***
I paced over the smooth stone and golden lighting of the Four Seasons. The angels had issued their three-day warning yesterday. Tonight was our second night. Tomorrow, Silas would be open season.
“I’ve changed my mind.” Silas glowered. “I’m siding with the others. You’re insane.”
Azrames practically glowed. “I couldn’t disagree more. This is probably the coolest idea anyone’s ever had. Good going, Marmar.”
He plucked the baggy from the table and made a fist. He tipped a small amount of white powder onto the steely meat between his thumb and first knuckle, then offered it to me. I leaned into his hand as if we were partying in Ibiza, letting his palm clamp down over my lips as my nose met the patch of drugs, and I inhaled.
He licked up the remaining granulates.
We were going to be trouble.
Ever the buzzkill, Silas made his displeasure known.
Smoke and myrrh crashed over me from either side. I rubbed my eyes, blocking out the marble floors, the luxury furniture, the clean lines of the high rise. I’d known this would be a hard pitch to sell. My plan to win the siren’s army required both Azrames and Silas to play along.
“Any news from the Spider Queen on this?” Azrames asked Priscilla.
She peeked open an eye from her place in quiet meditation. She said, “I’m just her servant. I can’t sway fate.”
“And,” I prodded, “is fate on our side?”
She disappeared into meditation once more, either unable or unwilling to answer.
Silas smoldered, crossing his arms as he leaned against the glass.
The others had split into subgroups as we dove into our tasks. The humans split off as the day wore on, with Xuân and Priscilla casting protective wards as they stuck with Nia and Kirby, finishing out the women’s summit until we could reconvene.
That left me alone with the seemingly impossible task of convincing Silas that this was a good plan.
“Come on,” I pushed. “You’re already defecting, right? Why not stick it to the man?”
His lips became a flat line. “Falling is one thing, Marlow. And as it stands, they issued the sort of demand that implies I could turn you in and still comply with Heaven. If they think I might be on their side, it’s one less target on our back. You’re safer from outside threats as long as they think the sleeper cell beside you might finish the job. There’s wisdom in playing it close to the vest instead of humiliating Heaven.”
“Humiliating Heaven?” Az asked, propping an ankle over a knee as he reclined. He’d been examining a dagger that appeared to be made entirely of shadow. He pressed his finger to the tip of the blade and asked, “Or humiliatingyou?”
Silas grumbled, “Humiliating me is a given. Is that the goal?”
I scrunched my face apologetically. This was why he hated my plan for the siren. I said, “Kind of. But in my defense, we need people to hate Heaven. If it’s just a video, people will say it’s fake footage. If there are a million witnesses—”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“I am. But the principle stands. Every time that K-pop band has a show, they sell out in seconds. I think each stadium has a carrying capacity close to eighty thousand? They are objectively the biggest army, but they aren’t on tour at the moment. But Vexa LaRue’s last tour broke attendance records everywhere she went. Her fans are feral. If you show up and—”
“And what!” He threw up a hand. “Threaten the pop star? Tell some singer that she’s going to Hell?”
“She’d have a great time in Hell.” Az shrugged from the couch.
Frustration wrinkled my brow. I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I don’t care what you say or do. You just need to show up and make it clear that she has upset Heaven. And physically show up. In angel form. Like, whip your wings out. Can you do that on Earth?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Icando anything. I just don’t think this is the right call.”
I planted my feet. “Be honest. You truly think it’s a bad idea? Or you just don’t want to do it?”
His nostrils flared as he did his best to control his temper. After a beat, he said, “I see why you’re going in this direction. Have an angel harass the siren, have the siren’s people hate angels.”
“Wait,” Az piped. “You forgot the part where the demon saves the day.”
