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Gabriel’s brows dipped as his voice turned sharp. “Does the necromancer know you have it?”

“Yes.”

He shot to his feet, rocking Henry as he moved for the door. “We’ll need to reinforce the wards to ensure she doesn’t get it. If she gets her hands on that amulet, she will resurrect herself permanently.”

A tremor racked Adalaide’s fingers. What would it mean for her boys, for the world, if Sanura was no longer trapped in a body which could only terrorize them at night? Suddenly, she understood why it had been so important that her family protect it.

“It would be worse than you can imagine,” Gabriel said, hearing her thoughts. “She only possesses a fraction of her power now. With her Nephilim form restored, she would be virtually unstoppable.”

Adalaide’s gaze fell on the sleeping child in her arms. “It’s no longer just me she is after. She wants to end my line. Our boys are in danger.”

Genuine fear shone in Gabriel’s dark, swirling eyes as he looked between the two babies and back to her.

“I must end her. It’s the only way to keep you safe.”

He crossed the room, settling Henry into the bassinet she’d set up downstairs for the nights when she was too exhausted to carry the boys above stairs before turning back to her, his lips parting.

“You promised,” she whispered.

“It is the only way to keep my promise,” he said. The words were laced with such conviction she knew nothing she said would change his mind. He nodded, seeming to take her defeat as acceptance and disappeared just as Henry began to wail.

Chapter 34

Gabriel

Gabriel appeared beside Dina on the battlefield and unsheathed her sword. “You’ll need this,” he said, handing it to her.

“Why are you here? Who is protecting Ada and the boys?”

“I can protect them best by ridding the world of Sanura once and for all.”

Dina’s iridescent eyes narrowed. “You left her once, and she forgave you. If you leave her again, she may not have you back.”

“I’m not leaving her, sister. I’m keeping her safe.” He rubbed absently at the ache in his chest. Every time he left, even when it was for a cause such as this, the pain was immediate and consuming. He’d learned to push through it and that it lessened with great distance and time, but it was a dagger to his soul every time they parted.

“And what if Sanura finds her first? What if she kills your soulmate and offspring while you rush off to play hero?”

He shook his head, and the unsettling picture she painted departed his mind. “It won’t come to that. I will find and end her.”

Dina gave him a sorrowful look. “Your sons are not Nephilim. They have no seraphim to bond to. When they die, their souls will ascend to the human fields to await the end times. Will Adalaide forgive you for parting her soul from theirs so young?”

“It won’t come to that. I’ll protect them, and they will have long human lives. All of them. When it's time for her to pass on from this world to Alaxia, she will be at peace.”

He didn’t wait to hear more. Dina didn’t understand. How could she? Her only child had lived a long human life and now resided in Alaxia with her mate. Dina could visit her any time she liked. She didn’t understand how it would torment Gabriel to lose his sons to the field of human souls after meeting them only once.

He would do whatever it took to ensure that didn’t happen, even if it meant risking Adalaide’s wrath. She would understand. Eventually.

He landed in Alaxia and strode quickly for Raphael’s room. Stopping in the arched doors, he cleared his throat as Raphel hummed along to his mate’s soft strumming of her harp.

“Raphael, Mary.” He said by way of greeting.

They looked up, matching smiles on their faces and said in unison, “Gabriel.”

Gabriel slid his tongue along one sharp tooth to calm his nerves before saying: “I come seeking assistance.”

Raphael threw his leg over the bench and marched toward him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “I am yours. Name thy request.”

“I’m searching for Sanura.”

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