“Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead.”
—BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
“We need to test the idea seeds on an angel,” Shem said, and Ramel nodded.
“Good thing we have one chained up in the dungeons,” he responded, giving Shem an evil smile. I pursed my lips.
“You haven’t unmade him yet?” I was surprised but also concerned. I didn’t like the idea of the angel who had tried to rape me being kept so close.
Ramel brought my hand to his lips and left a gentle kiss on my knuckles. “He tried to hurt you. Now we’re going to hurt him,” he told me, his expression serious as the grave.
“I just don’t think?—”
“I’m going to take her back to the manor. I’ll meet you in the woods, and we’ll test the seeds on Rafael,” Ramel said to Shem abruptly, interrupting me. Shem nodded, already heading for the ominous tree line in the distance.
Lacing his fingers through mine, Ramel tugged me into his chest, sliding his free hand up the side of my face and into my hair.
“Incredible,” he breathed, looking down at me like I was something rare and precious. “You’re incredible,Lilith.”
Then he kissed me, sweeping his tongue over my lower lip. His kiss was tender and careful, a far cry from his usual possessive strokes. I found myself kissing him back, and I buried my own hands into his dark hair, opening for him beneath the burning night of Hell, surrounded by the graves of a thousand sleeping gods.
“I’ll come pickyou up for dinner as soon as I’m done with Shem,” Ramel said as he dropped me off at the manor’s cocktail bar. He brushed my hair over my shoulder and dropped a soft kiss on my forehead.
“Okay. See you in a bit.” I smiled at him shyly, and he grinned back at me, running a tattooed hand through his dark hair.
“Be good.” He gave me one last tap on the nose before turning on his heel and heading out to find Shem.
I sighed, staring after him like some stupid girl with a crush until I felt someone’s gaze boring into me. Turning toward the bar, I found Jezebel staring at me with a look on her face that I couldn’t figure out. Her brow was creased, but the second my eyes met hers, she cracked the big, friendly smile I had grown accustomed to. Art was sitting at the bar with his back to me. He was nursing a pint of beer, and I watched him and Jezebel exchange a few hushed words as I approached.
“Hey guys, what’s up?”
“Nothing much, just had a bit of a rough day,” Art said, taking a sip from his drink as Jezebel left to shake up a Silent Cemetery for me. It had become my go-to drink. I frowned at Art and plopped down on the stool next to him.
“Why, what happened?” I asked, and he pursed his lips, spinning his pint glass between his fingers.
“Don’t worry about it.” He glanced up at me, his somber expression softening. “How was your day? You seem to be in a good mood.”
I beamed at him. “Yeah, I think we officially have a plan on how we can get the upper hand against Yahweh,” I told him as Jezebel returned, setting my drink down in front of me. I smiled at her gratefully.
“You have a plan for Yahweh!?” she asked excitedly, leaning against the bar on her elbows. “Do share.”
I grinned at them and launched into story mode. I told them about the sleeping gods, my theory about Hypnos, and how Ramel and Shem were currently harvesting some idea seeds from the Infernal Woodlands to test on Rafael.
“That’s actually genius, Lil,” Art said in awe while Jezebel nodded enthusiastically.
“Seriously. Yahweh would never expect you to target Voodoo stores.”
“Well, at least one of us had a good day,” Art chuckled as Jezebel reached for his now-empty glass.
“Oh, so you told her that Yahweh unmade Mike?” she asked, pulling back the tap to fill a fresh pint.
The blood drained from Art’s face, and I glanced back and forth between them.
Wait… what?
Jezebel’s words seemed to echo around us, and it took me a moment to process and digest what she had said. Art slammed his hand on the bar in frustration.
“Ramel explicitly said he didn’t want Lilith to know.Fuck,Jezebel!” he snarled, and she looked shocked for a moment before her features flooded with anger.
