Page 60 of Sweet Vengeance

The moment Malachi disappeared, Joy called her aunt.

“I’m doing it tonight,” she said without preamble.

“Ahn, ahn, not even a “hello, Aunty, good evening”?”

Joy blushed. “Sorry. Good evening, Aunty.”

“Much better.” Aunty Paloma sounded amused. “And yeah? Tonight, eh? How are you feeling?”

“Nervous.” She swallowed hard. “Scared. Just a little bit.”

“I know the feeling. I won’t tell you not to be scared because that’s pointless. But I will say:it’s going to be totally fucking worth it.”

Joy grinned wide. If Aunty Paloma was cursing, then she really meant that shit. Joy said her goodbyes, thanked her aunt for her support, and ended the call.

She squared her shoulders. This was a little more permanent than a ring, but Joy wasn’t the type to do things halfway. If she was in, she was all in.

Klaus was even bigger than Malachi, though where Malachi was taut with muscle, Klaus was soft and round all over. Joy’s friends were nice, but there was just something about having a friend like Klaus, someone who knew intimately about how life in hell could be.

Unlike Malachi, Klaus had come from a laxer sect. They were also decades older than Malachi, and had grown tired of all the politics and rules and laws constricting nicquiris back in hell. Most Sovereigns were nicquiris themselves, and in order to maintain their power, they had the tendency to snip any up-and-coming nicquiris in the bud.

When Klaus had realised they werenow consideredpowerful enough to bea threat tothe Sovereign nicquiris, and was thusbeing hunted by sentries, they’drunto earth, and had incidentally, at the same time, fallen right into Paloma’s arms. They’d been here ever since.

“What’s all this about?” Malachi asked as he appeared through the aether and into the park in the centre of the small community Klaus livedinwith their human.

“Hello.” Klaus turned to face him, a small smile on their full lips. Like Malachi, Klaus had deep, plum skin, though their shade was a touch lighter than Malachi’s. Their afro was a short inch off their scalp, their wings wider and fluffier. Their horns were larger as well, thoughthe one on the right was broken right at the curve.

“You have nothing to say to me, do you?” Malachi asked dryly.

Klaus’s lips twitched. “I do not.”

Malachi sighed heavily. “We may as well sit.”

Klaus grinned. “Good man.”

“Sure I can’t persuade you to tell me what’s going on?”

“You cannot.”

Malachi sighed.

Klaus began to talk about their garden—their fuckinggarden, for fuck’s sake, and it felt like an eternity but must only have been thirty minutes when Malachi felt afamiliartug behind his ribs.

He frowned, rubbing at his chest. He and Joy didn’t currently have a contract, so why was—

Oh.Oh.

Malachi stood. Klaus did as well. Malachi, despite himself, was blushing. Joy “summoning” him had kind of become foreplay for them.

Malachi cleared his throat. “Well. Good luck with your, um, plants.”

“Good luck with your lady.”

Malachi blushed. He disappeared through the aether, following the tug in his heart and appearing again to find Joy kneeling in the middle of a summoningrunedrawn with white chalk.

She wasn’t wearing her usual bathrobe. Instead, she was dressed in velvet wrappers and coral beads. Malachi blinked, staring at her. Faintly, he realised his heart had begun to race.

The clothing didn’t mean anything; they weren’t only worn by brides on their wedding days. Besides, Joy had mentioned not being interested in the human concept of marriage, which Malachi would never admit had been slightly disappointing. Not that he cared that much, either; it would have just been nice to be that to each other. To exchange vows. Promise themselves to the other.

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