"Can you tell us what happened?" Castiel asked, leaning back in his chair on the other side of the table.

Several hours had passed and we had reconvened in one of the many small dining rooms within the palace. It was different to the rest of the castle. The walls were painted with beautiful mural depicting scenes of the Elysian Fields. Peaceful greens wove into fresh blues, the souls in the paintings exuding peace and happiness. It was exactly what everyone needed in light of everything which had unfolded.

The earlier solitude felt like a distant memory to me. Lucius and I had barely ten minutes alone together before people had started to intrude. Ever since that moment, we had been surrounded by demons and fallen angels who wanted to reassure themselves that he was alive. I wasn't the only one who had been affected by Lucius's disappearance. He was an important person who meant a lot to his people.

Having that many people care quickly became draining. They asked questions, the same ones over and over again until my head started to pound its own drumbeat. We had barely managed to find our way to the dining room without any additional persons following at our heels.

I lifted my gaze from my dinner plate and reached out to take Lucius's hand underneath the table. His face squinted and he rubbed at the side of his head with his free hand. "I don't know. I remember leading the team out into Tartarus. There was the breach that you told me about. When we got there however... "

Lucius trailed off, groaning as he clutched at his head. "I think I must have hit my head. I can't recall what happened next."

"You were found unconscious on the floor. You and all of the guards had been incapacitated."

"Are any of them dead?" Lucius asked quietly. His hand turned over in his lap so that he could thread his fingers through mine. Turning my head, I pressed a kiss to his shoulder. We were among friends so I had no concerns about how I acted in front of them all.

"One of them has sadly passed. He was one of the newest recruits. He had only passed out of training a few weeks ago." The fallen angel shook his head sadly. "The combination of the strange toxin which incapacitated them all and the injuries were too much for him to handle. Even the demonic healing could not combat the wounds."

"This is my fault," Lucius muttered, slamming his hand down on to the table. "I went with untested guards into one of the most dangerous places in the entire universe. What was I thinking?"

"You were thinking that you did not have any other choice. Has there been more qualified guards to assist you, you would have taken them you went with the best that you had at the time." Castiel cut in before Lucius could get too submerged with the self-blame.

"He's right Luce," I murmured, leaning my head upon his shoulder. "The part we need to focus on now is who this threat is."

"I don't know who it is." He sighed, turning his head and pressing a kiss to my forehead. My lips pulled up into a small smile at the small unconscious gesture despite our topic of discussion. "We were going to check some of the deepest and darkest parts of Tartarus. Some of the alarms had sounded in areas of Tartarus only the most prepared should walk. But we didn't get all the way there. Of that I can be certain."

"How can you be certain?" Castiel asked, leaning forwards across the table.

"I know because the guards would not have found us if we had reached those parts of Tartarus. There are layers of protection in place which would first confuse and force you to turn back. And if you somehow made it past that, there are layers of magic which would fatally wound any of those who took the wrong course. Unfortunately, it means out attacker could have been just about anyone or anything. There are so many beasts and souls in Tartarus, souls whose only intent is to cause pain and suffering. It is why they are condemned there forever rather than enjoying the comfort of the cities."

We all lapsed into silence at those words, none of us happy with the thought of there being someone out there, one who had power enough to subdue the Devil. I squeezed Lucius's hand tighter, drawing comfort from him. After so many days of being strong, it took a weight off of my shoulders to know I could lean on the strength of someone else.

"We will have to go back out there." Lucius stated finally, speaking what no one else dared to say. "We have to find out who or what it is we face. We must be ready for when our enemy decides to show themselves."

Castiel sighed from the other side of the table, pushing his food around his plate with his fork before finally giving in and thrusting the plate away. "I do not like to admit it but you are right."

"But you cannot go yet." I added in, my throat aching in protest. "You need to wait for some of the guards to recover. Whatever is out there is powerful. We cannot go out there unprepared. And yes, I meant 'we'. You are not leaving without me again."

"Savannah, we need someone to stay behind and act as ruler. With Hades gone -."

I cut Lucius off before he could irritate me further. "You are the one who should remain behind. You are the ruler not me. I am nothing but a seat warmer and I do not command the respect that you do. If I were your queen, it would be something different. I would have the authority to act in your stead."

"That is not true. I have already expressed my intentions. You are already my wife to many people. The only thing that is missing is the ceremony which I would have tomorrow if you would let me." Lucius stated passionately.

"You are wrong Lucius. To all of those who matter, I am not worth notice. And I would marry you right now if I could. But you are an important person and as such, any wedding you have must be witnessed by the people in order to be legitimised." I met his gaze and allowed him to see the truth. I would marry him in that moment if it was possible. I would follow him to the ends of the earth and back. But there was much more to it. "And once we are married, I would still have to prove myself worthy of their respect. I have not earned it yet. Your people do not know me and they do not love me as they do you."

"They will. I'll make them love you." Lucius stubbornly declared. The only thing missing was his childish pout.

I shook my head and laughed, nudging him in the side playfully. The tension broken and the seriousness temporarily forgotten, I turned my attention to the man smirking at us.

"So what is going on between you and our lovely healer, Castiel?" I questioned, pressing my lips together when the smug grin quickly slipped from the man's face.

He straightened in his seat and cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I don't know what you mean."

"I saw that move you did earlier. Stepping in front of our healer when Lucius was a bit feral was a gallant gesture. I'm sure she appreciated it." I teased, patting Lucius's leg under the table so he knew I didn't harbour any ill feelings about earlier in the day.

"I did what anyone would do." Castiel protested with a frown between his brows. "She is important to the people. She deserves protection."

"And that's all it is?" I asked, tilting my head to the side as I watched the poor man sweat.

"Yes, that's all it is."

"Great, that means you won't mind sitting next to her at dinner tomorrow will you? I've invited a few guests to dine with us to thank them for their aid over the past few days. You wouldn't mind keeping such an important guest company for the evening would you."

Castiel's face quickly blanked into the expressionless mask the Angels like to wear so well. I had been around them too long and quickly noted the small signs of his discomfort such as the way his lips thinned ever so slightly and his right eye twitched every few seconds.

"Of course, whatever you require." Castiel stated obediently, tilting his head ever so slightly. "If you'll excuse me, I have a few things to attend to before ...the dinner."

"See you later." I replied squeezing Lucius' leg to stop the laughter from pouring out of my mouth as the poor man ran out of the room.

As soon as the door slammed behind him, Lucius leant close. "That was cruel," he murmured.

"It's just a little bit of fun. He's been dancing around her since she saved his life." I defended before staring at the door he had departed through. "We're finally getting our chance at happiness, even if we are destined to happen. I want him to be happy too. He's suffered so much."

"He'll get his chance. For now, let's talk about our happiness. You said you would marry me today. I could make that happen you know." Lucius promised, his lips brushing against my ear as he spoke. "You just have to say yes."

"No way, you still owe me a ring." I replied, tilting my head to the side to allow him access to my neck.

His lips travelled down my neck, his lips brushing away the high neck of my jumper I had worn in an attempt to hide the angry purple bruising on my neck. And then he was kissing at the marks, putting all of his feelings into each and every kiss. My eyes rolled upwards as he nipped at the spot between my neck and collarbone, drawing a loud groan from my mouth.

And then I remembered where we were. My cheeks burned hot as I pulled away from him, my hands however refused to listen and urged him closer. Betrayed my own body, I glanced up at Lucius through my lashes.

"Later?"

"Oh, we will definitely continue this later. When the door is barricaded and no one can interrupt us we will finish what we started here." Lucius promised, his voice dropping low and his eyes smouldering in my direction.

I gulped. My body felt uncomfortably hot and I was sure if I looked in a mirror my face would be a lovely shade of red.

"Is that a deal?" Lucius asked, leaning so that his lips were hovering just over mine. With every breath I took, I breathed him in; his scent, and his taste.

I could only nod, my throat dry at the thought of what later would bring. We had danced around each other for years and we never had a moment alone. I wanted to be with him. I had wanted to for a while but it never seemed to be the right time or the right place for us.

Lucius closed the gap between us. I expected a rough and bruising kiss but what I got was something completely different. His lips caressed mine in a gentle brush before his fingers threaded through my hair. I tilted my chin up to give him better access, parting my lips to allow him to deepen the kiss. Our tongue met tentatively at first, stroking and caressing over and over again. I tried to convey everything I was feeling into that one kiss, holding him close and refusing to let him go. It would never be enough.

With a pant, Lucius pulled away. His lips were swollen and his beautiful blue eyes were sparkling. "Later."

I nodded my head and smiled. "Later."