Page 102 of All's Hell That Ends Well

Threat.

Whatever.

“It’s weird,”I said, swinging my legs back and forth while sitting on the parapet of the highest tower of Azazel’s imposing palace, looking out over the sprawl of the estate.

Far below, staff walked to and fro, hellhounds played and trained in the distance, and every once in a while, demons came flying in or took off from one of the courtyards or balconies, likely carrying messages back and forth between the palace and other parts of the territory, or maybe other archdemonacies.

Above, the sky churned with the usual storms, and the thunder rolling over the lands alternated with the intermittent howling of the hounds.

“What is?” Azazel asked, his wing flexing against mine in a casually intimate caress. He sat right next to me, keeping me company during one of his breaks as I enjoyed the view and the atmosphere.

I’d taken to coming here in my free time, flying up to this spot that let me survey most of the palace compound while I relished the wind whipping at my wings. I could never have done this when I’d been human. The threat of falling to my death had been too great. Now, though? I had two strong wings to let me soar to safety, and even should I crash to the ground, I’d survive. Battered and bruised, sure, but I’d make it.

I still marveled at that feeling.

And as a human, never would I have known the exquisite sensation of having my wings touch Azazel’s, of feeling his warmth and his power seep into my feathers and travel along highly sensitive nerves all the way to my core. He sometimes accused me of having developed a wing kink, but honestly, that was rich coming from him when he was the one who couldn’t keep his hands off my feathers at every opportunity.

“Not being involved in the whole Lilith thing anymore,” I answered Azazel’s question, clarifying my earlier statement.

“Didn’t you say you were fed up with searching for her?”

“Yeah, sure.” I shrugged. “It’s not that I miss that aspect. But the entire thing took up most of my life for months, and it was all so super important, you know, and I played a vital part in it, and there were all these meetings with Lucifer, and all these talks, and I felt responsible for so much of it, and I mean, he and I did work together closely for a while, and we spoke quite a lot, and now all of a sudden it’s done, it’s over, and we just left him there, and I don’t know, but it just feels wrong. It’s been a week since I told him I’d found her, and I don’t even know how he’s handling it now because we haven’t heard from him other than that Lilith is being guarded well and—” I blew out a breath. “It just doesn’t sit right with me.”

Azazel shifted so he fully faced me, his expression halfway between amused and incredulous. “You miss him.”

“What?” I gasped in outrage. “No! How did you getthatimpression?”

“Zoe,” he said with a chuckle. “Iknowyou. Even without this insightful bond”—he gestured between us—“I’d be able to tell your mood and feelings by the tone of your voice and that expressive face of yours.”

“Expressive? What do you mean? I am a study in stoicism.” I did my best impression of a Botoxed-up person who’d lost all facial movement.

“It’s all right,” he said quietly, a serious note to his voice.

I glanced at him, undoubtedly losing control over that stoic mask I’d attempted.

“If you’ve come to like him a little,” he added.

I opened my mouth to contest that statement but found I couldn’t. Scrunching my brows, I sorted through the mess in my head. “He’s awful,” I said eventually.

Azazel nodded but didn’t say anything, likely sensing I wasn’t done verbalizing my thoughts.

“He’s petty and cruel,” I went on.

He nodded again, his gaze on the lightning-lit plains far below.

I pressed my lips together. “He did horrible things, both to you and to me.”

“True.”

“And yet I don’t hate him anymore,” I finished in a whisper. “I do like him, in a way.” My eyes widened in horror. “Oh, my God, how is that even possible?”

“Fungus growth,” Azazel said matter-of-factly.

I reared back and squinted at him. “I was about to say Stockholm syndrome, but okay.” Cocking my head, I added, “Wait, what do you mean?”

“He grew on you. Like you did on him.” His gaze was calculating, the hint of a smile on his lips. “You did it. You made him care about you. A feat not many have managed.”

I worried my lower lip between my teeth. “You seem awfully okay with all of this. Not just with me and Lucifer having some weird friendship thing going, but also just with him in general. Are you? Okay, that is.”

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