Breathing hard, he slathered the ointment Aba had procured for him on the open, seeping wound—a wound meant for Ely. Anger pulsed through him that the fucker would even dare to harm her. While he might not give a fuck what happened to him, he never wanted to see the light in Ely diminished because of him.
Once healed, he would find the scum and teach him firsthand why Nate wasn’t only Azgor’sSicaribut also theImmitis, the merciless bastard of the death pit.
CHAPTER12
Ely reformedamong a cluster of trees near the Oracle’s brownstone in Greenwich Village, her concern over Nate growing. He hadn’t used the healing potion and ointment she’d given him. While she was glad Aba had healed, Nate could die! Didn’t he understand that? The Guardians’ weapons were a death sentence!
She hurried along the snow-powered sidewalk to the brownstone a few houses away—a place that once belonged to Kira and the former Oracle, her grandmother, Lila—who’d actually been her mother. A year later, Ely couldn’t wrap her head around that revelation.
She ran up the steps to the front door. Creeping vines, grown from tubs, trailed over the trellis, framing the doorway and welcoming her in a gentle sway. Panting, Ely grabbed the metal handrail, trying to calm down before she worried Jaden with her panicked arrival. Then there’d be questions she couldn’t answer.
As she straightened, the door opened, revealing the tall, slender woman, their new Oracle.
Instead of wearing the festive colors of the upcoming human holiday, Christmas, Jaden dressed in black tights and thick gray socks with black skulls, and she’d teamed her macabre footwear with a thigh-length indigo sweater which cast a bluish hue to her feline-shaped green eyes. She appeared more like a teenager than a powerful Oracle.
“I’m so happy to see you.” A wide smile lit Jaden’s striking face, then she scrunched her nose. “Good, lord!” She shuddered. “It’s too cold. Come inside.” She ushered Ely into the warm living room and shut the door. The smell of something savory lingered in the air, along with undernotes of lavender, sage, and some other herbs.
Ely unfastened her long coat, her heart beating too fast. “I’m so sorry for turning up without calling first.”
“No, worries.” Jaden waved it aside. “What can I do for you, Ely? I sense this isn’t a social visit?”
“No. I’m sorry.” In her worry over Nate, she’d forgotten about her own problems. She went with the easy one first. “I’ve been having a temperature spike for a few days that won’t ease.”
Jaden frowned. “Could it be your powers are surging? I’m aware Empyreans have this problem.”
Hell. She was a confusion of heat and need.
“No, not us females.” She rubbed her palms down her leather-clad thighs. “I did something terrible,” she blurted. “I let anger rule me, and I hurt someone. I fear my weapon will cause a slow and painful death.”
Jaden studied her with those jewel-colored, contemplative eyes. “The only species your Gaian weapons would have that effect on is demons or evil beings.”
Ely nodded. “Demon.”
“Hmm. I never had to treat a demon or save one,” Jaden murmured. “Maybe, I can add a little something extra to the potions I give you Guardians. Give me a moment.” She disappeared through the dark corridor like some wraith.
Another spike of heat spread through her, and she bit back a groan. Exhaling roughly, Ely trudged away from the warmth of the blazing fireplace to the window. She couldn’t deal with these unrelenting heat surges when she had to get back on patrol, and there was Nate to consider. She refused to leave him alone, injured, and in a damn cage. Man, she needed some time off, she finally conceded.
That meant she had to notify Michael.
With a shaky hand, she removed her cell from her coat pocket. Though she possessed the ability of telepathy since she became a Guardian, she rarely used it, uncomfortable talking into someone’s mind. She texted him.
I think my new power has awakened, and my temperature’s hiking. I might have to Ground. I spoke to Echo. She reminded me it’s what Aethan used to do. I’m not sure how long it will take.
She hit send, then stared at her cell display, biting her lip as she waited for his response…
A knock echoed, startling Ely. She stared at the entrance. No pinging of power to alert her as to who it might be. Since Jaden was occupied, she answered.
Her jaw dropped. “Michael?” She didn’t expect her formidable leader to turn up in person.
He nodded. Dressed in leathers and a black tee revealing his bulging biceps, and with his hair pulled back in a half-ponytail, the archangel might look like a brawny biker, except, he was all-powerful and incredibly dangerous. She hadn’t seen him kicking ass yet, but she’d heard the stories.
“You could have just texted me back,” she said quickly.
“It’s no problem.” He moved his aviator shades to his head. His unsettling, shattered blue stare did a quick once-over of her, no doubt ensuring she was not about to explode and cause mass destruction to the poor, unsuspecting mortals in the area.
Stifling her wariness, Ely stood aside, and he entered. She shut the door and took a few steps to an armchair, clutching the back for support as another wave of heat swamped her.
“Yes, I feel you,” he said, stopping at the small fireplace, the swaying, crackling flames backlighting his massive build. “I sensed your state earlier today at the castle, too.”
