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Voice almost childlike, Eddie whispered, “Promise.”
“I vow it.” Wrath pressed their joined hands to his heart. “There is nothing that could keep me from you.” He forced a smile. “And when this is all over, perhaps you could spend some time in my demesne.” His jaw tightened. “With Shade, of course.”
“I’d like that.” Eddie swallowed. “And if you need me, you have to promise you’ll call for me. That bond works two ways, you know.”
“Yes, it does.”
Sophia swallowed her tears at the infinite gentleness in Wrath as he bid his child goodbye. He would be back soon, and if she were a betting angel, she would lay money on sooner than even Eddie expected him.
Wrath enfolded Eddie into a hug. “Keep practicing with Sophia. Make yourself safe.”
Over Eddie’s head, he looked at Shade and nodded. Grief was carved into his handsome face and shadowed the cerulean of his eyes. It wasn’t only leaving Eddie that had etched sadness into Wrath, and Sophia ached for him. Perhaps she felt an echo of her own pain and regret in Wrath’s. In the lonely hours she spent in her cozy room at the local B&B, questions taunted her. What if she hadn’t waited and spoken to Shade? Would he have loved her like he did Eddie? Probably not. And that was the most depressing thought of all.
Stepping closer to them, Shade put his arm around Eddie’s shoulder. “Come on, Eddie. Lillian is threatening not to perform tonight, and you know you don’t want me to get her to do it my way.”
“Okay.” Eddie stepped back with a sniff and a nod. She jabbed her forefinger at Wrath. “Soon.”
“Soon,” he said.
He watched, his expression unguarded as Eddie and Shade left the room and climbed the stairs up to the theatre.
“He will take care of her.” Sophia stuffed her maudlin thoughts back in their box. She had been waiting for a moment alone with Wrath. Love shouldn’t be squandered or left untended. Love required the courage to risk self in its pursuit. If only she’d use her own wisdom.
Wrath growled. “He had better.” His expression hardened. “In the meantime, I will see what I can discover about who leads this rebellion. The demons have been taking advantage of our ignorance, but that is over now.”
Sophia pitied any demon who crossed Wrath in his present state of mind. “Try to leave some of them alive.”
He barked a reluctant laugh. “You are staying on this plane?”
“Shade is here.” Sophia shrugged. “And for as long as he is, I must remain.”
Wrath cleared his throat. “You will watch her too.”
“Of course.” If she hadn’t known he would probably toss her across the basement, Sophia might have hugged him. He definitely looked like a being in need of a hug. Humans had that right about the hugs and the comfort. “While you are in hell, Shade and I will see what we can discover on this plane. My fellow archangels are looking into repairing the seals, Lucifer is hunting Ashe, and we will keep an eye on all of that too.”
“And those fucking guardians.” Wrath’s eyes sparked red. “If they so much as breathe in her direction, I want to know.”
“You’ll be the first to know.” Which wasn’t strictly true, so she amended. “Well, one of the first.” Because if the guardians moved against Dee or Eddie, she and Shade would not hesitate to remind them of the power of the immortals. That was another situation that had gone too long unchecked and unmanaged. But that was not the reason she’d lingered to speak to Wrath, and she got to it now. “Haziel is almost recovered.”
Wrath stiffened but nodded. “Good.”
“You know.” She had to proceed with utmost caution. This was Wrath she was dealing with. “You could always request to visit her.”
Jerking his head back, he stared at her. “Go to Ramiel’s demesne?”
“You’ve been there before,” she said.
Wrath narrowed his eyes and studied her. “What are you not saying?”
For an archangel who was renowned for her diplomacy, Sophia found herself floundering. “Just because a hell prince and an angel have never been together before, does not mean it cannot happen.”
“You know better than that.” Wrath scowled at her.
“I know that it has never happened in the past.” Sophia spoke quickly before he lost patience with her, and she went basement air surfing. “But there has also never been a living Nephilim, and the horsemen have also never stirred this strongly before. We have also never had a demon rebellion before.”
He scoffed. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Everything.” The cold look on his face was irritating her. “We are in uncharted territory now. Shade will stay here with Eddie, and the gathering has agreed to that. Why should Shade and Eddie be the only beings entitled to their happy ending?”
