“Of course she is,” I said, yanking on my shirt.
Once dressed, I rushed downstairs, Eden right behind me. My mother stood in a corner of the foyer, holding a very old, very sharp knife against Agatha’s throat. She seemed annoyed.
“Mamá?”
She turned to look at me, nearly relieved, but still alert.
“Put the knife down, Mamá. Agatha is a friend.”
“She touched me,” Petra said.
Agatha frowned. “I was trying to take her sweater, sir.”
My mother’s grip loosened, her relief at the sight of me making the severity on her face soften. “Levi,” she said, but she didn’t move. “Is it you?” She took a step away from the wall, allowing the morning sunshine to touch her black hair. The strands fell just below her shoulders in thick, shiny waves, past her prominent cheek bones. She looked the same as I remembered from my childhood: maybe a bit older, but stunningly beautiful, and not to be trifled with.
“It’s me,” I said, pulling her to me. She was stiff, still unsure. “Ileso,” I whispered in her ear. The word was Spanish for safe, our word to let the other know all was well.
She held me tight, my shirt already damp with her tears.
“How did you get here?” I looked around as I held her, overwhelmed. “Who told you I was here?”
She put away her weapon and then dried her cheeks, taking a step back. “Someone who risked everything to warn me. To warn you.”
“About what?” Eden asked, standing behind me.
“Is this… is this her?” My mother asked.
I nodded, taking Eden’s left hand and in mine, cradling it and her arm against my middle. “This is Eden. Eden, this is my mother, Petra.”
Eden held out her hand. “I’ve heard so much about you, even before I met your son. You’re legendary.”
Mamá didn’t extend her hand, unmoved by Eden’s flattery. “You’re lucky I can’t kill you.”
“Mamá!” I said, unintentionally laughing.
She looked to me and spoke as if that exchange hadn’t just happened. “She has an uncle. Bex.”
“Yes?” Eden said, her brows pulling together.
“He’s your protector?” Mamá asked me. When I nodded, she closed her eyes. “Good. You’ll need one. You’re in danger, son.”
I smiled. “I’m always in danger.”
Mamá shook her head. “No. You have to listen. You’ve stolen Eden from your father. He’s disowned you. You no longer have his protection.”
“Is that what it was called?” I asked.
Mamá held both of my shoulders. “Bex threatened Cassia. A line has been crossed.”
“She tried to kill the woman he loves,” Eden said, defensive.
“Mamá, stop,” I said. She was giving me information that would most definitely get her killed.
Mamá jerked her head to Eden, her dagger eyes sizing up my girlfriend in a way that would’ve made any other girl nervous. “Cassia led armies to kill hundreds of thousands in Lucifer’s name. She’s precious to him, and Bex didn’t just threaten to send her back to Hell, half breed. The blade he holds offers permanent death. You’ve all offended Lucifer’s pride in so many ways he’ll have no other choice but to kill you, and there is nothing more important to the Devil than pride.”
“Hey,” I said, shaking my head. Whatever beef my mother had with Eden, she needed to control herself. “Mamá, enough. Show respect.”
“Levi,” Mamá said, holding my chin in her hands.
I pulled away, frowning.
“You’re not listening.”
“I am listening. Don’t say anything else. You’re putting yourself in danger.”
She smiled, surprised at my answer. “You’re my son.”
“Mamá, it’s not the first time he’s been angered, or that he’s lost. He’s always on the losing side. That’s why we need her,” I said, pointing at Eden.
Mamá shook her head, touching me tenderly. “After all that’s been taken from Lucifer lately… it’s not a game to him anymore.” Her expression softened; her eyes filled with worry. “You have humiliated him for the last time, Levi, and killing you will kill the man who threatened Cassia.” She said her name as if were poison in her mouth. “You’re both expendable, both targets, and both at the top of Hell’s list. They’re planning it now.”
“Who is?” Eden asked.
“Your brothers,” Mamá said, still looking at me. She didn’t seem to want to acknowledge Eden, but I would have to figure that out later. “They’re all coming for you,” she said, her eyes glossing over. “Never have they come together to destroy. Not even in the Last War. One always stayed behind, because just two of them wreaked enough havoc to decimate an entire hemisphere. They’re all three coming, Levi.”
“God won’t allow it,” I said. “They’ll wreak havoc on this plane. They’ll be seen.”
Mamá shook her head. “Like Israel?”
I paused. She was right. They weren’t punished for that, and Hell’s minions had caused a huge scene when they came for Nina and her unborn child. “This is different, though. They shelled. It was explained away as a civil war. They can’t explain the appearance of enormous demons in Providence, Rhode Island.”
“We’ll be ready,” Eden said.
“I knew one day we’d face them. I just didn’t…” she pulled at my shirt. “He won’t let you come back home. He’ll put you in the Oubliette for what you’ve done. I can’t see you suffer like that again.”
“So you remember that I escaped—with Eden’s help. We can do it again.”
She tightened her grip on my shirt, her irises dancing from my right eye to left and back again. “Levi, please hear me. This. Is. Different.”
“I won’t let anything happen to him,” Eden said. “I won’t. I promise.”
Mamá finally looked over to Eden, seeming tired. “You aren’t strong enough.”
“I might surprise you,” Eden said, hopeful for some semblance of approval.
Mamá didn’t give it to her.
“Mamá,” I said. “Soy fuerte como mi mamá. Somos Fuertes,” I assured her.
My words calmed her, and she nodded. Her shoulders relaxed.
Agatha stood next to Eden. “You must be tired, Ms. …”
My mother shook her head. “Petra,” she insisted. “It’s always been Petra.”
“Ms. Petra, I can show you to your room. May I?” She gestured to Mamá’s single suitcase.
Mamá nodded once to Agatha, then kissed me one more time on the cheek. “They’re coming, and they’re going to kill us all.”