In the wings.
“That was a terrible pun,” I said.
“And by terrible, you mean so funny that you can barely contain your laughter, right?” Caim grinned.
Az puffed out an irritated sigh. “Back to the party. We’ll need to be sure to argue about something stupid. Then, it will be believable when we make up shortly after. I don’t want our invitation to be rescinded. None of you seem to be taking this seriously, but there are dozens of human lives—and souls—on the line.”
“Why don’t you want Lucifer to win the game?” I suddenly asked.
Confusion rippled across Az’s face. “What?”
“Why don’t you want him to win? You’re demons.”
“Because,” he said slowly, as if he were speaking to a child, “then this entire world will end. Everyone will end up in Hell.”
“And that’s definitely something you don’t want?” I asked, my heart pounding. “In Hell, I’m guessing it doesn’t matter if you kill people who get in your way.”
Az drew himself up tall, so tall that a twinge of unease went through my heart. He strode toward me with his shoulders wide and chin strong. Shadows rippled across his skin. Flames flickered in his eyes.
Oh shit. I swallowed hard. He looked like he wanted to rip me to shreds.
“Maybe I should take you there and let you see for yourself,” he said through gritted teeth.
I opened my mouth to say…well, I didn’t know what yet. Probably something stupid. But he cut me short.
“I thought you were different, Mia. You didn’t seem to fear us just because we’re demons, but it turns out that I was very, very wrong.”
“It’s not because you’re a demon, Az,” I whispered back. “It’s because you killed that vampire for spying on you.”
“And you think an angel would have spared him, do you?” he asked with an angry arch of his brows. “A fallen one, at that? They are far more heartless and coldblooded than we will ever be. But I suppose you’ll never learn. You humans are all the same.”
He stormed out of the room, leaving me in awkward silence with the Legion. Valac stared down at the table, half-hidden in shadows. Stolas paced nervously while Phenex fiddled with the map. Caim bounced on his feet.
“You know I don’t have anything against you guys for being demons, right?” I finally said.
Phenex grinned. “We know, but Az doesn’t. Bit of a sore spot for him.”
“And you shouldn’t hold anything against him,” Valac said quietly. “He did what had to be done. If he hadn’t, Lucifer would have found out what we’re doing here.” He lifted his gaze from the table and met my eyes. “Hell is not a very nice place to live, Mia.”
Shivers stormed across my arms. “Even for you?”
“Especially for us,” Bael said with a shudder. “The things we’ve seen, things we’ve been forced to do. We never want to go back there, and we sure as hell don’t want the entire world in that place. All of this, it would be over.”
“Not that Heaven is any better,” Valac said with a hiss. “Angels can be just as ruthless as demons can.”
My heart flipped as I looked from Valac to Caim. “But then what do you plan to do? If both sides suck?”
“We take it one day at a time,” Caim said with a nod. “One fight at a time.”
“One fight at a time,” Phenex echoed.
“One fight at a time,” Valac, Stolas, and Bael repeated in unison.
Hands fisted by my sides, I nodded. “One fight at a time.”
* * *
We entered the party with my hand tucked into Az’s suit-clad arm. He’d chosen an all-black ensemble for the night, one that hugged his muscular frame in perfect precision. I wore a cute sapphire dress that hit my mid-thigh and earrings that matched. A gift from Az, though he’d just tossed the thing at me and told me to get changed.
