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By the time dessert was served, with an accompanying wine and all its pomp, he was ready to rip the table apart with his bare hands.
Grinning all the way, Rapace returned him to his chamber.
Wrath paced the room as his mind worked. Ava had had her fun. It was time to end the game. Somewhere in her palace, she was keeping Haziel, and he’d played nice for as long as he could. Eddie needed him, and he was wasting fucking time, time none of them had.
Haziel was of Ramiel’s host, right. And that meant he could tune into Ramiel’s energy and find her.
Opening that part of his being, Wrath searched the palace for traces of Ramiel.
A clear signature pinged across his awareness to the left and Wrath tightened his bath towel around his hips and prepared to launch into battle.
* * *
All things considered, Haziel was having a lovely time in Ava’s palace. The food was exceptional, and always available via hot and cold running demon, the company delightful, the accommodations sumptuous, and tomorrow Ava had promised to show her the rare collection of extinct species Ava had collected and preserved in her demesne.
Ava had a side hustle in preserving species that were about to go extinct on earth. Amongst her rare collection she had dodos, quaggas, and a Tasmanian tiger. According to Ava, she kept them safely breeding here until such time as earth could be trusted to respect its natural environment again.
She’d felt Wrath arrive this morning and had been expecting a visit from him. Still, she did want to see those rare animals, and Ava and she had a spa day planned for the day after that. Haziel had never had a pedicure or a hot stone massage, but she was sure she’d like them.
As Wrath’s energy approached her suite, she took a long sip of her strawberry daiquiri. Working for Ramiel didn’t allow any time for indulgences, and she was beginning to discover that even angels had needs. Still, if Wrath was here now, she couldn’t in good conscience delay him any longer. Messing with him a bit, though, that she was looking forward to.
The pounding on her door was typically Wrath—demanding, impatient, and impossible to ignore. Still, she didn’t get up from her comfortable velvet chaise with its beautiful view of the fountain garden. Classical music drifted in with the soft evening breeze. Water danced in the fountains to the tune of the music. It was all rather splendid and definitely relaxing.
She suppressed a sigh as she called, “Come in, Wrath.”
“There you are.” He appeared in her door like a summer thunderstorm—all force and implacable nature.
Haziel took another sip of her cocktail. “Here I am.”
“Angel?” A demon appeared at her elbow. “Would you like another?”
Who wouldn’t love being here? “I would.” She smiled at Covet. The demons here were so helpful, it was hard to remember why angels had been at war with them since the beginning of time. “That would be lovely.”
Covet twitched his thick, unruly red eyebrows. “Or perhaps you would like to sample a mango daiquiri. Our mixologist is a master with the mango.”
She did like mango. Another thing she’d discovered since Wrath had abandoned her here. As she would be leaving soon, she said, “I would love to try the mango.”
“Very good.” Covet scuttled off, leaving a very disgruntled looking hell prince glowering at her.
Dressed in nothing but a short bath towel, Wrath was almost a better view than the dancing fountains. Unless she could persuade him to dance, and then it might be a fair competition. “Do you dance?”
“What?” He frowned at her. “No, I don’t fucking dance.”
“Pity.” No contest then, the fountains won.
Wrath took a slow, careful breath and stalked over to her. He had lovely, muscular legs, and the towel hit him mid bulging thigh. Maybe she’d overestimated the appeal of the dancing fountains. He wiggled his fingers at her. “Enough, Haziel. We’re leaving at first light. I need to find Eddie.”
Covet arrived with her mango daiquiri, and a charcuterie board. Creamy, mature cheeses, ripe figs, pickles, fresh honey, warm bread—Wrath could do what he liked. She wasn’t going anywhere. Not at this particular moment anyway. “No.” She took her time selecting the right combination of cheese and olive. “You are welcome to leave, but I am a guest here.”
“You’re an angel,” he snapped. “And you have outstayed your welcome.”
Ava hadn’t said anything like that. “Did Ava say so?”
“No.” His jaw went tight enough to break rocks. “I did, and Ramiel did.”
“Ramiel knows I’m here?” Her heart gave a little flutter. Ramiel knew she was here, and he must be worried about her to demand she return. She sipped her drink. The mango was delicious. She might prefer it to the strawberry. “He’s right, you know.” She gestured to where Covet had disappeared. “The mango is very special.”
“Haziel,” he growled in a way that sent sensation skittering over her skin. “You need to come with me. My daughter is still missing, and we haven’t found Lucifer.”
