Page 10 of Crimson Skies

A growl loud enough to wake a slumbering Nephil underscored this statement.

Tenebra carefully put the bed back on the ground. “Didn’t this kid have snacks an hour ago?”

“She’s a growing child, Ten.” Orena’s face softened when she looked at Phebei. “Lunch is ready, sweetie. It’s your favorite, Mac and Cheese.”

“Macheez!” Phebei squealed, her arms and legs locking around the Goddess with enough force to make her wince.

The youngest Black Fate lifted the little girl in her arms and cut her eyes to Tenebra. “And you. You need to tone it down. Phebei isn’t a demigod like Ivmir and Coraos. You can’t play rough with her.”

“I know that,” Tenebra mumbled.

“Besides, if Temir saw his mother playing with another kid, he’d probably sulk for months on end,” Orena remarked tartly.

She turned and headed back to the kitchen.

Tenebra followed. “You’re right. He’s become a lot more needy since he and Mortis became a couple.”

“Yes, well, love does that to you,” Orena said with all the wisdom of a Goddess who had never truly been smitten with anyone. She put Phebei in her child seat and tied a bib around her neck. “You better fix that closet before Ivmir returns. He’ll bitch about it for days otherwise.”

Phebei raised her fork in the air with the triumphant expression of a warrior who’d defeated her enemy. “Bish!”

Orena blinked.

“Lilaia’s gonna kill you,” Tenebra told her sister.

They’d just finished feeding the little girl when a familiar resonance throbbed through the Black Fate’s soul core. Orena brightened and looked up.

The apartment door opened. Tisiphone and Lilaia walked in.

Phebei’s face lit up.

“Mama!” she shouted, plump legs and fists pumping the air.

“Hi, baby.” Lilaia walked over and kissed her daughter. “How was she?” the Nymph asked the two Goddesses warily.

Tenebra and Orena exchanged a tactful glance.

“She was a delight,” Orena said firmly.

Lilaia eyed the apartment. It was a war zone.

“Really?” the Nymph said skeptically.

“Your daughter will be able to take over one of the smaller realms in about thirty years’ time,” Tenebra declared gravely.

Lilaia paled. “Don’t tell her father that.”

Orena studied Tisiphone’s jaded expression as she strolled into the living room. “How did it go?”

The Fury plopped down on a sofa. “There’s enough space in the tunnels and burrows the Lucifugous have made over the centuries they’ve been in this realm to hide hundreds of thousands of humans.”She grimaced and ran a hand through her long, dark hair.“I know Icarus told us things were bad between them and humans, but still, I didn’t believe it would bethisbad.”

“That actually went better than I thought it would,” Lilaia confessed. “Cassius’s status as the Awakener and Bostrof’s official alliance with him mean most Lucifugous will comply with our request.”

The Nymph took a wipe from her bag and cleaned her daughter’s face with a speed and efficiency born of experience.

Tenebra frowned faintly. She could hardly blame the Lucifugous for not wanting to join forces with humans. By all accounts, the demons had been treated appallingly since their fall to this realm, especially by Earth’s magic users.

“They’ll come around.” Lilaia took Phebei out of her chair. “I’m certain of it.”

---