Then the pressure around my throat disappeared as the three beasts who used to be fae vanished.
Slow clapping echoed to my left, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Lucifer strolled through the crowd, a beaming smile on his face. He looked me up and down with a disapproving sneer, then schooled his expression into a cocky grin.
“And that, friends, is what one might call a plot twist.”
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
CHAOS
Malice sauntered out of his room, hair still damp from his shower. “Merri already leave?”
I nodded as I set down my drink. “Lucifer walked her to Moira’s room on his way to see his brothers.”
“What were they doing again? Movie night?” he asked as he claimed the seat beside me.
“That’s what she said. They’re watching something calledPractical Magicand drinking mocktails.”
Grim snapped his book shut and frowned. “How can they watch movies and pretend everything is fine when we are so close to the end of all of this?”
“It’s called survival, Grimsby.” From his place at the bar, Sin poured himself a healthy serving of brimstone whiskey. “Sometimes we have to pretend so we don’t get lost screaming into the void. It doesn’t mean they care less. They have to hold on to something normal so they can fight when the time comes.”
The frown on Death’s face deepened. “Do we need to make sure she has access to other movies?”
I hid my smile behind my hand at the seriousness with which he asked the question. He was so fucking earnest when it came to taking care of our woman.
“It’s not the movies specifically, though I’m sure that wouldn’t hurt,” Sin explained, claiming the armchair. “It’s more about the ritual and escapism from”—he gestured vaguely—“everything else.”
Something I was pretty sure was panic flared in Grim’s eyes. “Escape from us?”
Malice tossed a pillow at him. “Relax. She’s not trying to get away from us. Sin is talking about the constant stress we’ve been under. It’s normal for a woman to want time with her friends so she can relax and regroup.”
“But we’re her mates.”
Sin laughed. “Look at how easily he says that all of a sudden.”
“She shouldn’t want time with anyone else.”
I choked on my laugh. “That is what modern women would call toxic, my old friend.”
Grim looked from me to Malice, then Sin. The incubus simply nodded solemnly. “Toxic as they come.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Clearly,” Sin snickered.
Malice took pity on him first. “That’s okay, Grimsby. We do.”
After a moment of strained silence, he blurted, “You’re sure she’s not trying to get away from us?”
My heart gave a sympathetic tug. I wasn’t sure he would ever recover from Merri running after his last fuck-up. He probably lived in constant terror that she'd do it again. “She loves us, Grim. She’s not going anywhere.”
“She’s not even sleeping over with the rest of them,” Sin reminded him. “She’ll be back in a few hours.”
“And what happens when this is all over? When we have to go back to our true purpose?”
His questions gave me pause. Whatdidhappen when this was successful?