Eddie frowned. “If they took her mother, then why didn’t they take her?”
“Leona bound her magic to keep her safe.” Bianca didn’t want to think about what it meant that Leona’s binding had failed. “With Leona gone, so is her binding spell.
Lucifer was rapidly losing patience with the raging argument in the greenroom. By the seven fucking seals, sometimes this group argued strictly for the sake of arguing. None of these beings had any concept of time and how precious that commodity could be. Instead of working to protect two young humans, suddenly they all wanted to die on the hill of what to do with those humans.
Chris Fellows and his merry men were trying to insist the children be handed over to the guardians and taken to a safe house. Guardians were still human but their close contact with heaven and hell often prolonged their life spans and increased their abilities.
“They’re human.” Chris glared at the gathering. “We are the best choice to take care of their needs, because we actually understand their needs.”
Bianca stirred at this side. “But they don’t know you. After the trauma they’ve been through, I’m not going to hand them over to strangers.”
He had insisted Bianca be part of this meeting.
“Lucifer is a stranger to them,” Fellows said with the exaggerated patience of a man trying not to bellow.
“But Emma has bonded with him.” Bianca stuck to her guns. “And she trusts him.”
“He’s not human,” Chris snapped.
“You don’t have to be human to understand a child’s needs,” Haziel said in her sweet voice.
Lucifer found it hard to believe Wrath had managed to convince the beautiful seraph to join him in his demesne and become his mate. Although he was a big supporter of the changes Haziel had wrought on his brother. Wrath hadn’t tried to end him once tonight and had only glared at Ramiel. He’d also not as yet threatened to rip the wings off anyone.
“Exactly.” Wrath came out in immediate support of Haziel. “Children need attention, security, and boundaries.”
Haziel beamed at Wrath. “And love.”
“And love.” Wrath’s harsh features softened. “Always love.”
Ramiel shifted and clenched his jaw.
Served the fucker right. Ramiel had knowingly put Haziel in danger because he’d been jealous. Lucifer would love to taunt the fucker and drive the knife deeper. Ramiel should have woken up sooner to what Haziel meant to him and should never have exposed her to the horsemen. Too bad Lucifer was too interested in Emma and Ethan’s futures to take such a ripe opportunity.
“Although they’d be safe with you,” Eddie said to Wrath and Haziel, “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to place them somewhere so unfamiliar.”
“Safe!” Chris gaped at her. “How can you call Wrath’s demesne safe? The seals are breaking, and the demons are running wild.”
“As opposed to being hunted on earth.” Eddie was all delightful fire and fury in defense of her sire.
Lucifer hoped when this was over, he’d get to know his niece better. Eddie was a good being, despite her unfortunate parentage.
“Anywhere we send them carries risk.” Sophia was dressed as a Victorian woman, ready for her rehearsal later.
Gabriel had been searching through the records, trying to find a rule that would prohibit Sophia from acting. Not that it would be any good. The archangel for chastity had grown a rebellious streak he admired. Sophia had always been beautiful, but this new wild side made her even more attractive.
Lucifer avoided tangling with the heaven contingent as a rule. For too much rigidity for him, but this new version of Sophia intrigued him.
“Concentrate,” Bianca hissed in his ear.
He massaged the sting left over from her pinch and longed for the days when smiting was a thing. “I am concentrating.”
“On Sophia’s boobs,” she whispered.
In fairness, Sophia had a spectacular figure, but his response had a lot more to do with irking Bianca as he said, “They’re incredible. As is everything else about her.”
“Like she’d give you a chance.” Bianca snorted.
“I’ve never had that trouble before.” He smirked and got the satisfaction of anger sparking in her iris-blue eyes. They were the most remarkable shade between blue and purple. He’d rarely, if ever, seen their like.
She rolled those lovely eyes at him. “God, you’re insufferable.”
“And tired of this argument.” He clapped his palms on his thighs and stood. “Right! This is what we’re going to do.”
All gazes swung his way.
You had to catch this lot by surprise. “The children are staying here with Eddie, Shade, and Sophia. It’s close enough to their home to be familiar, and there’s enough protection to keep them safe. Plus, help can come through the hell gate at any point.”
Chris Fellows frowned. “So can—”
“Shit!” Wrath looked at Lucifer speculatively. “He actually makes sense.”
“Dee and Eddie can take care of their human needs, and they know and trust Patty.”
Shade cocked his head. “You’re right,” he glanced at Wrath. “Lucifer is making all kinds of sense. And that’s a sentence I never thought I’d speak.”
“Stop.” Eddie slapped Shade’s thigh. Then gave him a tender smile that spoke volumes about how Shade’s old-fashioned courtship was going.
Their gazes locked, and Lucifer wanted to gag on the sweetness. He’d never before wanted that kind of connection with another being, but it had a certain appeal.
