Ksenia—somehow the calmest person in the room despite holding an interdimensional baby—fills us in. “There’s still one more excellent source of radioactive material on this plane of existence.”
She pauses, and I realize she’s letting us figure it out ourselves.
My stomach drops as understanding hits.
“The sun,” I whisper.
“The sun,” Ksenia confirms.
We all stare at the screen, watching the Devourers swim through the sky toward our solar system’s greatest source of nuclear energy.
If they devour the sun… we’ll all die anyway. And so will every living thing on earth.
THIRTY-TWO
REMUS
Well,shit.
I see the terror on my Lo-Ren’s face and feel it in her tense body. I swore to protect her and that she would never have anything to fear being at my side.
Now, the world as she knows it is about to end. For the second time today.
And at least part of it is my fault. Phoenix never would’ve gotten the power boost from Grandpa-Dearest if I hadn’t given him the intel on my family, including Kharon’s plane-crossing abilities.
Granted, I didn’t know that was how Phoenix’s family’s power worked, but still. Not sure it’s worth quibbling about the finer points when the sun that warms my beloved’s skin is about to go dark.
It would be just my luck to finally find love and then watch her die cruelly along with all of her kind, only for my brothers and me to be left all alone on a cold, lifeless planet.
No.
Fuck no.
I squeeze Lo-Ren to me. She’s warm and breathing and alive now. I twist her toward me and kiss her.
She tries to pull back. “What are you?—”
“Just kiss me, my love.”
Her eyes pop open wide.
“I love you,” I say to her shocked expression. “You’ve made my pointless existence worth living, and all I want in this moment is to taste your lips.”
She closes her eyes and breathes out, nodding as her body goes limp against me in surrender. “One last time.”
I kiss her and she throws herself into me, her body coming back to life as our lips press furiously together. I’m glad to feel some of her fight return because it’s what I live for. What I’d die for, apparently, since that’s where I’m headed.
I pull back, the fire inside me roaring. After all, I am the angel of War. And for the first time in my life, I have something to fightfor.
“I’ll see you soon, my love.” I grin at her, all glamours gone, wanting it to be my face she looks into just in case it really is for the last time.
She clings to me, but I pull back. “Wait, where are you going? Don’t leave!”
“I’m always in your heart,” I say, pressing my hand to her chest. “Some things are eternal.”
And then I yank away from her clinging grasp, turn, and sprint out of the room and down the hallway. Running is an inefficient way of travel, though, especially for where I’m going.
As soon as I reach the courtyard, I flare my black wings wide, leap, and take off into the air. Time for the battle of my life.
