“Lyriana, you’re in no state to do so! What do you think is going to happen if you find him now? He’s a newborn akadim, he’ll be hungry. Ravenous! Out of his mind. And even if he remembers you, it won’t be him, it will be something else, something soulless. And I promise you, you’re not ready for that!”
“You don’t know that! I’ll do whatever it takes, and I know I can. Because I did it before! I had to kill a friend who became akadim, minutes after it happened.”
“When you were in the arena! When your life was threatened! And so was Rhyan’s. It’s not the same thing!”
I snarled.
“Just work with me,” he said. “Because I feel like there’s more to this. Something bigger is happening. Okay. I came because you called me. I did. But still—even that shouldn’t have been possible. There’s some reason I’m here. And I want to know what it is.”
But we already knew the reason. It wasn’t just for me, to comfort me, or help me. It was because I was more powerful than I’d known, than anyone had wanted to admit.
I could destroy. I could change the land. And the Council didn’t like that. Didn’t want another Drowning. There was no other reason. Rhyan was gone. Becoming an akadim was irreversible. It was a state that ended in only one way—death.
A death that would kill me. A death that already had in some ways. Because as much as I was running around in this body, breathing, crying, and running, my heart was broken, my soul splintered. It was no longer mine. It had gone wherever Rhyan’s had. I might as well have been an akadim, too. At least, then, we’d be together.
“Auriel!” I yelled, still struggling. “Godsdamnit. Get off of me!”
“I said,” his voice dangerously low, “wait, Lyriana.”
“And I said,” gritting my teeth, “to get off.”
“I would if you’d listen to me. But you won’t! So you know what, if you want to be stubborn, then go ahead. Run.” His lips curled. “Do it. But I’ll be right behind. And when I catch you I will take you over my shoulder, and I will carry you into the cave. And then I will hold you down myself until the rain stops.”
Fire blazed in me. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, I think I would. Because if you want to know something, I’m getting just a little bit offended at your welcome of me. I think I might enjoy carrying you back there. And if you run, I will do it.” He cocked his head to the side. “You understand how seriously Rhyan took his oaths? Well, let me tell you, he learned that from me, and he’s far more reasonable! So listen carefully. You’re going to stop fighting, and you’re going to let me help you. I’m here to keep you safe, to figure things out until we can actually do something about all of this. You might not know this, but Heaven isn’t exactly a place you can just come and go from. Normally the only way out is by being born. And that’s not what I just did. I’m here for a reason, and we’re going to figure out what that is.” The muscles in his jaw ticked.
I spat at him, but he moved his head aside too quickly. I knew he was a God, but I was still stunned at how impossibly fast he moved without warning, and how unnaturally powerful his reflexes were. And yet, underlying it all was the way his aura felt, clouded, and confused, like he’d been weakened in some way.
I spat again for good measure. He barely blinked as he dodged.
“Well, you’re feisty. I’ll give you that.” His eyes were sparkling, almost mischievously.
“I didn’t ask you to give me anything!” I yelled. “I don’t want anything! Just for you to fucking let me go!”
“And we already went over why I think that’s a bad idea,” he snapped. “Typical. I was trying to be gentle with you back there.Patient. I understand the pain you’re in—better than you know.” His voice cracked. “And I really am here to help you. But you won’t accept anything I say. You’re too stubborn.”
Auriel made a sound low in his throat. “By all the fucking realms. The latest one in a millennium, and for all the tiny differences, you might as well be an exact copy of the original.”
“The latest one?” I shouted.
“Latest incarnation. Most current expression of Asherah.” Auriel shrugged.
“I am not a copy!” I slammed my wrists forward without warning, breaking free of his trap. Within seconds I withdrew my dagger, and slid it firmly against his neck, then grabbed his shoulder, pushing the blade against his skin, just enough to tell him I was serious, and I held it there, until I had him pressed and imprisoned against the stone.
“Who’s a God now?” I asked.
His green eyes widened in surprise and then with far too much amusement considering he had my knife at his throat.
“Well done,” he said, his gaze sweeping down the length of my blade, and then the rest of my body. As if he were Rhyan. As if we were back in the training room together and he was teaching me. The rain had flattened his golden hair, and was running down his face in thick rivulets. But somehow, even with all the similarities between them, it didn’t make him look any more mortal to me.
“Your form, your technique,” Auriel said, “and your element of surprise is really top notch. As expected. But … Not. Good. Enough.” He flicked his wrist and my blade fell to the ground. A second later Auriel had my arms trapped again at my side. He pulled me against him, and spun us until once more I was pressed into the stone, my breath coming in quick heavy bursts.
“I can still take you!” I snarled.
He laughed again. “Predictable.”
“What is?”
