“Excuse me?” My head snapped toward Zayne. “I could’ve completely handled Nightcrawler and Purson, and I would’ve gotten control of the Ghouls and imps.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. You’re still recovering, and I can tell your grace isn’t up to normal,” he reminded me, and I really, really did not like this new talent of his. “The last thing you need to do is injure yourself further.”
“She needed fresh air and time alone. Everyone was crawling all over her, and in case you forgot, I was kind of running for my life. From you,” Cayman defended. “I know she can take care of herself, and I didn’t—wait. Did you say Purson?” Cayman pitched forward. “Purson came for you? And Ghouls and Seeker demons?”
I nodded. “Yeah, and Purson was walking a Nightcrawler. On a leash. It was all very odd.”
“Gabriel must have demons out looking for her,” Zayne said.
“No.” Cayman rose. “There is no way Purson’s working with Gabriel.”
“Was,” Zayne corrected. “He’s dead.”
Cayman’s jaw locked down. “Purson has always been loyal to Lucifer. And Ghouls? There is no way Gabriel would have the kind of reach to sway them to his cause. Ghouls only exist in the lowest circles of Hell.”
“If it wasn’t Gabriel, then who?” I demanded.
The demon looked a bit ill. “Lucifer.”
20
Cayman bounced out of the apartment shortly after dropping that bomb.
I’d assumed that he was going to try to reach Roth and Layla, but apparently they were most likely in an area of Hell that Cayman wouldn’t even venture into. After telling us he wanted to see if anyone knew for sure that it was Lucifer who put a hit out on me, he’d blinked out of existence.
That was another cool demon talent I wished I had.
“Lucifer,” Zayne said once Cayman was gone. “Really?”
“It was Roth’s idea.”
“Shocker.”
“But I agreed to it. We need to bring out the big guns to defeat Gabriel, and it seemed like a rational decision at the time.” I stretched my tired legs out, letting them dangle over the edge. “It still does. Hopefully Cayman’s wrong and those demons weren’t sent by Lucifer. That would be a complication we don’t need.”
“You think?”
It was a complication that I could add to the ever-growing list of very real and possible complications. I just hoped that if Lucifer was behind this, Roth and Layla would be able to sway him to our side and out of wanting to do who knew what to me. “I know you don’t think bringing him into this is a wise idea, but we will...just need to control him somehow.”
“Control Lucifer?” Zayne laughed under his breath as he scrunched a hand through his hair. “That should be easy. He seems like the kind of guy who’d be easily manageable.”
I grinned. “Maybe he just has a bad rap?”
“Or he’s learned to be a calmer, nicer ruler of Hell through yoga and meditation?” He picked up my braid, gently tugging the band free.
“Hey, stranger things have happened.”
He snorted. “I have a feeling he’s going to be just like Roth but worse.”
Another grin tugged at my lips, and for a couple of moments, I got a little lost in watching him. He was slowly unthreading the braid. There was a lot we needed to talk about, but I started with what felt like the most important. “Did you get to see your father?”
His fingers stilled around my hair. “There wasn’t a lot of time for visitations. It took every moment there for me to get control of the grace.” He returned to undoing my braid. “The first time I summoned it, I blew a hole through one of the buildings. Was it like that for you?”
“I never blew a hole through a building, but I would have a hard time keeping it under control when I got angry or upset.” I touched his arm. “That means you didn’t get to see your father?”
Zayne shook his head. “I didn’t see anyone other than Michael, a few other angels and the Alphas.”
“I’m sorry.” I curled my fingers around his wrist. “They could’ve made sure you had a chance to see him—to see anyone you wanted.”
Letting go of my hair, he threaded his fingers around mine. “I would’ve loved to see my father. To see Sam,” he said, referencing the spirit who’d come back to warn us about what was happening at the high school. “But I needed to make sure I could handle what was given to me.” Thick lashes lifted. “I needed to get back to you. That was the most important thing.”
My heart gave a happy little dance in my chest, and for a moment, there was nothing but warmth and joy. It didn’t last long.
Because what was the cost?
Air snagged in my chest as the razor-edged panic resurfaced. I pulled back, slipping my hand free.
“What?” His eyes searched mine.