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“Hmm.”

“I do!”

“Clearly, I’m finally starting to have a good influence on you,” he said proudly.

Pride. That seemed to be the only sin an angel was allowed to flaunt.

“Of course you’re having a good influence on me, Second Angel,” I chimed sweetly.

His jaw tightened. “I asked you not to call me that.”

“Why not? You work directly for Nyx, and she’s the First Angel. So that logically makes you the Second Angel.”

“This isn’t about logic.” The air crackled around him. “It’s about the fact that angels don’t like to come second. Ever.”

“Don’t worry, honey. You will always come first to me.” I blew him a kiss.

Nero’s only response was an understated grunt, but at least he looked somewhat mollified.

“So about that mission report. Actually, I’m not following your great example,” I admitted. “I just wanted to get the damn thing finished, so I could go home for the day. I promised Sierra that we’d have a girls’ night in.”

“A girls’ night in?” He blinked. “Our daughter is a toddler, Pandora.”

“Hey, I know that. And don’t judge. I don’t have much time for fun nowadays. So I’ll take it whenever I can get it.”

“And what ‘fun’ were you and Sierra planning to have?” he asked. “Please don’t tell me you were going to teach her to throw water bottles at her opponent during armed combat.”

“Nope, I was just going to order in some pizza for us to eat while we watch a movie. I definitely wasn’t planning on teaching her how to fight with weapons at all because that would be crazy.”

Nero grew very quiet.

I frowned at him. “You’re already teaching her to fight with a weapon, aren’t you?”

“Yes, just as my parents taught me.”

“She’s not even three years old, Nero! She can barely talk, and you’re teaching her how to skewer people?”

“We’re using wooden swords,” he said calmly. “You can’t skewer anyone with one of those.”

“You can if you’re strong enough!” I said. “I thought you were only going to teach her a few defensive spells to protect herself.”

“I was. But then she wanted a sword too.” He was obviously very pleased about that. “She’s a fierce little warrior.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Calli’s curtains would definitely agree.”

“Don’t worry, Pandora. Before teaching Sierra anything, I made her promise to only use those spells and maneuvers if it was a matter of life or death.”

“She’s a toddler, Nero. At that age, everything is a matter of life or death.”

He favored me with a calculated eyebrow-lift. “Don’t you think you’re being a tad overdramatic?”

“No, I don’t.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Sierra is a magical powerhouse. And you gave her the keys to unleash holy hell on Earth.”

“As I said, before teaching her anything, I instructed her on the proper use of force.”

“So you gave her a lecture?” I asked. “A nice, long, detailed one, I presume?”

“Of course.”