I shot into the air, not bothering to respond.
“You could have a place with us, Cain. We would teach you how to harness the power and embrace the light, give you a chance to help those in need. We’d require nothing in exchange.” His blue eyes sparkled with hope, or something similar. “You’d never be enslaved, and you’d have the freedom to choose your path.”
“The only thing I want”—I shrugged my shoulders and twisted my neck to loosen a kink—“is to remove Adam’s head from his body. You’re fucking nuts if you think I’d believe you want nothing from me.Everyonewants something. Nothing is free or without strings.”
“You’re wrong. Our power comes from helping humans, and we enjoy it. That’s the only tradeoff. Humanity has such potential for good, yet they also carry a terrible penchant for depravity, for violence, for greed. God wants to keep the scales in balance. Humanity is the fulcrum. Don’t you see?”
I spit into the air, the glob landing on the staircase below. “All I see is both sides trying to corrupt or influence man, never giving us—them—the chance to figure things out on their own.”
“Again, you’re wrong.” He shook his head and sighed. “We’ve been here all along, doing our best to guard and guide those who are worthy. If you had any idea of the sacrifices we’ve made...the futures we’ve given up...” His gaze shifted to the side, his mouth tightening, eyes squeezing shut for a moment.
Instead of responding, I used his momentary inattention to my advantage, driving straight through the empty air to collide into him. The impact sent him falling onto the floor.
A great, terrible, beautiful noise rang through the domed building, a call which seemed to rise from somewhere deep inside of me, twanging every molecule in my body. I would’ve dropped to the floor if I hadn’t already been standing above Michael’s prone form.
From thin air, at least six angels appeared in a semicircle, their swords drawn, wings out, and faces full of righteous fury.
At the same time, Samael crashed through the hall and into the wide room, stopping several feet from where Michael lay.
Samael’s staff blazed with dark energy, and his eyes were alight with war fever. “Go, Cain. Finish your task quickly. I’ll take care of them.” He pointed the tip of his bladed staff to the newly arrived angels.
Without hesitation, I spread my wings, ready to spring into the air to reach the top level, foregoing the stairs.Need to start thinking like a true angel. No need to run anywhere when I can fly.I’d have loved to blink to where I needed to be, but I had no point of reference.
Michael rose to his knees and pointed his sword toward me. “Cain, don’t let vengeance rule your actions. You’re one of the first men. Do you know how rare that is?”
Weapons bashed shields in the distance, and Samael spun in the air, his staff absorbing the blows of the other angels as he kept their attention on him.
“But vengeance is all I’ve ever known. You have no idea what it has been like, how lost and alone I’ve felt.” I should’ve rushed upward, yet I felt the need to explain myself.
“There is more to existence than making others pay for their crimes.” Michael rose to his knees. “And something in you wants more, I can sense it. Don’t squander the light growing inside. Let go of the anger and embrace your higher purpose. I promise you’ll never be lost again.”
Sweat pooled around my neck and dripped under my armor. The juncture of my wings, unprotected by the shielding, ached. His words ate at my insides. Sick shame swirled in my stomach.
No, vengeance isn’t all I’ve ever known. With Phoebe, I found acceptance...forgiveness... And what did I do? I threw it away.
My chest wouldn’t expand; I couldn’t breathe under the weight of my armor, the new wings, the truth. Banishing the plate around my chest, I gasped cold air, its cleansing, pure scent steadying my thoughts.
Must stick to Samael’s plan. I can’t let Michael get inside my head.
In the distance, Samael took out two angels with a blast of ether and lightning then stalked the others. He was Lucian’s Angel of Death, and he proved it today.
“Higher purpose?” I sneered, releasing the pent-up venom in my heart. “You mean I should follow God even after His power allowed my father...Adam...to curse me for eternity?”
Michael stood but kept his sword lowered.
“How convenient it must be to never sacrifice, to know love and to be cherished by your family, to see empires rise and fall...to never feel another’s embrace.” I settled on the stairs. My muscles shook with barely restrained control. I wanted to drive the tip of the Hellsteel blade through his heart and twist until blood poured from his self-righteous mouth.
“We all have our tests, Cain. And you’re wrong. Idoknow sacrifice.” He shook his head. “I’m saying—”
“We’re done.” No longer staggering under the weight of truth and duty, I called to the ether, commanding it to reform my chest piece. It was time to stop talking and start killing. “Irule my actions. Not you, not God, not vengeance. Me, and me alone.” I stepped closer, keeping one stair between us.
Michael chuckled and pushed a hip against the banister, his stance loose and fluid. “It’s not too late for you, Cain. If you could only see what I see in you—” His eyebrows furrowed as a glint of gold sparkled near my foot, snagging my attention and his, too.
Phoebe’s necklace, it must’ve somehow fallen out of my pocket when I tore away the armor.
Pain and grief twisted my heart, the torture so strong I waved my shield away, stooped, and scooped the precious jewelry into my hand, clenching the pendant in my fist to hide it from Michael’s eyes.
“Let me see that.” His cornflower-blue stare darkened as he held out an open palm. “Now.”
