I hated that my eyes went to where Corson stood ten feet away from me in the small, open section of woods. I tried to get as much distance from him as I could, but I couldn’t stop looking at him and Bale athisside.
Had there ever been anything between them? I’d wondered it more than a few times since meeting them. They were deadly when they killed together; I’d never seen anything escape them. Often, they didn’t speak to each other as they stalked their prey and they seemed to sense what the other would do before they did it. They read each other better than any couple I’d everknown.
Oh, for fuck’s sake, you’re starting to annoy me more than Corson!I snapped at myself.Get it together.Corson said I was his Chosen, but I had no claim on him, and I didn’t want one. He could do whatever orwhoeverhe wanted from hereonout.
There were ten thousand more important things to worry about right now. Like why Raphael, one of the most powerful beings on this planet, looked like someone had walked over hisgrave.
Beside me, Erin shifted, drawing my attention to her. She didn’t look away fast enough to hide the fact she’d been staring at the bite on my neck. I resisted tugging at the collar of my shirt; it was already up as high as it would go. I never should have put my hair in a braid, but it was my habit to wear it that way, and I hadn’t been thinking about the marks when I’dbraidedit.
It was too late now, and to unbraid it would make it appear like I cared about those marks more than I did. Because I did not care about thematall.
Yeah, and the sky is full of yellow unicorn farts.I glanced at the sky to confirm it was still blue. For all I knew, with everything that had happened, the sky really could be full of some yellow, stinky Hell creature gas. The púca could shapeshift into unicorn-looking beastsafterall.
Erin smiled shyly at me, and red color crept into her cheeks. Her almond-shaped, dark ocean-blue eyes radiated warmth. Small and slender, she was as nimble as she was intelligent, and during my time with her, I’d learned Erin Choi was of South Korean and Irishdescent.
“What is it you saw,Raphael?”
Caim’s question drew my attention back to the two angels as they stared at each other with open animosity. However, no matter how much they acted as if they despised each other, I’d seen Caim and Raphael both protect each other from an attack. They were like the siblings who pummeled each other into the dirt, but if anyone else dared to do the same, the angels turned on them like rabid dogs. I didn’t know if they realized their protectiveness toward each other or not, but they didn’t hide theirbitterness.
Not only were their looks and coloring stark opposites, but so were their personalities. They were both gorgeous though. I assumed that was a given considering God had forged them. The demons and angels may refer to it as the Being, but I’d dutifully donned my little bonnet and dress to attend church every Sunday as a child. The Being would always be Godtome.
Raphael focused his attention on the rest of us as he spoke. “The fallen are gathered about three miles from here. They are at thegateway.”
A shiver ran down my spine at the mention of the fallen angels. We were here to kill them, but the idea of them so close was more than a littleunnerving.
Caim was the only fallen I’d ever had any interaction with, and he wasn’t so bad. However, I knew his siblings were a lot different than him. They’d all been thrown from Heaven, terrorized Hell for six thousand years, and helped Lucifer unleash Hell on Earth. They were powerful, cruel, and looking to either destroy or enslave humanity. They’d have to kill me before I allowed myself to be caged by oneofthem.
“The gatewaydiddraw them back,” Corson murmured. “We knew it was apossibility.”
“We did. I don’t like the idea of so many of them so close to us right now, but we expected them to regroup after Lucifer’s death. You are all siblings and such, and you tend to stick together,” Magnus replied with a dismissive wave ofhishand.
I didn’t know if Magnus was as bored by this conversation as he acted or if he was trying to irritate Raphael. Lifting a hand, Magnus yawned into the back of it while his silver eyes heldRaphael’sgaze.
The chiseled planes of Magnus’s sculpted face and his ice-blond hair made him appear more angelic than demonic. However, the two six-inch black horns curving back against the sides of his head were entirely demonic. His hair mostly covered those polished horns, but the tips of them were visible. I’d learned from Erin and Vargas that Magnimus, or Magnus as he preferred to be called, was the last demon of illusions and could weave things out ofthinair.
“Yes, thefallen all considerthemselvessiblings,” Raphael replied, making it clear he didn’t considerthemsuch.
Caim rolled his eyes. “Our bond to you and the other angels may have severed when we fell, but we are siblings still. We wereallcreated by the same power and from the same Heavenlywaters.”
Raphael’s eyes narrowed on him. “Yes, we were, but those siblings would happily have my head and yours. They hate you for turning on Lucifer as much as they hate me now. Consider them your brothers and sisters if you will;Iconsider them my enemies as it will help me to kill them when the timecomes.”
For the first time since I’d met him, Caim didn’t seem to know what to say, and it took him a bit to respond. “True,” he grudginglyacknowledged.
“We did expect them to regroup, and we were hoping the gateway would draw them in so we would have a better idea of where they are and what they’re up to,” Raphael continued with a pointed look at Magnus. “We did not expect whatIsaw.”
“And what is that?” Corsoninquired.
“There are twenty-eight of the fallen at the gateway. I assume that is all that remains of them,”Raphaelsaid.
“I didn’t tally up their body count after we battled them the last time, but that sounds about right,”Balesaid.
“Those twenty-eight are gathering a following,” Raphaelcontinued.
“Fucking delightful,”Lixsaid.
Lix pulled the flask hanging from his side free, uncapped it, and took a swig of the beer inside. Though I knew it wouldn’t happen, I held my breath as I waited for the liquid to pour out of Lix’s skeletal frame. Like always, the liquid remained inside him—somewhere.
Most of the skelleins like Lix stood at about four and a half feet tall, but Lix was a little taller than the rest, and from what I’d gathered, he was their leader. All the skelleins loved games, riddles, drinking, and fighting. One of their favorite things to do was attempt to stump Erin with one of their numerous riddles. I hadn’t seen them succeed yet, but they were determined theywould.
