He snorted at my theory and wrapped the towel around me, running his hands over my arms. “I think we both need to sleep.”
I nodded against his chest, suddenly aware of how heavy my limbs felt. The adrenaline that had been coursing through me was finally easing.
Nothing about my life looked the same anymore. The realization settled over me as Nico held me steady when my legs wanted to give out.
What had happened over the past several days had changed everything. Changedme. I wasn’t the same woman who had walked into those council chambers, hair hidden, wanting to belong. That version of myself felt like a stranger now.
The faint purple afterglow that had danced across my skin felt like a marker separating before from after. It didn’t scare me.
It made me feel powerful.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
RAPHAEL
Istared at the ceiling, tracing the pattern of shadows, knowing sleep wasn’t coming. Not after what I’d heard through the walls. Not after what I’d done about it.
Again.
My hand clenched into a fist against my stomach. Twice now. Twice I’d gotten myself off to her, and it was making me seriously consider slamming my head into the nearest solid surface. Hard.
I’d witnessed countless entanglements in my life and had remained perfectly detached through it all. But now I was lying in a vampire’s guest room, hard as stone because a demon woman had been fucked senseless.
What the fuck was wrong with me?
I should have returned to Earth hours ago and been in heaven helping with Lucifer’s recovery. But something in my gut told me to stay, and an archangel’s intuition wasn’t something to ignore. We were created with certain instincts for a reason, even if those reasons weren’t always immediately clear.
Still, this was getting ridiculous.
Lightning cracked across the sky outside, bright enough to illuminate the room even through a gap in the heavy curtains. The flash was followed by another, then another, creating a strobe effect that pulled me from bed.
I crossed to the window, intending to close the drapes completely, but when I reached for the fabric, I paused, looking out at the horizon.
A storm churned in the distance. Lightning forked through black clouds, illuminating them from within like veins of molten silver. No, not silver. They had a faint purple hue.
I’d been to Inferna before, though rarely. But all archangels knew about those storms and knew what they did to demons who got caught in them.
Nothing good ever came from the lightning here.
My stomach growled, breaking through my thoughts. Right. Food. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I could have sworn the vampire said he’d have clothes and food brought to our rooms.
I turned from the window and headed for the door, pulling it open. There were no clothes and no food. Fucking vampire.
With an annoyed grunt, I stepped into the hall, determined to go to the kitchen and find something to eat myself. I stopped short.
Samara stood near the stairs, her back to me. She wore a light-colored nightgown that caught the faint light from the sconces, making her look almost ethereal. Her hair was loose, cascading in waves that seemed to shimmer.
“Samara.”
She didn’t respond. Didn’t turn. Didn’t even acknowledge that she’d heard me.
My pulse kicked up. Something was wrong. I couldn’t get an accurate read on her emotions.
I followed her down the stairs, keeping a careful distance. Her movements were mechanical, like she was sleepwalking.
At the bottom of the stairs, I grabbed her arm. “Samara, stop?—”
Her fist connected with my nose before I could finish. Pain exploded across my face, and I stumbled into a pedestal. The vase on top crashed to the floor, ceramic shards scattering across the marble.
