CHAPTER 33: The distance Between Them
1040 Words
The storm quieted strangely after Lucifer’s confession.
Snow drifted slowly through the shattered mountain pass while demons and guards alike remained frozen in tense silence.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Because the truth had changed everything.
Heaven carried a power capable of destroying Hell itself.
Capable of destroying Lucifer.
And the worst part—
Lucifer already accepted it.
Heaven stared at him across the snow, her chest aching painfully beneath the mate bond.
The distance between them felt unbearable now.
Wrong.
Lucifer stood several feet away, black blood staining the frozen ground beneath him while shadows twisted softly around his boots once more.
Controlled again.
Cold again.
As though he was rebuilding walls around himself in real time.
Heaven hated it immediately.
“You knew this entire time?”
Her voice came quieter than intended.
Lucifer’s expression remained unreadable.
“I suspected.”
“And you still stayed near me?”
Azrath laughed softly nearby.
“Now that is devotion.”
Lucifer ignored him completely.
His gaze never left Heaven.
“Yes,” he answered simply.
The answer struck harder than expected.
Because there was no hesitation in it.
No regret.
Even knowing what she carried—
Even knowing she could one day destroy him—
Lucifer still chose her.
The mate bond pulsed painfully warm.
Lucifer felt it.
Of course he did.
And for the first time since they met—
He looked almost sad because of it.
Azrath noticed immediately.
“Fascinating,” the rebel lord murmured. “You truly love her enough to die for her.”
The word echoed heavily across the frozen mountains.
Love.
Lucifer’s jaw tightened sharply.
Heaven’s heartbeat stumbled painfully.
Neither denied it.
That silence alone became answer enough.
Holland looked between them like he wanted to scream into the snow.
Father Orion quietly closed his eyes in exhausted acceptance.
Cassian muttered something that sounded deeply regrettable under his breath.
Azrath smiled wider.
“There it is.” His golden eyes gleamed cruelly. “The great Devil finally ruined by something as fragile as love.”
Lucifer’s shadows darkened instantly.
But this time—
Heaven grabbed his wrist before he attacked.
The contact sent warmth rushing violently through the bond.
Lucifer froze.
His gaze lowered slowly toward her hand holding him.
And suddenly the terrifying storm of power around him calmed slightly.
Azrath’s expression shifted.
Not fear.
Understanding.
“Oh,” he whispered softly. “She controls your rage.”
Lucifer’s eyes snapped toward him murderously.
“She calms it,” Azrath corrected with dangerous fascination. “Impossible.”
Heaven slowly let go of Lucifer’s wrist.
The warmth lingered anyway.
Azrath noticed that too.
Then his smile slowly disappeared.
Because suddenly the situation became far more dangerous than rebellion.
The King of Hell was changing.
Not weakening.
Changing.
And that terrified Azrath more than Lucifer’s fury ever could.
The rebel lord took a slow step backward.
“We end this another day.”
Lucifer’s voice came cold instantly.
“No.”
Darkness exploded across the snow again.
But this time Azrath was prepared.
The rebel lord slammed one hand against the frozen ground.
Black fire erupted across the mountain pass instantly.
The demons retreated into the flames while the surviving war beasts roared violently.
Cassian shouted for everyone to move back.
The mountain shook dangerously.
“He’s collapsing the pass!” Father Orion warned.
Azrath’s laughter echoed through the storm.
“If I cannot kill you tonight, old king…” His glowing eyes fixed briefly on Heaven one last time. “Then I’ll simply wait for fate to do it for me.”
Then the rebel lord vanished into darkness completely.
The remaining demons disappeared moments later.
Silence followed.
Then suddenly—
The mountain cracked.
A deafening roar thundered above them.
Everyone looked upward instantly.
Snow.
Too much snow.
The cliffs above the pass shattered violently as a massive avalanche collapsed downward.
“RUN!” Cassian roared.
Chaos exploded instantly.
Guards scrambled toward the lower path while horses panicked wildly against the storm.
Holland grabbed Heaven’s arm.
“This way!”
But before they could move farther—
The mountain broke beneath Lucifer.
The corrupted wound in his side pulsed violently black.
Lucifer staggered sharply.
Only for a second.
Yet Heaven felt the pain tear through the bond instantly.
She turned immediately.
“Lucifer!”
The avalanche crashed downward.
Lucifer looked up once toward the collapsing mountain.
Then toward Heaven.
And in that horrifying moment—
He chose.
Not himself.
Her.
Darkness erupted upward violently as Lucifer threw every remaining ounce of his power against the avalanche.
The entire mountain pass shook.
Shadows slammed into falling ice and snow like gigantic wings trying to hold the world together.
The guards escaped downward.
Cassian dragged Holland toward safety.
Father Orion shouted something Heaven couldn’t hear.
Because she only saw Lucifer.
Standing alone beneath a collapsing mountain.
Bleeding.
Shaking.
Still protecting everyone else.
The corruption spread wildly across his skin now.
The celestial flame inside Heaven reacted instantly.
Warmth exploded painfully through her chest.
Lucifer’s eyes widened.
“No!”
But it was too late.
Golden light burst from Heaven violently.
Brighter than before.
Stronger.
The snowstorm itself froze midair.
Time seemed to stop.
The celestial flame surrounded Heaven completely now, glowing like living sunlight against the darkness consuming the mountain.
And Lucifer—
Lucifer looked terrified.
Not of the power.
Of her using it.
“Heaven, stop!”
She couldn’t.
The light moved instinctively.
Toward him.
Toward the corruption poisoning him.
Golden fire collided against darkness.
The mountain exploded.
A shockwave tore across the frozen pass violently enough to split entire cliffs apart.
Snow vanished instantly around them.
The avalanche disintegrated into steam and light.
Then silence crashed over the world.
Heaven fell to her knees gasping painfully.
The celestial flame disappeared.
Everything became cold again.
Too cold.
Lucifer stood several feet away motionless beneath drifting snow.
The corruption across his skin had vanished completely.
So had the wound.
He was healed.
But his expression—
His expression looked horrified.
“Heaven…”
His voice sounded broken.
Heaven looked down at her trembling hands weakly.
“I didn’t mean to—”
Then suddenly blood spilled from her mouth.
Lucifer reached her instantly.
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