Page 89 of Angel's Enemy Omega

“You don’t disagree?”

“I’m not a human.” Nur shrugs.

“They’d take you in. You love them.”

“No. I care about them deeply.Youare the one I love.” He lifts his knuckle to his mouth and gnaws on it briefly, letting the pain ground him. Saying the words makes him feel like he’s going to fly away. “What I feel for them is like…a shepherd’s fondness for his sheep. Likewise, they love me like a pet. Like one of the dogs, albeit one who tells a lot of strange stories. I killed one of them—two, actually—and I’ve devoured countless souls. I can never be a tame animal. When they settle into their new lives in a fully human encampment they’ll realize that.”

“Do you think so?” Arsene wonders, his brow furrowing.

“You were right. Not that we can’t be friends, but that there’s a rift friendship can’t cross.”

Arsene’s shoulders slump. “I thought I was being unfair. That if I was more generous, less arrogant…I would feel at home among them eventually.”

Nur has to laugh. “Less arrogant? Impossible.”

“Does your tongue need to be reminded of who takes care of it?” Arsene flashes him a glare that promises Nur will get thoroughly fucked tonight. He shivers.

“So where do we go?” Nur says.

Arsene comes to sit next to him, his long frame loose with relief. “I don’t know. Who’s ever heard of a rogue angel? Maybe we’re all destined to become like that feral sentinel, scrabblingfor purpose without the guidance of—of our nursery heads, our captains, our Councillors.”

He sighs.

“I don’t believe it,” Nur says firmly. “Besides, I know an angel who left New Yden willingly, and he would never have succumbed to madness.”

“Your vergis friend left New Yden of his own will?” Arsene asks, surprised.

“He was very brave. The Seraphim Council refused to give him a mate—like they did for you—so he ran away.”

“Because I couldn’t become a primus. But vergis are treasured?—”

“Or is that a story they tell you?” Nur sniffs.

“Well.” Arsene falls silent. Nur can practically see the information bouncing around his skull. He’s still a little protective of Vasia, but he can’t pretend his heart doesn’t truly lie with Arsene. It makes him fiercely glad to watch his mate unravel the tapestry of lies he’s been fed his whole life—including the lie that he’s not worthy.

“Where is your friend now?” Arsene asks finally, breaking their silence.

“I don’t know,” Nur admits. “The last time I saw him he was very sick. I don’t know if he ever escaped the pit. When I was exiled—when I could still think straight—I thought I might look for him. He bonded with a powerful demon. If anyone could help him, it would be Rone.”

Arsene stands. “We should talk to Myra.”

It helps, somehow, knowing that Arsene is also drowning, spinning out in a life he doesn’t understand.Yet, Nur reminds himself.Doesn’t understand yet. And I don’t understand it yet.

It hasn’t settled into his bones, being loved. It will. Someday, it will.

Epilogue

ARSENE

Nur goesthrough his second heat while they’re holed up, hiding from winter in a human town inland from the main settlement.

He and Nur have wandered up and down the coastal mountains for almost half a year, offering their services in exchange for shelter. News comes to them in trickles of another pair doing the same, a massive demon the color of slate who can lift beams into place and dig foundations. He’s accompanied by a tiny angel who calls himself a healer.

Arsene starts to listen for those rumors even when Nur has long since stopped, fearing disappointment.

Nur’s heat interrupts all this, pushing them into hiding for a glorious, perfect week where his mate is pliant and sweet and hungry, and Arsene can pamper him to his heart’s content. All of Nur’s spikiness is smoothed over in heat. Afterward, he’s smug and gorgeous, gleaming in the firelight like he’s carved from pure marble. His long, dark hair is silky and lustrous, his wings glimmer even when they’re away in the aether, and a dark flush permanently stains his narrow cheeks. Every smirk is followed by a delightful flash of teeth. Arsene finds him irresistible.

He claims the snow is too deep, so they don’t bother to leave for another month.

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