He cups my face in his hands, guiding me to look in his mismatched eyes. “Are you ready to go back now?”
“Nope.” I point to my lips and grin.
Lincoln kisses me once, gently. “And now?”
“Yup.”
Smiling, he slips his hand in mine, then steps toward the door.
“Oh, Lincoln?”
The Prince turns to me and pauses. “Yes, Myla?”
“Thank you.” My chest fills with warmth. “No one else thought to ask me how I was after, you know.” Getting zapped with enough supernatural electricity to power a universe.
Lincoln gives my hand a little squeeze. “We’re a team, right?”
I nod. “Absolutely right.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I sit on a metal chair in the bunker’s main chamber, one of ten that have been dragged into a makeshift circle. Lincoln sits beside me; the Oligarchy ghouls sit in the four chairs after his. We wait for Verus, and no one even pretends to make small talk. Occasionally, a huge boom sounds as Armageddon tries to break in. Other times, we’ll hear soft chatter from the antechamber as Mom, Cissy, and Zeke sift through the bunker’s inventory, looking for useful stuff. Adair waits in the antechamber too, not making a sound. It’s unclear if she’s sulking or in shock, but as long as she’s quiet, who cares?
The plan is simple. Inside the bunker, I’ll bring together representatives from angels, thrax, quasis, and ghouls. Then, I’ll force everyone to decide how to defeat Armageddon. Oh yes, and we’ll also make a pact to free Purgatory after the defeating part is over. Lincoln will play thrax representative for the parlay. The Oligarchy represent the ghouls, and I’m covering the quasis. Once Verus shows up, we’ll have a delegate from the angels and we can get started.
The room shakes again. The metal shelves rattle, cans and boxes tumble to the floor. I wince. Armageddon’s getting busy.
A portal opens nearby, its edges blurry. Through it steps Walker, Verus, and Levi, one of the angels who trained my class at school. Was that only weeks ago? It feels like a million years. Walker’s face looks pale again. His mouth creases in pain.
I rise to my feet. “Walker, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” He waves his hand. “Please continue.”
My head tilts to one side. “Talk to me. What happened?”
Walker forces a smile. “The Oligarchy are right, there’s some interference in Group Think. I got injured creating the portal, but it’s nothing I can’t self-heal if given some time.”
“Thank you.” My voice cracks when I speak. “Be well.” I watch him step away, my face twisting with a frown.
Lincoln gives my hand a squeeze. “He’ll be fine. We need to focus on the negotiations.”
I nod my head once and retake my seat. “Right.”
“Greetings, everyone.” Verus slides into a chair on my opposite side, carefully straightening her white robes in the process. I feel a weight lift off my body, one I didn’t know I was carrying. After the fight in the Arena, I wasn’t sure Walker would even find Verus alive. I guess I’ve gotten attached, despite her sneakiness.
Levi takes a position behind Verus’s chair, his silver armor gleaming in the dim light. Neither of them are showing their wings.
Verus looks at my eyes for a long time, her face positively beaming. “You’ve now taken your true form as the Great Scala.” Every inch of her seems to scream ‘and isn’t that the greatest thing ever?’
I squirm in my seat. In my book, my Scala powers are bad news. “Yup. I’m the Great Scala.” For now.
Verus nods. “Excellent.” She gestures to the group. “I welcome this opportunity to parlay.” She spots Lincoln and I holding hands. “You two have formed an attachment?”
“We have.” I stare at her through narrowed eyes. “One of these days, I’d like to discuss your skills as matchmaker.”
The lead angel’s smile broadens. “I wasn’t sure you’d noticed.”
Lincoln arches his eyebrow. “Some of us didn’t.”
Another sonic boom shakes the walls as Armageddon tries breaking into the bunker. Time to get negotiating.
Leaning back in my chair, I take a long look around. Lincoln, Verus, the Oligarchy, and I all sit in a circle. Verus’s guard Levi stands behind her. Walker has taken up position behind me. Mom, Cissy, and Zeke are in the antechamber, sorting through supplies. Adair’s doing…Eh, who cares what she does?
I inhale a deep breath. Here’s where the plan really begins. Straightening my shoulders, I try to ignore the little butterflies with big sledgehammers that have taken up residence in my stomach.
Remember, Myla: just get through today.
I clear my throat. “We’re all here to represent the four peoples affected by Armageddon’s attack on Purgatory: angels, ghouls, thrax, and quasis. Our goal’s to come up with a plan to defeat Armageddon and change how Purgatory’s run.”