Well, shit.

“Long time no see, Brother,” the ragged archangel whispered, “I have missed you.”

“Have you?” Lucifer sneered, “lovely of you to finally visit. Also lovely of you to attack my mate when you finally bothered to do so!” My mate was pacing like a caged tiger, his eyes glaring into the identical blue ones of his brother.

The brother he loved the most.

Raphael chuckled, but there was little humor in it.

“Oh, Luce. I have missed your righteous fire so much.” I almost teared up at the affectionate longing in his voice. The wistfulness was unbearable.

Lucifer, however, was unaffected.

“Stop dancing around the issue! You are a healer, Raphe, not an assassin. Why do you threaten that which is most precious to me?” I watched his grip tighten on his swords as he spoke.

Fuck, he was going to attack!

I couldn’t allow Lucifer to do this! I was sure there had been some mistake, and he loved his brother too much to hurt him because of me. But what in the hell was I supposed to do? It wasn’t like I could really do much to prevent two archangels from doing whatever the hell they wanted.

Then, the oddest thing happened.

Raphael lowered his broadsword, threw his head back, and laughed. A deep, full-on, belly laugh. The pleasant sound seemed to fill the hall, and I had to fight a smile that threatened at the obvious joy the angel was experiencing. I felt no malice in him, and as such I felt no fear.

Again, Lucifer appeared utterly unamused. His full lips tightened into a firm line, and his chiseled jaw clenched. His eyes glowed in a way that indicated he was close to losing control. Again, I had to refrain from fanning myself.

“Raphael!” He roared, trying to get his brother to calm down. In response, he just laughed harder, overjoyed at Lucifer’s response.

I had to admit, it was pretty funny.

Marcus groaned in the corner, and my heart ached. I straightened my spine angrily. How could I have forgotten? I needed to grow a pair, dammit.

I stomped forward, intending to slap some sense into the giggling idiot, but I was stopped by Lucifer’s monstrous sword. The flat pressed against my stomach, so obviously he couldn’t shear me in half, but the metal did work as an effective barrier. I tried to walk around it, but with a flick of his hand I was thrown into his side. I huffed indignantly.

“He’s acting like a kindergartner!” I snarled, indicating the blubbering angel, “and he hurt Marc! If you aren’t going to kick his ass to Christmas, I will!”

Lucifer opened his mouth, (most likely to lecture me about the frailty of my human form) when Raphael beat him to it.

“Father has outdone himself with you,” Raphael said, crossing his arms behind his head casually, “what’s your name, ardentis?”

“Her name is none of your damned concern, and you will not call her by any pet names, Brother!” Lucifer roared before I could respond.

“I asked her, Brother. Not you,” Raphael quipped, his eyes not leaving mine. Lucifer ran a hand through his hair and looked away in irritation. While he was distracted, Raphael sent me a slow wink. I bit my cheek hard to restrain a giggle. Okay, it was hard to dislike him.

“My name is Amirykal, but I go by Ammi. But as funny as it is to see my Angel all wound up, perhaps you should heal Marcus and answer his questions before the two of you end up destroying the furniture?”

“Of course,” he replied cordially, and then to Lucifer, “she is quite lovely, Brother.”

Lucifer clutched me to him, glaring at his brother.

“Mea est!” He growled, the warning unmistakable. If it weren’t extremely hot, I would’ve been annoyed. I did, however, file that phrase away. I’d force the meaning out of Lucifer later.

Raphael held up his hands.

“Est tibi, frater.” This calmed Lucifer instantly, and his eyes, which had glowed so brightly they were almost white, faded back into his normal icy blue.

What the fuck?

I cleared my throat, causing both brothers to look at me questioningly. I gestured to the prone daemon on the floor, staring at Raphael pointedly. He grinned, and bowed, his scruffy brown hair swinging forward once again to hide his face. What a clown.

Without speaking, he walked toward Marcus. Unlike Lucifer’s almost predatory gait, his was leisurely and slow. Despite their differences, both had their own lethal appeal.

When he reached Marcus, he knelt down and pressed his forefinger to the daemon’s throat, and instantly his crimson eyes flew open. He swung his scythe in a deadly arc towards Raphael. It never made contact, but the angel didn’t appear to move. He smiled disarmingly at Marcus, crossing his arms over his emaciated chest.

“It would be wise of you to show your gratitude in a less violent form, daemon.” He drawled, never taking his eyes off Marcus’.

Marcus looked at Lucifer questioningly, and Lucifer reluctantly nodded. Marcus slowly got to his feet, pointedly ignoring Raphael’s outstretched hand.

“Answers.” Lucifer commanded, and I rolled my eyes so far back I saw my own frontal lobe. Was this man incapable of being polite?

“Of course, brother. Perhaps in a more private place.” It wasn’t a question. Lucifer grunted, (the main form of communication between males), and gripped me tighter. In a flash, we were in the war room. It made sense that this would be a private room, but I had a feeling Lucifer was sending a not-so-subtle message to his brother at the same time. Raphael’s amused chuckle confirmed my suspicions.

“Private enough for you?”

“Perfect.”

Silence. Tension crackled between the two like electricity, and I looked helplessly at Marcus for some sort of solution. He just grunted and shrugged.

Another fucking grunt. Where was Megara when you needed her?

“Lucifer, you had questions?” I prompted.

He grunted.

“I’m going to need a goddamned verbal response.” I ordered, positively fuming.

“Yes, I had questions.” He replied brusquely, his eyes not leaving his brothers.

Lord, they were having a staring contest.

I had had it with him.

I reached up, touching the side of his face with my hand. He ignored me, and so did Raphael. Marcus raised an eyebrow at me, and I grinned wickedly at him in response. He smirked. Caressing the line of my angel’s high cheekbones, I touched his ear lightly. He made no response.

With a grip like iron, I took hold of his ear and yanked as hard as I could. My unexpected act of aggression took him off-guard, and he yelped, bending down to prevent me from tearing it off completely.

If he weren’t an all-powerful archangel of death, I’d feel bad.

Bringing his head to me, I growled, “now that I have your full attention, you are going to act like the grown angel that you are, sit your pretty little ass down in one of these chairs, and talk to your brother in full, complete, and polite sentences. Do I make myself clear, Satan?”

He stubbornly remained silent, glowering at me from the corner of his eye. I twisted his ear viciously, and he yelped again.

“Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?” I asked, my voice harsh.

“Yes.” He growled, his voice almost animalistic. Oh, I was so going to pay for this later. I had a strong feeling that if it were literally anyone else, he would’ve incinerated me by now. Unfortunately for me, he had other ways of reprimanding me. I blushed at the memory and shook off the sudden wave of desire it brought with it.

I snapped my head towards Raphael and Marcus, who were chuckling gleefully at the angel’s expense. I glared at them, barking, “don’t make me come over there, or you’ll get worse.” They shut up promptly. Smiling in satisfaction, I released my angel’s ear. He rubbed it sulkily, sending me a heated look, full of promise. I pointedly ignored him.

“Actually, daemon, if you could…” Raphael began.

“Yeah, yeah. I know when I’m not wanted. Besides, unlike you freeloaders, I have work to do.” With that, Marcus disappeared. The room once again filled with silence.

Deciding I should lead by example, I took a seat, raising my eyebrow at the two angels when they hesitated. They immediately pulled out chairs, Lucifer by my side, Raphael opposite of us. When no one spoke, I directed my glare at Lucifer, who muttered something unintelligible under his breath.

“Fine, since y’all are being stubborn, I’ll ask it: Any particular reason you decided to show up unannounced and attack me, Raphael?” I questioned, my exasperation bleeding through.

“I needed to be sure the rumors were true, and that Lucifer had found his pretty little mate.” He answered easily, grinning at Lucifer’s growl of warning. Were these two always like this? I had thought angels were above petty sibling bickering, but it appeared I had been wrong.

“And you couldn’t have just asked?”

“Of course not. Lying is a sin, but even whilst Lucifer was in heaven,” Raphael leaned forward conspiratorially, his voice lowering to a loud whisper, “he was a bit of a fibber.”

I giggled, and Lucifer growled lowly, “Excubias, frater.”

“English, please?” My please was directed toward Lucifer, but it was Raphael who answered.

“He just told me to watch it. Apparently, he doesn’t want me to entertain you with embarrassing childhood stories.”

“Can we stay on topic?” Lucifer snapped, earning another muffled giggle from me. His eyes softened at the sound.

“Sorry, big brother. You are just so easy to tease.”

“You really thought it necessary to attack my mate? I wouldn’t have lied to you, Raphe.”

“I couldn’t be sure,” Raphael said quietly, “it has been a long time, Luce. I was not sure Hell hadn’t changed you for the worse.”

I grabbed Lucifer’s forearm, and he instantly relaxed. This was harder for him than he let on.

“I fear that if anyone has changed, it is you, little brother. You look like death.” Lucifer’s voice was soft and caring. A voice I had only ever heard him use with me.

Raphael smiled humorously, “when my solis was taken from me, I had nothing. I had vengeance for a brief moment, but then I was empty, brother. I had nothing, so I became nothing.”

Lucifer’s fists clenched.

“Why are you so concerned with Amirykal?” Lucifer asked, obviously trying to change the subject.

Raphael’s eyes flashed, and the look was so eerily similar to Lucifer’s that it had my heart all kinds of confused. I didn’t feel any attraction for Raphael; I never would for anyone but Lucifer. And yet, those eyes were so identical that I wanted to ease their suffering.

“No.” I said, interrupting Raphael before he could speak.

“Sorry?” He asked, confusion warring with irritation on his face.

“You aren’t well, and this isn’t something to discuss until you are healthy. Lucifer,” I said suddenly, an idea popping into my head, “can’t you heal him like you did me?”

Lucifer remained silent.