Page 292 of The Spider Queen

“This is not how I expected Hell to look,” I said, turning my face up to the sky. Millions of stars glittered above me, sending me for another loop.

“How did you expect it to look?” He came to stand by my side, his hands shoved in the pockets of his trousers. At any other time, in any other place, I would’ve thought him to be just another trader on Wall Street or a handsome billionaire playboy. But there was something about Lucifer…when he was charming, when he wore the clothes, it still seemed like a veneer to conceal the true beast within.

“I expected it to look like, you know, dancing skeletons engulfed in fire. Rock. Eternally hot. Those sorts of things.”

He laughed softly. “Yeah. Sounds about right. Do you know where we’re standing right now?” He peered at me, looking down at me with something akin to pride.

I shook my head.

“This is the Garden of Eden.”

“The Garden of Eden is in Hell?”

“There used to be no Heaven, no Hell,” he explained. “It was all one place. But then…” He shrugged. “I wanted more. I wasn’t cast out, but instead forced to stay here.Hetook his angels and left. He made Heaven, and I’ve been the ruler of Hell ever since.”

“So you’re not really a fallen angel. More like a left-behind angel?”

“Something like that.”

“Are you truly evil?” I blurted out.

He finally looked at me. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you.” I threw the question back at him, not at all expecting an answer. Cerberus trotted back, a stick between his three jaws. He dropped it at Lucifer’s feet who picked it up and threw it across the meadow.

With a happy yip, Cerberus took off.

“Wow. He does fetch,” I marveled.

“Yes, he loves to fetch. And to answer your question, Stella, I don’t know if I’m truly evil. Wanting more…that makes me greedy, yes? Because Ishouldbe happy with all of this.” He gestured to the Garden. “But it’s not in my nature to be satisfied.”

“So you cause trouble.” I sniffed. “Nice to know you’re living up to your image.”

“Humans want more too, don’t they? Does that make them evil?” he asked, changing tactics. “And what about you? Did you not wish for freedom from Purgatory? Your life was charmed. You had parents who loved you and yet, you wanted to leave it all behind for the sake of independence. Does that make you evil?”

I didn’t like his line of questioning. It challenged everything I believed in—and by the smug look on his face, the bastard knew it.

Suddenly, I wanted to get away. So I turned and ran across the meadow, needing distance from him…needing distance from myself.

Chapter 11

I slowed down when I came to a tree. Silver in the moonlight, it was the only one in the field. And it was luminous. I touched my hand to its bark, and it gave a little shudder.

“What do you sense?” came Lucifer’s voice behind me. I had no idea if he’d run after me or flown. I refused to turn around to see if his wings were out.

“Sadness,” I whispered, pressing my forehead to it.

“It was once the Tree of Life. But since they were cast out, it has borne no fruit. Do you know what I feel when I touch it?”

“What?” I asked, curious despite myself.

“Anger. At me. BecauseIcaused all the strife.”

“What am I, Lucifer?” I begged.

His hands were a ghostly touch on my shoulders. “You are mine,” he whispered, his tone full of want.

“What if I don’t want to be yours?” My tone was bitter. “I want to be something in my own right.”