Husk sat behind the bar, chin propped on his claws, wings drooping as he flipped a single coin over and over. The clink echoed like a slow heartbeat. Angel Dust sprawled across the bar counter like a decorative, foul-mouthed throw blanket. His boots kicked rhythmically against the wood, each hit earning an annoyed twitch from Husk’s ear.

“Ya know,” Angel drawled, upside-down and unbothered, “I can feel your hatred vibratin’ off you. It’s kinda hot.”

“It’s me wantin’ to throw you out a damn window,” Husk muttered, not looking up.

From the center of the room, Vaggie let out a sound very similar to a failing smoke alarm. “Angel, get off the counter! And Husk, stop enabling him!”

“I ain’t enabling shit,” Husk snapped. “I’m too tired to beat his ass today.”

“Aw, babe,” Angel cooed, fluttering his lashes, “that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Charlie burst into the room with the kind of stress-fueled optimism only she could wield, clutching a clipboard like it was holy scripture. “Okay! So! Today we are going to try a team bonding positivity circle!”

Every sinner in the room reacted like she’d said taxes.

Cherri Bomb materialized in the doorway with a soda can full of questionable liquid. “Are we bonding before or after things explode?”

“No explosions,” Vaggie warned.

“No promises,” Cherri replied, popping her gum.

The air rippled like a radio tuning into the wrong channel as Alastor emerged with a grin sharp enough to slice the wallpaper. “My, my! A positivity circle? How delightfully dreadful!”

Nifty zipped past him, her excitement leaving a wind current. “Ooo! Are we sharing feelings? I organized everyone by emotional instability levels!” She held up a color-coded chart that looked… deeply concerning.

Angel peered at the chart. “Why am I in the dangerously unpredictable category?”

“Narcissism plus trauma!” Nifty chirped.

“Fair.”

Then the room darkened. Not ominous—no. Dramatic.

Because of course it was dramatic.

A curtain of flame flared open and Lucifer Morningstar strode in like he owned the hotel.

Wearing a suit brighter than sin and a smirk to match, he clapped his hands once. “Wonderful! A family activity!”

Vaggie’s eye twitched.

Charlie lit up like Christmas. “Dad! You want to join the positivity circle?”

“My dear, I insist.” Lucifer snapped his fingers, conjuring a plush velvet circle of chairs—overly fancy, mismatched sizes, and definitely too many spikes.

Everyone stared.