“No!” Ares screamed in horror and rage.
“Yes!” I roared in glee, wiping blood off the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand.
Gravity tried to suck me into the depths of the Void. I grated my teeth and fought to remain at the doorway. I sent the god farther in. I could no longer hold him captive, but I didn’t need to.
The Void took him. The war god was gone.
But I’d missed my chance to take out the devil.
Shit storm!
How could I fail?
I’d fucking planned this for months.
I was so furious I was out of my mind.
Waves of Void power—familiar and alien at the same time—battered my body. Sweat broke out all over me, but I managed to stay where I was.
I was, after all, a Titan’s daughter.
I wouldn’t be able to stay in the eye of the storm for long, though.
I stared at Lucifer, who stared at where Ares and I had been.
“Celeste!” Loki shouted in desperation.
Just when I was about to answer him, Lucifer growled. “Where is she?”
It dawned on me that they couldn’t see me. It wasn’t like when Lilith had visited Loki; they could chat like friends at the entryway of the portal simply because she’d allowed him to see her.
Mom’s teaching of mind over matter and bending reality rushed to my mind.
“She’s gone,” Loki said sadly. “And you’re to blame.”
Father and son glared at each other. Lucifer’s eyes promised a severe punishment, and Loki’s held defiance and fear.
“Did you open a portal to the Void?” Lucifer drawled. “No one can return from it. How could you even open a portal?”
“It isn’t the portal to the Void, Father,” Loki said with a shrug over Lucifer’s suspicious look. “It’s somewhere else you’ve never explored. Celeste has the power to roam the worlds. When her flame freed me from your chains, she drew my power and used my hand to open a portal that I had no idea was there.” The prince stared down at his hands and flexed them in confusion. “Why did she even use me? But she took the power back with her when she left. She’s something, isn’t she? I hope she comes back and you’ll be nicer to her, or I’m gonna miss her. She’s like a long-lost little sister to me, you know.”
“You’re more pathetic than I thought and a huge disappointment,” Lucifer snarled. “Shut your hole and let me think. I’ll deal with you later.”
Loki shuddered before he snickered. Then he pointed at the invisible portal.
“Father, what is that?” he squeaked.
A mist rolled in, and the scent of night flowers—my mother’s perfume—permeated the air.
Lucifer sniffed and stiffened, a wishful look fleeting across his hard, cruel face.
Lilith, in all her dark glory, emerged. The mist cleared a little, revealing her standing behind an entrance adorned with swirling blue blossoms made of light.
She wore a crown of stars, diamonds, and power. Her flimsy gown highlighted her gorgeous shape. The blue gown flowed along her body in the breeze, and her alluring scent grew heady.
Her eyes shone with seduction that no male—god, immortal, or mortal—could resist. She was the Queen of Everything. Her beauty surpassed even the goddesses’, and her dark power rippled the electrified air.