Page 143 of Lustling

“I will,” he says at last, voice like gravel. “But under one condition.”

My jaw clenches. “And what’s that?”

His mouth twists into something that isn’t quite a smile. “You help me find our mother.”

For a beat, I just stare. Then laughter rips out of me—harsh, humorless. “Our mother isdead. Fatherkilledher. You know this.”

Raziel shakes his head, slow, deliberate. His gaze doesn’t waver. “That’s what he told us. That’s what he wanted us to believe.” He leans in, voice dropping to a whisper. “But it was a lie. She’s alive, Deimos. She’s still alive.”

The words hit me like a blade to the gut. I freeze, unable to breathe, the weight of them crushing down on me. But Raziel only steps back, his smirk returning like he’s just opened the gates to a new kind of war.

EPILOGUE

As soon as I send Lillien back to Zepharion and her mates, the tether of her presence snaps away. I barely have time to breathe before the air shifts—heavy, oppressive, laced with smoke and brimstone.

I turn. And there he is.

Lucifer. Hands in his pockets, smirk carved across his perfect face like he owns the fucking world. Because he thinks he does.

“What are you doing here, Raz?” he drawls. “I thought we agreed you’d stay gone.”

I grit my teeth. “I’m here to help my brother. Because you refused.”

His smirk widens. “You still have a soft heart. Just like your mother.”

Fire licks at my fingertips before I even realize it. Rage coils hot in my chest. “Watch your mouth.”

He only rolls his eyes, amused. My fire sputters like a child’s tantrum under his weight. “You risked coming all the way into Hell for this? To help your brother stumble after some girl?”

“I like him more than I like you,” I snap. “So yes. Now if there’s nothing else?—”

“Oh, come now.” He steps closer, his shadow stretching, swallowing the space between us. “Don’t tell me you thinkloveis worth all this trouble.”

I meet his gaze, unflinching. “Maybe it is. And maybe if anyone ever truly loved you, you wouldn’t be so godsdamned lonely.”

His eyes narrow, the smirk thinning into something sharp. “Naïve,” he murmurs. “Soft. Just like your mother.”

The word burns. I flare, fire curling up my arms. “Do not talk about her. Not after what you did.”

“WhatIdid?” His tone turns mocking.

“I was there,” I snarl. “You fucked around with anything that spread its legs, had bastard children with half the realms, and drove her away. You waited until she finally fell for someone else, and then you killed her.”

He tilts his head, studying me as if I’m some curious insect. “That’s not entirely true.”

My laugh is harsh, empty. “You’re a fucking liar.”

His voice cuts through the chamber, low and unyielding. “She isn’t dead, Raziel. She left. She leftme. She leftDeimos. She leftyou.”

I freeze.

He steps closer, every word a blade. “I told you she was dead because it was easier for you to believe. Easier than facing the truth.”

“Bullshit,” I snarl, fire roaring up my arms. “You killed her.”

Lucifer’s smile sharpens into something cruel. Shadows lash out like whips, striking against my flames. The seam between realms trembles as we collide, fire meeting smoke, sparks blooming in the void.

I lunge at him, fist wreathed in fire, and slam it into his jaw. He barely flinches before driving his knee into my gut and hurling me across the floor. Stone cracks under my spine, but Iroll and throw a column of flame at him, heat searing the walls black.