Page 74 of Premonition of Peace

August barked out a laugh and held out a glass. “Nat will be pleased we can agree on something.”

“We agree that Marcel is baggage,” I said, sipping the liquor slowly.

August nodded. “Not untrue,” he began, “but I’m fairly certain that’s not something we should share with her. Also? Doesn’t matter. Nat loves him.” He side-eyed his cat, who had curled herself up in a chair. “So does Estrid, who is generally a good judge of character, but we’ll see if she’s lost her touch.”

“At least you aren’t bonded to him,” I muttered.

“That was all you, my friend.” He raised his brows, gesturing his hand in my direction. “And not a bad move in Nat’s eyes. All the same. You saved him, and you weren’t wrong about a piece of her dying with him.”

“I’m aware I was right.”

“That’s not how I phrased it. I said you weren’t wrong,” he said in a flat tone.

“You don’t like me,” I stated plainly, taking a long sip and feeling the delicious burn. Not that whiskey would do much for me, but it gave me something to do instead of thinking about my little witch in bed with Marcel.

“What tipped you off?” he asked sarcastically. When I didn’t answer, he sighed. “What’s to like, Lucifer? You ruined this city. I know who you are and what you’ve done. I know how you are.” He quieted a moment, contemplating if he was going to speak again when he opened his mouth and then shut it again. After some thought, he finally added, “I also know you’re Nat’s familiar. I also know that you saved someone she loved, and oddly enough, not for your gain—which might be the first time you considered someone outside of yourself. I’m not sure if you’re clued in to how relationships work, but we call that ‘growth.’ Look it up sometime.”

“How old are you?” I asked, flicking off a piece of imaginary lint from my trousers.

“Are you attempting to play the elder card here?”

I hummed noncommittally. “I’m nine thousand years old, August. I’m guessing you aren’t quite up there yet.” He shook his head while watching me with slightly narrowed eyes. “Mmm. It’s a long time. I’ve been a possessive demon the entire time. I don’t have to like you to make this work. It might take a while for me to get used to sharing what’s mine.”

“Ours.”

“If she accepts your aurae bond,” I said, smirking. August twisted his lips.

“You know, you and Marcel both have something in common too.” He waited a beat as I looked at him in question. “You’re both assholes who think they know what Nat wants.”

“I suppose only you know what she wants, incubus?”

He shrugged. “I do because I ask her. That’s called ‘communication.’ You can look that one up too.”

While he was insulting me, he was also correct. I would never admit such a thing to the likes of him, but his connection with Nathalie was strong, and it was likely due to his . . .communication. She may not have realized it yet, but she was going to accept the aurae bond. I saw the look in her eyes when she was with him. What he made her feel. I saw how she lost herself in him when they fucked. Each and every time they were near each other, there was an electric current in the air.

And I hated the bastard for it.

“So where does that leave us?” I asked, cocking my head and raising my brows. I gestured and him and then myself. “You hate me for what I was, I hate you because you take Nathalie away from me, and I don’t like sharing.”

August leaned back, crossing his leg and rested his ankle at his knee. “For some reason completely unknown to me, Nat loves you. You are also what she wants. She sees something in you that I don’t. Not yet, anyway.” He inhaled, long and deep before exhaling. "Ultimately, that’s good enough for me.”

I stared in shock, blinking a few times to process what he’d said. “Are you proposing a truce?”

“Sure,” he said, crossing his arms and lifting a shoulder. “Jealousy will run rampant, but life will be easier if the four of us get along. And if that makes her happy . . . The kid has a lot of work to do, so the best I can do is tolerate his presence. I’ve had some practice since he moved in.” He looked down the hall, a frown forming between his brows. “Which reminds me . . . now that he’s alive and well, he needs to move the hell out.”

I laughed, then quickly realized that meant Baggage would be moving in with me. When August saw my face, he grinned.“Hmm. Maybe we should find him somewhere else to live. Away from me. And you, of course.”

“I’m happy to pay for the apartment.,” August said.

I nodded. “I’m more than content to find one for him, with Nathalie being so busy.”

“Faraway from her apartment, naturally.”

“Naturally.” I waved my hand in agreement.

A brief moment passed between after we spoke back and forth. A shared understanding.

“Why, Lucifer,” August said smoothly, with a hint of humor in his voice. “Did we just become friends?”

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