CHAPTER 37: The things left unsaid
1152 Words
The journey resumed beneath a pale gray sky.
Snow stretched endlessly across the mountains while cold wind swept through the narrow paths ahead. The storm had passed, yet tension lingered heavily among the group.
Mostly because Holland refused to let anything go.
“You love my sister.”
Lucifer continued walking ahead without looking back.
“No.”
Holland looked triumphant immediately.
“That was delayed denial. Delayed denial means emotional compromise.”
Cassian rubbed his forehead tiredly while leading the horses.
“How are you still alive?”
“I ask myself that daily.”
Father Orion walked in silence near the rear of the group pretending none of this existed.
Unfortunately Holland persisted.
“You kissed her.”
Lucifer’s expression remained calm.
“Yes.”
“You admitted it again!”
“You continue asking.”
“That’s because I’m disturbed!”
Heaven hid her smile behind her scarf while riding beside them.
Lucifer noticed instantly.
The mate bond warmed softly.
Heaven quickly looked away.
Too late.
Lucifer’s gaze lingered on her several seconds too long.
Holland saw that too.
The prince gasped dramatically.
“Oh, this is catastrophic.”
Lucifer finally stopped walking.
Slowly, he turned toward Holland with the expression of a man reconsidering mercy as a concept.
“You speak excessively.”
“And you stare at her excessively.”
Silence.
Cassian immediately guided his horse farther away from the coming disaster.
Smart man.
Lucifer’s shadows curled sharply against the snow.
Yet before he could respond—
A soft laugh escaped Heaven again.
Everyone looked toward her.
Including Lucifer.
Especially Lucifer.
The Devil visibly softened the moment he heard the sound.
Holland pointed aggressively.
“See?! SEE?!”
Lucifer looked deeply inconvenienced by reality.
Heaven tried desperately to regain composure.
“I’m sorry.”
“You aren’t,” Lucifer replied instantly.
“No,” she admitted between quiet laughter. “Not really.”
The mate bond pulsed warmly again.
Lucifer inhaled slowly through his nose afterward.
Control.
He needed control.
Because every smile from her felt dangerously addictive now.
And Holland noticing everything certainly did not help.
The group continued through the mountains for several more hours before finally reaching lower ground near sunset.
The air grew warmer gradually.
Trees replaced snowfields.
And for the first time in days, the world no longer looked frozen and dead.
Cassian signaled toward a small abandoned watchtower near the cliffs.
“We stop there tonight.”
Everyone agreed immediately.
Mostly because exhaustion clung heavily to the entire group.
Especially Heaven.
Lucifer noticed her slowing pace long before anyone else did.
Of course he did.
Without warning, he moved beside her horse.
“You’re tired.”
“I’m fine.”
“You almost fell asleep while riding.”
Heaven frowned slightly.
“That feels invasive.”
“The bond is invasive.”
Fair point.
Lucifer carefully helped her down once they reached the tower ruins.
His hands lingered briefly against her waist after setting her down.
The contact sent warmth racing instantly through the mate bond.
Both of them froze.
Holland groaned loudly from nearby.
“I need divine patience.”
Lucifer ignored him expertly now.
Progress.
Inside the abandoned tower, the guards prepared camp while Cassian inspected the perimeter carefully.
The old stone structure provided decent shelter from the evening wind, though much of the upper walls had collapsed long ago.
Heaven wandered quietly toward one of the broken archways overlooking the darkening forest below.
The sunset painted the horizon gold and crimson.
Beautiful.
Peaceful.
Too peaceful for their lives.
“You should sit before you collapse dramatically.”
Lucifer’s voice came softly from behind her.
Heaven glanced back.
“You always appear silently?”
“Yes.”
“That remains unsettling.”
Lucifer stepped beside her beneath the ruined archway.
The fading sunlight touched his pale features softly while the evening wind moved through dark strands of his hair.
Gods.
He really was unfairly beautiful.
The thought slipped accidentally through the mate bond.
Lucifer immediately looked at her.
Amusement flickered across his face slowly.
Heaven’s eyes widened.
“You heard that?”
“I felt it.”
Mortifying.
Absolutely mortifying.
Lucifer’s smirk deepened faintly.
“You think I’m beautiful.”
“I think you’re annoying.”
“But beautiful.”
Heaven covered her face briefly.
“This bond is ruining my life.”
“No,” Lucifer murmured quietly while stepping closer. “I think it’s simply making honesty unavoidable.”
The words settled heavily between them.
The sunset glow faded slowly around the tower ruins while silence stretched softer now.
Comfortable.
Dangerously comfortable.
Lucifer rested one arm against the broken stone archway beside her.
Close.
Too close.
Yet Heaven no longer moved away.
“You never answered Holland properly earlier,” she whispered.
Lucifer’s expression shifted immediately.
The warmth softened.
Caution returned.
“What answer was required?”
Heaven held his gaze carefully.
“Were his accusations wrong?”
Lucifer looked away toward the dark forest below.
For once—
The Devil seemed uncertain.
The mate bond pulsed slowly between them.
Heavy.
Emotional.
Honest.
Finally Lucifer spoke quietly.
“I have existed for a very long time, Heaven.”
She listened silently.
“I have watched empires rise and collapse.” His voice lowered slightly. “Watched immortals betray each other for power. Watched devotion become weakness repeatedly.”
The shadows around him moved faintly.
“But you…”
He stopped speaking.
Heaven’s heartbeat quickened painfully.
“What about me?”
Lucifer looked directly at her again.
And there it was.
That terrifying softness he only seemed capable of showing her.
“You make me forget myself.”
The confession stole her breath instantly.
Lucifer stepped closer afterward.
Close enough for their breaths to mingle softly in the fading light.
“Before you,” he admitted quietly, “I only understood survival.”
The mate bond trembled warmly.
“Now?”
Lucifer stared at her like the answer frightened him.
“Now I understand fear.”
Heaven frowned softly.
“Fear?”
“Yes.”
His hand lifted slowly toward her face again.
Gentle.
Always unexpectedly gentle with her.
“Because now there is something I cannot survive losing.”
The truth in his voice shattered every remaining defense inside her.
Heaven’s fingers curled softly around his wrist.
And for one dangerous moment—
The world disappeared again.
No kingdoms.
No rebellion.
No celestial fire.
Just them.
Lucifer lowered his forehead lightly against hers.
The contact felt unbearably intimate.
“Heaven…”
The way he whispered her name sounded almost broken now.
She closed her eyes briefly.
Then quietly asked the question still lingering painfully inside her heart.
“Do you love me?”
Silence followed instantly.
Lucifer went completely still.
The mate bond pulsed once.
Twice.
Wildly.
And Heaven realized too late—
The Devil truly did not know how to answer questions capable of destroying him.
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