EIGHT
Thaddeus
The black swirls in the portal moved with a slosh before Titan strolled into the unkempt office with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his black jeans. His eyes widened a bit as he glanced around the room. Papers were in unorderly stacks and various books were laid out on the floor opened to pages that didn’t make any bloody sense.
After Kai snapped us back to the reality of things, Blaise and I started putting effort into finding our Lilith. The initial shock of Gabriel taking her was brutal, and gutted didn’t begin to describe the ache in my chest. But Kai was able to talk some sense into us. Thankfully, he had enough wits to ask Brann and Oren for help. We hadn’t heard back from them yet, but I was hoping we’d hear something from someone soon.
We had been searching for any kind of leads to get Aziel into Heaven, but no angel would give us the time of day, let alone speak to us. And for some bloody reason, Heaven didn’t have portals.
Baylor had been sifting through any paperwork he could get his hands on, and Priamos was trying to find more angels who would consider going up against their queen.
So far, we had nothing. We couldn’t find proof that Lilith was even in Heaven, and that was unsettling.
A growl tore from Aziel’s throat as he hopped up out of the seat in front of the desk. He’d been quite ratty, snapping at everyone over everything. He’d just blow up for no reason, and I had to remind him that the guys and I were vulnerable to his hellfire. I understood he was going through the same shit we were, but fuck. I didn’t want to be burnt to a crisp before we got Lilith back.
Resting my elbows on the desk, I rubbed my temples. Vampires may not have been capable of headaches, but this was as close as I’d get to one. None of us slept last night. We could barely function without Lilith. I didn’t know when we had become so bloody dependent on her, but it was clear that we were.
I love her so fucking much it hurts. My chest flared with fiery slices of pain.
Just thinking of what Gabriel could be doing to her was enough to set me ablaze. We had to do something to get to her. Sitting around, chasing dead ends wasn't helping anyone.
King Zelek refused to meet with us so we could see her, which made it clear that we’d made a complete cock-up. I always had a plan, but right now, I didn’t have an inkling of what to do.
If Lilith could see us now, she would have some snarky response that would kick our asses in shape—but she wasn’t here, so who was going to give us the extra kick we needed?
The posturing growling between Aziel and Titan snapped me out of my pity party.
“We were just talking about you.” I cleared my throat. “We were discussing whether or not you could help us find Lilith.”
“What do you think I’ve been doing all this time?” Titan scoffed.
“We don’t need your help,” Aziel snapped.
Rolling my eyes, I slammed my hands on the desk with a smack. The wood split down the middle, cracking open. It thudded to the ground with everything that was resting on top of it, papers scattering. “This is fucking ridiculous. We all want Lilith back.”
“She’s going to kick your ass when she gets back,” Titan said, blinking at the mess I’d made of Lilith’s desk.
“We have to get her back first.” I forced a hand through my hair. This reminded me of when she cracked our kitchen countertop because she was pissed off at me. She was a new vampire then, but now, I didn’t know what she was. I didn’t care either, I just wanted her home, with us.
Why did I fight her so hard in the beginning?
Oh, right. Because I was a stubborn wanker.
Aziel’s accusation pierced through my memories and brought me back to the present. “This fucker has been in love with Lilith since he first saw her, but I don’t see him freaking out. It’s like her absence isn’t even affecting him. How could we trust him to help find her?”
“That’s bullshit!” Titan shook with anger, raw fury radiating off of him. “Her absence is affecting me more than you will ever know. I’m trying not to let it take over completely so I can actually do something. She needs someone who will get off their ass and figure out how to get her back. Not just make deals to see her through smoke and mirrors.”
“We’re trying to figure it out,” I growled.
“You work with Gabriel!” Aziel’s voice shook the office, the red glow of the wall pulsating harder. “How do we know you aren’t on his side? What if you know exactly where she is? What if this is some sort of fucked up power play for you to get her all to yourself?”
Titan’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! We’ve known each other for millennia. How could you possibly think I would betray Lilith? I respect her. I sure as fuck would never kidnap her or leave her in the hands of Gabriel who did the most heinous things to her in the past.”
They stared each other down for a few moments, tension thick in the air.
“Prove it then,” Aziel said.
A loud rumble went through Titan’s chest as he stepped forward. “Gabriel keeps me at arms length for a reason. He never tells me anything when it comes to Heaven‘s business. I was in charge of Hell’s issues, and Gabriel didn’t like me interfering with the living realm or purgatory, sure as fuck not his domain. So no, I don’t know where Lilith is. But if I did, she would be here and wouldn’t be fucking happy with how bad you’re losing it.”
