They still lingered in my mouth with a weird combination of bitter and sweet. I wanted to guzzle water, preferably the red kind from Inferna that didn’t smell like something from a witch’s bog.
“You know, most people enjoy the drive.” Raphael’s voice held an amused tone that made me want to stab him.
I didn’t respond. I was too busy focusing on not throwing up all over his seats. He’d probably make me clean it.
The world outside the car was too bright and too fast. How did humans live like this? No wonder they neededthose weird drinks and disgusting cake on a stick to function.
Finally—finally—Raphael turned the death carriage into what looked like a cave. It opened with magic and swallowed us whole.
Raphael pressed something, and the entire machine went silent. The sudden lack of motion made my stomach do one final protest roll.
He turned to look at me, and his face split into a grin. Then he laughed as if my misery was the most entertaining thing he’d seen. “You look like you’re about to murder me.”
I let go of the handle, my fingers aching from how hard I’d been gripping it. “I am absolutely considering it. What are the consequences for murder on Earth?”
He laughed harder. “Prison. Possibly execution, depending on where you are, your motivation, and how you do it.”
I weighed my options. Prison didn’t sound great, but neither did spending another second in this death trap with this bastard. But execution wasn’t high on my list of priorities, and I needed him to help me get back to Inferna.
For now, stabbing him could wait.
He shook his head, still chuckling as he got out, leaving me inside. I’d missed how he’d opened the door and had to wait for him to walk around and open it for me.
With some effort, I extracted myself from the cursed contraption, my legs unsteady as I stood on solid ground again. I grabbed my bag only to have it yanked from my grip before I could properly secure it on my back.
“Hey! That’s mine!” I reached for the strap, but Raphael was already moving with long, confident strides toward a door, completely ignoring my protests.
Stealing people’s belongings was another charming trait to add to his growing list of offenses, right alongside kidnapping,feeding me poison, and nearly killing me with his navigation skills.
I stumbled after him, my boots squeaking against the smooth floor. I caught flashes of things I didn’t understand, but I had no time to process any of it because Raphael had already crossed the room and slid open a massive panel of glass leading outside.
Green. So much green. Rolling hills covered in vegetation that wasn’t black or gray, stretching as far as I could see. And in the distance, the enormous white letters perched on a hillside, mocking the landscape.
Raphael dumped the contents of my bag onto a table, and the pink sparkly bag landed on top.
His shoulders started shaking before the sound came out. Then he was laughing again, holding the bag up like it was some kind of prize. “Where did you get this?”
Heat flooded my cheeks. “It’s charming and functional.”
He turned it over, and the sparkles caught the sunlight. “Functional.” He repeated the word as if it were the funniest thing he’d ever heard.
Before I could defend my choice in emergency containers, he waved his hand in an arc over the table.
The feathers lifted like they were caught in an invisible current. They swirled in a graceful spiral, climbing higher and higher until they disappeared.
“No!” I lunged forward, but it was too late. “Those were mine!”
They were my only way to Inferna if this archangel decided I was more trouble than I was worth.
I glared at him, nails digging crescents into my palms as my fists clenched. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to launch myself at him, to wipe that smug satisfaction off his face with whatever blunt object I could grab first. The table looked sturdy enough.
But attacking an archangel probably fell somewhere between inadvisable and spectacularly stupid. And I’d already hit my quota for spectacularly stupid decisions.
I’d just have to fight him with words.
“I was planning on selling those.”
The amusement on his face vanished, his expression turning dangerous in a way that made my hand twitch toward my knife.
