Calyx groaned as if the world had just come to an end. “Do you people ever stop? It’s all work, work, work with this group. I know this is Hell, and torture is likeour thingdown here, but in case you’ve all forgotten, we fought a dragon today. Adragon. And then I escorted your royal ass to the outpost and back. That was hours in the air. I need a naaaaap. I’m tired.”
I blinked, shocked to hear Calyx so…whiny.
Lily gave a sharp laugh. “Then go take a nap. We’ll try our hardest not to wake you.”
Calyx glared at her like she’d just insulted his entire bloodline. Then he stood and grabbed his sword with a dramatic spin that was likely supposed to look intimidating, but nearly clipped Gorr in the head. The hellspawn snapped its teeth next to Calyx’s thigh, missing by a fraction.
“Fine,” Calyx grumbled. “But when I pass out and break my neck, you can explain to my adoring fans why their favourite fallen angel is gone.”
“You’re not even their second favourite, and there’s only the two of us,” I quipped.
Everyone sucked in a collective breath, and Calyx’s eyes widened.
After a moment, he barked a laugh. “Was that ajoke? Good one, brother. So funny.”
“If you’re done complaining, we have work to do,” I said.
Calyx ran a hand down his face, then started the long walk out of camp, muttering something incomprehensible under his breath.
The rest of the group moved in his wake. Mephisar took to the skies, looking awfully lonely up there. Gorr limped alongside Eliza, who reached up and removed Vol from her shoulder, placing him on the ground.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “I know the drill.Stay with the cat, Vol,” he intoned in Lily’s voice. Scoffing, he beat a quick pace toward Purrgy’s carrier.
And speaking of the cat, he seemed unwilling to move off Levi’s lap. The angel tried to stand, but Purrgy dug his claws into Levi’s thighs, clinging for dear life.
Eliza laughed at the sight, then shrugged. “Cats.”
With an annoyed grunt, Levi reached down and pried Purrgy loose. The cat voiced his displeasure but finally stalked toward Lily, likely seeking more attention. Everyone else continued toward the battlefield, but I lingered, waiting for Lily to slide Purrgy into his carrier. For once, he went without complaint.
Once she had him secured, I moved to follow the group, but Lily’s hand closed around my forearm.
I stopped, my heart skipping a beat at her touch. I glanced down at her fingers, then up to her face.
For the first time since she’d returned from the outpost, she was looking at me and only me.
“Are we…okay?” she asked. Pain darkened her eyes, and for a moment, her bottom lip trembled. She stiffened it a moment later though, reining all her emotions back in. “I mean, are we? I’m sorry for what I said. I’m just…” she released a tremulous breath before saying, “sad.”
My heart broke. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against my chest.
She came so willingly that it loosened every rigid muscle in my body. Her forehead rested against the base of my throat, and her scent—leather and steel—filled my lungs. I notched my chin over her head, my eyes scanning our surroundings out of habit even as my grip on her tightened.
She didn’t need to explain anything to me. And what she said this morning—she hadn’t been wrong. Sable was dead, and the blame rested solely at our feet. Because she was right. If we’d been here, we might have been able to prevent it. There were no guarantees in life, less so here in Hell, but even I believed we likely could have stopped her death.
I drew back enough to see her face. She wasn’t crying, but she wasn’t as angry as she’d been this morning either. And she was touching me, actively seeking me out for comfort, rather than shoving me away. All improvements in my book.
Cupping her cheeks, I leaned down and kissed her, savoring the feel of her lips against mine. I could live millennia more and never tire of her kisses. They were addicting in every possible way.
She melted under me, her soft lips melding against mine.
Then she ended the kiss—too soon in my opinion.
“Let’s go,” she whispered. “I don’t want to make them wait.”
I understood what she meant. She worried about leaving her friends alone, especially in a wide-open battlefield with a dragon an hour’s flight away. The last had found us easily enough. This one would too. It was only a matter of when.
“Okay,” I murmured, understanding her need.
I brushed my lips against hers once more, whispered I loved her in her ear, then released her.
