines his head. “I already explained this to Wraith and Wren, but it’s an innate ability all gods have. We’re able to tell when a child is ours. That includes any offspring generations down the line—we can tell they’re of our blood, even if it’s watered down. As soon as I saw you and Wren, I knew you were my daughters. I do want to apologize, as I had no idea you existed. I’ve never been able to procreate with anyone but another god before. Because angels were supposed to be locked in Olympus, I never thought to use protection when I’ve been earth-side. Although, I wouldn’t have thought I could impregnate a demigod either, but that’s the only thing that makes sense.”

I wrinkle my nose again. Yeah, this isn’t a conversation I want to be having with one of my parents—even if he wasn’t the one who raised me.

It feels…icky.

“Great. Yeah, we can skip over all of that,” I tell him, fighting back a gag. “No one wants to hear about their parent’s sex life.”

Lucifer chuckles. “Yeah, okay. I can see how that would be weird since you were raised among the humans and supernaturals. It’s not uncommon among the gods and their offspring. Or at least it wasn’t.”

Wren leans forward, squeezing my hand. “You said you didn’t know what to call us because what we are has never existed before?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Until today, I would have said that a three-quarters god couldn’t exist. Clearly, that’s not the case, but there’s no telling what powers you’ll have or how they’ll show themselves. I’m sure that’s not what you want to hear, but I’ll gladly work with both of you on that front. It’ll be best if we speak with your mother first to see whose descendants you are. Between the powers I hold, the powers she has, and whoever her godly parent is, we can probably narrow it down—at least a little.”

It’s not exactly what I want to hear, but it’s better than nothing. Plus, I have a pretty good idea of the powers I have, but Wren has been struggling.

“Okay, and the more immediate problem? Who the hell is Michael, and how is he earth-side if he’s an angel?” I have morequestions than that, but I feel like this is a good place to start.

“I don’t know how he was able to leave Olympus. He shouldn’t have been able to.” Lucifer leans back in the chair, running a hand through his hair. “But I shouldn’t be surprised since he’s always been one to cause trouble. He’s always wanted more than what he is. As far as who he is—he’s the archangel Michael. Besides that one, his most well-known name was Hercules.”

My mouth drops open, my eyes finding my sister. “You were married to fucking Hercules? I always thought he was supposed to be one of the good guys.”

Lucifer scoffs. “The stories the humans tell of our escapades have never been accurate.”