Page 81 of Knight’s Dominion

“Can the beast kill you?

Lucifer shrugged. “If it caught me at the wrong…right? Moment. Like when I’m getting busy or taking a dump or whatever, maybe, I guess.” He held his hand out again, holding up the chain.

Zenon frowned and took it. It was no bigger than the one Mia wore around her neck.

Lucifer chuckled. “It’s a grower not a shower. It’ll do the job when the time comes.”

Zenon shoved it in his pocket. “We can’t do shit if we can’t find it.”

“Next time Diemos reaches out to you in your dreams, go with it. Let him think he has you. He’ll lead you right to it. You’re the key, kid. Through you, the beast can find me. One taste of your blood and it can track mine.”

Zenon grunted. Diemos said he might have a use for him. Turned out he was dinner. What he wouldn’t give to take the fucker’s head. “I’m bait.”

Lucifer smirked. “I wouldn’t take it personally.”

“Kinda hard not to.”

He chuckled. “Well, the chain will hold that ugly two-headed fucker until I can send it back.”

“You can do that?”

“I need to gather a few things to prepare. But it isn’t all that complicated.”

Zenon narrowed his eyes. “I thought you couldn’t interfere with fate?”

The smile returned. “I can’t, but I don’t see the harm in offering a little help here and there.”

Obviously, fate could go fuck itself if it involved a bloodthirsty monster trying to hunt down Lucifer and tear him to shreds.

“How will I contact you, when we have it locked down?” Zenon expected an “I’ll just know” or “think of me” or some other all-powerful bullshit.

Instead, Lucifer pulled his phone from his pocket. “Number?”

Zenon rattled it off and watched as the once king of Hell, his grandfather, added him to his contacts.

“Texting you now so you got my digits as well.”

Zenon’s phone beeped in his pocket.

They stood there then, the silence stretching out. Lucifer’s eyes locked with Zenon’s, and the urge to drop his gaze, like he had always been expected to do when he was in Hell, when he was with Helena, was hard to ignore. But he didn’t. He stared back, unflinching.

“If I’d known when you were born, if I’d known that you existed, I would have doted on you, loved you,” he said roughly and stepped forward, lifting his hand again. He didn’t touch this time, just let it hover beside Zenon’s cheek. “I would have protected you.”

Zenon didn’t know what to say to that, had no words.

“I’m proud of you, Zenon,” Lucifer said, then vanished.

Zenon looked down at his phone, at the text Lucifer had sent him.

A devil emoji grinned back at him.

CHAPTER 23

The club was busy, but Grace knew the minute Chaos walked in the door. Like low-level electricity, tingles traveled over the surface of her skin. Need zinged through her belly. Lower.

Humiliation hit her face, remembering his rejection the night before. He'd figured her out almost instantly. Jesus, she'd never felt smaller. Asking for help didn’t come naturally or easily to her.

Since she'd been on her own, she'd worked for everything she had. Nothing had ever been handed to her. She'd expected Chaos to take what she'd offered without question. Instead, he'd shot her down, and in that moment, she'd never felt more pathetic.