Page 157 of Wicked Believer

“But what about the redemption competition?”

Az shrugs. “Well, who wouldn’t want to get back in Dad’s good graces? But that doesn’t mean we have to blow up the whole fucking planet.”

Mimi gives him a pointed look from across the table. “Shewouldthink that, considering she’s with Lucifer. You know how bombastic he is.”

“Nearly as bad as Michael,” Gluttony grumbles from the corner of the table he’s now claimed.

“And you should probably know that humanity’s offerings to us are more like divine bonus points. We still have all our powers without you,” Az explains, admiring his reflection in one of our silver spoons, “even if my skin wouldn’t have quite the same luscious sheen.”

I lift both my hands. “Hold up. So let me get this straight. You mean to tell me that you all were just going to sit by and let Michael and Lucifer basically blow up the world, even though there’s no benefit in it for you?”

The table goes quiet.

They’re all more like Sloth than I realized.

“What’s the point in trying to stop them?” Wrath asks. “Better to let them rip each other to shreds.”

Of course he’d think that.

“And humanity? The fate of the world?” I ask.

Envy shrugs. “May the chips fall where they may.”

“Oooh, that one pissed her offrealbad.” Wrath chuckles like he can feel the temperature rising in my face.

I pause and force myself to take a deep breath, inhaling through my nose. I can’t allow my anger, or my powers, to get the better of me right now.

Can’t allow myself to get any more out of control.

Or maybe that’s the whole point?

Maybe I’ve been holding myself back too much? Not releasing all my righteous fury.

Maybe I should take a page out of Lilith’s book?

“So, if you all don’t give a crap about the apocalypse, why are you here then?”

“To see what you have to offer us,” Mimi says.

Az rubs his hands together. “Your PR firm, lovey. Your little business proposal.”

“Why should we trust handing our PR firms over to you? Why bother to consolidate?” Gluttony bites into a bit of scone he baked this morning. With his take-no-shit attitude, he’s starting to become my new favorite.

I nod, a deeper understanding coming over me.

I’ve been going about this the wrong way. Trying to convince them to see the good in themselves when really what I needed to do was speak their language.

Show them how vicious you can be, Charlotte,Evie’s advice comes back to me.

It didn’t work out with Mia, but it just might be what I need with this crowd, I think.

I stand and place my hands on the table where I sit at its head, a reminder that I am now their wicked queen.

“Because I’m the only person in this city, in this whole goddamn universe, who has been both humananddivine. If you think your current human teams are getting enough offerings for you without any true knowledge or understanding of what they’reactuallydoing,imagine whatIcould do from where I stand straddling the celestial divide.” I stand at my full height, snatching Envy’s half-full mimosa glass and throwing back what remains of it before setting it down hard on the tablewithoutshattering it as I level a furious glare at all of them. “I take payment in celestial favors only.”

Chapter Fifty-One

Lucifer