Ava Pov


    “Let me go,”  I told Lucifer, who still had his arm wrapped around me as wended back in his throne room. I both hated and loved his arm around me. Well, the darkness loved it, and since I felt consumed by much of it, a big part of me liked it.


    “As you wish, mate,”  he said in his usual calm voice. For some reason, it didn’t creep me out like usual.


    “How did you get to earth?” I demanded to know.


    “You called for me,” he simply said, sitting down on his throne.


    “I didn’t call you. I had it.” I told him. Heughed.


    “If that were the case, angel witch, I would have been able to even cross onto the earth. A part of you felt fear when they were about to attack you. You broke the block that allowed me to siphon off your power and called for me,” he said to me. I shook my head. I couldn’t remember until I did. I closed my eyes and took myself back to when it happened. I had a paranoid fear that I was going to die when Michael set his angels on me. I closed my eyes and asked for help from anyone who would listen. I felt a snap inside my head, and suddenly, there was Lucifer. I shook my head again, taking myself out of my own memories. Lucifer smiled.


    “Ah. You remember. Great,” he said.


    “You should have left me. I want nothing to do with  you,” I told him, though we both knew that wasn’t true. The darkness inside of me called my new mate in every way, and it was taking everything I had to deny it.


    “Ah, but you do. Your neenth birthday approaches, and with it, endless expression magic is at your disposal. Power high enough to take out entire worlds, gods, angels, and demons. Even myself, if you so choose,” he said to me.


    “You’re saying I can kill you,”  I asked him, smiling. He did, too.


    “Of course, but you won’t. We are linked more than you will ever know. You won’t kill me. Not after the gift I have for you, if you be mine, and let me swear myself to you. I can give you what no one else has been able to give  you,” he said to me.


    “And what’s that?”  I asked him.


    “Your mother,”  he said. That paused me. My mother? That certainly got my attention.


    “How?” I asked him.


    “Your mother has a contract with me. A contract that keeps her body unconscious but her soul is  mine,” he said. He held his hand out, and a ball of white energy swirled around his fingertips.


    “Give her back,”  I growled, fury burning in me.Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org.


    “I will, once youplete your destiny. We will mark each other. Then, and only then, will I release her. Not only that, but I will make sure that in the war toe, your entire loved ones’ lives are spared, “he said. The wheels started turning in my mind as I thought of having my mother back. She would finally be back, and my family would be safe. Safe in a world where I would be queen, have


    My mother is beside me, and my family is safe.


    “You have until 11. 59 p. m. in two nights to decide. One minuteter, and your birthday will havee, but your mother will remain my ve. Kill me, and she will never be free. As he spoke, Ana walked into the throne room.


    “Where have you been, Ana?” Lucifer questioned.


    “Scouting father. Reports of the archangel Michael had been passed to me. He is scouting the corners of our realm to enter it. The runes hold tightly. He cannot enter unless  invited.” She said it, though she looked at me when she said it. For some reason, I felt like she was talking to me specifically when she said it.


    “I figured they woulde to her. Ava, you will stay in my realm until your birthday. Ana will take you to your room. Do not think about going back to earth. They will kill you on sight; do you understand?’ Lucifer said to me: I knew he was right. They would kill me because of the darkness I had fallen into many times before. I nodded.


    “Ana,”  Lucifer motioned. Ana narrowed her eyes on me.


    “Come,”  was all she said when she looked at me. I followed her.


    “Oh, and Ava, decide soon,”  Lucifer said from behind me. When I turned around, he was gone from his throne. Disappeared was more like it.


    Leave it to the father to have a ir for dramatic entrances and leaves”, Ana said, rolling her eyes. I stayed silent. What happened with Brandon and Adam was still fresh in my mind as I followed her through the candlelit halls.


    “What, no words for your twin sister?’ Ana asked, smirking. I knew she was taunting me.


    “I have nothing to say to you, bitch,”  I told her. Sheughed a bit.


    “That’s the thanks I get for releasing Brandon and Rose’s spirits? They are alive, you know. I sent them back to your family, safe and  sound,” she said. That made me pause in my step.


    “You’re lying.” I told her.


    “See for yourself,”  she said to me. She took my hands and ced them on her head. I saw her release Brandon and Rose and saw them alive and healthy before she removed my hands from her head. Happiness filled my heart at the fact that they were back. A joy unlike any other. I could only imagine how As and Harmon were taking it. Ana pulled back before I saw more.


    “Why?” I asked her. She shrugged.


    “Maybe I just felt guilty, sister,”  she said with a straight face. I raised an eyebrow. We both knew she had gone too far to care about emotions like guilt. She burst outughing.


    “Whew, that was funny. We both know that is not true. Let’s just say I have my own ns for Lucifer, and that includes getting along well with your family for their help. Nothing more, nothing less. After that, we all go our own ways, back to enemies and all that shit,” she said, and started walking again.


    “You. You’re going to kill Lucifer. Your lord and savior,” I said,ughing. The thought of it was ridiculous, and yet the thought of Lucifer dying upset me even more. She smirked at me.


    “You’d be surprised at what someone can aplish with just a little more patience. Speaking of which, your family ising here, by the way,” she said. I shook my head. I didn’t expect them to stay away.


    “I do not want them here,”  I told her. She smiled.


    “I didn’t think you did, future queen. Lucifer’s darkness inside of you makes you want to protect him, but your heart still belongs to your current mate, and your feelings still belong to the light. You are caught between good and evil in your current state. That is why your eyes are the way they are,” she said, pointing to a mirror we were passing. One was ck, and one was my usual purple.


    “Why are you telling me this?’. What do I have to do with your ns for Lucifer?” I asked her. She smiled.


    “If you y your cards right, I can keep your family safe when they enter hell. No demon will touch them. With their help, they can help me kill him,” she said.


    “You’re not killing my mate,”  I heard myself growl. I didn’t realize I had said it until the words left my mouth.


    “I thought you would say that,”  she said, snapping her fingers. I ended up in a cell that I recognized. It was a cell in the prison of my own home. On the opposite side of the bar stood Dad, Jasmine, Samael, Ana, and Jessica.


    “Let me out,”  I demanded. The cells were spelled with a deep magic that no one could prate.


    “I’m sorry, but this is the only way to keep you safe,”  dad said.


    “Alright, I held up my end of the deal; it is your turn to fulfill yours.” Ana said, and they all nodded.


    “I’m sorry, Ava,”  Jessica said. She knew what it felt like to be a prisoner behind bars herself. They all walked out of the cave.


    “Please. Please, you don’t know what’s at  stake.” I tried calling out, but none of them seemed to hear me. I was alone until the darkness inside me spoke. He was with me. He was always with me. I knew I would never be alone again.