Bianca stood and whispered, “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, haglette.” She needed to remember all that had happened between them, and he was going to make sure she didn’t forget. “You and I still have an account to balance.”
She gaped at him. “Are you seriously still pissed about the summoning?”
“Perfectly.” He leaned into her space. “Your actions have consequences, Bianca, and I’m going to demonstrate that. One of those consequences is for the summoning and the other is binding my power.”
She sputtered. “I’m getting that back for you.”
“You should never have bound me.”
Her dark eyebrows shot to her hairline and her jaw tightened. Her breath ghosted across his lips as she said, “You can try, Lucifer. I’m standing right here.”
The audacity! The unadulterated fucking audacity. He loved it.
“But first.” He stepped away before he enjoyed her closeness too much. “You said you could track those amulets.”
She blinked at his subject change and looked wary. “Yes.”
“I’m going to say goodbye to Emma and tell her where we’re going, and then you’re going to track some amulets for me.”
The feral haglette bared her teeth. “Damn straight.”
Chapter Eleven
As she followed Lucifer upstairs to the living quarters, Bianca’s heart was beating so fast she was surprised he couldn’t hear it.
Man, he got scary when he threatened to bring hell justice down on her head. She didn’t know what had come over her to dare him like that. It was the thing Carmen called getting her Lilith energy up. Coincidentally, the same thing Christen had complained about when he’d dumped her.
Her Lilith had been strangely absent when she’d met Christen. She must have been weirdly dazzled by his muscles or something equally facile. Probably PMSing enough to have lost her mind. However, Lucifer had left her breathing, so she was counting that as a win.
Emma and Ethan were tucked in together in Dee’s bed. Their small, sleeping faces poked out above a homemade patchwork quilt. It seemed a shame to wake—
“Lucifer?” Emma’s eyes popped open. “You’re leaving?”
“Yes.” He sat down beside Emma. “I’m going to look for your mother and whoever took her.” He jerked his head at Bianca. “And Bianca is coming with me.”
“Oh.” Emma studied her. “And Ethan and me need to stay here?”
“You’re safest here.” Lucifer tucked the quilt beneath her chin. “I want you both to be here when I get back.”
Emma blinked at him. “Okay.”
Sophia left the meeting with a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach. This war, because she was afraid it was taking that horrible shape, had spread to children. Even before Lucifer had told them about the young witch’s strength, they’d all felt it radiating from her.
Strength like that had proven to be a burden to humans over the centuries. Other humans had done all they could to control it and take it, and when that failed, annihilate the vessel containing the magic. That child sleeping upstairs had been born with a target on her back. They could protect her—and they would—but even once this was over, the danger to Emma would shadow her entire life.
Sophia took a deep breath and tried to center herself. In five minutes, she was due at rehearsal, and it was providing joy in an ominous mental landscape.
“Sophia,” Chris called from behind her.
His refined features appeared as composed as ever, but an endearing tentativeness lingered in his eyes.
“Hi.” She hoped he wasn’t going to try to use their connection to further his agenda to keep the children under guardian protection.
Stepping in front of her, he shoved his hands in his pockets. “On your way to rehearsal?”
“Yes.” Although archangels and hell princes were collaborating better, the guardians retained their wary distance.
“I heard it was going well.” His open smile relaxed his austere face.
“You did?”
Flushing, he nodded. “I asked Daniel how it was going during our last debrief.”
Was Chris forming some kind of ill-advised affection for her? It happened all the time when humans and angels interacted, and it rarely ended well for the human. She hoped the chocolates he’d gifted her were not a sign of an attachment on Chris’s part and kept her response neutral. “That was kind of Daniel to say.”
“He’s a nice kid.” Chris cleared his throat. “Bit of a loose cannon, but his intentions are good.”
“Hmm.” She liked Daniel. “He’s a good fit with Dee.”
“Another loose cannon.” Chris chuckled. “When we appointed him here, it was with the hope that they’d see eye to eye.”
If he was harboring feelings, she didn’t want to encourage them. “They get along fine.”
