“Victoria,” a familiar voice calls from behind. I don’t need to turn to know who it is. I should’ve known something this dire for Earth would bring them.
“Leeanna,” I reply. “Glad you finally saw fit to intervene.”
She lets out a humorless laugh. “I’m surprised you care. I thought your fall from grace would have you preoccupied with other things.”
Her voice is laced with venom, but I don’t have time to analyze the angel’s issues. I knew that my first run-in with my past would be awkward at best and painful at worst. Right now, despite the issues between us, we need to work together.
She stands beside me, surveying the scene. The dead are crawling from their crypts at a snail’s pace. The one nice thing about zombies is that they’re painfully slow-moving.
“Can I trust you?” Leeanna snarls, and I roll my eyes.
“I trained you, and fallen or not, I could still kick your ass.” She bristles at my words but nods her head once.
“For the sake of Earth, I’ll allow you to fight with me.” I want to growl and shake her until her wings molt, but there are more pressing matters than revenge on my traitorous ex-sister-in-arms.
I pull Solis from my back and prepare to fight.
It’s a bloodbath as additional angels fall from the sky, joining the battle. Our swords slice through the air, lopping off heads and severing limbs. The zombie bodies fall in heaps to the ground. One by one, we take them out until none are left and the cemetery is littered with the decomposing carcasses.
I wipe Solis clean, basking in the afterglow of an intense fight.
“Wipe the smile off your face, traitor,” Malachi sneers, and I inhale deeply, willing myself to calm down.
I brought their hatred on by my own actions. I know this, yet it doesn’t stop me from wanting to challenge each and every one of the angels currently glaring at me. I just helped them; couldn’t they just leave me in peace?
“Leave her alone, Mal,” Leeanna chides, and I am just about to thank her when she continues, “She’s filth.”
I growl, stalking toward her.
“Careful, traitor. We can end you with one blow of our blades,” Malachi threatens.
“Fair fight,” I snap. “You and I both know, with my blade, you don’t stand a chance.”
“You lost that the day you decided to be a deserter,” Leeanna says, sounding tired and bored.
“Victoria.” Zeke’s anxious voice carries across the cemetery, drawing all of our attention. I don’t miss the way Leeanna stiffens.
“Over here,” I call out.
When he rounds the corner, his eyes are trained on me. He jogs up, crashing me into his chest and slamming his lips to mine. A choked sound has us pulling apart. Zeke’s eyes lift and land on the trio of archangels. He jumps back, eyes wide.
“Lee,” he says, and I narrow my eyes.
Nobody has ever called LeeannaLee. Pet names are reserved for mortals, not angelic beings. He’s on Earth and emotions run high down here. Anything he once felt in Heaven is amplified tenfold.
Zeke had a thing for Leeanna.
She doesn’t reply to him; instead, her heated glare finds mine, and not even a second later, she pounces, sending us both flying back into a mausoleum. We roll several times before I gain the upper hand, pressing her shoulders into the ground roughly.
My hand rises and is on its way down to smack against her porcelain face when someone yanks me from her. I spin on my feet, ready to tackle Malachi for interfering, when I realize it’s Zeke who stopped me.
“Don’t,” he warns. “You know what the punishment is for assaulting an angel.”
“It’s too late for that,” Malachi derides. “I’m taking her life.”
He stalks toward me, grabbing my arms and holding them behind my back, sending a searing pain through my shoulders. I cry out at the intense burn.
“You can’t,” Zeke barks. “Look around. These demons won’t stop coming. You need us on the ground. Unless you want God sending you here for however long is necessary.”
