Chapter Two #2
Rathiel strode over to me and glanced between the three of us with a confused frown. I subtly jerked my chin toward Levi, then to Eliza, then winked. Rathiel’s brows shot upward, and he coughed into his fist, suddenly interested in a distant rock.
“Mm-hmm,” I murmured. “You know—makeup, murder, men…”
Levi blinked. His attention flicked to Eliza, who was blushing like a virginal bride on her wedding night.
“No one here, of course,” I quickly added. “We were discussing our friend Mason, who’s back on Earth. Very handsome fella, ya know. I think he had his eye on Eliza before we left for Hell. We were just discussing whether or not she’s interested in him.”
“I—what?” she sputtered. “I, no, I don’t—Lily!”
Levi said nothing.
I’d purposely mentioned Mason—our fellow gargoyle—to gauge Levi’s interest. Mason was the perfect scapegoat to possibly rouse a little jealousy in Levi, if such a thing existed.
Eliza shot a death glare at me. Then she turned and visibly stiffened when she came face-to-face with Calyx, who’d practically appeared out of nowhere. The colour drained from her cheeks, and she paled two shades.
Okay…that was another interesting reaction.
Calyx stared at her, and like always, he seemed more bored than anything. But then, I caught the slightest tic in his jaw. His gaze shifted to Levi, and his eyes narrowed just a fraction, just enough to tell me something I never would have expected.
Oh.
Ohhh.
Eliza liked Levi.
But Calyx looked like he wanted to throw our friendly neighbourhood angel into the nearest lava pit and watch him burn.
My mouth parted in surprise as the puzzle pieces all began to snap into place. The siren, the angel, and the fallen. Each standing just a little too close and were a little too tense.
Did we…have a love triangle blooming here?
I truly hoped not. I’d never witnessed a love triangle in real life, but I’d seen enough romantic movies on Earth to know these sorts of situations never ended well. And worse, ours came with the added horror of a fallen who still technically belonged to my father.
This wasn’t just bad.
This was really, stupidly, hormonally inconvenient.
And here Rathiel and I stood in the middle of this ticking time bomb.
I pushed to my feet and grabbed my belt, complete with my two scabbards, and secured it around my hips. “Alright, time to move,” I announced, my voice cutting through the awkward silence. “Eliza and I are ready. So, if the rest of you could kindly gather your things, that’d be amazing.”
Rathiel gave a soft grunt and pointed at his pack, which sat between Eliza and me. I nudged her aside with a hip bump to give him the space he needed.
“I’m ready,” Calyx said, his voice clipped for once.
“I just need to grab my sword,” Levi added. “Won’t take but a minute.”
“Great,” I said, clapping my hands together. “So, everyone’s ready. Fantastic.”
And dear god, the awkwardness was palpable. Calyx and Levi peeled off in opposite directions.
Next to me, Eliza released a long breath. “Could you not?” she hissed.
“Calyx—”
“I don’t want to talk about him,” she muttered darkly.
Oh, shit. “Did he try something?”
“No,” she said immediately. “He’s just a prick.”
Fair enough. He was exceptionally skilled in that regard.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s just get out of here. We’ve got corpses to raise and a war to win, right? No time for drama.”
Right she was. Unfortunately, drama didn’t care about our schedule. It’d found us all the same. I just hoped it didn’t dropkick us all in the asses.
Rathiel straightened, sword in hand, and kissed the top of my head.
“Have I told you recently how much I love you?”
I snorted. “You just love that we’re not part of this mess.”
“Oh yes,” he said, chuckling.
“Hey,” Eliza bit out. “You two had your fair share of drama. Don’t make me start listing all the longing glances, unresolved sexual tension, or the countless insults.”
“Don’t forget the biting,” Vol piped up, snapping his teeth together for effect. “You two were worse than a soap opera.”
I flipped Vol the bird—because I was classy like that—and crossed the scorched clearing to the far side of the camp, where my personal menagerie awaited.
Mephisar and Sable coiled together in a loose, lazy knot of black-scaled muscle, their infernal eyes tracking me as I approached.
Gorr thumped his tail in greeting, his claws gouging deep rivets into the ashen dirt.
I smiled at the sight of my favourite ravager, all teeth and muscle and horns, who was really just a hellhound looking for a cuddle.
And Purrgy…well, Purrgy still slept soundly. Cats and heat—a natural kitty sedative.
I crouched beside my favourite furball and gently stuffed the ginger sausage into his carrier. He and Vol wouldn’t be coming with us to the battlefield, but I couldn’t leave Purrgy unsupervised. What if he wandered off and never came back? He hadn’t yet, but I would hate myself if that happened.
My delightful kitty woke and unleashed a series of murderous yowls the second I zipped the carrier door shut. “Oh, hush. You won’t be stuck in there for long. We’ll be back in an hour at most. And Vol will be here to keep you company.”
Not that Purrgy understood me. I didn’t speak cat.
Gorr plodded over and lowered his massive head to peer through the mesh door, then sneezed directly at the carrier.
Purrgy screamed and swiped at the air, his aura that of a pissed-off kitty.
Before I could correct Gorr, Mephisar bonked him aside with his snout—gentle enough not to hurt, but firm enough as though to say, “Dude. No sneezing on the cat.”
I shook my head, barely hiding my smile. How I’d ended up with Hell’s most mismatched crew, I had no idea. Honestly, though, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. These were my people and beasties. My family. And I loved each and every one of them.
Well, except Calyx.
I tucked Purrgy’s carrier beneath a shaded outcrop, then rose and stared at the glowing horizon, lit by unending hell light. There was no sun here. No moon. No stars. Just endless heat.
The love-triangle drama had offered a momentary distraction, but once we started moving, my nerves kicked back in, cinching around my chest like a vise.
I could do this.
I had to.
Rathiel caught my gaze. Eliza did too. His said, I believe in you. Hers said, I’ll do what I have to. Hers was more reassuring, and the only thing that kept me walking forward instead of running off to the nearest cave, where I could suffer a meltdown in peace.
“Alright,” I said, lifting my chin. “Let’s go raise an army.”
It was time to find out what kind of queen I’d be.