“I liked snuggling with Binx then. Having all three of your familiars with us took up more space than I would have guessed.”
“Try having Scarlet in there with you,” Lucas grumbles, and we laugh. We all go into the kitchen and sit at the island. It’s big enough to comfortably seat six people, though two of our party won’t eat anything. Julian is still in the living room, going through the books we brought from the Academy weeks ago. The amulet is fixed and can act as a seal, and he thinks there might be a way to amplify the power so we can use it to trap all four of the Horsemen at once and keep them locked up until we can get the gates open again.
“Nicole says you saw your father today?” Naomi looks at two bottles of wine I brought up from the wine cellar and goes with an aged red.
“Yeah. Julian was able to get his attention and bring him here. He can never stay long, but I’ll take what I can get.”
“How are you so calm around him and your uncle?” Nicole asks. “I feel like saying I fangirl is the wrong use of the phrase, but I kinda feel that way.”
“I know what you mean,” I tell her and get a serving spoon from the drawer. Our places are already set, and we take our seats. “They’re family to me.” I shrug. “Being around other angels feels right, like we’re herd animals or something that like to be with our own kind.”
“Your father is a hottie,” Naomi tells me. “I can see why your mom was so drawn to her forbidden love affair.”
“Gross,” I say and shovel a big spoonful of food onto my plate.
“I didn’t think Michael was your type.” Kristy takes the casserole dish from me.
“Because he’s an archangel?” Naomi asks, lips twisting into a smirk.
“Because he’s a guy.” Kristy fills her plate and passes the food down.
Naomi shrugs one shoulder. “Oh, I admire the male species from time to time. I just don’t want to date them. He’s not human. I might make an exception.”
“You are not dating my dad,” I retort. “It’s bad enough Eliza wants to corrupt Julian.”
“I didn’t say I’d date your dad. I just might swing the other way for a night.”
I shudder, and everyone laughs. “He still gets sad when he talks about my mom. It’s sweet in a heartbreaking way.”
“Lucifer had your mom’s dark spell book, and she ended up with Michael. How did that all happen?” Nicole asks carefully.
“I don’t know all the details,” I start. “Just that she turned to black magic to try and break a spell that bound her to her sister. She got addicted to the dark power, and Michael was sent to save her soul. And, well, we know he did a little more than that.”
“Sent by who?” Nicole asks, and then it dawns on her. “Oh my god, Callie.”
“What?”
“You’re here because of a literal divine intervention.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re jumping on Kristy’s bandwagon. I’m not the savior. Trust me on that. Badass bitch, yeah, I’ll own it. But savior…nope. Saviors are pure and good all around, and I’m definitely not that.”
“Especially not after you did that thing for me the other night.” Lucas smirks coyly from across the kitchen. “You should do it again tonight.”
“We do a lot of things. Which one are you talking about?”
“You know,” Lucas says and raises his eyebrows.
“Oh, I do know.” I run my eyes up and down Lucas’s body, getting turned on at the thought of getting naked with him again. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”
Kristy looks at me. “Do I even want to know?”
“I’m going to guess no,” Naomi says. “But I want to. It’s a sex thing, right?”
“Right,” I say with a nod. “Lucas is really into Star Wars, so I dressed up like a Jedi and used the force to have my way with him.” I hold out my hand, telekinetically giving Lucas a little shove. His eyes light up, and now he’s looking at me like he’s going to devour me right here and now. And fuck, I want him to. “I enchanted a lightsaber and everything.”
“And suddenly my sex life seems boring,” Naomi quips, and we laugh.
“It’s better than mine,” Kristy grumbles. “Mine is nonexistent.” She sinks her fork into a piece of pasta.
“You’re too picky,” Nicole goes on. “Just find a decent-looking guy to hook up with. It’s what’s getting me through the later part of my twenties.”
“One-nighters aren’t my thing.” She takes a bite of her food. “Though,” she starts when she’s finished chewing, “Daniel has been texting me. I like him and all, but there’s no fiery passion.” She uses her fork to point to me. “I definitely won’t be role playing anything with him.”