Relieved, he murmured, “Thank my brother that she lives.”
“You should thankme,” Gabe snapped, rocking back to sit heavily on the ground. “She was barely hanging on; it took everything I had stored up to keep her there. And I still cannot be sure it wasn’t all for nothing.”
Luce gave him a long look, raking him critically from the top of his tousled head to the soles of his designer wingtips. “I’m not so sure Ishouldthank you, Gabriel.”
The other man flinched slightly at his name on Luce’s lips, at the frosty core of his tone. He swallowed hard. “Why?”
“I saw more than you might think.” Luce crouched down to be level with the younger angel, dark eyes flaring gold around the pupil. “You were willing to letmy sonrun into a burning building.”
“He’s immortal,” Gabe pointed out drily.
“We both know that’s not entirely true, is it?” Luce spoke low and soft, his speech sounding pleasant enough to an outsider, but anyone who knew him could hear the threat laced within. And Gabriel knew Lucifer better than most.
“It doesn’t count, if he doesn’t know,” Gabe insisted. “It has to be willing.”
“You and your loopholes,” Luce sneered. “That boy was ready to rush in, with no regard to himself. That’s enough to satisfy the conditions.”
Gabe looked stricken. “I—I never knew that.”
“Sure you didn’t.”
“It’s true, I swear!” Gabe shook his head violently. “I thought he had to know the risk, that’s what happened with Christos! Michael had to tell him, and?—”
“That’s enough,” Luce cut across his ramble, pressing a slim finger to the air between them and forcing Gabriel’s lips firmly closed with his power. He still wasn’t fully restored after his ritual, but he was close enough—and he would always outrankan Archangel, leaving them at his mercy even when he was weakened.
A long moment stretched between them, deep brown locked on sapphire blue as they silently sized each other up, the weight of the years apart evident in the subtle signs of age they wore. Fine lines pinched the corners of Gabe’s eyes, and Luce knew he wore his own across his brow and bracketing his smile. Rogue strands of silver threaded through their dark hair now.
More than anything though, there was an unfamiliar hardness chiseled into Gabriel’s visage; a cool detachment that likened him to a finely wrought statue rather than the eager, open warmth the pale angel used to display.
Finally, Luce cleared his throat. “Now, let me be perfectly clear, Gabriel.”
Unable to reply, the other angel simply waited, eyes narrowed slightly.
“We both know you are not a fool. You were my closest friend, once, yet you did not speak in my defense when I was wrongfully accused. You watched my nephew walk to his unnecessary death. And tonight, you almost let my son run to his. Those are three strikes.”
The silence was deafening between them. Luce could see the desire to speak written plainly on the other man’s face, but he ignored it. “They call me a snake, but I wonder if perhaps they gave that title to the wrong man.”
Gabe shook his head sharply, and Luce clicked his tongue.
“That’s one of your fatal flaws, Gabe. You’re always ready to make permanent decisions, but you can never accept responsibility.” He rose to his full height, leaving Gabe sitting mute in the dirt as he glowered down at him. “Whatever friendship we once had is utterly lost, I’m afraid.”
Luce turned away and snapped his fingers twice. Cwall came to his side at once, bowing slightly. “Yes, my King?”
“I would like you to ensure that Gabriel no longer sets foot anywhere near my son.”
Gabe made a strangled noise, muffled by the spell Luce held over him.
“If you see him near Foster,” Luce pressed on firmly, “I want to be contactedimmediately.”
“Yes, my King,” Cwall swore, bowing lower.
“Come, Cwall,” Luce tapped his shoulder, prompting him to rise to full height. “I think we need to speak with your boss and ensure all of the Eyes are aware of this development.”
“Of course, my King.”
Gabe glowered at Luce’s back, as if trying to burn a hole in his shoulders. The King of Hell turned back around and snapped again, releasing the angel from his bonds.
“Your son is right,” Gabe grumbled. “You have some nerve, acting as if you give a damn about him after all this time. I was the one who was there all these years, who helped him find his way and master his powers.Iam the one who comforted him after Angela?—”
