I despised humans.”
“Bzzz. Wrong. You did it to keep the darkness from expanding and destroying those humans you claim to hate, along with everything else. You agreed to this, and now you’re the one who’s going back on a promise.”
Lucifer’s expression darkened. “You lie.”
“You’re experiencing memory loss. Maybe one of those other lords poisoned your mind with something in an attempt to take over your throne. Maybe your memories were damaged through years of being stuck down here in the pit as you controlled the shadows and maintained the balance. I don’t know. But you agreed to do this and now you forget. Now you’re looking for an out. Well, I’m your out, Lucifer. I’m willing to do it, just as you once were. But you can’t have Eden’s energy, too. I won’t let you destroy her.”
“You destroyed her, not me,” Lucifer spat back. “You’re the worst thing to ever come into that woman’s life.”
Darrak struggled to hold on. “I thought that once, but now I don’t believe it. This was all meant to be—and it’s all led to this moment. Right here and now.”
“You’re in no position to argue right now, incubus.”
“I’m not an incubus. I’m a demon. And I’m an angel. I’m the very first of my kind. And I’m willing to be the next Prince of Hell because it’s obvious that you’re too selfish and cowardly to keep doing the job you originally agreed to.”
Lucifer crouched down in front of Darrak and stared into his face. Darrak couldn’t read his expression—it was cold and dead.
“Thank you for your opinion.”
Lucifer pried Darrak’s talons away from the rock until he had nothing left to hang on to. Scrambling for a handhold that he no longer had, Darrak began to fall backward into the hungry mouth of the Void.
“Watch out!” Ben shouted. “Sandy’s dangerous now.”
Eden flicked a look at him. “No kidding.”
Sandy’s gaze moved to her amulet. “Maybe I won’t kill you, after all. We’re almost in the same boat, Eden. You and me, black witches. We could cause a lot of damage together.”
“What, you want to start a girl band or something?”
“Something like that.” She glanced over at the unconscious body of Eden’s father. “He’ll wake up soon. He’s not going to be happy.”
“Your point?”
“An angel like him will destroy you. He won’t care if you’re his daughter, all he’ll see is evil. You’re dangerous. Can’t you feel it? Your soul is nearly as black as mine. Trust me, when that happened, the world opened up like nothing I ever could have imagined. All of that power at my fingertips.”
Eden hated to admit it, but she did feel it. That darkness, that power, so much of it, like a bottomless ocean. So addictive, so perfect. It felt right, and that, by far, was the scariest thing of all.
“Don’t listen to her,” Ben growled. “She’s evil.”
Eden narrowed her gaze at him. “Not sure I should listen to you, Ben. You and my mother sent Darrak to Hell.”
“He survived,” Caroline spoke up.
“No thanks to you.”
Ben had the decency to look guilty. “We were wrong, I see that now. But I tried to change things, I tried to make things better.”
“He did,” Leena insisted. “I was being held prisoner by the Malleus and he freed me. Took him long enough, but he did it.”
Eden looked over at her ex-roommate. She had wondered where she’d gone after being chased away by Darrak. “I still have the key you left behind. Never had a chance to check that locker.”
Leena nodded. “Uh, remind me to get that back from you. You know, if we all live through this morning.”
Sandy laughed. “Listen to them, Eden. They’ve all betrayed you in some way. Abandoned you, too, when you needed them the most. You should kill them for what they’ve done to you and Darrak. That’s all it would take for you to give in fully to your magic. You could have whatever you wanted, then.”
All it would take to turn her soul black was to murder any one of the people in this room. But murder wasn’t in Eden’s true nature. Had it been in Sandy’s? Or had Oliver forced her into this?
“Don’t listen to her, Eden,” Caroline said, her voice tight. “You’re better than this. Don’t give in to the darkness. You can fight it.”
Eden’s gaze snapped to the young brunette tied to the chair to her left. “Can I, Mom? Really? Having you on my side is such a nice change from the first thirty