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“This one,” I say, pointing to the white lace number in the image. “Tell the tailor this one.”
“Yes, Milady. You’ll have it by sunrise tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” I close the book and hand it to her and she takes her leave, holding the door open so Kai can enter.
“Everything to your liking?” he asks, stepping up onto the cushions of the couch, only to plop down behind me and rest his legs to my sides. His strong arms wrap around my middle as he rests his chin on my shoulder.
“Seems that way,” I tease, leaning back into his hard planes and letting my worries melt away.
“Good, because I have the rest of the day planned for us.” Peering over my shoulder, I find his sappy amber eyes, rounded like a puppy, utterly irresistible.
“The fun kind of plans or the responsibility kind?”
“Fun.” He leans closer to kiss my cheek. “Both,” he corrects, weighing his head from side to side. “Asmo has agreed to sit on the court until after Michael is taken care of. At which time he’ll be free to do as he wishes. He’s helping Finn merge what’s left of the king’s guard and ours. Once we have our final numbers, we can readdress your court and the lords. We’ll get a plan formed and we’ll be ready.” Kai’s fingers play with my curls and I can feel his eyes on the side of my face. “Is there a reason you didn’t want to be there for it? It doesn’t seem like you want to have a say in these things.”
My teeth chew at my bottom lip as I lay back against his chest, surrounding myself in his warmth. “I do… I just don’t think now is a good time. We’re on a strict enough deadline as it is. We don’t need your lords or those on the court in Solaria to waste more getting over their toxic masculinity. If I have issues, I’ll address them through you. Otherwise, it’s best to leave their issues with women sitting on the throne to the side for now, and they’ve seemed to be quite fond of you, despite your heritage.”
“Hmmm,” his vibrato rattles against the curve of my ear. “I never thought I’d see the day where you’d become patient.” His hands lace with mine, resting against my stomach. “I’m not sure how to feel about it.”
“Well, dying and realizing I’ve gotten in over my head will do that to a witch. I’m accepting my flaws… I’m not a ruler, but war… that I can do. I’m good at it. I can stare the impossible in the face and tell it to kiss my ass, where you need the certainty of winning to be at peace. I don’t know the first thing about running an entire kingdom or keeping lords or delegates happy. You do though. We make up for each other’s flaws and that’s what will make this work. It will be what allows us to win in the coming days. I’m sure of it.”
Kai doesn’t say anything as he wraps curl after curl around his index finger. It’s not until the clock strikes the hour that he taps my leg, telling me to get up. “Come. We have a busy day ahead.”
“Are you going to share with the class, or keep your secrets?” I ask, taking his hand so he can lead me out into the hall.
“Finn and Asmo have asked me to help you get your wings. They told me about your ability to create things and your inability to summon that which already exists. They’re worried your witch side is more prominent than the nephilim part of you. So, I figured we can try… then do other engagement sort of things. That is, if you’re up to it.”
“Of course I’m up for it.” My grip grows tighter on his hand as we walk toward the stairwell. Everything has been put back in its place and the broken objects removed or fixed since the last time I’ve been here.
“Why do you seem nervous?” he asks, squeezing my hand back.
Taking in a deep breath, I turn my gaze to the floor. “What if I don’t have any? It’s not like I haven’t tried on my own to get them out of… wherever they go.”
“Then you don’t. It would change nothing, Alice. I’m still going to love you and you’re still going to be a powerful witch who’s more than capable of handling herself. The wings would be just another thing to add to your arsenal.”
I halt, and he spins around, pulled by my grip on his hand. “I think that’s the first time you’ve said that.”
“Said what?” His head tilts and his eyebrows pinch.
“That you think I can handle myself.” The fates truly were behind all of it… The trapping me in the castle when he feared I’d get hurt. The containing me to a bubble when he wasn’t in Hell Hold, just in case something happened. I’ve pleaded for him to believe I’m capable of handling my own for the better part of the year and never needed to. He already did.
“I think you’ve proven that. You managed to kill the high king and made it on foot across a forest full of creatures that could’ve easily swallowed you whole.”
“Not alone,” I say, rubbing my hand around the back of my neck. “Asmo helped.”
“You, Love, are one of the few people on a very… very short list that can strike fear into my very soul when you’re pissed. I have full faith. Now, the only way you’re ever going to know if you have wings or not is to try, but we don’t have to. What do you say?” He holds his hand out to me.
“Let’s do it.” I place my hand in his.
***
Stepping through a portal Kai opened in to the hall, I find a part of Hell I’ve never been to. My feet seep into the glasslike sand, dark as night. It’s the same that lines the coast near the castle in Solaria, now piled into smoking dunes, arranged into quirky lines by the wind. The air is hotter here, like we’re truly near the Earth’s core. It’s dry, raking through my lungs, void of humidity, and with each step, the sand shifts beneath me.
“What is this place?” I ask, turning back in time to see the portal swirl shut as Kai steps through.
“This is where my father and the other archangels landed when God banished them.”
My jaw drops, realizing I’m not staring at dunes, but the raised edges of craters plunged into the ground, like the surface of the moon. When the Devil fell, he hit hard enough to up heave the ground and burrow deep into it. And this… Well, this is the aftermath.
