change it. Looking back, I believe he meant to destroy Satan before the soul-bond could be invoked.”
My throat tightened. If Lucifer had just trusted us enough to tell us… maybe it could’ve been avoided. But there was no going back now, only forward. I would find Lucifer and break that bond or die trying. “Is there any way to break it from here?”
Azazel just shook his head slowly. “No, not entirely. If you could cut through the magical ties, you might be able to slow it or reduce its influence… but it won’t be completely broken until the creator of the bond is dead.” He looked at me solemnly.
The only way to help him was to destroy Satan. It was inevitable that I’d have to face him again; we would never live in peace as long as he still lived.
And to think I’d once found Lucifer’s tattoos beautiful. How naïve I’d been.
“Then we need to figure out how to track him down,” I said, swallowing my anger and sadness. “Surely you can, Azazel, especially if he has Satan with him.”
Azazel’s lips tightened. “Once we’ve handled Dis, I will find a way. Satan will actually be the problem in this case. He’s a Prime power- one of the gods himself. His energy will either register on such a large scale that finding his physical body would be like trying to pinpoint a needle in a haystack that covers hundreds of miles, or he’ll draw it in completely and obscure himself.”
I nodded, trying to be understanding even though I was dying to get started right now. “Then as soon as we’ve found all of the injured, we need to bring the Princes together again. I intend to see Dis brought together as quickly as possible. The longer we wait, the worse our odds of rescue.”
Azazel reached out and took my hand. I felt his emotions loud and clear through the bond: he was just as frustrated as I was with having to sit back and wait while our loved ones were out there.
Especially Vyra. We both knew Lucifer could handle himself, but Vyra had only just started learning how to fly days ago.
“Soon,” he said, squeezing my hand. Impatience and anger burned in his violet eyes. God knew how he was feeling with someone as gentle as Vyra trapped with Satan and a Lucifer who couldn’t be trusted.
I thought again on the red lines of Lucifer’s tattoos, burning into his flesh and creeping to cover his entire skin. The longer we took, the more likely Vyra was to be hurt.
And the more likely we’d never have the real Lucifer again.
3
Melisande
I left them there as Azazel began to pen missives to the Princes, sending them out clamped in the beaks of large, shadowy birds he conjured from his palms.
My emotions were an ever-boiling cauldron just under my skin; I knew we couldn’t leave Dis in total disarray, but the idea of having yet another meeting with the Princes, going through all the empty motions while my people were out there… it was almost enough to make me want to jump right out of my skin.
And under that desperate need to find them was a new emotion: seething anger that Lucifer had hidden something so vital from me.
I understood all too well how deep the need to keep one’s pride intact ran, the shame of being under someone else’s thumb. But for something as powerful as a soul-bond… if I’d known, we would’ve changed the plans. Lucifer never would’ve been allowed near Satan, let alone directly in his path.
And if Azazel had just voiced his suspicion, instead of letting Lucifer plummet right into the trap…
I paused in a dark corridor and took a deep breath, forcing myself to exhale all the rage building up inside me. Well, some of the rage, anyways. There was no way to work it off just through breathing exercises, and I was sure Azazel was beating himself up just as much right now. He’d lost a beloved sister, too.
If I lost my temper now and started pointing fingers, we’d never find them. Any hope of success was predicated entirely on becoming a fully united front.
I trailed my way upstairs, feeling as hollow and empty as a ghost. Even the gentle flip of Sarai low in my stomach couldn’t bring me out this funk. Here I was, with a broken wing and a useless, shattered Sword, and I couldn’t do a damn thing to help anyone.
Before I raised my hand