Page 98 of Premonition of Peace

“Take care of our woman,” was his only response. Lucifer disappeared in a blink, leaving me to wonder whether that was a request or a warning. Not that it mattered.

As I turned around, Marcel stood at the doorway, arms crossed. “Thought he’d never leave.”

Sighing, I stretched my neck side to side. I reminded myself he was young. He’d been a dying mortal for most of his existence. A lot of this was new to him. Still . . . I walked past him, patting him on the shoulder before heading into Nat’s bedroom. “Get a therapist, kid. Forever is a long time to be a cunt.”

thirty

NATHALIE

I madeone last sweep of the house, checking that everything was in place. The interior designers I’d hired did an incredible job of taking my lists and vision and making them into reality. But still, I wanted everything to be perfect for the big reveal.

The last two weeks of my life had been a whirlwind, but in the turmoil of it all, I found myself more content than not. There were days that Kat’s loss weighed heavier on me than others. There were days when the idea of being the last branch of my family legacy felt like a pressure on my chest.

Sasha had also been something that bothered me and seemed to have no real solution. I hadn’t seen her since that night. I didn’t want to push her. I understood that she needed time to adjust to being back in the land of the living. After everything she’d been through, how could I expect anything else?

I tried not to stress about it too much, telling myself that Sasha just needed time. She’d find her footing again, and whenshe was ready, we’d figure things out. Until then, all I could do was give her the space she needed.

Aside from that, everything else in my life had found a strange sort of balance. Through it all, I kept finding moments of happiness. My house finally being finished was one of those—even with the last-minute changes I added in directly after the resurrection ceremony.

The keys to the place had been in my possession for a few days now, and I’d spent every spare moment putting in the final touches. Somehow, I managed to maintain the secret from the guys, despite the fact that all three of them tended to be at my apartment all the time.

That was partially why I chose today for the surprise. All three of them had things to handle, and my apartment was finally empty for the movers to clear out. They’d gotten the job done quickly and the unpacking done even faster.

It felt strange to know that the apartment that had been my home for so long was now an empty space, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long. The Señora and I had talked and decided that it would become Mist’s apartment. She’d be eighteen soon enough, but had lived through enough horrors to age her otherwise. Mist needed her own space sometimes, and so she’d have it. I planned to take her shopping next week with Piper and the girls to have her pick out furniture and decorations. Whatever she needed to make it feel safe.

And Piper’s bomb would always be there too.

Not long ago I would have worried about her being on her own, but she was far from alone. Mist was still training with the Señora every day to get ahold of her death magic, and when she wasn’t doing that, she often spent time with Hallie at Sasha and Sienna’s. This let her keep her regular schedule and a sense of normalcy, even though I wouldn’t be around as much.

I glanced at my phone and cursed, then snapped my fingers a few times. Everything around me straightened. Books righted themselves on the shelves, clean dishes went back to their assigned cupboards, and the area rug that had become crooked righted itself. I smiled proudly. It wasn’t fancy. It was far from what Marcel could do, but it was magic.My magic. And it was actually working for those simple spells that I could never perfect.

Since restoring my memory loci and bringing in Rage and Little, my magic had found its sense of harmony in the chaos. Having access to my emotions the way I did now was still new, but it was also liberating. I’d always been so guarded, so afraid of what might happen if I let myself feel too much. But now, those walls were coming down.

My loci wasn’t back to normal, but just the other day, Ann seemed to fall out of the sky and land on a couch in the library. Bad Nat cackled at her expense while Little helped her up. It wasn’t all my lost selves, but it showed that what Bad Nat said was true. With time, they would return. I just had to be patient.

Then there was Rage. She was quiet and reserved for the most part, but every day she seemed to change a little more. The baby fat that clung to her features shed away. She got an extra layer of hip and ass. She was filling out like all my other selves had, making their bodies identical to mine as I grew up. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was finally getting the chance to grow up too now and find her own version of adulthood.

With everything ready, I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves as I made my way downstairs. I don’t know why I was so nervous to show them. If they didn’t like what I’d chosen for them, they could always change it. Still, I felt some kind of odd pressure about it.

Just as I reached the foyer, a wave of magic hit me, the familiar tingle spreading across my skin. Marcel appeared, his eyes immediately locking onto mine.

“Sunbeam,” he murmured, a slow smile spreading across his lips as he crossed the distance between us in a few long strides. He pulled me into a deep kiss, one that made my toes curl and my heart race.

When he finally let me go, I was breathless, but before I could say anything, I felt another surge of magic. I turned just in time to see Lucifer and August appear out of thin air as if they’d always been there.

Lucifer was the first to reach me, his hands sliding around my waist as he pressed his lips to mine in a kiss that was all fire and heat. I barely had time to catch my breath before August was there, his kiss softer but no less intense. By the time they finally stepped back, I was dizzy with the sheer intensity of it all.

The biggest change in my life had been the solidifying of my relationships with each of them. It was still surreal to think that I had three men who cared about me, who were willing to share me in a way that I’d never thought possible. It was a strange dynamic, but it was ours, and it worked.

Marcel was the first to break the silence, whistling low as he looked around the grand foyer. “This place is amazing. They did such a good job with your house.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I know, right? I actually wanted to give you guys a tour. Come on.”

I led them through the first level, showing them the living room, the separate dining room, and the large kitchen. We stepped out onto the patio that connected to a back door in the kitchen. My backyard was something else I was proud of, with a pool sparkling in the late afternoon sun and a beautiful garden tracing the outline of the fence.

“I can think of several things that can be done in that pool,” Lucifer commented, shooting me a heated smirk. “None of them involve a swimsuit.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t hide my grin. “Well, it’s freezing in there right now, so no.”

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