I just nodded and continued stirring. Now that I wasn’t actively doing anything, my mind started wondering about what Michael said today.
“Why did Michael give me his grace?” I asked with my back to Naomi. “And what the hell did he mean by now all I need is Lucifer’s?” I didn’t expect an answer and when Naomi didn’t speak, I took a glance over my shoulder. She stood looking out the back window, her profile carved in thought.
I let it go, focusing back on our dinner. When I set our plates on the table, she turned and sighed, taking the seat opposite me. I brought two bowls and spoons along with the soup pot just in case she changed her mind.
The minute I set the soup down, she turned ravenous, like she hadn’t eaten in years. I had the forethought to make her two sandwiches and she decided halfway through the first half to add soup to her meal.
“Maybe he’s setting you up to be a true trinity.” Naomi said around a mouthful of grilled cheese.
“How?”
“Maybe when your father died, you got his grace too.”
I burst out laughing. “I still can’t get over the fact I was the beneficiary of one angel’s grace, I’m certainly not worthy of two.”
Naomi’s brow knit together and she took another bite of her sandwich. “Why do you do that?” Her eyes flared to match the sharpness in her tone.
“Sweetheart, I killed my fair share of people and some of them did not deserve to die. I’m not worthy of grace.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Worthy or not, it sounds like you have it and you need to figure out how to use it.”
My hands dropped to the table and I stared at her. “What do you mean?”
“I might be wrong, but I have a feeling he could have made you better without granting you his grace.”
This wasn’t an idea I wanted to entertain. I didn’t understand why Michael would be so foolish as to put himself in harm’s way for me. “So he died... for me?” I asked, my voice carrying all the incredulousness that filled my brain.
“Angels don’t die, Damian. They just don’t get to leave heaven anymore.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?” I asked her, leaning back in the chair and crossing my arms.
Her gaze turned to a glare. “That isn’t the point. There was a reason Michael gave you his grace, we just need to figure it out and I think his statement may have been the key.”
“Look, right now, I want to get us as far from this house as I possibly can. I want you and my child to be safe and the last thing I want to do is confront Lucifer. You saw just as much as I did. He’s almost back to full strength, which means if we cross his path, we have nothing to defend ourselves with.”
“There has to be a way to kill that bastard,” she said.
“Okay, I’m curious, now that we’re human, just how in the hell do you suggest we kill an angel?” I countered, leaning forward on the table because I really had no clue and wanted to hear what she had to say. After all, she had nearly done him in when she was a vampire in tiger form.
“You steal his grace,” she said like it was an achievable thing.
I started laughing. “You are out of your fucking mind.”
Naomi huffed and pushed her plate in, crossing her arms in that stubborn manner that made me want to take her over my knee. Anger bloomed and I stood, clearing the table before I said something I’d regret.
“I’m serious.”
I spun from the sink. “You had the strength to kill him when you were a vampire; I never had that kind of power.”
She stood and cut the distance between us to nothing but a fraction of an inch. “You’re the stronger one now.”
Her hand landed on my chest and I stared into her eyes. Into the conviction displayed in her deep chocolate irises and laughed. I looked up at the ceiling cursing my bloodline as well as hers. I turned away from her, finishing the dishes instead of continuing this insane conversation.
“Have you heard anything more about Valerie?”
I wiped my hands on a dishtowel, realizing that I hadn’t told her about the conversation I had with the doctor. “I talked to her doctor before I called Ted. Life Star took Valerie to Hartford Hospital once she stabilized enough to travel. Her doctor said they had to remove her right kidney and they could give us a better idea of her recuperation time in the morning.” I left out the fact her odds weren’t ideal for making it through the night. Naomi didn’t need to know just how close we came to losing her. “And Ted said he’d call me if anything changed.”
Naomi just stared at me, her eyelashes batting like she didn’t quite understand. “They flew her to Hartford?”