Page 284 of Castings & Curses

He is a demon. I know it was said he’d been watching over Mercy since she arrived in Hell, but still, the idea of a demon having any kind of watch over a poor, lost soul like hers… it spurs all sorts of things in my brain. Demons aren’t to be trusted.

I look away from the two of them, back to Matthew. “Yes?” I whisper as he lets my arm go.

“Mercedes’s soul is of the utmost importance, do you understand?” he asks sternly. I nod.

“Of course, I—”

“The demon will likely try to persuade her against choosing Heaven, and we cannot let that happen.”

“Do not be absurd. Why on God’s green earth would she choose Hell to begin with? It’s full of nothing but monsters, and sinners, and—”

Matthew’s smile lifted to his sparkling blue eyes. “Teenagers can be impressionable. But I should not fear, as I know you will do the right thing, no matter what. Won’t you, Valory?” His voice darkens, and I don’t miss how his gaze dips to my lips or the shimmer of gold that crosses his irises.

Angelic power.

“Yes. I promise I will take care of Mercy and her soul.”

“No matter the cost,” Matthew says coldly.

“No matter the cost,” I promise him, and he lets me go just as Mercy and Endor come over to us.

“You will need to meet with Roche and I back here in an hour,” he says, as if our conversation had not even happened.

Roche groans, tapping her long nails on the table’s edge. “For fuck’s sake, Matthew, what do we need to hang around here for, now?” she asks with grievance.

“Valory must make her arrangements, and then, we will go over the Earthbound Protocols, of course.”

Another grumble of disdain leaves Roche. “Can’t we just unfurl their wings now?” she asks with a huff, the same time Matthew pointedly exclaims, “No!”

Unfurl our wings?

I must look surprised, because Endor just smirks. “What? Did they not go over that in all your onboarding training?” he asks with sarcasm.

Instantly, my expression falters, and I can feel my guards go up.

Typical demon smart ass.

“Last I checked, demons didn’t even have wings.”

“Only those deemed relevant, sweetheart. Contractor Demons get their wings when they get the job.”

I watch Roche as she glances at Endor, then back at me.

“I believe there is a similar process for your… Guardians?”

Matthew nods before I can speak. “Yes. Those who do not work in the Guardian Sector and who have no godly reason to be on Earth… well, you still have wings but they are clipped.”

“Clipped?” I ask, taken aback.

“Well, we can’t have you flying around without clearance,” Roche says with a twisted smile.

Endor grunts something unintelligible and I decide to let it go, for now.

“Go home, make your arrangements with Delilah,” Matthew says, his brow furrowing slightly.

I want to ask questions, and demand that both of them tell me what’s going on, and why my wings are clipped and now why they are… unfurling.

What does any of that have to do with Mercy and Earth?

---