At this point, Claire could kill a man in his presence and get no more of a reaction than a raised eyebrow and an offer to help dig a hole to hide the evidence. Those closest to Michael are afforded special protections.

"The word you're looking for is 'hypocrite'."

Of all the mean things he could say about Lucifer, that's one of the mildest. He appreciates that she doesn't give him reason to linger on that topic of conversation. Claire's better at leading these discussions than she thinks she is. There is no joy to be found in speaking of his brother, but he is still trying his best to accept that letting go of Adam is the right thing to do—like returning a wounded wild animal one has cared for to nature.

Maybe if he says it's a good thing often enough, he'll come to believe it too. Michael is a master of starting from a conclusion and working backwards to build the evidence around it.

"Claire, he and I shared a body for ten years." He's sure he knows what happy looks like on his vessel, even from the outside. "He had given up on college while he hosted me. And while he never asked me to leave, he never wanted to be anything other than human, either. I think we existed in that state of affairs for so long that separating never occurred to us.

"He has the opportunity now to live the life he never would have otherwise. It's for the best."