“Give over,”his beast hissed.“I’sss make it better. I’sss kill the foolssss…together we rulesss over the most magnificssssent of all placessss, Infernii Demessssne. Open…gateway.”
The Infernii Realm? Like he would ever let that happen!
No sane demon would set foot in that place of hell and torture, where prisoners were sentenced for their crimes—
Shit! Agony splintered through his skull at the beast’s retaliation. Grunting, Nate tightened his mind shields, but pain still bled through. He fumbled for the t-shirt he’d left on the counter weeks ago, pulled it on, and made his way outside, then stopped, staring out into the endless aridness broken by mountains and lava stalagmites. And exhaled roughly, rubbing his chest as if it hurt.
No matter what happened, he didn’t want a fatal end to his life, not now, not when his thoughts, his entire being, hell, his heart had set itself onher.
Sssshe letsss you die,the Black hissed.
His mind reeled, and he swayed as if the ground had moved.
What the hell was wrong with him?
Fuck, he planted his feet down. First, he had to find a way and get rid of this dizziness, then get through this damn fight, alongwith the one escalating between himself and the Black…
And surviving either of them didn’t look promising.
CHAPTER24
The archangel’slow voice drifted over Ely as the meeting continued. She barely heard him, heard anything. How could she, when her head felt like it would explode from her turmoil?
Gods. She rubbed her burning eyes with her knuckles, so sure the walls of the small study were closing in on her, aware it all came back to the one person she’d unintentionally hurt—
Hurt?
Hysterical laughter caught in her throat. Her actions had forever ruined his life. Had she not rescued him, and he died, he would have passed on to his Heaven. Had peace. Not live this tormented existence. Tears clogged her throat.
I’m so sorry, Nate.
She swallowed hard, staring blankly at her clenched hands on her lap. Was he back from the Dark Realm?
He hadn’t called or responded to any of her text messages since last night. The need to get back on the street, find him, see if he was okay—see iftheywere okay—dug its claws into her. She understood he was upset, yet, deep within her, the cognizance that something was terribly off wouldn’t leave.
Vae.She swiped her sweaty palms on her pants as she brooded, conscious Týr’s dark gaze swung her way every so often. Well, she had nothing to say.
“Anything else to report?” Michael asked, leaning back in his creaky chair. “The blood demon on the prowl? The abduction of the humans?” His shattered blue stare took them all in with a sweeping glance.
“Nothing on the blood demon. Bastards are too canny,” Blaéz said, shifting on the armchair next to hers, his leathers creaking.
“What was the initial carved on the human’s brow again?” Týr asked, his gaze on her, and she stilled.
“An M or N,” Nik murmured. “Hard to say with so many slashes.”
“Or it could be a way to distract us from who’s truly behind it,” she shot back, eyes narrowing.
Michael frowned, flipping a pen between his fingers. “Any leads on that yet?”
Týr merely hooked his thumbs into his back pockets. Ugh. She looked away, bumping into Nik’s contemplative stare. Gods, seriously?
All she needed was for Blaéz to pick up something with his precognition, but his expression remained neutral. Only Dagan minded his business, watching them all from where he stood near the window, arms folded over his chest. With the study being so small, heck, nothing would escape their notice.
“Care to let me in on what’s going on?” Michael stopped flipping. His eyebrows arched, his gaze shifting between her, Týr, and Nik.
Crap. Before either of the guys opened their mouths, she said, “By the way, something came to my notice a few days ago. I would have told you, but with all that’s going on within me, it slipped my mind. I’m sorry.”
Michael merely waved it off with his pen. “Go on, Ely.”
