Dark Kings (Feathers and Fate #1) - Sadie Moss Page 0,34

against the wall.

I retract my wings back so they’re no longer out. I don’t need these three men figuring out what my emotions and thoughts are because I couldn’t keep my wings under control.

“Well, I did agree to that with Remington,” I admit, because it’s true—and I suspect if I don’t disclose this piece of information, Beckett will.

Phoenix’s eyes gleam as he turns his attention to me.

Oh, great. I’m starting to recognize that gleam in the eyes of the brothers, that moment where they smell an opportunity for more of the power that feeds them.

“Oh? Is that on the table? An angel owing me a favor… Yeah, I gotta say, that’s a new one. Hadn’t thought of that. I figured you guys would be too high and mighty for that kind of shit.”

“I try not to be, um, holier than thou,” I reply. Which is true.

Phoenix seems to consider his answer, and my stomach gets more tangled up in knots with every second that ticks by. Was it a mistake to rope Beckett into helping me? And to get the others involved too? I know I need to redeem them, but surely I could’ve found some other way to do it that didn’t involve me owing them a bunch of favors. Upstairs will probably be pretty upset if they find out about this. I don’t even know what I’m going to say to Anderson when he comes to check in on me. I can’t lie to him, but I can’t tell him about this either. He’d probably blow a gasket.

Should I have just told Anderson about the portal opening up and let the higher-up angels deal with it?

No. No, I have to deal with this, if only to prove to Anderson and the rest of the board that I didn’t cause the sinkhole. And surely owing the sins a few favors isn’t as bad as letting a portal to Below go unchecked in a major metropolis.

Phoenix squints at me, his tongue darting out to lick his lips. There’s something simultaneously lazy and sensual about the gesture—as if he could do so much with that tongue without even trying.

“Here’s what I don’t understand, sugar. Why are you so gung-ho about closing this portal? Last I checked, humans weren’t so high up on the list of heavenly concerns. So why do you care if a bunch of them die? You’re more about winning the war than caring about the little people, am I right?”

He is right, and it rankles at me. Phoenix might be annoying and self-centered, but he’s not dumb. None of the sins that I’ve met so far are. My people don’t really care about humans on a… a micro level, I guess you could say. We’re all about the big picture, which is winning the war against Downstairs. If that means sometimes humans have to pay a price, well then, it’s all in service to the greater good, isn’t it? You can’t worry constantly about the lives of the few when you’re concerned with the greater fate of the universe.

Except, I do worry. I do care.

I know it would probably get me a sigh and a lecture from Anderson or any of the others, but I care about the one life. I care about humans. They’re so strange and wonderful. So fascinating. I can’t just sit idly by and let humans get hurt.

“You’ll get a favor from me too,” I promise Phoenix, choosing not to answer his other questions. “If you agree to help us with this portal, I’ll owe you a favor. Same as your brother. It’ll be fair.”

The languid sin stares at me for a moment, and the silence stretches on for so long I start to wonder if he’s totally spaced out on us and is just thinking about a video game cheat code or the latest episode of Schitt’s Creek or something.

But then a pleased smile stretches across his face. “All right then, angel. You’ve got a deal.”

We shake on it. His grip is surprisingly firm, and up close, his eyes look bluer than I expected. If nothing else, I suppose he is good looking, just like all of the sins. He might not ever leave his house, but he’s probably not hurting for company when he wants it.

Ugh. Come on, Trin. I pull away and tamp down that thought.

The sins are supposed to be attractive. It’s what makes them so seductive and persuasive, what tempts people down paths they shouldn’t take. It’s one thing