“Drystan! We need you,” Lilith called as Famine broke both Chaos’s and Grim’s holds on her.
Lilith’s pet smirked before he stopped time. Everyone other than our group was frozen, including my mother.
“You’re only going to get one shot at this. Make it count,” he said, visibly straining as he fought to retain control of so many people.
“Strike as hard as you can, hellcat.”
“Off with her head, baby,” Sin said.
Grim caught my eye and nodded once as Chaos said, “Just like I taught you.”
I swung. The blade sliced clean through her neck, lopping her head off with surprisingly little resistance, and the moment it fell to the ground, I sagged in relief. Blood sprayed from her neck, spattering Grim’s face.
“Well done, wildflower. You were perf?—”
Grim’s expression morphed from pride to regret, his words of praise abruptly cut off as five bodies dropped to the ground instead of just one.
Only then did I realize the fatal flaw in our plan.
Grim
The instant Merri’sweapon severed Famine’s neck, I understood what we’d missed when translating Lilith’s book. A sinking certainty filled my bones regarding the price we had to pay in order to save the world.
We’d helped them create the weapons to unmake our kind.
Allour kind.
It was never just going to be the horsewomen impacted. We were the same.
The moment one set of four was unmade, so too were the others. We couldn’t exist without them. Not after their creation.
The universe was all about cosmic balance. Our existence at this point would tip the scales, and that simply could not be.
My brothers’ expressions all mirrored mine as they fell, each one of us understanding down to our very marrow that this was the only way Merri would survive. It was the only way the world would survive.
In the end, it was no price at all. We’d already agreed to die for her.
It was just happening far sooner than any of us thought.
Chapter
Forty-Three
GABRIEL
Well, that went a bit differently than any of us expected. People have this mistaken idea that angels are all-seeing, omniscient creatures. That we know everything that was, is, and ever shall be. Blah, blah, blah. I wish we were so well informed.
The simple truth of the matter was that nothing could be certain while free choice reigned supreme. All those pesky decisions create massive ripples. One different choice, a left turn instead of right, and you’d find yourself in a completely new scenario. Multiply that by every human being in existence, and, well, I bet you can start to understand just how impossible it is to truly ever know anything with certainty.
For instance, none of us were aware of the consequences the horsemen would face after their counterparts were struck down. Not until the final choice was made and Famine’s weapon was used to end her. My brothers and I watched on, unable to intervene even though we all realized what was happening to them. Regret had me itching to look away, but guilt forced myattention to stay on them and their mate. I’d been here before, on the other side of sacrifice. It never got easier.
“I guess this is what they refer to when they say all’s well that ends well.”
I stared at Evander, my jaw ready to drop at his callous disregard. I probably shouldn’t be surprised he was so blasé; angels weren’t exactly known for their range of emotion, but we’d worked and fought beside these mortals. Surely he couldn’t mean to just leave them.
“I’m not sure they’d agree with you,” I replied neutrally. My way of testing the waters, so to speak.
“They won. What more could they need?” Michael asked, his focus on the scene before us. Merri on her knees, weeping over the bodies of her fallen horsemen. Lucifer at her side comforting her, his tattered wings wrapped protectively around her.
