Page 49 of All's Hell That Ends Well

“Ha!” a male voice answered. “But I do. That’s why I know I have the right to go in first, seeing as I’m her favorite nephew.”

“That’s not a difficult feat,” another male voice butted in, and a huge smile took over my face as I recognized Azazel. “You’re her only nephew, so you have no competition.”

“See?” the female, who I now knew to be Azmodea, said. “At best, she tolerates you. Me, on the other hand, she loves. I shall have the honor of greeting her first.”

“No, you won’t,” said the voice that clearly had to be Mammon.

What followed was more bickering and what sounded like a scuffle that went on for several seconds, until Azazel sighed so loudly it was audible over the noise of the brawl.

“I can’t take you two anywhere,” he muttered just before the door opened and he stepped inside.

“Azazel!” I grinned widely as I launched myself at him.

I was about to enfold him in a hug when he was unceremoniously shoved aside by his sister.

“Darling!” Azmodea cried out and grabbed me by the shoulders to pull me into a crushing embrace.

“It’s a good thing she’s a demon now,” Mammon said from behind her. “Otherwise, that affectionate attack of yours might have just broken some of her bones.”

Ignoring him, Azmodea withdrew enough to plant a big smooch on each of my cheeks and then held me at arm’s length.

“Look at you,” she said with her eyes shining wet. “So stunning. You were beautiful before, dear, but now you’re a killer. Being a demon suits you.” She grasped my chin in one hand and gently shook it. “Oh, I’ve missed you!”

My own eyes were suspiciously hot and blurry, too. “I’ve missed you, too.” I uttered a self-deprecating laugh. “Well, I mean, I didn’t remember you, but I always felt like something was missing. I’m so glad to be home.”

“Home.” She made a delighted sound and turned to Azazel, who glowered at her. “Do you hear that? Andyouwere worried she’d never get used to living in Hell.”

“You were?” I asked Azazel with wide eyes.

He shifted his weight. “I knew you missed your life on Earth, and it was clear that you had trouble adjusting to this realm. There was nothing I could do about it, but it did concern me.”

“Oh.” I bit my lip. “Well, having been in Heaven and coming back to Hell now, it feels like home here…more than anywhere else I’ve lived. And I think being a demon is only part of that.” I gave him a smile. “Because home is where the heart is. And you’re my heart.”

His eyes softened, the only outward sign of emotion, but I felt the ping of his deep, aching love within my chest.

“Ugh!” Azmodea said. “You two! It’s too much. You’re just too adorable. You know”—she pointed a finger in my face—“now that you’re back here, you’d better keep up the lovey-dovey stuff because I cannot, will not, suffer through more of his grumpy moods. He has been utterly unbearable these past few years. You’re the only thing that makes him somewhat tolerable?—”

“Oy!” Azazel barked.

“—and we need your contribution to the cause, darling,” Azmodea kept going with admirable nonchalance. “Never forget the duty you have. The well-being of an entire archdemonacy rests on your ability to make this curmudgeon happy.”

Azazel bared his teeth at his sister. “I swear, I will?—”

“Enough with the babbling,” Mammon chimed in, taking his mother by the shoulders and simply depositing her a foot to the side. “Honestly, you’re not the only one who wants to greet the prodigal member of our family.” Turning to me, he opened his arms and beamed at me. “Come here, Auntie!”

I was about to hug him when I remembered that I had no idea of my best friend’s fate, and given the fact that it was Mammon’s meddling that had put Taylor’s life on the line in the first place and he’d promised to fix it, I had the sudden, raging need for answers.

The look I sent him was the only warning.

The next second, I had my wings out, my hand around his throat, and my power whirring about me. I shoved him into the wall with all the new strength I’d gained courtesy of the bond with Azazel. Mammon grunted upon the impact and raised his hands in a placative gesture.

“You’ve acquired a new kink, I see,” he croaked.

My fingers tightened around his throat, and I snarled.

“How did you get so freakishly strong?” Mammon’s eyes darted over my shoulder. “Uncle, a little help?”

“Oh, no,” Azazel said from behind me. “I’m enjoying this way too much.”

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