He shook his head.“See?That, right there, is why I can’t hate you.You’re a good male, Si.You love my Urs, and my grandson and his family.I’m a selfish fuck, I hate sharing, but I can’t deny them the love you have for them.I did that once with Rox and have suffered the consequences for that selfishness.”
“So everyone’s okay?”I said, finding it hard to focus on anything other than that.
He chuckled again.“Yeah, brother, they’re all good.Thriving in fact.A big part of that is down to you.And as much as I’m loath to give credit where credit’s due, I owe some…okay, a fuck of a lot of it, to you.You sacrificed for Zen and Mia, and you did it again for Urs.”
“They weren’t sacrifices, not to me.I’d die for Urs.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“And no one deserved a life full of love more than Zenon did.”And despite my fears for the future, I would do it all again without a second thought.
“You’re so fucking right.”He looked over at me.“And just so you know, I have been keeping score.By my calculation, I owe you big-time.”
I had no idea where he was going with this.Lucifer never admitted to owing anything to anyone.At least, I’d never heard of him doing it.“What are you saying?”
He shook his head.“Brother, I’ve gassed you up enough for one day, so instead of more sweet-talking from yours truly, I’m just gonna give you what I think is adequate recompense for the sacrifices you’ve made.”
“Like I said, they weren’t sacrifices, not to me—” A gasp burst from me as power surged through my body with such force, my legs trembled.“Fuck,” I choked out.
“Don’t cream in your pants just yet, I’m not quite finished,” Lucifer said.“That was phase one, juicing up your powers.Probably not quite what you were before, but close.”
I leaned forward, gripping the low edge of the building and panting hard.Definitely fucking close.
“Ready for phase two?”
I looked up at Lucifer, my mouth opening and closing, struggling to speak, let alone find words.His dark gaze slid over me and he gritted his teeth and hissed out words in a demonic language that was long forgotten by most.
A moment later, a heavy weight landed on my back, then dug deep, like roots burrowing down and anchoring tight.Not painful, not at all.Muscles pulled and stretched in a familiar way, my body remembering what to do in an instant.“Oh fuck.How?—”
“They’re not the same as you used to have.I can’t give you golden feathers, but hopefully this is the next best thing?”
Wings, Lucifer had given me wings.I couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe.Joy filled me, a sense of being whole again lifted my soul and set it alight.I felt as if sparks were pouring from me, lighting up the night.I stretched my new wings, moving them slowly, testing their weight and how they caught the breeze.They felt different, yes, but also—perfect.I curled one forward, checking it out.“Holy fuck.”
“You like?”Lucifer asked.
They were like Zenon’s wings, leathery like a bat.Only instead of black, mine were a deep gold.“Yeah, brother, I like.Fuck.I don’t know what to say?”I shook my head as I moved them through the air, testing them again.“Thank you for this.Thank you.”
He flashed his teeth and his horns sprouted from his head, curling back, black and shiny, a moment before his own black leathery wings unfurled.The angels had cut his black-feathered wings from his back once as well, when he’d been thrown out and sent to rule Hell.He’d obviously worked out how to fix that, for both of us.
“You wanna take them for a spin?”Lucifer asked.
“Fuck, yes,” I said, and I jumped up to the ledge and dove off the side of the building.
Lucifer’s “Yeehaw,” echoed through the night when he followed.
It took me a few seconds to work out the kind of wind efficiency they had.They caught the air in a different way, and I didn’t need to beat them as deeply as my old wings.They were also exceptional gliders.
I spotted Zen, Chaos, and T just below us and, grinning, swooped down, flying by so close it ruffled T’s hair.They tilted their heads back.Twhoopedwhen he saw me, and Chaos threw his head back and laughed, the sound one of pure joy.For me.
Zenon was smiling so wide, all I could see were his white teeth.All three of them snapped out their wings and exploded into the sky, making chase, and catching up with me and Lucifer.We weaved and ducked and caught each other’s air, and I couldn’t contain the euphoria flowing through me.We raced for the compound.I needed to see Ursula.Sharing this with her was the only thing on my mind.
The building came into view and, one by one, we landed on the balcony of the control room and strode in.
Lucifer fist-bumped Zen, who was waiting for me just inside the door, as he walked by.“Nice wings,” Zen said in that rough voice when I reached him.
“I think so.”My voice cracked.
“A definite improvement.”Emotion was there in his yellow gaze.