~Lore's POV~

My stomach twisted itself into nervous knots as Lucifer prepared to leave. He hesitated. We were locked in an awkward send off. I think we both had a lot we wanted to say but were too nervous to say it. Things between us were still strange given the nature of our relationship and our attraction to one another. He decided I'd be safest at the manor, very few people could access it and there were plenty of attack ducks and surveillance ducks that could alert him if someone got too close. Despite all these security measures, I felt like a sitting duck (pun intended).

I was mostly powerless, minus whatever gift my mother had bestowed upon me but it wasn't like I knew how to use it and I didn't really feel any different so I wasn't sure what had changed. When I looked at my reflection I could see a faint glow in my irises but that seemed to be the extent of it.

Lucifer extended a hand toward me but hesitated and slowly withdrew it looking conflicted. Fear gripped me. Would he be alright? Would Charlie and her friends be alright? Would the hotel be alright? Charlie worked so hard on it, I'd hate to see anything happen to it. Working myself near to panic, Lucifer reached out once more and didn't stop himself. Gently he caressed my cheek, drawing me from my spiraling thoughts.

"Lore." I took a deep breath shaking myself from my thoughts and met his gaze. His thumb lightly smoothed over my cheekbone, "it's going to be alright. Don't worry. Stay here, keep away from doors and windows. You'll be safe here." He said softly, I wasn't sure which of us he was trying to convince.

I didn't feel safe. There was an eerie creeping sensation like spiders crawling all across my back, tickling up my spine and into my scalp. I had a bad feeling I wasn't safe and that put him in danger. "Be safe, keep Charlie and Vaggie safe." It was probably too much to ask him to try to keep Charlie's other friends safe.

His hand slipped into my hair smoothly before gently gripping the back of my head and I let out a gasp as he drew me in close. My heart thundered in my chest as our faces were drawn to one another, our lips a breath apart. He paused asking silently for permission. I closed the gap and pressed my lips to his. In case we didn't survive this, I had to know what a kiss with Lucifer was like. He hooked his free arm around me, his warm hand splayed across my lower back pulling me in close as he kissed me with fire. My arms entwined around his neck mostly to keep myself upright as he stole my breath away with a passionate kiss. My knees weakened and I felt myself slowly being reduced to a puddle as I melted into his kiss.

Time seemed to standstill as we held each other close and shared our first kiss. I used to giggle while playing the sims when it would make such a big deal about the sim's first kiss and music would play and birds would chirp and there was an explosion of hearts and flowers, but it all made sense now. A first kiss with Lucifer felt very much like that. I was sure there were no actual fireworks or birds chirping (okay maybe rubber duckies quacking but that was like an all day everyday thing here) but it felt like there were.

We parted breathlessly and stared into each other's eyes in a daze. He gently brushed his thumb over my lips sending another shiver down my spine. "Stay safe." He placed a soft kiss against my forehead and I felt warmth wash over me as if he'd left me with some kind of protection.

"Lucifer." I called out to him as I sensed he was about to leave.

He paused and took the hand I extended to him. He traced his thumb over the underside of my wrist before delicately lifting my hand to his mouth and dusting a feather soft kiss over the back of it.

"Come back to me." I breathed. I felt the tether tying us together quiver at this and realized my needy plea must have stirred something within him.

"I will." He vowed. "I love you."

The red thread tethering us to one another quivered again. "I love you." I whispered back as my heart pounded heavily in my chest. The tether quivered again. I reached up to touch it and a gasp escaped me as it shifted to a dazzling golden color.

"What is it?" Lucifer asked me concerned as he tried to see what made me gasp.

"The tether, it changed color." I gently poked the divine tether and Lucifer shivered slightly as the tether briefly flickered into his view before fading once more. I wasn't sure why I could always see it and he couldn't. "What does it mean?"

Lucifer shrugged, "I don't know. We'll figure it out, together." He gently caressed my cheek and stared at me for a long moment as if trying to memorize my face before offering me a solemn smile. He vanished and my heart began to race in panic as I realized I was alone.

I retreated to my bedroom feeling like a child again, wanting to hide under the safety of the covers of my bed. I could feel Lucifer's rage through our now golden tether. He was already fighting. I buried myself under the covers.

Something shattered in the kitchen and I sat bolt upright, my heart thundering in my chest. What was that? Was someone in the manor? I heard a few hushed voices as if someone were being scolded for making a noise. I held my breath trying not to make a sound and tip toed across the room to hide behind the door. Not long after I moved to stand where I'd be hidden by the door if it opened, the doorhandle began to turn.

My heart raced in panic. The door swung open and two figures with wings stepped inside with spears in hand, scanning the room. My breath froze in my lungs, my heart seemed to still for several beats being as silent as possible.

One of the winged figures stiffened and swung their spear in my direction. A yelp escaped me and I rolled out of the way. I slipped between them and out the door before slamming it shut and darting down the hall.

"AFTER HER!" A voice snarled behind me.

A scream ripped from my throat as the door of the kitchen swung open and an angelic man wearing golden robes and a golden mask blocked my path with a wicked jagged dagger in hand. He slashed at me and the air in front of me rippled before there was a burst of hellfire that exploded out of my body lashing out at everyone within reach of me. The man in the golden robes let out a wail of pain as the flames began to devour him. Was that from Lucifer's protection?! I leapt over the fallen angel and ran toward Lucifer's workshop.

The other two angels were at my heels. I burst through the door to Lucifer's workshop with a scream as I felt a sharp blade sweep past my head, a few strands of hair, fell to the floor, cut cleanly. I dove into Lucifer's workshop and grabbed the first duck I could find and brandished it threateningly.

"Stay back!" I gripped the duck tightly in my hands praying it was a dangerous one.

The two masked angels hesitated before lunging at me simultaneously. I hurled the duck at their feet and leapt back to find another one. They paused as the duck landed with a squeak and circus music erupted from within it before it did a flip and quacked again.

"Oh, come on." I groaned.

The two angels chuckled and tightened their grip on their weapons. The duck between them suddenly exploded releasing thousands of pieces of shrapnel. I hit the ground with a scream to avoid being torn to shreds. The angels were not so lucky.

Warily I looked back at where they'd been standing and felt my stomach churn as I realized there was nothing but two large red splatters. I rolled to my feet and grabbed an armful of ducks before darting into the hall as I heard more voices shouting in alarm. The explosion was going to draw them all this way.

I smacked into something solid as I exited the workshop and a scream escaped me before I was pulled into a tight warm embrace. I noticed familiar black robes and stared up in awe at my father.

"D-Dad?" I stammered shakily.

"Hey Kiddo." He gently ushered me behind him as more masked angels spilled into the hallway. Was it okay for them to see him? Wouldn't someone report back that he was a traitor or something? He reached back and plucked the two smallest sets of wings from his wingspan and I watched as they seemed to shift into two lethal blades.

"Michael? What are you doing here?" One of the masked angels asked in awe.

"Protecting my daughter." Michael smirked before vanishing from sight.

Blood sprayed up in arcs all across the room all at once from the throats of all the angels in the hall. Michael reappeared before me as the sprays of blood turned to fountains and all their heads dropped to the floor. My stomach churned unsteadily as I stared up at my father and the two blood soaked blades in his hands.

There was movement behind him, "Dad!" I cried and cast my hand outward as one of the angels had somehow reattached their head and lunged at us. I felt a strange overwhelming rush within me like something was being pulled from all within my body to gather in the palm of my hand and expel outward. A faint midnight blue glow erupted from my hand and the angel that lunged at us suddenly ruptured, blood spraying from every pore before they exploded completely.

Michael stared down at me in awe. "Lore?"

I doubled over and immediately expelled the contents of my empty stomach all over his shoes.

He sighed and knelt beside me, gently rubbing my back. I heard something rustle behind us. Michael tensed, he'd been too distracted trying to care for me he hadn't realized someone had snuck up on us. The lights flickered before going out entirely. A scream escaped me and I felt Michael pull me into his arms. The lights returned and I spotted a very familiar ominous door standing before us. The hallway was spotless, all the bodies and carnage gone.

I felt a pair of familiar strong hands slip between Michael's grip and gently cup my face. I stared up into my mother's fierce eyes. "Mom?" I blinked up at her in awe.

Hecate's face lit up with a smile, "you're alright my dear." She gently tousled my hair. "We'll protect you." She looked at Michael, her expression guarded, there was rage burning in her eyes but also something else. She'd had feelings for him once, maybe it hadn't been love, but it had been something.

Suddenly the hall was filled with masked angels. I trembled in my parents arms. There were so many of them! I panicked as I felt Hecate move away. Michael chuckled softly and adjusted his grip on me, tucking me tightly against him burying my face in his chest to shield me from whatever was about to happen.

"I almost feel sorry for them...almost." Michael chuckled coolly.

A shiver rolled down my spine, my parents were terrifying. There was an eruption of screams all around me. I yelped and threw my arms around my father, holding him tight and buried my face in his chest so I couldn't see any of the violent and traumatic things that were happening all around me. Michael clapped his hands over my ears to mute the sounds of screams and rending flesh.

When I was free to look again, the hallway was spotless. My parents both looked like their usual pristine selves. A chill ran down my spine and I shakily retreated to my room with my parents a step behind me.

A spear slashed at me the moment I stepped through the door and I fell back to avoid it and stared in awe as a strange midnight mist lunged forth spraying into the face of my assailant. I watched as they breathed in the mist before the whites of their eyes turned black, and blood and black ichor began to spill violently from their lips, ears, nose and eyes before they shriveled up to nothing.

I scrambled away from the gore and smacked into the wall opposite my bed. The wall shifted and I jumped away only to stare in awe as the wall seemed to separate to reveal a massive TV. The screen came to life, jostled by me smacking the wall. The first thing to come up was a commercial. "We at Vox Tech Industries-." My blood turned to ice in my veins and a cold sweat broke out all across my body. That voice. I knew that voice.

A flash of memory prickled across my mind of me in the back of an SUV with a black bag over my head hearing my captor reporting. "You're sure it's the right girl? You'd better not fuck this up."

I shakily stepped away from the TV, my knees buckled beneath me.

"Lore?" My parents called out to me simultaneously.

Michael reached me first and swept me into his arms.

"I know that voice." I shuddered.

"Lucifer has a lot of enemies." Michael said solemnly as Hecate waved a hand at the TV and it went dark.