“What?” Mags peeked over. “What’s wrong with that one?”
Luce ripped his horrified stare away from the tainted pizza. “Mushrooms,” he finally forced out in a dazed whisper, “andanchovies…”
Remi wailed again, and even Glory made a strangled sound, looking repulsed.
Rag laughed so hard he snorted. “Oh man, I’m sorry, but this is so damn funny for me.”
“Because you’re a living garbage disposal who will eatanything,” Remi snarked. “But some of us have taste buds andmorals.”
“This is true,” he conceded with a dip of his copper head, top knot bobbing. “I am an immoral trashcan.”
Mags giggled, earning a betrayed look from Remi.
“Don’t encourage him, Mags,” she pleaded. “He’s beyond hope, but we can’t afford to lose you too.”
“Beyond hope?” Rag grinned, reaching out to grab Remi by her slim hips and drag her onto his lap. “Baby, I’ve been hopeless since I laid eyes on you.”
Glory made a gagging motion as Remi sank against her husband with a soft look, and Mags laughed again. Luce drank in the scene like a man dying of thirst. These were his people, his family, and there was a strong possibility that these moments of peace and normalcy would soon be few and far between. Everything was such a mess, his son hated him, all their lives were spiraling out of control, and it was all his fault. He sighed deeply, and Rag laid a hand on his forearm.
“You’re going to break the counter again, Luce,” he murmured, those deep grey eyes burning into his soul and making Luce long for another steel gaze. How long had it been since he had last been face to face with Michael?Entirely too long,a small voice inside him whispered.And isn’t this the perfect excuse to seek him out?
He squashed the idea. Now was not the time to openthatcan of snakes. He released the counter he’d been unconsciously gripping tighter and tighter, and narrowed his eyes at the hairline fissure that now marred the surface.
“Now look what I’ve gone and done,” he muttered, the tiny crevasse in the surface seeming to mock him and his utter failure to resolve this mess. “Another thing I’ve broken because I didn’t pay attention.”
Remi hopped from Rag’s lap and jabbed a finger in his direction. “Oh no you don’t!”
Luce looked at her blankly.
“You’re not about to sink into a funk,” she ordered, and Rag immediately reached for his wife to drag her back into his lap. Remi dodged him and advanced on Luce with a look that clearly threatened bodily harm.
He backed up until she had him trapped against the wall, and she stabbed his shoulder with her nail. “You are a moody, emotional brat. We all know you’re prone to these sulky moments, where you lock yourself away and come out decades later with some new hobby and a new haircut and all is well.”
He gaped, mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out, like some sort of startled fish. Remi continued, relentless and indifferent to his dismay.
“We do not havetimefor that, Luci. We don’t have time to sit and wait for you to deal with your feelings, because this is no longer about you. Yes, you fucked up! You have alotto make up for. But do it by being involved,notby shutting down like you always do.”
Luce shoved her away so hard, Remi’s back hit the counter. A look of shock flitted across her face, and Remiel hissed and prepared to rush back at him, angling to rake her nails down his face. She never even got close.
It took half a thought—barely a whisper of effort—and Luce sent her flying back again, up and over the counter, into the opposite wall. She thrashed and screamed at him for a moment, tugging against invisible ropes that pinned her to the plaster, and then went deadly still.
“You let me downright now, Lucifer,” her voice was hard and cool, a shard of ice that pierced the sudden silence of the room. “You can’t just?—”
“Shut up.” Luce didn’t raise his voice, didn’t need to. Pure power dripped from each word, from his slightly spread stance, from the soft golden glow in his dark eyes. A hush spread across the room to witness the display. It wasn’t often that Luce lost his temper with any of them, and Remi was the only one hotheaded enough to provoke him to it.
“Luce,” Mags placed a hand on his shoulder, only to be shrugged off.
“No,” he commanded, “stay out of this, Mags.”
She reluctantly obeyed, but exchanged a concerned glance with Rag, who just clenched his jaw and shook his head. The furious expression Remi wore promised no forgiveness for anyone who interfered.
Mags slumped back onto her barstool. These two stubborn idiots were going to destroy the kitchen again. “Please,” she sighed, knowing full well that they were going to ignore her, “no permanent damage. I was planning on making a lasagna later.”
“You feel like you’re entitled to speak to me that way?” Luce advanced on Remi slowly, golden sparks trailing from his eyes, a dark aura faintly shimmering over his form. “Just because you’re my friend, because I recognize your anger and allow your outbursts, you can kick me when I’m down and treat me like a child? I amancient, Remiel. I was ancient before you existed. I have seen the making of worlds.”
“Yeah, and you’re real fun at parties,” she sneered. “Tell me something I don’t know. Just because you don’t want to hear something doesn’t mean I’m going to bite my tongue.”
“It’s aboutrespect, Remiel!” A wave of power swept out, pressing her harder into the wall. “It’s about tact and knowing when and where to speak on something.”
