Page 5 of Falling for the Devil
And now she was supposed to make nice with him?
Her initial reaction had not evaporated altogether. With him near, her lungs could not take in enough air. The simple act of breathing pierced her chest. Everything else around him blurred into nothingness. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear she was on the verge of fainting.
But goddesses did not faint. Nor did they show signs of weakness. Yet there she was, experiencing it all and having no clue what to do about it.
Diana swore—in her mind. She’d never actually uttered a curse where others could hear for—except perhaps her brother, her servants, that one time in front of her knitting tutor when she’d stabbed herself with the needle. Okay, she didn’t uphold that habit as she should have, but she did try.
Still, the way Lucifer cocked his head to the side, a wicked smile ticking up one side of his mouth, she understood... he knew exactly what she had not spoken.
A new flame erupted in her belly, flying up her throat and off her tongue with enough acid to corrode the suit of armor he wore. “My pleasure, Father,” she spit at Zeus’s retreating form. “And I believe I’ve counseled you on many occasions that I prefer the name Diana.” More to herself than anyone else, she muttered, “Shall I take our guest by the burning wheel to visit with Ixion? Or into the forest on a hunt for a giant stag?” She sashayed away as if she had not a care in the world, then tossed over her shoulder, “Or, great Lucifer, would you prefer to pay your respects to Prometheus upon his mountain?”
She didn’t know why reciting off those who suffered at the hands of the gods had been her defense mechanism. Perhaps she hoped to instill a tidbit of fear in him. But who or what would the mighty Archangel of Light fear? There was only one—the Creator. She was merely a bug he could squash with a thought.
For her pitiful show of strength, he flashed her a brilliant smile... and a throaty chuckle. “Whatever pleases you, lovely Artemis.” He bowed theatrically, before turning back to those watching from the throne. “My gratitude at the hospitality of Olympus overwhelms me. I pray that I will be deserving of your great friendship.”
Great. He hadn’t heard her, either. She didn’t understand why she’d expected any different. If she couldn’t convince her father for the last two or more centuries to call her by her preferred name, why should a snobbish angel she’d known for all of a moment?
Zeus—in all his royal glory—barely acknowledged Lucifer’s remarks with a dismissive wave of his hand. He continued walking toward the tower. But the grin he flashed at her brother, Ares, sent chills up her spine. Her father was up to something. And those somethings were never good.
A hand grasped her upper arm just as she made to lead Lucifer out of the gods’ observation platform. Her head jerked upward to see who dared touch her, for no mortal—and most non-mortals—would ever risk the punishment that came with the offense. Instead, she found Apollo with anger burning through his usually warm honeyed eyes. Frown lines marred his forehead and formed little sideways arches around his mouth.
“Father”—his eyes glued on Zeus as if by staring he could bend the king of the gods to his own will—“I must object.”
Everyone stilled around them. A lone hawk’s cry pierced the silence. All eyes were on Zeus, waiting for an eruption. He would never—and had never—accepted disobedience or rebellion from his own children.
But instead of his face filling with anger and casting lightning bolts at Apollo, Zeus’s smile only faltered for a bare moment before the stone mask fell over his expression. A servant close to the door gasped and backpedaled down the steps. No one else knew what to do. Diana’s stomach knotted painfully. In all likelihood, her twin had just earned himself a night or two hundred nights beside Prometheus.
She turned back to Apollo, words of warning on her lips, but Zeus’s booming voice interrupted before she uttered a syllable.
“Ah, my beloved son, Apollo. What ails you, my child? What could you possibly object to in this situation?” He turned and stalked back a few paces toward the throne. He towered over everyone, except the archangel. “We have a most-honored guest. We must show him every courtesy. I know no one more courteous than your sister.”
Apollo’s facade showed a crack of fear now for his voice no longer roared like the mighty lion he was. Instead, he took a softer, more complacent tone. “I think it best we speak in private, Father.”
“And we shall, son. For I need to see you and your brother”—he nodded to the god of war, Ares—“immediately on some pressing business. I believe that I just declared it no more than two moments ago. Allow our guest to refresh himself and we will all gather together again as the glorious moon overtakes her sister, the sun, for a welcoming celebration worthy of our divine visitor.”
Without waiting for a response, Zeus pivoted and stalked to his private rooms, inside the grand tower overlooking the coliseum. Ares, in his polished black armor, with his helmet secured under one arm while the other hand held a chalice of golden mead, turned on his heel to follow.
Apollo paused, but reluctantly dropped Diana’s arm to join them. “Take Appius and my guard with you. Go straight away to the palace, do not linger. For I know not what Lucifer is capable of, and I do not trust him.” He hadn’t even bothered to lower his voice so others would not hear the warning.
A shadow fell over them. Diana did not need to glance up to see who had approached. The archangel was taller than any god she had ever met. He placed a hand on top of Apollo’s. “My covenant to you, sir, is to protect your sister—Diana—with all my strength, power, and capability. No harm shall ever come to her through me or any of my kind. She will be as safe with me as if she was with you.” His tone was smooth and reassuring. Despite all that was known of the angels and their lack of tolerance for the gods, her soul knew he only spoke the truth. And he’d used her name correctly!
They shook hands, but there was still uncertainty in Apollo’s eyes. “Sister.” He nodded and followed after their father.
A battle raged in her mind and her heart. She found herself believing Lucifer’s sincerity. He would not harm her, nor touch her in any way. But a speck deep down acknowledged that she wanted him to.
Watching her brother’s golden suit of armor reflect the sun’s rays one final time before entering the tower, Diana honestly did not know whether to feel relieved or frightened.
Apollo
“FATHER, WHAT IN THE bloody pit of Hades are you up to?” Apollo burst into Zeus’s lavish chambers, intending to strangle the truth from him if necessary—even if that meant eternal punishment. He tossed his golden bow and quiver of silver arrows by the door.
Why would he place Diana in harm’s way? The Archangel of Light was renowned for his beauty, and his ruthlessness in battle. It didn’t matter if the battle were against an army of Titans or a lone mortal. If offended, he could be brutal.
And his sister, despite all her feminine qualities, had the heart of a savage warrior she barely kept hidden on good days. If Lucifer were to provoke her... oh, the fallout would be epic and could cause war between the angels and the gods.
Diana was also a beautiful, desirable goddess with an image of purity to uphold at all costs. Hundreds of mortals, a handful of minor gods and Titans, had learned the hard way that she was strictly off limits. Apollo didn’t know if angels felt such things as passion but had heard some rumors. The angels liked to preach how the gods were unworthy for they meddled with the mortals, fornicated with them, even procreated with them. But if the stories were true, some of their brethren weren’t any better.
If Lucifer so much as glanced at Diana with lustful eyes, he’d be served a harsher punishment than poor Actaeon who had just come across Diana bathing. The poor man had been turned into a stag and hunted for eternity by his own dogs.