With a Vengeance

by Freydís Moon

You shall blush for the gardens that you have chosen.

Be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.

“You asked what it’s like to fall from grace, but you already know the feeling. My father abandoned me—our father. But I could’ve stayed, could’ve been obedient. I chose to fall; you chose to leave. You asked me how that works, and it’s really fuckin’ simple. I saw the fault in something infallible—a lot of us did—and I thought I’d be better suited with the sinners. That’s all.”

“We’re magical fuckbuddies,” they snapped. Laughter barked from him. “Is that right?” “What the hell would you call it?” He crossed the room in a puff of smoke and placed his lips close to their ear. “The start of a really sexy cult.”

They had never been devout, but when Eli took their chin between his fingers and forced their gaze, they knew religion.