Chapter Fourteen
Twenty-seven hours.
We had one day and change until Vexa LaRue’s nextperformance, which meant we had to outlast the angel’s demand to hand me over for an hour and a half longer than they’d allotted. The time change between New York and Vegas caused a hiccup, but hopefully it was nothing we couldn’t manage. Tomorrow’s show in Las Vegas’s stadium had been sold out for months. With its reputation as Sin City, it was an audience primed to cheer for a demon.
Greece was ten hours ahead of Nevada. If we timed things right, Silas and Azrames could be making their big debut just as Poppy and Dorian strolled onto the morning show to change the world.
It was the perfect solution.
We didn’t want to wake up Heaven’s people. We wanted the eyes of the world. Between our stateside show and televised display of power, we could coordinate throwing the world into a mixed basket of religious calamity.
Showcasing the validity of other religions and their deities would throw Heaven’s claims of sovereignty into a tailspin. If we were lucky, other gods would follow suit once Dorian broke the seal and burst the world wide open.
I had the sølje. Decades prior, my great-grandmother had been gifted a silver heirloom by a fae from the Nordic pantheon to move across the veil, with no way of knowingthat nearly a century later, her great-granddaughter would use it to orchestrate the end of the world. Between the dangly, silver piece of jewelry and the two eternal beings accompanying me, I wouldn’t have to lose a day to travel like my friends. Nia and Kirby would take the next flight back home, with Priscilla and Xuân keeping them safe for another day.
All that remained was our goodbyes.
We embraced on the curb outside the Four Seasons. I hugged Nia a little too tightly. I trusted in our plan as much as I could, but nothing was certain. It was a good reminder to love my friends, squeezing them every time as if it might be the last time.
“I’ve taken as much time off work as I can, Marlow. Unless you want to pay my mortgage for the rest of my life.”
“I will,” I said honestly. Nia narrowed her eyes in response.
Azrames remained solution oriented. “Xuân and Pris can’t hang out at your friends’ houses forever, but someone invisible could. You have a broad net. I’m sure we could get someone to stay with them. Fauna would—”
“No,” I bit. I tried to turn my head before the wound in his expression hurt me but failed. I chewed my lip. “I’ll take some Nordic help, though. We could use a Valkyrie and a goddess. Az, can you get a hold of Ella and Estrid? I bet they would babysit.”
To my extreme displeasure, Silas matched Azrames’s expression. “You’re okay with them, but not with Fauna?”
I hissed, “They’re no more culpable than Az.” Then to the demon, I said, “You love her. I get it. You fought for her and for me. But did you ever consciously manipulate me? Did either Ella or Estrid go out of their way to orchestrate global plans with me as a pawn while pretending to be my friend?”
Azrames’s shoulders slumped. “She wasn’t pretending, Mar.”
Nia and Kirby kept quiet, hugging themselves against the breeze as our conversation soured. Cars whirred by, pedestriansmilling about the sidewalk around us as we remained locked in a silent battle, inhaling exhaust and dust.
To my relief, Silas turned on an exhale. He rotated toward Azrames, positioning himself next to me as he asked, “Can you? Contact them, that is?”
Az looked between us. “Yes. But it won’t be instant. I don’t want to leave you alone with her while I get the others home and wait for reinforcements.”
“I’ll send a note so you can find me even when I’m undetectable.” I patted the envelope of powder concealed in my pocket.
His brows pinched in a way that I knew had nothing to do with Alessia’s drugs.
The words came out before I knew what I was saying. “Go, Az. I trust him.”
I didn’t miss the way Silas moved closer.
Azrames closed his eyes, shaking his head ever so slightly.
“Call a car, Kirbs,” I said. “The four of you need to stay together until we have the escort situation figured out.”
Kirby said, “We’ve been perfectly fine for days. Are you sure we—”
“Yes,” Azrames said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “The only other human I care about was nearly killed for affiliating with Marlow. You absolutely need round-the-clock protection.”
Nia lifted her chin. She lowered her hands to her sides as she took a step closer to Silas. “Because of angels. That’s what she said. Marlow may trust you, angel, but why should we?”
Silas blinked back as if trying to rid water droplets from his face. His shock was palpable. “Are you serious?”
