Page 1 of Conflicted

Prologue

MICAH

Ishouldn’t be doing this.

The thought repeated in my mind like a broken record.

I shouldn’t be doing this.

I shouldn’t be doing this.

I paid no attention to it though. Instead, I forced my wings to move faster as I led my unit into Hell.

It would be a risk for any angel to enter Hell. For the Seraphim to be doing it? Heaven’s most elite and deadly unit of archangels?

It was beyond dangerous.

That was nothing compared to the legions racing behind us. As the leader of the Seraphim, I commanded respect. If I asked something of my comrades, they did it. They followed, simply because it was me. It was a position I’d earned through centuries of doing the right thing.

And how was I repaying such a prestigious honour?

By very muchnotdoing the right thing.

Now, you might wonder what the driving force behind me making such a reckless move could be. One that wouldundoubtedly have me hauled before the higher powers, and possibly even the Holy Creator herself.

It was the same thing behind the majority of foolish decisions.

Love.

I wish I could say this love was a happy one. One that was well received and returned with equal fervour.

But that would be a lie.

The angel I was in love with would never be mine. He belonged to someone else. He always had.

Dimitri had never given me any indication that he returned my affections, but my foolish heart had refused to listen. Refused to see the truth that was right in front of my eyes.

Dimitri was in love with another.

Yet, when he’d called and asked for help, again, I hadn’t hesitated. I never could say no to him.

So there I was, leading my unit straight into a deadly battle, all for a man I would never have. None of them had questioned me, nor had I expected them to. Even if I hadn’t been their leader, Dimitri was a member of our unit, although it had been a long time since it had felt like he was.

Nonetheless, we protected our own, even if that meant going into Hell itself to fight a battle we had no permission to interfere in.

Bloody carnage spread along the banks of the river Styx. Lucifer was battling against an Uprising, and his four sons fought for him, one of whom was Dagon. The demon who had stolen what should’ve been mine.

Ezekiel pulled level with me, his shrewd eyes scanning the mayhem below. “We can’t let the Uprising win. Who knows who will end up on the throne.”

I grunted my agreement. That would be the reasoning I’d give when I was questioned over our presence here. Better the devil you know was a saying for a reason. At least with Lucifer, we knew what sorts of barbaric and calculated chaos to expect.

It wasn’t like I broke the rules often. Outside of helping Dimitri, I didn’t stick a toe out of line.

But love makes fools of us all.

Scanning the battlefield, I searched for a glimpse of white wings among the legions of black ones. It didn’t take me long to find him. My instincts always knew how to find Dimitri.

I really wished they didn’t.

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