That worried her more than she already was.
“Nice to meet you,” Darrak said to the angel and held his hand out.
The angel eyed him before shaking his hand. “The pleasure’s all mine, demon. I’ve wanted to meet you for some time, but it never really worked out.”
Lucas grinned. “Are you going to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage? How retro, Darrak.”
“I like to do things Little House on the Prairie style whenever possible. Great show, by the way. I think I developed half my humanity just from watching the Ingalls.” Darrak turned to Lucas. “I know what’s going on here.”
“Do you?” Lucas said.
“Somehow you’ve convinced Daniel here to take over your throne. Which I find a bit hard to believe considering your plan requires you to suck all the angel juice out of his daughter first.”
Eden was holding her magic in reserve, not ready to use it yet. This had all begun by her and Darrak going to Maksim to seek his help only a couple of days ago. Her magic had been uncontrollable, or it seemed that way, anyhow. But the more she used it, the better it got. The stronger it got. If it didn’t destroy her soul it would be the perfect tool.
Or weapon.
She’d find a way to get herself and Darrak out of this tight situation. She just wished she knew exactly how to do that.
“I suppose I’m lucky that angel juice, as you say, is a naturally renewable resource considering how much you’ve absorbed over the last month.” Lucas walked a slow circle around Darrak. “I wonder what it would have done to you if you’d been bound to her longer — another month, another year. Would you have turned completely angel then? Grown a pair of wings? And if so, would that have been enough to break your curse, considering that it had first been cast upon an archdemon?”
“You could do your college thesis on me. I smell an A+. Possibly a movie deal. Exciting stuff.”
“Quite. The demon who became good.”
Darrak’s smile stretched unpleasantly. “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure you’ve been following along. I might be part angel now, but I’m not all that good. For example, right now I’m feeling a whole hell of a lot of malevolence, and it’s all directed at you, Lucy.”
Lucas’s eyes narrowed. “I think you know what it’s like to feel my wrath. Shall we go down that road again?”
Eden clenched her fists. Her heart felt as if it was going a thousand beats a minute.
Stay calm, just for a bit longer, she told herself. Darrak has this under control.
“Smite me,” Darrak snapped. “Go ahead, you limp-dicked angel. Because that’s what it’s going to take before I let you lay a finger on Eden.”
Well, perhaps “under control” was a bit of an overstatement.
TWENTY-FIVE
Thankfully, no immediate smiting occurred.
“A deal is a deal,” Lucas said simply.
“You can kiss that deal good-bye. Go find your own nephilim and leave mine alone.”
Eden felt the weight of Lucas’s gaze on her.
“How do you feel about his taking ownership of you? You’re an independent woman. Must feel a bit uncomfortable.”
She shook her head. “Feels fine. I am his. And he’s mine. It’s an equal opportunity relationship.”
“Isn’t that special?” Lucas smiled. “So you’re denying me what we agreed to.”
She knew she should be afraid of him, but everything that had happened had just succeeded in pissing her off. She hated games. And he’d been playing with her life, with her emotions, for too long now.
Screw that.
He couldn’t help her, but she still had questions that needed answers, that might help her put the pieces of her life together after all this time.
Eden turned to the angel. “Is that really why you’re here? To take over Lucas’s throne?”
“Lucas?” Daniel repeated with a flick of his gaze to the prince.
Lucas shrugged. “I have many names. That’s one of them. Although, I do prefer it to Lucy, I must say.”
“You didn’t answer me,” Eden said to Daniel. “Why would you do this? Why don’t you help me? You’re my father.”
“Biology works in mysterious ways.”
The flippant answer only worked to enrage her more. This might be her only chance to find out the truth. “Why would you leave my mother pregnant and alone? You didn’t even tell her what you were. I should have known I was half-angel. It might have made a difference.”
Daniel shrugged. “Sorry.”
She gaped at him. “Sorry? That’s all you have to say to me?”
“I’m probably not exactly the one you should be having this conversation with anyway.”
“No? Well, that’s convenient, isn’t it? Why did you visit me that one time when I was a kid? Were you feeling guilty about leaving us? I’m not saying we could have been a family, but I don’t understand. It was one thing when I could have convinced myself you were some one-night stand or a traveling salesman, or whatever, but you’re an angel? And you just turned your back on us for all that time?”
Daniel shrugged. “Angels rarely procreate. It’s fascinating to me, really, that this could have even happened.”
Yeah, that was such a good answer. It solved so many mysteries of Eden’s life. No, actually it just made her angrier. His green-eyed gaze moved to her hands where the black magic had been triggered by her roller coaster of emotions. Darrak put his hand on her back. The warmth of his touch was enough to calm her for the time being, but only slightly.
She turned to meet his eyes and felt the sting of tears. “He didn’t want me.”
“His loss.”
Daniel laughed then, a sharp crack of sound that made chills run down Eden’s spine. “This is rather awkward, Lucifer. Shall we get on with it?”
“What?” Darrak snarled. “You’re going to do it right here, right now? Drain Eden’s angelic energy and then attempt to swap places like this is some sort of relay race?”
“Yes, that’s the plan exactly,” Daniel said.
“This doesn’t have to be unpleasant,” Lucas soothed. He was speaking to Eden directly. “It won’t hurt you. And there are ways to keep your soul from turning darker without the angelic energy to balance you. I promise no harm will come to you.”
“How can you promise that?” Darrak demanded.
Lucas’s jaw clenched. “I’ll discuss this matter with Eden alone.”
“Not going to happen.”
“Don’t stand in the way of this, Darrak. I’ve given my word that Eden and your unborn child will be protected no matter what happens.” Lucas shook his head. “I still don’t understand how something like you could have created a new life.”
Darrak glared at him. “It’s kind of sad, if I gave a moment’s thought to feel sorry for your hellish ass. You’ve never felt true love, not a moment in your entire existence. It’s all been about serving your own interests. Your own worldview. Oh, you have a shitty job. Boohoo. I had the worst job ever for hundreds of years and did you ever hear me complain?”
“Yes,” Lucas replied. “Constantly.”
“Yeah, well, I like to air my grievances. It’s healthy.”
“Are we finished here?” Daniel asked. “I’ve sacrificed much and am not in the mood for a pissing contest.”
“You think that’s what this is?” Lucas’s tone turned sharp. “A pissing contest? Be patient or you will get nothing from me at all.”
Daniel looked cowed by this. “My most sincere apologies, my prince.”
Eden couldn’t help but be disappointed. Her father was a wussy peon who caved at the slightest challenge. She’d thought he might be able to help her, but she saw that was only a pipe dream now. She had to figure out how to save herself and Darrak and she needed to do it now.