“Hey . . .” Jarod clasped the back of my neck, which I tried to keep twisted away from him but failed to. “I’m sorry for being such a venal, ungratefulass.”
I side-eyedhim.
“Thank you for fighting for mysoul.”
I still didn’t sayanything.
“But I don’t want your soul to get damaged in the celestial crossfire.” His thumb set on myneck.
“Don’t worry about my soul, Jarod,” I said in a tonelessvoice.
“I’ll make you adeal.”
I felt my eyebrowslower.
“I’ll stop worrying about your soul when you stop worrying aboutmine.”
I was surprised my hammering pulse hadn’t knocked his thumb off my skin. “I’ll stop worrying about it when you admit to Asher you didn’t plant that letter opener in your mother’schest.”
“I alreadydid.”
I broke free of his hold. “What?”
“I told him I only removedit.”
“You couldn’t have led withthat?”
“I could’ve, but then, I would’ve missed out on all the fun and surprises of our sparkling dinnerconversation.”
I gaped at him, then snapped my jaw closed. “I would’ve told you all of it if you’dasked.”
“I know.” He plowed his hand through hishair.
“You’re soinfuriating.”
“Hey, I didn’t sign up to me.” He smirked. “You did that all on your own. Should’ve spent more time scrolling through available sinners and vetting thecontenders.”
Telling him my best friend had forced my hand was on the tip of my tongue, but it felt venomous. Hadn’t I been spiteful enough for one evening? Besides, I wasn’t focusing on the most important aspect, which was that Asher had heard the truth from Jarod’s lips. Maybe the archangel was adjusting my sinner’s score as we spoke. Or, at least, unlockingit.
Soon, Jarod’s soul would lighten, and his rank would drop. Perhaps, one day, he’d even dip beneath the bar of fifty and avoid Abaddonaltogether.
My chest flared with hope and with something else . . . nostalgia. If Asher was correcting Jarod’s score, the countdown to my ascension would begin. I would be locked out of this world for a century until the archangels bestowed the key to the Channels uponme.
My gaze strayed over the beveled mirrors hung in thin gold frames, the crystals dripping like fat raindrops from the lavish chandelier, the crushed velvets, and sculpted granite mantles before returning to the sharp ridges of Jarod’sface.
How I would miss this world and these imperfecthumans.
“You haven’t tasted thefoie grasyet,” Jarod said, scooting his chair back across the table from me. “I’m dying to see what you think ofit.”
I concentrated on the here and now. “See?”
He picked up his diminutive glass of wine, swirled it, then tipped it inside his mouth. “Your skin is very expressive,Feather.”
On cue, my cheeks warmed, so I angled my face toward my plate and focused on my food. “And your skin is very hairy,” I muttered under mybreath.
He rended the quiet room with a bark oflaughter.
Chapter 34
