Bash took Ares’ hand, presumably to show him what he’d seen. If I remembered correctly, Ares could share people’s immediate thoughts like his father could. Ares grabbed Mal’s hand, who then took Desmond’s hand, Desmond gripped mine, and I held Diana’s. Bash shared an image of the man from Michael’s visions. His smiling face was highlighted by deep dimples and eyes as black as night. He had black hair with a little bit of gray around the temples, a strong jaw and straight nose, and was handsome, objectively speaking. He looked no older than forty. I could see Diana’s resemblance to him. Mal, Ares, and Desmond gasped in unison. Desmond’s face went milk white, somehow managing to look paler than it usually did.
“That’s the man from the memories I saw,” I confirmed before Bash could ask. “Who is he?”
“Diana’s other father is Lucifer Morningstar.Lucifer. Fucking. Morningstar.The Prince of Darkness. The Antichrist. The Devil. We’ve been fucking the original Satan’s daughter. I literallyCLAIMEDLucifer's daughter!” Bash’s anxiety-riddled tirade would have been hilarious if he wasn’t so frantic.
There was no one more renowned or revered in Hell than Lucifer Morningstar. He created Hell–ruled for thousands of years with an iron fist. His escapades were legendary, iconic to the world, downstairs, on earth, and upstairs. He was known for being the most ruthless man in all four realms. I don’t think he’d take kindly to any man his daughter got involved with, regardless of who they were.
“This is some magical Maury shit.Lucifer, you are the father,” Mal whisper-shouted to Ares. The two looked at each other, and I assumed Ares mindlinked something threatening to Mal, who promptly rolled his eyes, pouting like a petulant child.
“My other father is the Devil?” Diana gasped, clearly unsettled by the news. “I’m a third witch, a third angel, and a third demon? Wait, I thought Satans only got replaced if they died… Is he dead?”
The guys all rounded their gazes on her. I guessed they hadn’t gotten around to teaching her history yet?
“No, he’s alive as far as we know. It would take someone with unprecedented power to kill Lucifer. The only being who could possibly do it would be God, but that wouldn’t happen. Lucifer stepped down from Hell and let his eldest child, Demetri, take over. When asked why, he wouldn’t give an answer. He went off the grid after that, and he’s rarely seen. His son only controlled hell for a few centuries before he was assassinated without an heir and replaced by his second in command. That’s when the position of Satan was born. The term was originally a term of respect for your father, so they named the position after it,” Bash explained.
“Oh…so I had a brother?” She was in shock, and although I could see the wheels turning in her head, I had no clue what she was thinking.
“Diana, you have so many siblings it isn’t even funny. Some of them are straight up psychotic and belong in a Hell-pit,” Bash huffed as he rolled his eyes.
“Diana, your other father and I started seeing each other before he fell from grace. He’s a fallen angel, not a demon–so you’re two-thirds angel. When he became King of Hell, we had to keep our relationship a secret. He was…less than faithful. But instead of leaving him, I agreed to open up our relationship. The distance was hard on us, especially with the turmoil of the time, but I couldn’t stop seeing him. I loved him too much for my own good, and still do. You’re my only child, but your other father had…manychildren throughout the centuries.”
“Yeah, Little Goddess, your Dad founded Hell’s annual Bacchanalian Orgy,” Ares chimed in, the goofy expression on his face grossly inappropriate for the conversation. “The best party in the world! So many good memories…”
Now was not the time for Ares to reminisce about his good times at the largest orgy in the supernatural world, especially since it was coordinated by Diana’s father. Diana was already furious with Ares, and he just kept digging his metaphorical grave deeper. Her face turned the same shade as the hot sauce she’d drowned her tacos in earlier. I’m sure she didn’t want to hear about her father’s promiscuity or imagine one of her men at an orgy fucking other people.
“Oh, don’t be embarrassed, princess. You’re like a chip off the old block,” Mal laughed. “Cut from the same polyamorous cloth apparently, just like everyone else at this table.”
“It’s true, you’re…withthese men?All of them?” Michael asked, a scandalized look on his face.
Diana’s face twisted into a smirk so quickly it gave me whiplash. She bubbled with maniacal laughter as her face glowed with supervillain vibes. Leaning across the table, she bullseyed her gaze directly at Michael.
“Michael, don’t you dare sit there and judge me. The men at this table may be psychopaths that abducted me and ripped me away from my family, but they showed more of an interest in me in the past month-and-a-half than you have in my entire life. You kept seeing some guy that fucked around on you and dropped sperm samples like M&Ms… Whereas, some of the men at this table have shown me a level of devotion I didn’t think was possible. If I choose to be in a relationship with any or all of them, I don’t want to hear shit from you. You’re literally some sleazeball guy who double-teamed my mom and probably wouldn’t have called her again if she didn’t incubate a child for you…who youabandoned. You’re a fucking sperm donor, not a father,” she growled, her words scathingly malicious. Smoke bellowed from her ears, and I worried that she may set herself on fire again.
One of the guys saidoooooin the background, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Diana. She was a strong, confident woman who took no shit and had no shame. This was the woman I admired.
“You don’t understand–” Michael started, but Diana cut him off.
“No. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. Do you know how hard it was growing up without a father? The ridicule I got from the other kids was brutal. I wondered everyday why one of the people who brought me into this world wanted nothing to do with me. I felt inadequate my entire life, and I have daddy issues that ruin every romantic relationship I’m inbecause of you. And Lucifer. For fuck’s sake. I wasn’t abandoned by one father, but two. Just my fucking luck,” she lamented as she shook her head.
“Diana, I didn’t have a choice but to stay out of your life. God ordered me to keep away; I could only watch you from the sidelines. Ihadto follow it. Lucifer stayed away for your own safety. He has enemies everywhere,” Michael tried to defend himself, but it fell flat.
Diana may have been hurt, but she possessed unwavering convictions. She crossed her hands under her breasts, and her face contorted into a broken-hearted expression. I could tell by her stiff body language that she was done with this conversation.
“Leave, now. I need time to process this and can’t even look at your face. You rubbed me the wrong way the moment I looked at you, and now I know why.” Tears fell down Diana’s face, and she turned her head. “Just because we share the same eye color, doesn’t mean you have any connection to me as a father.”
“Can we please talk? There's so much I need to tell you. I want to know more about you,” Michael begged with a broken voice. I had only seen him cry once, at my trial. He was as torn up about this as Diana was.
She got up and left the room. I heard her run up the stairs and slam a door. After casting a silencing spell around us, so she couldn’t use her superhuman hearing, I rounded on Michael.
“I agree, you need to leave for a few days and give all of us time to process this,” I said, barely able to control my anger.
“Can you help her see reason, Azazel?” he asked me. “She needs to know there were bigger forces at play.”
I felt my glow intensify to the point where its silver rays bounced off the glassware on the table. I didn’t want to do a full-on shift and risk not being able to shift back for a while. Diana was just introduced to the supernatural world and in such an abrupt way. I didn’t think she could handle what fallen angels actually looked like. I had to control my emotions.
“You’re lucky I can still look at you after everything you’ve done to me. You sat back and let the tribunal slander my reputation, and then cast a vote that kicked me out of heaven. You were doing the SAME THING as me. You were fucking the King of Hell, butIgot booted for my ‘sins and transgressions against the Heavenly Order’? You fucking lied to me. You should have told me she’s your daughter!” I shouted.
“Azazel, please believe me. I never meant to hurt her, but it had to be done this way. You’re like a son to me, but I couldn’t tell you everything–” Michael started.