My soul throbbed deep within me. There was something nearby.Someonenearby. My soul, the demon part of me, was responding to a call that reached out toward me. My eyes widened, and I stumbled back. There was only one person my soul had ever felt that way around. There was only one person in the world who felt familiar in that particularway.
Sam.
He was alive? And he washere?
I stumbled out of the room and stood in the dark stone hallway, my chest heaving. Tears were streaming down my face, even though I hadn’t seen Sam with my own two eyes just yet. I knew he was alive. I couldfeelhim. I could feel his presence. And what was more, I could smell the fire of him. I cocked my head and sniffed the air. Lilith was there, too. I could smell the blood of the demon. And, just underneath it, the scent of angels drifted toward me. And ahuman.
They were all here. They were all alive. My father hadn’t killed them. My heart felt as though it had been wrenched out of me. Had I been wrong to blame him all this time? I shook my head.No.He had still sent me back to Celestia to save his own skin, and he’d ripped me away from those Iloved.
But they werealive.
To the left. That was where they were. I whirled in that direction, and my feet pounded against the stone floor. The ceremonial shoes dug tight into my feet, but I didn’t care. I would walk on coal if that meant I got to see every single one of them again. My friends, my lovers, the only people in the world who had ever truly cared about me, no matter what I was, no matter what mistakes I made. They all belonged to me, and I belonged tothem.
A large wooden door rose up before me, and I slammed to a stop just before it. I shoved it open, stumbling inside. The room was dark, but a few torches lined the stone walls. They illuminated two large metal cages that sat in the very center of the floor. But the floor between here and there had been knocked away, and there was a gaping chasm between me and thoseinside.
And those inside? My heart shook in my chest. There was Sam, with his blazing red hair. Andthere, there was Ramiel. His silver blue eyes pierced me from the dark. Uriel had his arms crossed over his chest, the light breeze of the dungeon causing the strands to flutter around his shoulders. Az stormed from one end of the cage to the other, his hair still tied back in that signature tight bun, no matter what. And there was Lizzie, crying into Isaac’s shoulder, who rubbed her back and held her close. Lilith looked more pissed off than I’d ever seen her, her skin now vibrating with the intense need to get her revenge against whoever had done this to them. I was guessing my father. Behind her, Rourke stood tall and alert, sporting an identicalexpression.
“Please tell me everyone’s okay, “I called out, my voice echoing against the stonewalls.
Everyone turned to face me, and shouts exploded through the quiet space. So many words, so many voices, that I couldn’t make out a single word, but it didn’t matter. I was far too happy to see them. The tears were still streaming down my face, and my heart still shook hard in my chest. I wanted to reach them, to throw my arms around each and every one of them. We had left things so terribly. That argument. The prophecy. None of it mattered anymore. I just wanted to be with them. I wanted to be in theirarms.
“Oh my God,” Lizzie said, pressing up to the metal bars and shoving her nose through. “Erela, I can’t believe you’re here. How did you get out of Celestia? Michael said that he took you back there, and that we would never see youagain.”
“He underestimated me,” I said with a laugh. “You know me. When I’m determined to do something, I do it, and I was going to find you all again no matter what…Though I have to admit, I thought he’d killed you. I thought he’d murder you to keep his secret hidden from the rest of theArchangels.”
“Yeah, we thought he was going to do that as well,” Uriel said, pushing off the metal wall to stride over to where he could peer out at me. “In fact, I think evenhethought he was going to kill us until it came time to do the deed. And then he just threw us into thesecages.”
“Guess he doesn’t have the stomach like the other Archangels do,” Az said in a dry voice. But then his eyes softened, and his lips tilted up into a smile. “Little Seraphim girl, you have no idea how happy I am to seeyou.”
My heart lifted even more. “Didn’t you get the memo? I’m not your little Seraphim girl anymore. I’mNephilim.”
“You think you and your Nephilim self can get us out of this hellhole?” Rourke asked, hopefully. “Because I gotta tell you, Erela, I’m hungry and thirsty. We haven’t eaten fordays.”
My heart sunk as I took in the gap in the floor between me and the rest of them. It was clear that this had been done on purpose. No one could cross this. No one except for someone with a pair of wings, like myfather.
“Erela,” a deep male voice rang out behind me. I jumped, and for a moment, I assumed my father had returned to take me straight back home. But no, that wasn’t his voice. Heart hammering, I spun on my feet, holding back the gasp when my eyes fell on a very different yet familiar face. Those thick rimmed glasses. That smug face. Why the hell was Asmodeushere?
I curled my hands into fists. “Back off. Don’t come anycloser.”
He held up his hands and slowed his steps. “Surprised to seeme?”
“Not really. I’m never surprised to see you. When something’s going to shit, there’s no doubt that you’re involved.” Obviously, I wasshocked to my core. Asmodeus was the last demon I would have expected to see here. My father had put my friends behind bars to keep them from telling anyone about me. So, why would he have shared that with an Archdemon? Why hadn’t he locked him up here aswell?
“Lies,” Asmodeus said with a laugh. “It’s clear that your father didn’t tell you, so I’ll let you in on a little secret. You’re not the only Michael who has a tendency to make deals with thedemons.”
I froze, ice slipping down my spine. “You don’t know what you’re talkingabout.”
“No, you’re the one who doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” He tipped back his head and his laughter rang off the walls. “Your father discovered that I knew your little secret. I missed it the first time that I met you. Your time in Celestia put a damper on your scent., but there was no mistaking it when we met here in the Tower. Fire demon blood. You reek of it even more now. It’s like it’s creeping up your arms. Like you’re emanatingit.”
If he had said these words to me a few days ago, it would have shaken me to my very core. I’d wanted to push that side of me away. I’d wanted to close my eyes against the truth of my powers. But his words had no effect on me anymore. It wasn’t an insult. I was who I was, and my demonic origin made me stronger than I would have beenotherwise.
“Careful,” I said. “If you go around spouting that kind of shit, I can guarantee you that my father will take issue with it. You might find yourself on the receiving end of a very sharpblade.”
He laughed again, a sound that sent shivers down my spine. “That’s where you’re wrong. Your father and I made a deal. He knew that if he killed me, he would only bring out the full rage of Lucifer, and the Archangels don’t want that. Instead, he offered up some sacrifices for me to feast upon. I think they’ll do, don’tyou?”
He gestured at my caged friends, and my heart thumped so hard that I swore it shook the very soles of my golden boots. “You’relying.”
I’d only just gotten them back. They’d only just returned to me. Seeing them had made me realize just how crazy I’d been for thinking my father could brutally murder so many innocent angels, demons, and humans. Yeah, so he’d caged them instead, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself toactuallykill them. And now I understood why. Because he intended for someone else to do the evil deed for him. So he could keep his stupid glowing hands from gettingdirty.
