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“Hey, badass, are you crying?”

“I apologize for my weakness, Leda.”

I wiped his tear away. “Don’t be afraid to let them see us cry, sweat, and bleed. For it is not a sign of weakness. It is a strength they cannot understand and therefore fear.”

Stash nodded. “Very wise words.”

“Yeah, they are. I once read them on a roll of inspiration toilet paper.”

Stash laughed.

We’d reached the entrance to the Court Chamber. Cadence, Andromeda, and Alice were waiting for us there. Jace must have already flown back to his office on the ground.

Punch and Patch stood on either side of the double doors.

“Give ‘em hell, Pandora,” Punch said.

I winked at him. “I always do.”

His grin widened as he and his brother opened the doors for us. I entered the room with Cadence at my side. As always, Andromeda and Alice followed just a few steps behind us.

The Chamber was decked out as grandly as before, though Tessa had added considerably more flowers. The place smelled divine. My sister had also hung three banners behind the dais where our four chairs waited for us.

Cadence’s banner displayed a female angel, in full halo. The angel, which looked a lot like Cadence, held her glowing sword over her hand. Her wings were spread out, wide and majestic, in all their heavenly glory. Her angel name ‘Lightbringer’ was printed in a large, grand font under the picture.

My emblem was a female angel holding a box, opened just a crack, with monsters lurking on either side of me. My wings were folded protectively around my body—no, around the box in my hands. The wings were shielding the box from the monsters that lurked at the banner’s fringes. ‘Pandora’ was written in a more whimsical font than Cadence’s ‘Lightbringer’.

The third banner was Jace’s, a sign of respect for our host angel. Even though he wasn’t here with us, we were in his territory. His emblem was of a male angel who held a flaming sword in each hand. His name ‘Angelblood’ was written, big and bold, below him.

All the banners’ illustrations were colorful and realistic. They looked like playing cards from the game of Legion, which was well-known for its high-quality art.

The four of us took our seats, and then the sergeant with the big, booming voice began our introductions. They lasted longer this time, since he had to pay respect to our host angel. And Jace had two other angels in his family history that required mention.

Finally, I could declare, “The Angels’ Court may now commence.”