talk me out of it?"
Nick placed his hand over mine. "Sia, you are more powerful than any demon I know of. You understand your abilities well enough to move where you want. You can fly, which means that even if you haven't been somewhere, you can get there faster than walking. Why is it ok for us to go where we want and do what we want, but you think you need permission?"
"You are a Muse," Bel told me. "You lead and we follow. We may tell you what we think, but we do not own you like a slave."
"Or a wife," Luke mumbled under his breath.
"But I thought...." And I paused, not quite sure what I'd thought.
Because the truth was I really hadn't. They were the strong ones, so I had to listen to them - except that wasn't really true. I was the strong one here. I didn't feel like it, but while they could all do miraculous things, I could do more, do it faster, and hold enough aether to make it all possible.
And yet, my entire life had taught me that if I cared about someone, I had to do what they wanted. Parents, teachers, and even boyfriends, it had been drilled into my head that I shouldn't disappoint people, so when my legion suggested something, the most I would do was try to change their minds - and half the time I kept waiting for them to get pissed about it. They never really had, though.
"So," I said, trying again, "y'all wouldn't get mad if I just popped over to Earth for a coffee, or slipped to Angelis to get to know my parents better?"
Sam held up a finger. "I'm going to say no, but with a caveat. Running off without letting us know would make us worry. If you're just gone, then I can't promise I won't lose my shit and possibly yell at you for scaring me like that."
"And," Nick said, "if we think it's a bad idea, we will tell you. Doesn't mean you have to listen to us."
"Or you can take one of us with you," Bel said. "Luke is the only one who can go to Angelis - "
"Uh," Luke interrupted, "I'm not completely sure about that."
Which immediately had all of our attention. "What do you mean?" Nick asked.
Luke just tilted his head toward Ron. "I never had his seal. When I figured out how to make an exclusion for all demons, I harvested seals from every demon I could. Whether that was cutting them from your unconscious bodies, or simply memorizing the design when I managed to get my hands on you, I kept notes." He looked over at me. "No, they no longer exist." Then back to Nick. "But Ron's seal isn't like most demons'."
"It's more intricate," Nick agreed.
Luke nodded. "So, while I'm not sure, he might be the key for breaking the wards. He might even be able to cross through on his own."
"So should we take him?" I asked.
Ron was shaking his head. "Not until I can defend myself better. I don't..." He swallowed as his eyes jumped over to Luke. "No offense, but the world of angels scares me."
"Then let's put training you on the list." Luke smiled tenderly at Ron. "I'm willing to bet that Sia's already making one. She probably even has little checkboxes beside each item."
"I do not," I told him. "Besides, it's all in my head."
Sam shoved a hand over his mouth, but it couldn't hide his chuckle. "She even admits it."
Nick reached over to caress the back of my head. "So what's on the list so far, dove?"
"You're laughing at me, aren't you?" I asked, looking at each of my guys in turn.
"Not laughing," Nick promised. "Well, Sam is, but I'm honestly curious. What's on your list?"
I chewed my lips, because the truth was that I didn't exactly have a detailed, line-by-line list like they expected. It was more a stack of to-do items that were all jumbled in a heap. "Well, we've talked about the slaves, but that's the thing. I mean, we kinda need to know how many, right? Then we need a place to put them when we get them out. That's going to mean somewhere that they can't mingle with the natives, so Tyrnigg makes the most sense, because y'all keep saying the fairies are almost extinct. And once we have that, they're going to need to be fed and housed, right? But if they're slaves,