Page 21 of Gods' Battleground

“You’re killing me here, Alec,” I sighed.

“Na, you’ll survive. You’re an all-powerful, all-knowing goddess now.”

“Yeah, well, I feel like an unknowing goddess.”

We arrived at the infirmary to the fanfare of Alec’s chuckles.

I rushed into the room. Calli, Tessa, and Gin turned to look at me when I entered. They were all dressed in clean clothes, completely unmarred by blood, tears, or any other sign of battle. All three also appeared to be in a very good mood, especiallyconsidering the peril they’d been in. The peril I wasn’t even allowed to know about. In fact, Gin and Tessa were glowing with excitement. And Calli was, well, literally glowing, like she’d rolled around in pixie dust. Weird.

“So?” I asked them.

“So?” they repeated in unison.

“What happened to you guys?”

“Gin went looking for a cure to Bella’s curse and found out about a magic grimoire that contains a cure recipe for any curse. Oh, and she also found a boyfriend along the way,” Tessa chirped.

“And you think this grimoire is the key to saving Bella?”

Gin nodded. “We do.”

“Ok, so whatelsehappened?” I asked.

“I went looking for Bella but got a little turned around and found Lucian Sunfire instead,” Tessa told me. “We’re now dating, by the way.”

Wait, what?

But Tessa kept on talking, right through my confusion. “Calli found a special immortal artifact, nearly died, but then Rhydian used the artifact to save her life, so now she’s immortal, and, by the way, they’re dating too.”

I tried to process all that information she’d densely packed into one long, run-on sentence.

“Wait, Rhydian?” I gasped when my mind finally caught up with her words. “As inGeneralRhydian Silverstar? Calli, you’re dating Nero’s grandfather?” I gawked at her.

“Technically, we haven’t gone on a date yet,” she said serenely.

But her expression said it all. She was smitten. Well, good for her. If anyone deserved a happy ending, it was Calli.

So, yeah, that happened. My foster mother was dating my husband’s grandfather. Family dinners were about to get even crazier.

I snorted.

“What’s so funny?” Calli asked.

“I’m just remembering your many lectures about how we should all stay far, far away from those dangerous angels and not be seduced by their charms,” I replied, my voice silky.

“Well, angels do have their charms,” Gin said with a dreamy smile.

I snapped my attention to her. “Yeah, so who’s this mystery boyfriend of yours that I supposedly know?”

Gin blushed rosy-red. “He wants to tell you himself.”

I looked around. “Ok, so where is your mysterious suitor? Hiding in the closet?”

“No.” Gin blushed redder. Her cheeks were practically ruby-red now. “He’s working right now. He’ll be around later.”

“He’s an angel too!” Tessa squeaked.

Gin elbowed her. “You are so bad at keeping a secret!”

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