Page 96 of Alastair

“But Michael has scars,” I said.

“Given to him by Light Bringer.”

Realization sunk in. “Light Bringer is the one thing that can kill him.”

“Yes.”

“So does that mean Michael’s sword of fire can kill Lucifer?’

Lazarus shook his head. “I wish it were as easy as that, but no. Light Bringer was forged in the light of the first morning. The sword, much like its wielder, is omnipotent. Michael’s sword is fueled by solar and celestial energy, but it’s not as powerful as Light Bringer. Which is why one can overpower the other but not vice versa.”

I pondered that. “Lucifer is the sun, and Michael is the fire from that sun.”

“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it.”

More thinking. “The seer that showed Lucifer visions of his victory in conquering the human realm also showed him one where he lost, right?”

“Yes.”

“From when we caged him?”

“No,” Lazarus answered. “The vision he saw was of his death.”

“Death by our hands. Which is proof he’s not fully indestructible.” I rolled the info around in my brain. “Wait. How do you know what happened with the seer? That was after Lucifer defected. You weren’t there. Were you?”

“No. I wasn’t there.” Lazarus gently squeezed my fingers before withdrawing his hand. “But I spoke with someone who was.”

“Who?”

“Mephistopheles.” His pensive expression formed a line between his eyes. “He came to the council once Lucifer betrayed him and asked for their forgiveness.”

“That’s when Michael ripped off his wings.”

Lazarus nodded. “In exchange for his life, Mephis informed the council about Lucifer’s plan and revealed the visions. What he knew of them anyway. It’s also how we learned about you and the other boys. The council then gave the order for the army to attack.”

“That’s when Kallias’ father was killed,” I said as everything started to make more sense. “The start of the war.”

“The intention was to stop any of you from ever being born.”

“But it was too late. The plan had already been set in motion.”

“Yes,” Lazarus answered. “I was then ordered to wait until the eight of you were old enough to be trained and to hide you away. Use Lucifer’s plan against him.”

“Do you believe Mephistopheles told the council everything?”

“It matters very little now if he didn’t.”

Something was rightthere,just begging to be discovered, but I couldn’t see it. Not yet. A night of no sleep probably wasn’t helping my muddled thoughts.

“Come.” Lazarus skimmed his lips along my earlobe. “You need rest.”

“I don’t need rest. I need answers.”

“You can hardly keep your eyes open,” he said, his voice low and gruff. “Let me put you to bed.”

“I’m not a child.” Though, my whiny-ass tone conveyed the opposite. “Besides, the day is just beginning. I can’t sleep. We need to meet with the others and—”

“There will be no training today. No meetings.” Lazarus grabbed my jaw and angled my head the way he wanted it, meeting me for a short kiss. “Everyone is recovering from the battle. Your brothers are spending the day with their mates. The war can wait until tomorrow.”