All Malach and I need to do is join them, then we can turn that damn thing on and get the hell out of here. Already, Riven is messing with a dial on the side of the sphere.
“Malach.” I pat his shoulder with my free hand. “They made it. We can land.”
Nothing happens. His wings are still flapping,but we’re hovering in place. I crane my neck and meet his vacant stare. A shudder rocks me. I say his name again, louder and with more urgency. “Snap out of it, man. We’ve got to get out of here.”
Still, nothing happens.
A drop of sweat rolls from his hairline down his cheek before dripping off the side of his jaw. I tap his cheek—more than a pat and less than a slap. Malach didn’t leave me behind when I was vulnerable, and I’m not about to give up on him while he’s having some kind of episode.
“Think of Celine.” I squeeze the back of his neck. “Celine needs you, Malach. Your truth is down there waiting for us. Every second we stay up here is a second she’s less safe.”
The cloud over his eyes clears, and my heart thumps unsteadily in my chest. His green eyes focus on mine for a split second before primal fear explodes from him, too fast for me to even think about absorbing it.
Then we’re hurtling toward the ground, faster than a comet.
I scream Malach’s name and everything goes dark.
FORTY-SIX
Monster Realm Survival Tip #64:
What you refuse to become,
someone else already is.
MALACH
Nothing hurts worse than losing control.
I fight it with everything I have and toss Ciprian toward the others right before I hit the ground. Splintering pain rolls through me, the worst of it coming from my ankles.
The moment I’ve dreaded is here: S’lach is reeling in the slack.
Surrounded by half a dozen replicas of the angel I hate most, I roar at the sky like a beast. Confusion, fear, anger—his face wears a variety of expressions—but only one is smiling.
He’s soaking up the violence he caused and enjoying every minute of it.
These veydran, they aren’t good by any definition of the word, but they are conditioned to this life and desperate. Qualities S’lach took advantage of. Perhaps, if there were other options available to them, they would have chosen differently.
And the monsters? They’re shifters locked up for abilities they never asked for. All they want is a way out. Even the ones that enjoy killing wouldn’t be involved in this fight if S’lach’s desire to destroy Celine didn’t outweigh everything else.
“Very entertaining, Malach.” S’lach claps slowly. “I must say I’m impressed.”
I order my body to move. Plead with my fingers to wrap around his neck and squeeze the life out of him.Please,I beg myself, but no matter how hard I try, I’m locked in place, standing on frozen ground with broken ankles.
Celine calls my name. Her voice is small, smaller than it should be. She sounds unsure. I will myself to look at her, but my neck it stuck. S’lach’s hold over me is too absolute, and I can’t even make eye contact with the woman I love.
“Ah, my daughter.” S’lach turns to face the portal. “You know, this wasn’t my original plan. Too disorderly for my taste, but you survived longer than I thought possible. Lucky for me, I had a contingency plan in place.”
Celine tries to charge him, and it takes Alistair and Riven working together to hold her back. I’ve never been so thankful for them. If S’lach gets his hands on her, everything I’ve been working toward for the last decade will be for nothing.
S’lach steps toward me.
Internally, I writhe against his control, but I can’t so much as make myself blink.
The lines by his mouth overlap as he smiles. He’s enjoying watching me struggle.
Gusting wind tosses a strand of hair over his brown eyes, and I wish I could gouge them out. He doesn’t deserve those eyes—so similar to hers.
