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Their wings extended, and they turned midair, spinning to land on their feet. The demon let out a harsh, mechanical grunt of annoyance. Then he pivoted around, sword swinging, aiming another dose of immortal artifact juice at me. Nero ran, throwing himself in the path of the blast. He moved faster than I’d ever seen him move, but it wasn’t fast enough. He missed, and the spell whipped past him, heading straight for me.

I still couldn’t stand, let alone run. I was stuck.

Hands locked around my arms, dragging me to safety. The stone column that I’d been leaning against just a moment ago exploded. I wiped the dust from my eyes, searching for my savior.

“Colonel Fireswift?” I said in surprise. “You saved me?”

“How observant of you,” replied the stony-faced angel.

Nero slid in beside us, ducking behind the toppled table. It didn’t look like much, but it had shielded us pretty effectively from the exploding column.

“Thank you, Fireswift.” Nero set his hand on the other angel’s shoulder. “For saving her.”

“I didn’t do it for you, Windstriker,” Colonel Fireswift barked. “I did it because Lord Faris would have my head if I let his daughter die.”

Nero leveled a hard glare on him. “Don’t bullshit me, Fireswift. We’ve known each other for far too long.”

Colonel Fireswift glowered back at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he growled. “Now are you done making a complete fool of yourself, or are you going to heal her?”

But Nero was already on it. He had one hand on my forehead, the other on my abdomen. A warm rush of magic washed over my body, soothing my injuries.

“Thanks,” I croaked out, setting my hand over his.

He stroked my forehead. “You’re very welcome.”

I gave Nero a smile, then looked at Colonel Fireswift. “And thank you too.”

He cleared his throat.

“Hmm,” said Nero.

I glanced at him. “Hmm?”

“I do believe you’ve earned Fireswift’s respect, Pandora.”

“She most certainly has not!” Colonel Fireswift said, indignant.

Nero gave him a flat look. “No, not just his respect. He actually seems to like you.”

Colonel Fireswift stiffened. “I think you hit your head, Windstriker.”

Nero ignored him. “I’m impressed, Leda. You actually managed to chip off a bit of that fiery asshole halo he’s built around himself to burn anyone who gets too close.”

“Preposterous!” Colonel Fireswift’s eyes widened when my wounds mended together, fading to smooth skin. “You got hit with an immortal artifact.”

“And now I’m better,” I said brightly. “Because Nero’s magic healed me.”

Colonel Fireswift shook his head, looking from me to Nero. “You really are a freak of nature, Windstriker. You two freaks deserve each other.”

“I won’t argue with that.” I angled a flirtatious smirk at Nero. “Hey, handsome.”

“You’re unbelievable,” Nero chuckled. “How can you possibly flirt with me when you’re in so much pain? And don’t try to deny it, Pandora. I can feel your pain.”

“Can you also feel how happy I am to see you?” I reached up to trickle my fingertips down his collar.

“Yes.” He caught my hand in his. “And that makes me happy.” His expression turned hard. “What does not make me happy is that you jumped into that demon’s spell.”

“To save my friends. Gods can’t handle Venom as well as I can.”