“Well,” her grandmother said, “I think it’s time to let you fight your own battles, child.”
Gali groaned with relief. “Please, and thank you.”
She could feel Lucifer’s presence behind her, steady and waiting, and she knew the house was still there with all the princes and their ultimatum.
Nana Darling sighed and took her hands. “Come home when you can,” she ordered.
“I will, I promise.” Gali leaned in and kissed her grandmother’s cheek. “I just have to finish some things here.”
“You aren’t evil, Galilee Kincaid.” Nana Darling’s eyes shone bright with tears. “I am so sorry I even said that. I can’t say the same for your lover, but that’s between you and him, no matter what I may think.” She raised and dropped an elegant shoulder. “I am old, and I am human. There are many things I do not understand, but I see now that you are touching a realm I cannot access, and like with all children, we must trust you to wing your way true.”
Gali simply nodded, her throat choked up with thick feelings. Celestial came up to them and kissed Gali’s cheek.
“He’s good for you only because he’s not human,” she whispered. “You can get big and it won’t scare him, Gali, so get big. We’ll love you anyways.”
Collette joined them, slipping her arms around her daughter. “You’re a Kincaid,” she whispered fiercely, “and you’remine.”
Gali shuddered out a breath, because it was true, and she could feel it wrapping around her like an oath, like a creek deal, like love. One by one, most of the other Kincaids stepped forward, their hands reaching out along with their words, fingers brushing Gali’s hair, Jesmyn’s murmured apology, Shirley’s tears.
Nana Darling fixed Lucifer with a flat stare. “Morningstar,” she said.
He mocked out a small bow, and Gali hid a smile. Her grandmother beckoned to Leah.
“We fell into some hunting on your grounds,” Nana Darling said.
The Devil frowned, and Leah dragged forward a hemp bag and shook out a scaly reptilian body the size of a large dog. A foot-long gash split its abdomen, and rancid entrails were spilling out. Gali leaned in for a closer look, then recoiled when the stench hit her. “Whatisthat?”
The creature had died with an open mouth, showing rows and rows of dripping fangs, and it was covered in black scales. It had a long tail tipped with a scorpion’s stinger, muscular legs sprouting out of a barrel body, and huge jaws. Whatever it was, it felt both evil and displaced. Lucifer swore under his breath, and Nana Darling’s lip curled.
“One of yours, isn’t it?” she said.
The Devil sighed. “A hellbeast. You call them demons. It shouldn’t be here.”
Celestial raised an eyebrow. “Weknow that,” she said. “You gonna need us to clean up the rest of your mess?”
Lucifer narrowed his eyes at her. “My princes will take care of it.”
Nana Darling kicked the corpse toward him. “See that they do. Your beasts are not welcome in our world.”
“I’m aware,” he replied, giving the Kincaids a contemplative look. “Out of professional curiosity, what did you use to kill it?”
Nana Darling spun the scythe in her hands. “Sanctified iron,” she answered. “Would you like to see if it works on you?”
Gali shook her head and stepped in. “All right now, that’s enough.” She exchanged a loaded glance with Celestial, and her cousin took their grandmother’s elbow.
“Let’s go, Nana Darling. We gotta make sure none of these things got on our land.”
Collette put her hand on Gali’s cheek. “I’ll be seeing you.”
“Yeah, Ma.” Gali smiled at her mother. “Soon.”
After she’d said goodbye to Bonbon and Oriak?, complete with tearful promises to find them as soon as she could, Gali watched the Kincaids retreat in a sea of white, back into the woods that would take them to their own creeks and land. She was still dressed in Lucifer’s tunic, and as he slung a smoky arm around her shoulders and kissed her hair, she knew it would still look like she’d been abandoned in the clutches of the Devil to quite a few in her family. It didn’t matter, not when Nana Darling had acknowledged her, not when Celestial had no doubts that Gali could hold her own against Lucifer, and not when Collette loved her no matter what. The others would come to terms in time. Gali leaned against Lucifer as they vanished among the trees, until it was just the two of them left in the garden with the corpse of a hellbeast at their feet.
She let out a breath. “Well,thatwas a lot.”
Lucifer laughed softly and hugged her to his side. “You handled it beautifully, Galilee.”
A dry voice interrupted them. “How touching.” Leviathan stepped out of a shadow, his locs pale in the evening light, the patches on his skin stark.
