At Ra-Ma-Tec - The Hall of the Ennead, days later
The tension in the most sacred meeting room of Ra-Ma-Tec was so thick it could be cut with a knife. The nine main seats were occupied by the highest-ranking leaders of the Bearers, but none of them looked particularly comfortable.
"That boy," growled Commander Harrison, hitting the table with his fist, "has ruined millennia of tradition. How dare he betray his own species?"
"It's not betrayal," murmured Adrian, his voice barely audible. He was sitting in a corner, clearly uncomfortable with the entire situation. "Alexander only told the truth."
"The truth?" Sara straightened in her chair, her golden eyes shining with indignation. "Calling our system 'mental slavery' in front of all the pantheons is telling the truth?"
Everyone was in shock—a girl who hadn't grown up in the system and was an omega was there, so maybe she had understood her place. Maybe they could marry her off now. Many were excited about having an omega like her.
Cali shrank in her seat. "Well, technically..."
"Ra spoke to us after the trial," interrupted Marcus, Alexander's former father's voice full of bitterness. "He said we were an abomination. That we should never have existed. His exact words were 'a perversion of everything our pantheon represented.'"
Helena nodded with her head down. "And now we'll be watched like potential criminals. All because of that ungrateful boy."
The silence that followed was uncomfortable. Everyone knew there was more to the story than they were willing to admit.
"If we had known he was an omega," Commander Harrison finally said, "this conversation would be very different."
"We'd be discussing wedding plans," murmured someone from the end of the table.
"And maybe a man or woman would have put him in his place," added Marcus angrily.
Everyone knew there were powerful runes that could break an omega's mind or a man's or woman's in general, and they had used them before. If they had done it before, by the time they were finished with him, he wouldn't be able to stand in the tribunal again.
Adrian stood up abruptly. "Do you hear yourselves? You're describing exactly why Alexander was right."
"Excuse me?" Sara turned toward him, her voice dangerously low.
"If what we do is wrong when we apply it to someone we know and love," said Adrian, his eyes meeting those of each person in the room, "then it's wrong, period. It doesn't matter who it is. And you, Sara, don't pretend you grew up here because you're nothing more than an intruder. Alexander helped me hide you when they wanted to kick you out."
"Sit down, Adrian," Helena ordered. "You don't understand the complexities—"
"No," Adrian stood firm. "I understand perfectly. We're angry because Alexander escaped from something we all know is horrible. And instead of asking ourselves why our system is so bad that he preferred Hell over staying here, we're blaming him."
The silence that followed was devastating in its honesty.
Sara, for her part, was struggling with completely different emotions. She had gotten used to being the most powerful Bearer, the only one with access to real magic instead of just enhanced physical abilities. But now Alexander was Prince of Hell, with power that apparently surpassed even Lucifer's.
And the worst part was that she was realizing she had been relieved when Catharina had accused Alexander. For a terrible moment, she had thought she would finally have Adrian to herself, that she wouldn't have to compete with the intimate friendship they shared anymore.
Now everything had gone terribly wrong.
"Besides," continued Commander Harrison, ignoring the tension in the room, "we have to discuss the punishment he's going to implement. According to our sources in the supernatural world, he's considering some kind of punitive system specifically for us."
"A punishment we don't deserve," Sara said brusquely. "Omegas are uncontrollable by nature. That's why they need structure."
She paused, her eyes shining with something that might have been envy.
"Although I admit in my mind that when I found out there were other omegas, I felt... bothered. Thinking I was the only one."
"And since you're an omega, maybe we should do the same to you that they wanted to do to Alex, don't you think?" asked Cali quietly.
Sara's face darkened thinking about her own being. "That's not what I said."
"So it's okay for them to do it to others but not to you—is that what you mean?" said Adrian with annoyance in his words.
The silence that followed was more revealing than any argument.
In Hell - Alexander's Study
Alexander was sitting in his new study, surrounded by books on infernal jurisprudence and government theory, with a headache that seemed to be hammering directly into his temples.
"If you want to destroy them," said Voren from his seat near the window, "you just have to ask. One thought from you and every Bearer in existence will simply... cease to be."
"Or we could bind them all to you," suggested Lucifer, entering with a tray of tea that smelled of celestial spices. "As personal servants. It would work similar to how lesser demons operate here in Hell."
Kael, who was sitting in a corner eating fried chicken and chocolate ice cream—a combination he had recently discovered and was obsessed with—offered no suggestions. He just kept eating and watching.
"I don't want to destroy them," Alexander said for the tenth time that morning. "And I definitely don't want them as enslaved servants."
That's when his uncles arrived.
Gabriel entered first, followed by the other archangels, but there was a new one with them. This one had silver hair and eyes that seemed to contain storms, with a presence that was both healing and vaguely threatening.
"Alexander," said Gabriel with a smile, "meet Ramiel. Another of your uncles."
"Archangel of visions and divine destruction," said Ramiel, slightly inclining his head. "I've heard a lot about you."
"More destruction?" asked Alexander wearily. "Everyone keeps suggesting I torture or destroy the Bearers."
"Well," said Ramiel with a smile that showed too many teeth, "torture is a valid option..."
"No, uncle. I don't want more time with them than I already have," Alexander said firmly.
It was Raphael who finally offered something different. He approached and sat on the arm of Alexander's chair, his presence radiating that healing warmth that characterized him.
"What if you think about this differently?" he suggested. "Instead of thinking of it as punishment for what they did wrong, why don't you change what's wrong in their society? Don't see it as punishment, but as... forced reform."
Alexander looked at him, feeling something begin to click in his mind.
"Change what's wrong?"
"Exactly," said Raphael. "Identify the most problematic aspects of their system and simply... change the rules."
Alexander sat thinking, but even with this new perspective, he couldn't think of anything specific. His mind remained clouded by frustration and headache.
"I need to get out of here," he finally announced. "I'm going to the human world for a few hours. Maybe fresh air will help me think."
The reaction was immediate.
"Absolutely not," said Voren, standing up so fast his chair toppled over. "It's too dangerous."
"Voren," said Lucifer softly, but with a tone that suggested they had had this conversation before.
Flashback - Lucifer and Voren's room, the night before
The two were naked in the huge royal bed, their bodies still gleaming slightly with sweat after a particularly intense night. Voren's bone wings were relaxedly extended, while Lucifer traced distracted patterns on his husband's chest.
"I don't want to lose him again," murmured Voren, kissing Lucifer's neck. "Not after finally getting him back."
Lucifer sighed, his fingers tangling in Voren's blond hair. "Neither do I. But we can't lock him in a bubble forever, love. That would only make him hate us."
"But there's the world out there—look what the Bearers did to him—"
"He's strong," Lucifer interrupted gently. "Stronger than any of us at his age. His power surpassed mine the other day—he did what I can't do without many attempts. And besides..."
He paused, his golden eyes shining in the semi-darkness.
"If we really try to keep him prisoner here, we wouldn't be any better than the Bearers who wanted to control him with runes."
Voren was quiet for a long moment, processing those words.
"Damn it," he finally murmured. "I hate it when you're right."
"Our baby is strong," Lucifer repeated, kissing Voren. "And that will be enough."
Back to the present
Voren looked at Lucifer, clearly remembering that conversation. With a resigned sigh, he nodded.
"Fine. But you take money, weapons, and keep your wings hidden but ready to deploy at any moment if you need to flee."
"And maintain open communication," added Kael, finally speaking from his corner. "If anything feels wrong, you return immediately."
Alexander smiled, feeling a wave of affection toward his overprotective family. "I promise to be careful."
Twenty minutes later, he was standing in front of a portal that led directly to New York. His weapons were hidden as tattoos on his skin, his credit cards—with access to literally infernal wealth—were in his wallet, and his wings were completely retracted but ready to emerge in a second if necessary.
"Just a few hours," Voren reminded him for the third time.
"Just a few hours," Alexander confirmed, giving him a kiss on the cheek before crossing the portal.
When he appeared in an empty alley in Manhattan, he breathed deeply the familiar air of the city that had been his home for so many years.
Maybe here, walking through the streets where he had grown up, he could find the answer he was looking for.
Not knowing that not far away, at the New York Fortress, certain Bearers returning from a meeting were about to make decisions that would change everything once more.