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“So, in other words, just another day in the life of an angel,” Mom quipped.

“I don’t have time to deal with the end of the world today, Pandora,” Dad replied. “I have meetings with each of the angel territory commanders. Nyx didn’t promote me. She cursed me to a life of paperwork and bureaucracy.”

“There’s no rest for the wicked. Or the Top Angel.”

“Wicked and Top Angel.” Dad chuckled. “We make quite the team, don’t we?”

“Nero Windstriker, are you flirting with me?” I could hear the smirk in my mom’s voice.

“Of course,” he replied in that assertive, no-nonsense tone he liked to use.

My parents were admittedly sort of cute together. Well, as far as parents went anyway. Even so, I felt obligated to step in and break up their flirting session. I opened the door and walked into the room.

They were sitting on the sofa together. Actually, my mom was sitting on my dad’s lap.

“How was the sleepover?” she asked me.

“Good.”

Snow strutted past me and plopped down on the big rug in front of the sofa.

“You look hungry,” Dad observed. “I’ll make you breakfast.”

Breakfast was pancakes. He used eggs and sausages to make a crown and wings for the pancake stack. A crown and wings: that was the symbol of an archangel. Ok, so maybe I was supposed to be too old for stuff like that, but I couldn’t help but love it. And my dad.

“Ooh, these are so good.” Mom snatched one of the sausages out of the skillet. “Are they infused with maple syrup?”

“Among other things,” he replied cryptically.

“I will know your secrets, Windstriker,” she said in a faux-serious voice.

“You already do,” he countered, intercepting her before she could steal another sausage. “Here, Sierra.” He refilled my plate. “You look like you’re still hungry.”

Snow rubbed himself against my dad’s leg. Dad locked stares with him for a few long seconds, then tossed him a sausage. The cat caught it in his mouth and swallowed it whole. Then he looked to Dad for more.

“A warrior must learn self-discipline.”

“Is Dad lecturing the cat?” I asked Mom.

“Shh, don’t interrupt. They’re both enjoying themselves immensely.”

She was right. Dad enjoyed having a captive audience. And Snow enjoyed eating the sausages he was awarded for sitting there and listening so nicely. It was a win-win.

Too bad Angel wasn’t here because that would have been even more fun. She was probably out hunting.

While we ate, I told my parents all about the rings.

“So Lavinia is back,” Dad said.

“And she’s the one who sent the djinn to steal the ring from the Legion research facility four years ago?” Mom asked me.

“I believe so.”

She frowned. “That woman is trouble.”

After breakfast, we all headed back into the living room and watched the news. Dad always watched the news before heading off to work, and Mom always added her own brutally-honest commentary to the news reports. He pretended to chastise her for it, and then they got into heated debates that usually ended with their kissing and my leaving the room.

They were great parents, even if they quite frequently drove me completely crazy. As I watched them today, Aunt Bella’s words were echoing in my head.