his finger like a teacher scolding a student. “The monster cannot be caged or tamed!” He stands from his armchair and waggles his crotch while he growls.
Another round of laughter ensues.
We’re settled in their posh living room, marble all around us, eating Cheetos like the stains won’t matter if they touch a couch that I’m pretty certain cost more than most people’s cars.
“Monster, please!” Arariel scoffs, a wave of scorn coming from her and affecting all of us before she can rein it in. “Oops. Sorry, everyone. I’m super drunk!” Her declaration is followed by a giggle that makes her dark wings shake.
All the demons have reverted to their natural forms. It’s funny, but now that I’m used to it, I almost like my guys better this way. They’re more relaxed when they can stretch their wings. I love to watch their asses when they fly back and forth to the kitchen for more beer, like Kastros is doing now.
I’m sitting on Akor’s lap as he feeds me Cheetos like they’re a delicacy. I think he really just wants to watch me suck the cheese off his fingers, though.
To my surprise, it isn’t Raz who turns the conversation from silly to business. It’s Kastros. He uses demon sign language to ask a question.
“What did he say?” I whisper to Akor.
“He told them we need to know the weaknesses surrounding Heaven’s castle.”
“Why?” Arariel’s voice is so sharp, I nearly jump off Akor’s lap. But, as a scorn demon, I’ve come to expect the unexpected from her. Nice is a challenge for her, just as much as confrontational is for me. She can totally do it, and has done it for my sake, but tonight, I feel like she’s gotten comfortable enough around me to let her more abrasive side show.
“They are keeping something in the castle that we need,” Raz says, not going into detail.
Wallim, the rage demon, who tonight apparently wears his own skin instead of an illusion provided by Tatrys—Wallim’s a huge black man with a shaved head and horns that look sharp enough to slice me open—growls, “That’s not good enough.”
Tatrys stretches lazily on the couch. Tonight, he looks like some K-pop star from BTS, though honestly, all those guys look the same to me. He insists he’s the hottest one, that apparently drives half the world mad with lust. Not my type. I like muscles and stuff. He rolls onto his side and sings, “I’m so sick of this Fake Love, Fake Love…”
Wallim rolls his eyes, and one of his wings juts out, smacking Tatrys in the face and muffling him. “Knock it off.” Wallim turns to us, pursing his lips. “What is it you want?”
“We need to see if Heaven’s assigned any angel groups to the area. One of them’s been harassing us, the blighters.” Zolroth bares his teeth.
Raz shoots him a glare, like he’s given away too much. But it’s not exactly a secret that the guys have gotten hurt, is it? We need to end this.
“Please.” I scoot forward on Akor’s legs and make eye contact with Arariel, who seems to be in charge of this merry band of miscreants.
She stares at me for a moment before her features soften into a smile. “Of course, Katrina.” She turns to Raz, all business. “I think the sunflower fields are your best bet. They’re hot as fuck, but luckily, you’re used to that.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem for our wings.” Raz flexes his, making them contract and expand slightly in a move that’s unexpectedly attractive.
“Inside the castle, so long as you create a diversion, there’s really not that much security. In Heaven, everyone follows the rules, so they don’t really worry about rule breakers.” She gives a scornful smile. “They should though, clearly.”
My eyes widen. Heaven doesn’t even have an alarm system? That seems kind of dumb.
Raz’s grin stretches wide. “And where will the big guy be?”
She rolls her eyes. “If it’s a typical day, he’ll be out puttering around in those locked gardens of his. I swear he couldn’t give two fucks for his creations once they’ve bloomed. It’s all about getting them to that state for him.”
Dajiel and Drogelzesh grumble their agreement from across the room. They haven’t joined us on the couches because they’re too busy playing a game of bones, which is not dominos, but involve stacking actual bones in piles to see who can get their stack the tallest before it collapses.