Page 49 of An Unexpected Ascension (A War Between Worlds #1)

The Angel

Eventually, I lower myself onto the Throne room floor, resting my elbows on my bent knees. Ada’s posture starts to droop, and she leans back against the Devil’s perch.

Boredom blossomed after the first twenty minutes of Lucifer’s disappearance. We’re now going on an hour.

“I just worry that something has happened to him,”

she says again for the tenth time.

“Even if it has, there’s nothing we can do. He’s the only one besides Lynx able to shift through space.”

She nods but her face only pinches with more worry.

I push myself to my feet.

“I think I’m going to freshen up. If this works – using Greygore – then I want to be ready.”

“Okay, Briar.”

Leaving Ada on the throne, I head back towards my room, but when I descend the steps, I halt on the axis between the East and West Wing.

Possessed by the tug in my heart, I find myself pushing open the door to Lynx’s quarters. Unsurprisingly, I’m met with various shades of black and grey doused in rays from a setting sun.

The room is no bigger than my own, only with less color and more bite. Everything in here seems sharper – the edges of furniture, the stone of the hearth, the frame of his bed. Whereas my room is adorned in polished wood, rounded with beautiful designs and in here... it’s all straight lines and harsh angles.

Besides that, it’s fairly empty. Just as his apartment in the city is. Nothing to really encapsulate who Lynx is or was.

I shuffle past his bed towards his window, but a glint of light catches in the corner of my eye. Looking over, I find a single picture frame resting on his nightstand. Recognition hits me immediately. The dark hair, blue eyes, the tired smile.

Mercy Cromwell.

Picking it up, I study the image. How the gloss reflects the sunlight, the color of her eyes sparkle, and the glow of her face radiates. This picture looks as if it might have been taken yesterday, not centuries ago.

Then it hits me.

This photo was created by Lucifer out of memory and captured in a still frame. It baffles me that something so precious could be gifted out of pure selflessness. Nothing like this would happen in Heaven. It’s such a small gesture, but so priceless.

I stare at a face that has haunted me in my nightmares. It riddles me with guilt and sadness but also reminds me of why I’m here and what we’re about to do.

Slowly, I set the frame back down, vowing to save her brother and bring justice in her name and so many others. Before I can walk away, I notice the drawer to his nightstand sits cracked open. Curiosity becomes me, pressing me to sneak a look, so I do.

Inside the drawer I find a single round, plum fruit. The very fruit I yanked off the Tree of Knowledge before my descent into Hell. Still ripe and alluring as the day I snagged it.

“Briar?”

The sound of Lucifer’s voice startles me. Quickly, I slam the drawer shut and jump to my feet, facing the Devil standing near Lynx’s door.

He doesn’t so much as question me, even with a furrowed brow, instead only nods.

“Let’s go.”

My heart leaps inside my throat at his words.

It’s happening. We’re going to war.

Following him down the hall and up the stairs to the Throne room once more, I ask.

“So it works?”

“Like a damn charm,”

he grumbles.

“You have your sword, your daggers?”

“Sword, daggers, a burning hatred. I’m fucking ready.”

The corner of his lips tilts up in a small smile but quickly fades. I can feel the fear within him.

At the top of the stairs, I grab hold of his wrist turning him to me.

“Look, I know you just got Ada back, but you’ve traded your dearest friend for your wife.”

“I have not traded him!”

“You want just one more day with her before we step into the unknown. I get it.”

“Briar, it’s not just my selfishness keeping me from taking that next step. This is something I’ve prepared for longer than you’ve been alive, lifetimes before you! I will miss every moment with my wife. I will regret every moment without Lynx, but do not think for a second that I’m sitting here enjoying myself while my Second is exposed to those monsters!”

I nod.

“Good. Now that you’re all riled up, we can go.”

He rolls his eyes, his nostrils still flared in heat. I follow close behind as he pushes through the doors to the Throne room. Filling every square inch is a demon ready for battle. Soldiers – armed and stone faced.

As he halts, I stumble forward, running straight into his back. Spinning on his heels, he catches me by both my forearms. I look up into his dark eyes and find something close to hesitation on his face.

“Sorry,”

I mumble, reading to remove my arms from his grasp, but he doesn’t let go.

“Briar, we’re missing one last piece before we can storm Primordialis.”

Lynx.

“So what? You want me to wait here while you go save our Demon?”

A sudden warmth bleeds into my arms with his burning palms. It travels upward and through my body in an unpleasant rush. My eyes widen.

“If I go, the beast will have to come with me, and I cannot hold off the Gods and get Lynx to safety with enough time to recover.”

I shake my head in disbelief.

“I can’t—I don’t even...”

I trip over my own thoughts.

“I'll come with you then. I’ll distract the Gods, and you can go to him. Besides, I have less to lose.”

“Briar.”

He pulls me closer, his other hand firmly planted on the side of my face.

“You have as much to lose as I do. Besides, I’m sure he’d rather see your face than mine right now. It’s much prettier.”

“Hardly.”

I snort, but the humor is short lived.

With soft, gentle hands, Lucifer cradles my head and shuts his eyes. Images of a cold, dank dungeon flutter through my mind; chains rattling, screams echoing. Then, I see him. I see Lynx curled up, blanketed by his own blood.

It’s as if the visions between us grow stronger, showing us things that neither of us has ever seen before. As if the universe is out to set things right between worlds and we’re merely the tools to fix it all.

“Bring him to Heaven, Briar. It’s the last place they’ll look.”

By the time I open my eyes again, I’m gone.