My fingers dug into Lilith’s hips, and a low growl rolled through my chest; every instinct I had was telling me to protect her from any potential threat. Until Jezebel could prove to me she wasn’t the one who had warned all the GMs of Voodoo that we were coming for them, I wouldn’t allow her anywhere near Lilith.
Lilith dropped her hands to mine, stroking them gently. She leaned back and whispered quietly in my ear.
“Act normal. If it’s her, we need to pretend nothing is wrong.”
‘I can’t do that,’I growled back into her mind.
“If you wantto find out who the mole is, you’re going to have to.”
‘You will not be alone with her again until we figure out who it is.’
“Ramel,”
‘That was not a fucking request, Lilith. Don’t push me on this. If you want to play Nancy fucking Drew with her, be my guest, but you will do it supervised.’
“Fine,” she agreed, before turning to face Jezebel, giving her a big, genuine smile.
“You’ll have to excuse Ramel today, Jez. He clearly woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”
Jezebel eyed me warily but said nothing as Lilith continued.
“I’m doing much better, thanks for asking. I just needed some time to process and grieve… Mike was… Mike was a friend,” she said, and I didn’t miss the way her voice cracked as she sat forward in my lap.
Jezebel’s eyes softened. “I know. I’m really sorry for your loss,” she said, and she sounded like she meant it. “Anyway, I’m hoping I can make it up to you? Maybe I can help you get ready for the feast later?”
Lilith twisted in my lap to look at me, raising an eyebrow. I glared at Jezebel over Lilith’s shoulder, remembering what she had said about my wife being desperate for friends. Getting ready for a party together seemed harmless enough.
“I’ll allow it,” I said finally, though even to me, I sounded angry about it. I met Jezebel’s gaze head-on. “You may come to the room later. Lilith will not be going to you. And I will be there as well to make sure you don’t get any more fucking ideas,” I snarled, but Jezebel rolled her eyes.
“Well that takes all the fun out of her grand outfit reveal,” she muttered, and Lilith turned her pleading eyes back to me.
“Yeah, come on Ramel, how am I supposed to surprise you with my outfit if you’re looming in the corner the whole time like a big creepy stalker?”
Despite my foul mood, I barked out a surprised laugh at that. I had essentially spent her whole life looming in corners and stalking her. I didn’t see why tonight should be any different.
“I’ll chaperone.” Shem offered, and Lilith’s eyes lit up at that. Jezebel also looked relieved. I glanced at Hazai, and he shrugged.
“It’s cute that she wants to surprise you. Plus, I have excellent taste. I can make sure Jez doesn’t turn her into a hooker.”
“Hey! I’m all class, baby, and you fucking know it!” Jezebel protested, and Shem rolled his eyes.
“Tell that to the fishnets you wore to the Yule ball last year,” he drawled, and her face flushed red with rage. Lilith giggled into her hand, and I couldn’t help but relax. For a minute, I had a small glimpse of what life could be like without Yahweh constantly threatening our happiness at every turn.
I really needed to wipe that fucker off the face of the universe once and for all.
“Fine. Be at the room for six, and don’t be fucking late,” I snapped at Jezebel, though my tone wasn’t as harsh as I had intended it to be. I waved her off, and she smirked at me before winking at Lilith.
“Sounds good; see you later, Lil,” she chirped before prancing back to her seat in the dining hall.
“Hmm. Well, she seemed innocent,” Lilith observed, and I growled, tugging her in closer to me.
“I’m not convinced.”
She shrugged and climbed out of my lap and back into her seat. Hazai manifested a clean fork for her, and she went back to her breakfast.
“Didn’t you guys say angels come to the Samhain feast every year? Do you think the GMs might come too?” she wondered.
Shemhazai and I exchanged a look.
