“She’ll be okay.” Something crashed behind the large closed wooden doors at the far end of the atrium. Trying to adopt Haziel’s insouciance, she said, “The healers tell me she’ll be fine. She’s with her children now.”
Haziel’s lovely face softened. “That’s good.”
Glass shattered behind the doors.
From the couch opposite Haziel, Sophia glared at the doors. “That better not be my Venetian glass.”
“Yeah.” Haziel winced. “I think you can safely kiss that goodbye.”
“It’s fourteenth century,” Sophia snapped.
Haziel winced. “Not anymore.” She pointed to a crystal carafe filled with pale gold liquid. “Have a glass of wine. We’re all going to need it.”
A thud and more dust followed.
One of the combatants bellowed and then there was a rhythmic thudding.
Bianca took the glass of wine from Sophia. “Umm…” The glass clattered against her teeth as her hand shook. “Shouldn’t we do something about that?”
Snorting, Sophia poured and handed a glass to Haziel. “They’re both so wound up, it’s best to let them get it out of their systems. They’ll be no good to any of us until they do.”
“Okay.” Feeling like the last sane person in Bedlam, Bianca perched beside Haziel. “You’re not worried about Wrath?”
“Wrath can look after himself.” Haziel waved an airy hand. “And Lucifer’s had it coming.”
Bianca ruthlessly suppressed the desire to come to Lucifer’s defense. Lucifer was a dick. Not so dickish that she wanted him to be seriously hurt, but still a dick.
A hard thump rattled the doors, and she jumped.
“He’ll be fine.” Sophia patted her knee and refilled her glass. “He’s pissed that Ashe got away, and then I told him you didn’t want to see him.” She held up a white porcelain platter. “Cake? Sandwich?”
Dainty pastel cakes decorated with spun sugar flowers were tenderly nestled between delicate finger sandwiches.
Bianca took a pale lavender cake sprinkled with perfect, tiny violets. “Thank you.”
That platter would tempt even the most jaded appetite.
“So.” Haziel helped herself to several sandwiches. “When did the whole you-are-Lucifer’s thing begin? It seems we missed quite a lot while we were rallying the armies in hell.”
Bianca almost choked on her cake. “He said that to you?”
“He pretty much bellowed that to the universe.” Sophia popped a buttercup cake in her mouth and licked frosting off her fingers.
Insufferable and arrogant asshole clearly had a hearing problem. “I’m not. His, I mean.”
“Hmm.” Haziel wrinkled her nose. “I heard the sex was terrible.”
Apparently gathering the armies of hell hadn’t stopped Haziel from catching that tidbit. “No.” Heat burned Bianca’s cheeks and she guzzled wine. “The sex was great. It’s the other parts that weren’t good.”
“Phew!” Sophia fanned herself. “It seems wrong for Lucifer to be a bad lover.”
“Right.” Haziel widened her eyes and nodded. “He seems like he would know his way around a female’s body.”
Wishing the conversation over, Bianca shoved a sandwich into her mouth.
Sophia and Haziel stared at her, eyes alight with anticipation.
“I’m not giving the details,” she said.
They deflated.
“Fair enough.” Haziel sighed, and then giggled. “But if you ever change your mind, let us know.”
Another crash followed, then an ominous creak and a shuddering smash.
Sophia glowered at the door. “Although it won’t hurt Lucifer if we don’t correct the rumor about him being a shit lover just yet.”
Bianca had to laugh. Lucifer’s ego could definitely take some deflating. “You’re both going to wait out here until they’re done?”
“I’m not going in there.” Haziel shuddered. “The last time I got between two pissed off hell princes, I ended up with a shattered wing.”
“We need to talk when they’re done,” Sophia said. “I still haven’t heard the full debrief on what happened when they rescued Leona.”
Haziel made a sound of agreement. “And how they lost Ashe.”
“Ramiel said Lucifer let Ashe go.” Sophia frowned. “That was before he and Raphael had to go and play referee.”
“Why would Lucifer do that?” Haziel chewed her bottom lip.
