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I watched her leave, then asked Nero, “Do you think I should warn Jace about her?”

“Angelblood isn’t stupid.”

“But Aerilyn is quite a handful.” I nibbled nervously on my fingernails. “Maybe I should have assigned her to Stash’s team. Stash knows how to handle Aerilyn.”

Nero set his hands on my shoulders, massaging them. “You need to stop second-guessing yourself. Once you make a decision, stick with it. Divide and conquer, and then move on. Otherwise, you’ll drive yourself insane.”

“You’re right,” I sighed.

“Of course I am.”

I just loved that smug twinkle in his eyes.

“So how about that nap?” he reminded me.

“Well, I guess I could lie down for a few minutes.”

“Good. I’m glad you’re finally being reasonable,” he said seriously.

I was about to follow him out of the throne room, but a ripple of movement from one of the magic mirrors drew my attention back there. And a moment later, Damiel and Cadence stepped through the ornate frame, like passing through a doorway. Sierra and Eira emerged next, riding Angel like a pony. As soon as she saw me and Nero, Sierra launched herself off the cat’s back and shot toward us, tackling us with an enthusiastic hug.

“You look tired, Leda,” Cadence observed, which scored me a big I-told-you-so look from Nero.

“All right, all right, I’m going to get some sleep now.” I squeezed Sierra to me, then asked her, “How about you, little warrior? You want to take a nap with me?”

“No nap!” she declared, rejoining Eira. “Snacks!”

“Snacks!” agreed Eira. “Something sweet!”

“Something sweet?” I asked, squatting down so I was level with them. “Hmm. Well, we’re still trying to get this castle up and running, so we don’t have much. How do you girls feel about military rations?”

They both made a face. Then pretended to retch.

“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “I’m with you on that.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing I’m here,” Damiel declared, sweeping forward with regal, angelic grace. “You might as well show me to the kitchen, Leda, so I can see what I have to work with.”

“Yeah, ok,” I replied. “Follow me.”

“So what brings you here?” I asked Cadence as we all made our way toward the kitchen.

“We’re here to help.” Damiel frowned at a pair of rusty old statues we passed in the hallway. “You clearly need all the help you can get. Don’t worry, we’ll be staying here for a while.”

“Didn’t you want to retire?” Nero reminded them.

“Retiring is about exploring new places and embarking on exciting new adventures,” Damiel told him. “And that’s what we’re doing. I’ve never been to the Forgotten Territories before.” He sidestepped a rather large hole in the middle of the corridor. “Fascinating place.”

“Well, unfortunately this place took some damage when we stormed the castle and seized it from the previous owner.”

But only because Faris’s soldiers were way too enthusiastic about blowing things up.

“So, where’s your new babysitter?” I asked Cadence.

Her smile faded. “Vertigo ran away.”

I couldn’t say that I was very surprised. The last time I’d seen her, Vertigo had been pretty paranoid that she’d get caught and imprisoned again, even though I’d insisted that Cadence and Damiel could protect her. But running away was exactly the wrong thing to do. It wasn’t safe out there for her, especially if she was alone. She wouldn’t last long before one of the gods or demons got her, although maybe she’d be safe for as long as they were busy with the Nectar and Venom hunt. Maybe.

“Wow, this is even worse than I imagined,” Damiel declared as we entered the kitchen.