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“It looks like you have your hands full as it is, Leda,” Bella commented.

Angel the cat joined the battle. She launched into a high leap, swiping her paws, trying to bat the baby angels out of the air—and, when that failed, she sprouted her own pair of wings and chased them up into the canopy. The little angels screeched in delight, then flew into the hallway, the cat hot on their tails.

I cringed when I heard a resounding crash! from the hall. “Yeah, I guess I do have my hands full. But I’m always here for you, Bella. Besides, these past few years have been super quiet. Even boring. I really miss saving the known universe and all that.”

“Save the universe?” Bella laughed. “You can’t even save your tablecloth.”

The little angels had returned—and set the tablecloth on fire. “Sure, I can.” I scurried to put out the flames. “See?” I held up the rescued tablecloth to show it to her.

“Yes, I see all right.” She pointed out the scorch marks all over the fabric.

I sighed.

“Watch out!” Ronan cut in front of us to snatch his son out of the air before little Damon could dive-bomb into the big punch bowl. “Everything under control, Leda?”

“Yeah, of course.” I grabbed Sierra before she collided with the Lord of the Legion. “Everything is totally under control,” I added with a smile right before Sierra teleported out of my arms.

“You sure you have everything under control?” Bella laughed.

“It’s not a fair fight!” I protested. “Sierra has all of these extra magic skills. Like teleporting. How am I supposed to stop her from teleporting?”

Damiel popped up beside us, holding Eira in his arms. “Learn to teleport too. My offer to teach you the eight passive magic powers still stands.”

“I’m not an Immortal.”

“But your parents did create you to be special, Leda,” Damiel said, gazing across the room at Faris and Grace. Eira took advantage of his distraction to teleport away. “Remember, archangels often have a few bonus abilities. Passive magic abilities. So what do you want to bet that the Angel of Chaos has them all?”

“I learned a long time ago not to take you up on any of your bets, Damiel.”

He nodded. “Because I’m always right.”

“Because you always cheat,” I told him.

Cadence snorted.

Damiel looked at her.

She smiled back. “She has a point, Damiel. You always do whatever is necessary to win.”

He winked at her before turning back toward me. “Leda, chances are these abilities are already inside of you. Your ignoring them isn’t doing anyone any favors, least of all you.” Damiel’s gaze flickered to Sierra. “Or your daughter.”

I sighed. “I don’t know, Damiel. You’ve been training Nero, and he always comes home covered in blood.”

Damiel shrugged. “Magic is dangerous.”

“Especially when you are the one teaching it,” I commented as he teleported away to stop Eira before she catapulted Troy through the window.

“Damiel is right, you know,” Nyx told me. “You need to master your magic skills. All of them. Few angels will ever approach your potential, Leda, but unless you nurture that magic, that’s all it will ever be: unrealized potential. The greatest threat we’ve ever faced is coming, and the Legion needs to be ready. We need every one of our angels to be the best that they can be. Cadence and Damiel have risen to the challenge. They’ve mastered all sixteen magical abilities. And now Nero is working on them too. You could follow his example. We need you to be stronger, Pandora.”

“You also need me in one piece,” I countered. “And so does my daughter.”

“You’ll survive,” Nyx said, unconcerned. “And if you don’t, you can use the powers of the phoenix to bring you back to life.”

“Nice, Nyx,” I said drily. “Just nice.”

I knew from my sister Gin that being reborn hurt like hell.

“Where’s your sense of adventure?” Nyx asked. “Where’s the reckless Leda who showed up on the Legion’s doorstep, determined to fast-track her way through all the magical levels to become an angel?”