The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,55

been there. I didn't even need to ask to know that. I was getting pretty good at figuring out how that angel thought.

But it didn't matter. I understood where he was coming from. I'd been just as bad with Bel, and probably a lot worse with Sam. The whole time, I'd fought the feelings I was having because I was convinced that I wasn't allowed to have this much happiness. All those months I'd wasted! Now, thankfully, I didn't have to fight it anymore. I had my demons, they had each other, and this felt like it was meant to be.

So why couldn't I just stop and enjoy this for a bit? We were living in a fantasy, with everything we needed, and no immediate threats. I should be thinking of this as a vacation, and yet, in the back of my mind, that little voice had a new obsession. Now, it was telling me that if I wanted to go back to Earth, then I really needed to do something about the angels.

The truth was that this life was too easy. It also wasn't distracting enough. Tyrnigg didn't have television or cell service. Electricity wasn't a thing here. Well, not like I was used to on Earth. Fairies had their own utilities, but only for the small areas where they still existed. In other words, my only distraction was to plan the next thing, and I was used to being constantly slammed by all the stuff I had to finish. For twenty years, my life had consisted of chores, homework, and bills. The absence of that left me feeling a little lost.

Which was why, when we all sat down to dinner that evening, I couldn't help but bring it up. "Guys?" I asked as I accepted my serving of plant stew. "Can we start talking about Angelis now?"

"You know," Ron said, "she didn't have any problems with using aether. No hesitation, pain, or limitations that I could see. So, whatever she did on Vesdar seems to have healed already."

"Why?" Bel asked, looking over at me, his inky black features fitting him much better than the yellow ever had. "Have they done something else?"

"Probably," Luke said. "Angelis is like a machine. There is always something being planned, being executed, and a better way being invented. The more aether they get, the more they believe they need, and angelic culture evolves to use every last drop they can harvest."

"Like humans with fossil fuels," Nick grumbled, nodding to show he understood. "What do you want to talk about, dove?"

I pushed bits of things around my bowl. "Um, I still want to free their slaves." Then I looked up, meeting his eyes. "Maybe it's because I should've been one? I honestly don't know, but I hate the idea of so many midworlders spending their lives like that. We need to break this cycle, because while we might have eternity to 'worry about it later,' that doesn't mean that they do."

"It makes her anxious," Sam told the others, "and she probably feels a little guilty. It is kinda her go-to response."

"Our Muse feels more strongly than others," Bel told him. "It is what makes her so amazing." And he looked around the table. "Why can't we do this? Is there a reason we should wait? Or are we all just lazy?"

"Not lazy," Luke assured him. "It's just not that easy, Bel. Removing a good..." he paused, looking over to Nick. "How many slaves do you think are on Angelis now?"

"I have no idea," Nick told him. "I'm locked out, remember?"

So Luke looked at Ron. "Statistically speaking. If we had ten thousand about two million years ago, but angels consistently kill and drain them, yet steal more to replace the loss, what would the growth look like?"

"I'd need more data," Ron said. "For all we know, the numbers could've gone down."

"They didn't," Luke sighed. "Trust me on that. When Sia and I went to Uriel's place, he had a small army just for himself. Considering that he's trying to stay unobtrusive, I have a feeling that most archangels have more, and then there will be the general groups managed by the thrones and malakim."

"Would he know?" I asked.

Nick just groaned and dropped his head, but the smile on his lips made it clear he was mostly picking on me. "Guess this means a trip to find out, huh?"

"Really?" I asked, reaching over to grab his arm in my excitement. "You're not going to try to