The bond hums with approval, brushing across my ribs like warm static. Draven drops into the seat across from her, smirking. “Try not to say anything idiotic,” I warn him.
“I never do,” he lies.
Piper snorts, rolling her eyes, just as a servant places two glasses before her. One clear, one faintly shimmering with gold.
She reaches for the gold one. I catch her wrist under the table. “Not that.”
She glances at me. “Why?”
“That one reveals your deepest secrets aloud.”
She yanks her hand back and whispers, horrified, “Why is that ON THE TABLE?!”
Draven grins. “Entertainment.”
Piper shoots him a glare that could curdle wine. I feel my mouth twitch again, and fight to keep the smile off my face.
She reallyismagnificent.
I’m forced to take my eyes off her when I feel the shift ripple across the room.
The hall goes quiet—heavy, reverent, electric—as Lucifer rises from the head of the table.
He lifts his goblet in greeting.
“Welcome, guests of the Ninth.”
Piper, being Piper, lifts her own cup instinctively and chirps, “Um—hi?”
The entire hall freezes. A single fork hits a plate somewhere down the table. Draven chokes. I inhale very, very slowly.
Lucifer’s smile spreads—sharp, delighted, dangerous. “Hello, little Bellamy.”
Piper blanches. “Oh God. I wasn’t supposed—”
“No speaking,” I murmur under my breath.
Her eyes are huge. “You said that too late.”
Lucifer chuckles. “Let her speak, Slade. I find her refreshing.”
Every creature in this room hears his interest. It rolls across the table like a breeze made of knives.
I slide my hand beneath the table until my fingers brush Piper’s knee. Steady. Grounding. Possessive.
Mine.
Lucifer raises a brow, amused at the gesture but not challenging it—for now. “Proceed,” he says, settling again.
Piper sinks two inches in her chair.
Draven leans forward. “I like her,” he whispers to me.
“I’m aware,” I whisper back. “Don’t.”
He smirks. “No promises.”
The first course appears—literally appears—in front of us in a shimmer of smoke and candlelight. Piper’s plate is filled with something golden and delicate. She leans in cautiously. “Is it safe?”
