an entire unit of the Command Fleet. I don’t need your protection. And I’m not lying.”
The commander frowned and pulled back his wings.
Julia’s eyes were closed. She’d fallen asleep. He stood with Julia in his arms and walked back inside the room to place her on the bed. I picked up the plate and coffee he’d arranged for her and set it on the nightstand. She looked better. Much better, and I sat next to her and took her hand. It was warm. “If you want to have breakfast, I will keep her company.”
“Nevaeh, what’s the strongest position in the House?”
“Our bedroom.”
“Take Julia there.”
“All of us in my chambers. This should be interesting,” Raphael pitched over the balcony railing.
The commander lifted an eyebrow.
I blushed down to my toes.
Julia’s body levitated, and the commander stepped back. “I hate when you do that. Put her down, and I’ll carry her.”
Julia fell back on the bed, eyes wide open. “Oh, I fell asleep. What did I miss?”
“Nothing,” the commander said as he picked her up, then mumbled something in Heavlense, which I was pretty sure had everything to do with how Raphael dumped her on the mattress. My lord was rather petty, but he was a good lord. He’d done right by his brother.
Chapter 20
Michael joined me for breakfast. Instead of a thank-you when he returned from my chambers, he said, “The Veil is thinning.”
We would get straight to the point. Fine. “Give him land where he can torture the Marked.” I passed him the breadbasket.
“Never.” He picked through the basket, found the whole wheat bun, and took it.
“He will not settle until he is treated as an equal. He will make us all miserable, and he’s a threat to everything we’re trying to build.”
Michael was inhaling the food. I smiled, knowing he’d felt the food shortages.
“Remind me what we’re building, Raphael?” he asked.
“A home. We cannot go back to Father. Lucifer cannot go back either. The Veil cannot hold if he’s allowed to plow though the defenses. But if Lucifer holds it with his power because he rules there, because it is his land, he will leave us alone.”
Michael scooped up more eggs. “You are suggesting I give him a Court. No. I will sever his head from his shoulders and bury the two parts on opposite sides of my world.”
“The world belongs to us all, Michael. Your armies cannot survive without food and medicine, not to mention rapid healing borrowed from my Court. If the Veil breaks, it’s Gabriel’s Court that’s gonna get the first wave.”
“The Veil won’t break.”
“It will. Lucifer was made as our equal. We cannot hold him back.”
Michael ate as if he hadn’t eaten in many days. Although he hid exhaustion well, I knew him as I knew myself. He’d flown to my Court without stopping to rest for a single minute. This meant Michael needed to rest if he were to command his fleet and my males. I had no delusions about him taking over the battle even if this was my Court and my people. Which was why I’d kept Julia here, as security for my soul’s mate as well as my people.
I’d seen the lengths to which Michael would go for Julia. He’d nearly destroyed his Court for her. I hadn’t understood it then, but I understood now. When mortal souls touched old immortal ones like ours, they breathed life and purpose into us, and we felt reborn. We had to fight to secure the mortal realm for the future of us all. I wanted to see my males with their mates breeding Nephilim and living alongside mortals. We had to prosper, and in order to prosper, I would have to ensure we all had a place in the world. Including Lucifer.
“You need rest,” I said.
“I need to know where Lucifer is.”
“He’s in Peen Province, Gortem Castle. And peen is short for penis.” There. I imparted some mortal wisdom onto him.
Michael frowned. “It is?”
“Yeah.”
“Huh. Why didn’t he take Sunder City?”
Penis or Lucifer? Inwardly, I smiled. “I think he believes I’d help him carve a piece of land for himself. His sanctuary, as I have promised.”
“There will be no land for him.” He slammed his utensils on the table.
“But there must be, Michael, or he will never rest. We will never rest.”
“There will be no land for Lucifer. I will sever his head from his body—”
“Not in my Court,” I barked.
His golden eyes flashed. “I made your Court.”
“You’re not the maker. Careful, Michael. Father is watching