Page 113 of All's Hell That Ends Well

“This is not from the archangels.” His stormy eyes met mine over the letter. “It’s from Metatron and Shekinah.”

“What?” Heart hammering at the mention of the two elusive top angels in Heaven, who ruled in God’s stead but rarely got actively involved in politics, I jumped up, snatched the note from him, and scanned it. “They want to meet with you. Why?”

They hadn’t given a reason in the letter, only stated that there were matters to discuss.

Worried, I glanced at Azazel. “Do you think they’ll reject the truce transfer?”

His troubled gaze resting on the note, he was silent for a beat. “I don’t think so. It’s in their best interest to keep the peace. They accepted the new truce eight years ago. If they were out for war or a seismic change, they would have rejected it back then and allowed Armageddon to happen.”

“Yeah.” I chewed on my lower lip. “From all I’d heard of them while I was in Heaven, they didn’t seem like the type that would play a risky game with the safety of the world. They actually put in a lot of effort to weed out all traitors left over from the conspiracy to murder Lilith, and they were always very keen on keeping Naamah safe and the truce in place.”

He regarded me with a tilt of his head. “Do you want to come with me this time? This says both Metatron and Shekinah will attend the meeting, so my side should count two as well.”

I laid a hand on my chest and gasped. “Oh my! Are you asking me to be your plus one to a fancy angel meeting?”

His eyes sparkled with humor. “I’m all for romantic gestures.”

Picking up my strewn-about clothes, I got dressed. “Wouldn’t you rather take Daevi, though? She’s more versed in this than I am. And I thought we’d agreed it was best to keep my connection to you on the down-low for a while?”

“Well,” he said with a sigh, “going by Raphael’s little stunt, he already knows, but I doubt he’s passed that knowledge on to anyone else. He knows he can’t really do anything with it.” Heshrugged. “And neither Metatron nor Shekinah know who you are. You said you’d never met them?”

I shook my head. “They always kept to themselves. The only important angels from the upper echelon I’ve met are Gabriel and Raphael.”

“And neither of them will be at this meeting.”

I scrunched up my face. “Still, don’t you think Daevi would be the better choice? She knows so much more than I do.”

“And you’ll never learn it if you stay in the shadows.” Leaning in, he gently grasped my chin and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “You will rule at my side. You won’t just be a pretty decoration, but my partner. What you lack in experience, you make up for with an unfiltered, untainted, and fresh view of matters. You bring a human perspective into this, and I think we can all benefit from that. Not to mention that the things you’ve said in the past, how you analyzed situations and navigated difficult conditions, are highly impressive in their emotional maturity and empathy. Never forget”—a sly smile whispered over his face—“that you almost single-handedly changed Lucifer’s mind about Lilith, and that you’ve managed to influence him in other positive ways, too.”

I huffed a laugh. “I think you’re overestimating my power here.”

“No.” He shook his head, his expression serious. “Lucifer was a wreck before he claimed you. You said so yourself. Now look at him. You’re the one he spent the most time with since Lilith’s murder. And whatever you did, whatever you said, not only did it bring him back from the edge, but it also changed him in a profound way.”

I narrowed my eyes in thought. “I don’t think it changed him per se…I think this was always a side to him, just buried deep.”

He shrugged. “Same difference. You’re still the one who brought it forth. You have a way of influencing others, of makingthem show the best of themselves. I’ve seen it a few times now, with me, with Lilith, with Lucifer. I don’t know what magic that is, but it is yours, and our world is richer for it.”

“Azazel.” My throat closed up, my chest pinching tight.

“I think you will be a majorly good influence on politics in Hell and beyond. And in order for you to learn more and adapt, I want you to be present at important meetings, during discussions and when decisions are being made. It is your right and privilege as my partner.”

A ball of emotions burst in my chest, filling me with tingling warmth and happy hormones. “I love you,” I whispered, stroking his cheek and leaning in for a kiss.

A gustof wind lashed at us as we landed on the roof of the skyscraper, the lights of Tokyo twinkling below in the velvet night. Two figures already stood waiting for us, faintly illuminated by the glow of the city.

We’d touched down several feet away from them, and as we stepped closer, I could make out more of their features.

The female angel had long, nearly white hair, and her skin was of the same moonlit color. She could have been a ghost; her appearance was so light in all aspects. Her expression was somewhat dreamy, as if she were looking into a different dimension. The male angel seemed like the polar opposite of her, his skin and short hair so dark he almost blended into the night. The whites of his eyes framed black irises and drew attention to his gaze, which lay on us with keen calculation.

Shekinah and Metatron. God’s proxies, the last who’d seen and spoken to him thousands of years ago.

“Greetings,” Metatron said, his voice a deep bass. “You must be Azazel.” His eyes traced to me. “I am unfamiliar with your companion.”

“I’m Zoe,” I replied before Azazel could respond. If he brought me to these kinds of meetings, I’d damn well speak for myself.

“You are recently fallen,” Shekinah chimed in, her voice just as dreamy as her expression. Her uncannily light-colored eyes drank me in. “I can feel the imprint of His Grace still lingering upon you.”

I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet, unease prickling over my skin.

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