Page 70

I glanced at Nero, who nodded once. Then I heard a soft tap, the sound of a tub of ice cream being teleported right into Calli’s freezer.

“Dinner is delicious as always, Calli,” I told her after my sixth slice of pizza.

“Mmm, so good!” Gin agreed between mouthfuls.

“Callista is an excellent chef,” General Silverstar declared, like he was making an official archangel proclamation.

Calli smiled at him. She looked so happy. General Silverstar made her happy. And that made me happy. After everything that Calli had done, everything that she’d sacrificed to protect and care for us, she more than anyone deserved to finally get her happily ever after.

Rhydian Silverstar was good for her. And she was good for him. The poor guy needed some love in his life.

The archangel was still very much himself, though. Right now, he was lecturing Nero about discretion and the recent power outages. My cheeks burned. It was one thing for Harker to talk about it; it was something else entirely for Nero’s grandfather, one of the longest-serving archangels in the Legion, to lecture us about our sexual indiscretions at the dinner table.

How are you holding out over there, Pandora?Nero asked me.

I’d be doing a lot better if your grandfather stopped talking about the proper use of force in the bedroom.

Nero snorted in my mind, but on the outside, his face was a granite mask.

Well, at least Damiel isn’t here,I said.He would do way worse.

After dinner, we moved into the living room. Sierra and Angel played with a large empty cardboard box that Calli had brought out of storage. They were having a lot of fun with it. Hiding in it. Jumping it in. Biting it.

It was funny how cats and kids got so much enjoyment from the simplest things. It made me wonder why I even bothered to buy them all those toys. I could just fill one of the Legion’s gyms with empty boxes, and that would keep them happy for hours.

The doorbell rang, and Calli went off to answer it. She returned with my other mother.

“Finally,” Grace declared, sighing in relief as she fell back onto one of the sofas. “I managed to convince both councils to agree to adjourn for the day.” She smiled and accepted the cookie Calli offered her. “And kudos, Leda, for your dramatic exit earlier. Always leave them wanting more.”

“Honestly, I think the demons and gods have all had more than enough of me for a while,” I told her. “I’ve certainly had enough of them,” I added as Calli rushed off to answer the door again.

It was Faris this time. He sat down next to Grace.

“Cookie?” I asked, holding one out to him.

He frowned at the offering. “No.”

I shrugged. “Suit yourself.” Then I took a bite.

“Leda, you really must strive to conduct yourself with more decorum,” Faris chided me.

“It’s a cookie, Pops. There’s no rule that says deities can’t eat cookies. Look, even Grace is enjoying her cookie.”

Faris’s gaze flitted to her, then to me. “I am not talking about thecookie.” He said the word like it wasn’t worthy to be spoken by his holy mouth. “I am, of course, referring to the scene you made earlier in the council chamber, storming out of there so melodramatically. Your behavior was an embarrassment to both me and yourself.”

“He’s just upset that you stole the show,” Grace told me with a smile for Faris. “Everyone in that chamber was way more interested in what you had to say than in what he had to say.”

“Stop encouraging her, Grace,” Faris told her icily. “And stop annoying me.”

Grace rolled her eyes. “Faris, not everything in the universe is about you.”

“In any case, is there anything else to report from the council chamber?” I slid Faris a hard look. “Besides my deficient character, that is.”

“The councils have come to an agreement on which soldiers are to be assigned to you,” said Grace. “So you will have the manpower you need to carry out your search for Venom and Nectar.”

“How generous of our illustrious leaders of the magical universe,” I said. “I guess their desperation to survive finally won out over their greed and incessant drive to one-up every other deity on the councils.”

“We are gathering an army of soldiers who will report to you, answer to you, Leda,” Grace told me. “You will have total authority to do whatever is necessary to secure new sources of Venom and Nectar.”