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He didn’t even have the decency to look apologetic. “You went to church Sunday and out for Mexican yesterday.”
I rolled my eyes. “We’ve been over this. I’m not going to stop living my life. I’m not letting Dantalion take that from me too.”
“I’m sorry this is inconvenient for you,” he said wryly. “It’s not like I let you go to work and the gym practically every day or anything.”
“Excuse me?” I blinked at him, not quite believing I’d heard him right. “Youletme go to work?”
“Yes, I do,” he snapped. “If I really wanted to, I could keep you here and there wouldn’t be a damn thing you could do about it!”
“Fuck you, Nathaniel.” I spun on my heel, not even sure exactly where I planned on going.
“Wait.” A strong hand closed around my upper arm, stopping me from storming out of the kitchen. “I’m sorry, baby girl. I didn’t mean any of that. I was just taking my fear and frustration out on you. I’m sorry.”
“You wouldn’t have said it if you didn’t mean it,” I said softly.
He turned me around to face him so I could see the pleading in his eyes. “You’re right. Sometimes I do want to force you to stay here. I’ve thought about it, but I won’t do that to you even if I am terrified of the day Dantalion makes a move I can’t anticipate and you get hurt.”
“What can I do?” I asked, lifting my free hand to his cheek.
“Don’t disappear while I’m asleep like you did on Sunday. Let me come with you wherever you go instead of asking me to stay behind.”
“I went to church Sunday. You never come with me.”
“That was before.”
“Okay.” I didn’t need him to elaborate. I’d seen the pain in his eyes when he told me about losing his sister to Dantalion, and I knew he meant it when he told me he was afraid he wasn’t going to be able to protect me. If he wanted to start coming to church and girls’ nights with me, I could do that for him.
“Wow.” The sound of Kylie’s voice made us both turn. I’d forgotten she was there, that she was kind of the one who’d encouraged this fight in the first place.
I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing for a few seconds. Kylie loved drama and wasn’t always above starting shit just for the show. It wasn’t my favorite of her qualities, but occasionally good things came of it. I’d learned over the years that sometimes the conversations that hurt were the most important and honest ones. They were the ones that led to moving forward.
“So is someone going to explain who Dantalion is and what makes him such a big deal?” Kylie asked.
“No,” Nate growled.
“He’s the duke of Hell that I told you about when we were texting this weekend. The one who’s been sending demons after me.”
Kylie’s eyes widened. “How bad is he?”
“He’s aduke of Hell.”
“Right. Bad.” She dropped into a chair at the table. “What are we going to do?”
“There’s nowe,” Nate said.
“Yeah there is. I live here too. Sierra is my best friend, and for some reason that probably has to do with your V-line, you’re important to her. That makes both of you my business.” You had to love her version of logic.
I looked at Nate. “You were the one who said we should try to come up with a plan instead of waiting for him to call all the shots.”
Nate shook his head. “We should, but I’m not even sure where to start. It’s practically impossible to take him out without breaking the rules of war.”
“You could start by explaining what the rules of war are and why you can’t break them,” Kylie suggested.
I tugged Nate to the table, and we sat with Kylie.
“Heaven and Hell are in a constant war in a way,” Nate started. “But it’s not an active war. There’s a tension there, a delicate balance between good and evil. This war has rules and is always one slip from breaking into a nightmare. Under the rules of war, certain demons are protected. Certain angels are too, but those who are leave Heaven very seldomly.”
“I’m getting the feeling this Dantalion is protected,” Kylie muttered.
