22. Lucifer

Marilyn was surprisingly calm about everything. Ares and Hades had left after she woke up, giving us some privacy to explain everything to her. I had expected her to be angry with me for forcing her into an equilibrium. Mortals had weird views on life and death, and many of them preferred nature take its course. But not Marilyn Rossi. We sat at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and eating a chocolate cake Judas dropped off. After we spent hours telling her everything, she barely missed a beat.

"So my baby girl is magical after all, and not only powerful to boot, but the savior of the paranormal world?" She sounded excited, not scared like I thought she'd be.

"Yes," Michael said. "With the proper training and time, our daughter will rival Lucifer." He stuck his tongue out at me, but I just smiled at him.

He told the truth, and the feeling of him saying our daughter made my heart clench. The three of us shared a daughter. The woman who got away and the man who had my heart and soul whether he wanted them or not were both with me, and I finally had a chance to make things right.

"And she has five boyfriends?" she hesitantly asked. "Like, she's involved with all of them, or just the man she took on the mission?" Michael and I agreed to let Diana tell her mother what she wanted to about that…event.

"Yes, she does have five friends. They're all grown men, and although they all care about her, I like some of them more than others." I tried to keep it positive. I could say whatever I wanted about their shortcomings, but they all obviously cared about Diana. And I was far from perfect, so I had no room to talk.

"Mal is my favorite. He's a hellbound, and at first I didn't like him, but he's grown on me since we all moved to the compound. Very supportive and has those old school gentleman manners."

"And you, Lucifer? Who's your favorite?" She pulled her long, curly hair over her shoulder and I followed the movement, wishing I could do it instead of sitting here yapping away about my daughters fucking man-tourage.

"Probably Ares. He's been invaluable in coordinating the troops and coming up with war strategies. And he's funny in his own way, for sure. It sucks he got kicked off Olympus, but Zeus' loss is our gain."

"Still have to wrap my mind around the Greek gods existing," she commented with a dash of awe. "Hades, Ares, Zeus—they're real. And Judas! How was he even walking around in broad daylight?!" She laughed, and the melodic sound quickly became my favorite thing to hear.

"It's the jewelry he's wearing. He'll explain it if you ask," Michael said. "While we're on the subject of Hades…he misunderstood something about your revival, and in an effort to be transparent, we thought you should know." He glanced at me, and I nodded for him to go ahead.

We actually agreed to tell her in a few days, but I let go of my control freak nature and let him take the wheel. If she got mad now, or in a few days, she'd still get mad. Ripping the band aid off now was probably for the best anyway.

"When we asked Hades to revive you, he made you immortal. He assumed since Diana was immortal, you'd want to be as well… I'm sure if it's not something you want, we can find a way to undo it." He sat up stiff as a board, his nerves getting the best of him.

"Let me try it on for size. I doubt Hades is going anywhere. He's obviously got a thing for my sister, so he'll be around. Diana and I have so much to catch up on, we won't be able to fit it into one lifetime. When can I see her? Can we go now?"

"I was hoping we'd go tomorrow, give it a night to see if you have any reactions. Plus we have to arrange your quarters. Do you want your own barrack, or do you want to stay with Angie and Charlie?" I wanted her to stay with me, but I had to pursue them both the right way.

I had zero clue how, but I'd do anything to figure it out.

"Charlie is here?!" she shrieked. "Oh good! I love that boy like a son. His mother was my best friend growing up."

"Oh, he's a spit fire. He's putting Oisín through his paces right now," Michael laughed.

"And remind me, Oisín is your son from a previous relationship, or Lucifer's?" she asked him.

"Um, I guess both? I loved his mother in my own way, not romantically like Luci did. I do consider Oisín my son, though. I raised him after she passed when he was six."

"He loves you like a father, that's for sure. I'm convinced he loves you more than me, actually," I laughed, even though I wasn't joking. "He'll love you, Marilyn. Everyone will."

"I just hope Diana likes me. We aren't the same people we were a decade ago." She took a deep breath, then fiddled with her cup. "If I get the warm welcome I got from Ares, I'm sure I'll be fine."

Ares had climbed into her bed and bear-hugged her, almost scaring her until he started babbling about Diana.

I love her so much—She's my adelfí psychí, Marilyn. Every day with her and the guys is a blessing. I cleared my throat, promptly mindlinking him to get the fuck out of her bed and leave. I can't wait to get to know my mother-in-law better. When you come home, we can have brunch!

"Ares is a lot to take in, but he'd protect Diana with his life. And Nonna loves him. Judas is bringing her home, and she should be there when we come home tomorrow," I told her. I made sure to arrange it before she even woke up.

Marilyn got up from her chair and threw her arms around me. Her tears stained my shirt collar, but I didn't care. I wrapped her in my arms and held her until she caught her breath again. She let go and looked between us.

"Sorry! I'm just so excited to see my family again, and to be alive. You both gave me a second chance at life, and I can't wait to live it…assuming we win this war." Her voice dipped at the last part, but I fixated on the positive.

She threw herself at me—she hugged me. Maybe she was open to restarting what we had, or she already felt the same way I did.

We caught Marilyn up on other world events she missed and showed her some pictures of Diana. Luckily, Angie scrapbooks in her free time, and was more than willing to share. Michael showed Marilyn to her room, and while they were gone, I started making a plan.

Ares, tomorrow, we're meeting directly after breakfast. Have Desmond clear both our schedules, ASAP.

Sure! Can we eat breakfast together too?!Ugh, I guess I couldn't say no. For some reason, he liked me and as time passed, I found it hard not to like him.

Yeah, of course.

If anyone could tell me how to win Marilyn Rossi back, it was Ares. He had abducted my daughter, held her hostage in a mountain house, then tried to knock her up. And those were only the transgressions I knew about. I'd bet money there were things he'd done I wasn't privy to.

"Lucifer, she's in bed." Michael came into my room, wearing pajama bottoms and nothing else. It wasn't unusual for him, but I couldn't help but hope he wore it to get my attention.

"Good. She'll need her rest for tomorrow."

"Me too…" he stood by my bed, the lamp light behind him giving him an ethereal glow.

I held his gaze as I unbuttoned my shirt, then took off my pants. By the time I was down to my boxer briefs, his breathing stuttered and his pupils were blown wide. He reminded me of the Michael he used to be before I severed our soulbound.

"Stay with me." I stepped into his space and his light cologne tickled my nose.

"That didn't sound like a question," he pointed out.

"Because it wasn't, and we both know you're going to stay here tonight regardless. Get in the bed."

We climbed into bed, facing each other. He snuggled his face into my chest, and the feeling of his lips brushing my skin was familiar. It felt like home.

"How long do you think we'll last this time before you break my heart and we're at each other's throats again?"

The worst part about his statement wasn't that he thought I'd hurt him, or the real possibility of him hurting me. It was that he sounded resigned to it, as if it was the only possible conclusion to our story.

I took his chin between my fingers, tipping his head up so I could see his ice blue eyes. "That's not happening again. The only two people I'll ever want for eternity are in this house."

His mouth gaped open, and he looked like a fish out of water, opening and closing it, with no words coming out.

"Take the night to subconsciously let it sink in, but know that come morning, this push and pull between us is done. You're mine, and she is too. I'm done pretending otherwise."

He didn't break his silence, nodding instead before he buried his face in my neck. I rubbed circles into his back, and he eventually fell asleep.

Get your rest, Michael. Tomorrow is the start of a whole new era.