Premonition of Peace (Her Immortal Monsters #3)

Chapter 29

twenty-nine

AUGUST

Nathalie was finally asleep, her body curled up against Marcel’s chest, the tension in her features slowly easing. It had been a long day for everybody, but especially those two. She’d been strong through the resurrection ritual and subsequent emotional appreciation from Sasha. They’d cleaned Kat and given her a proper witch burial. But when Nat finally climbed into bed, the dam broke and she cried herself to sleep.

Marcel held her close, his hand gently stroking her hair as if to soothe her even in her dreams. I watched her from the other side of the bed, listening to her steady breathing and wishing with everything in me I could take the pain for her.

Lucifer perched near the foot of the bed, his hand rubbing circles into her calf over the blanket. His gaze fixed on Nathalie with a similar mixture of concern and protectiveness that I know we all shared. He shifted slightly, his eyes meeting mine before he glanced over at Marcel.

“We need to talk,” Lucifer whispered, careful not to disturb Nathalie. “Privately.”

“This can’t wait?” Marcel hissed back, his brown skin crinkling around the eyes as he glared at the demon.

“No. She doesn’t need to be dealing with our bullshit while grieving her sister and the parts of herself she lost.”

“Says the primary bullshitter,” Marcel grumbled back. I didn’t bother responding, simply sliding off the bed to my feet. I stilled at the door, waiting for them to both go ahead while I took one last lingering look at my aurae. She looked peaceful in her sleep, despite everything she’d been through.

My girl was a survivor. We had that in common.

The hallway was dimly lit, the shadows stretching long across the floor in the early morning night. I took the armchair, spreading my legs and crossing my arms over my chest as the other two filed in and found their own seats. Marcel took the other armchair by the window, his posture stiff, and a scowl etched on his face. “This had better be good. If she wakes up?—”

“I’ll hear her and be there before she realizes we’re gone,” Lucifer finished as he sprawled out on the couch.

Marcel grumbled under his breath, something about how he’d like that, wouldn’t he?

“Now that Nathalie has completed the aurae bond with the incubus, she’ll be immortal, which makes us all immortal.” That was one way to start the conversation. I’d known in completing the bond with her that it was a package deal. Did I like it? Not particularly. Did I regret it? Fuck no. I wanted my sunling however I could have her. Whatever she gave me. Even if Tweedledee and Tweedledum came with it. “We need to figure out what our individual relationships with her will look like, as well as—much as this pains me to admit—the unit as a whole.”

I watched Marcel’s expression shift as the weight of Lucifer’s words settled in. It came as no surprise to me. Lucifer and I had previously had some time to discuss Nathalie. I wouldn’t call it bonding as much as it was an understanding. When it came to my relationship with Nat, my concerns were practically nonexistent. We were compatible in every way, from personality to whatever that elusive thing was that created a spark between two people. Now that we’d finally bonded and the issue of Sasha had resolved, I knew she was unequivocally mine.

The problem was, we weren’t alone.

She was theirs too—which meant issues she had in her other relationships would inevitably bleed into our own.

We were now a unit, as Lucifer so delicately put it.

He continued, a wry smile playing on his lips, “There are logistics we need to sort out. For instance, as fun as the group sex was, I’d rather that didn’t become a regular thing. I quite like having my own time with our little witch.”

Marcel snorted. “That was a one-time thing for me. I have no desire to share her in that capacity again.”

“I don’t disagree,” I acquiesced, before cocking an eyebrow, “but I think group sex will be the least of our problems in the future.”

“And why is that?” Lucifer’s eyes took on a more serious glint as he glanced toward me.

“We’re in this for her . Each of us decided that we’d rather be with her than not, even if there is baggage so to speak.” My gaze strayed toward Marcel and his lips thinned.

“Fuck you.”

“I don’t mean it personally.” Mostly. “Each of us considers the other two baggage. We’re the pieces of her that we accept because we have to for this to work. Hence, baggage.”

“Uh huh,” Marcel rolled his eyes. “Sure. That’s what you meant.”

“Either way, the point is, she’s the reason. As long as we keep her needs at the forefront, I don’t foresee there being many issues between us.” I couldn’t say none because let’s face it, that was impossible.

“Much as it pains me to admit this, August and I agree on this. You get to get on board, Marcel.” Lucifer sighed. “Which brings me to the next point of order. We need to nip this jealousy in the bud. The last thing she needs from us is fighting. If we make our issues her problem to sort out, I fear my little witch may, in time, come to regret binding herself to you both.”

“Says the asshole who?—”

“Ah-ah,” Lucifer wagged his finger. “See? This is why we’re out here and not in there.”

Marcel got to his feet and started to walk by me but paused when I grabbed his upper arm. Firm, but not tight. Not threatening. “He’s got a point,” I said quietly. “Out of all of us, you’re struggling the most because you had her first.”

“I’m not?—”

“Denying it won’t help us,” I said flatly, changing tactics. “Like it or not, we’re in a relationship in some capacity. It’s not just with her, but in a sense, with each other. If this is going to work we need to be transparent about our shortcomings and work through that shit. See a therapist if you need to, but don’t let it sit and fester. She doesn’t deserve that.”

A slow clap came from the couch where Lucifer was bringing his hands together. “Well said.”

It was my turn to roll my eyes. Marcel was her first love. I understood the original connection, even if it didn’t make sense to me why he still mattered to her so much. But Lucifer? I had no idea what she saw in that hedonistic man child. Maybe one day I would. He had eternity to prove himself.

“Fine.” Marcel’s shoulders deflated as the tension eased out. “I have some issues I need to work through. I will. But none of us are thrilled about sharing in any capacity. I’m not alone in that.” He backed up a few steps and collapsed in the chair he was sitting in only moments ago.

“You’re not,” I agreed. “But it’s different for us. I knew the score from the beginning. Lucifer existed as a ghost for most of the last year. He watched her start to move on with me. We both knew that we wouldn’t get her to ourselves and accepted it anyways. You weren’t like that. You had her, until you lost her. This is a second chance for you.”

“Do you have a point to make or . . .”

“See? This is why no one likes you,” Lucifer said, gesturing to Marcel.

“Stop baiting him,” I grumbled, then continued on. “You said you’re up for this, that you’re all in for her—but are you really? Can you stomach that she’s not only yours but ours as well? Because if not—” Any lingering civility dropped from Marcel’s gaze. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees with his fingers steepled. The scent of ink and parchment along with something else distinctly other permeated the air. His magic.

“Let me make myself clear,” Marcel said, voice dropping to a lower tone. “I love her more than anything in this world, or the next. I’m willing to die for her. Putting aside my jealousy is the least of what I will do to make my sunbeam happy. So if you two neanderthals are part of the deal, so be it.”

“Fair enough.”

“Now that that’s sorted,” Lucifer started, then hummed. “The last thing I want to address is time.”

“Nathalie said she’ll choose how to spend her time,” Marcel said, eyes narrowing. “Dictating what she does is only going to land us in the doghouse. By all means you’re welcome to, but I won’t be following.”

“Right,” Lucifer responded acidly. “But we have to agree there will be no monopolizing of her time. If she’s ours then—well. I don’t know where I was going with that, but there’s no ‘i’ in team.”

“There is a ‘me’,” I muttered to myself. Marcel cracked a smirk and Lucifer ignored it.

“Thought we were on the same side, incubus.”

I sighed. “I think it’s good to not knowingly monopolize her time, but something you both need to remember in all this is that she’s a person. People can’t equally split things all the time. She gets to choose. Sometimes she might need one of us more than the other, and we have to be okay with that.”

“It’s one thing if she wants it,” Lucifer said, eyes narrowing on me. “It’s another to knowingly sabotage another mate so you can have her all to yourself.”

“No offense, but—” Marcel started.

“Offense taken.”

“I haven’t even said anything yet.”

“Literally everything that comes after ‘no offense’ is offensive,” Lucifer shot back dismissively. “Again, this is why no one likes you.”

“Enough,” I said to them both. Lucifer, it seems, had a decent point in calling this meeting if how they were acting was anything to go by. “I agree to not manipulate or monopolize our mate. Marcel?”

“I can do that; the real question is can he ?” He thrust his chin in Lucifer’s direction.

Irritation made Lucifer tighten his jaw. “Obviously. I’m the one that wanted the meeting. It’s called communication . That’s how relationships work. Look it up sometime.”

I damn near choked. That fucker took my words and used them as his own.

“You didn’t call this out of the good of your heart.”

“How would you know? You’re not privy to my feelings.”

“That implies you have any outside causing anarchy.”

Lucifer chuckled. “Oh I have them alright. Fortunately for you, I simply don’t act on something if it’s not in my best interest.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Marcel, stop baiting him. Lucifer, quit with the threats. We know you aren’t going to do anything.”

“Do we?” Marcel huffed. “He’s not above killing to get what he wants. He’s proved that already.”

Lucifer’s response was as chilling as it was expected. A low, dark laugh escaped his throat, and he gave Marcel a smile that was anything but reassuring. “You don’t need to worry about that,” he said, his voice dropping to a menacing whisper. “Nathalie would be furious if I got rid of either of you. For what reason, I can’t possibly fathom, but as long as she wants you, you’re safe from me.”

“Not to mention the tiny little detail that you’re bound together,” I added, mostly for Marcel’s benefit. “Anything he does to you, he will suffer himself, so eliminating you won’t benefit anyone but me.”

“Don’t count on it,” Lucifer said.

“I wasn’t.” And much as that might be nice for me, I could only imagine the pain it would put Nathalie through. When she thought she had lost Marcel, something broke inside of her. I never wanted to see that again, even if it meant accepting the literal devil and her ex into both our lives.

“Was there anything else?” Marcel asked, impatient to return to Nathalie. I couldn’t blame him; I was feeling the same way.

“No,” Lucifer said, waving his hand as though he were dismissing a servant.

“Good. If you’ll excuse me.” Marcel got to his feet and padded across the living room floor. “I have a mate to take care of.”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “I take it you’ll be joining them?” he asked me.

“You’re not?”

He shook his head once. “Nathalie may be immortal now, but she’s not unkillable.”

I lifted a brow. “Your point being?”

“The Morrigan may be gone, but she’s far from the only evil that lurked within this city. I can’t lose my little witch again. I won’t.” His eyes glowed brighter in the low light of the room, radiating power from within.

“So you’re going to what? Start hunting down anything that could possibly hurt her?”

Lucifer flashed me a smile. “That’s precisely what I’m going to do.”

“And if she wakes up and wonders why you’re not there?” I asked quietly.

Lucifer grinned. “I’m sure you can find a way to distract her.”

I sighed. “Why do I feel like this is going to end poorly?”

“Because it will, for those I hunt down.”

I shook my head and got to my feet. “She’s not going to like it when she finds out.”

Lucifer let out a low chuckle. “On the contrary, I think she will. I’d be using my time cleaning up the city. She’s been saying I need a hobby for a while now. I’d call it . . . growth.” I gave him a deadpan look and he winked. “With you and Baggage here to watch over her, I finally feel comfortable enough leaving. Besides,” he added on a darker note. “No matter how tame I may seem, it’s best to not forget who I am. This will provide an outlet of sorts for my, ah, more demonic tendencies. One that Nathalie will be able to accept—which is really all that matters.”

He had a point. A beast was a beast, even if you put a leash on it and called it a dog. Lucifer was the devil in his past life. He might have turned over a new leaf, but some things just couldn’t be changed.

Perhaps he was right and Nat wouldn’t mind so much.

So long as the people he went after actually deserved it.

“Well then, happy hunting, I suppose?”

“Take care of our woman,” was his only response. Lucifer disappeared in a blink, leaving me to wonder whether that was a request or a warning. Not that it mattered.

As I turned around, Marcel stood at the doorway, arms crossed. “Thought he’d never leave.”

Sighing, I stretched my neck side to side. I reminded myself he was young. He’d been a dying mortal for most of his existence. A lot of this was new to him. Still . . . I walked past him, patting him on the shoulder before heading into Nat’s bedroom. “Get a therapist, kid. Forever is a long time to be a cunt.”