Page 121 of Conflicted

I glanced at him several times as we were led from the dungeon, but each time, Micah had a serene smile on his face.

It couldn’t have been further from the vengeance and rage I knew he was feeling.

My little angel was coming close to the edge.

He wasn’t about to lose control of his powers like Lyle had. His grip on them was even more ironclad than usual.

No, Micah’s loss of control was going to manifest differently. And, I suspected, far more catastrophically.

As we stepped into the courtroom, I had to blink a few times to adjust to the light. The cells had felt strangely familiar to me, the dark corners something I was well used to from Hell.

This brightness though, it was something new. I raiseda manacled hand to try and rub my eyes, only to realise I couldn’t lift them that high.

Micah turned his head at the movement. As he realised what I was unable to do, his fury doused the bond in ice.

Oh, this isn’t good.

I tried to smile at Micah to reassure him I was fine, but he fixed his attention on something before us. Unlike me, Micah’s eyes didn’t seem to be having any issues adjusting, which made sense.

When my vision finally cleared, the regents had moved to stand against the edges of the all-white room. Their weapons were drawn and shields raised.

Seven archs sat on a dais in a semi-circle, a high, thin table in front of them. In the centre, a beautiful woman with long blonde hair smiled down on us. “Micah, how good of you to finally join us.”

He smiled back, like she wasn’t the one who’d decided exactly how long to make us wait. “Gloria. I’d say it’s a pleasure, but that would be a lie.”

“Hm, I’m surprised you didn’t, given you’requitethe liar these days.”

My eyes narrowed. Okay, so this bitch needed to die.

“Can’t think what you’re suggesting,” Micah said. “The only person I’ve lied to is myself when I thought I could live without Nox in my life.”

It was like a small bomb went off. Murmurs broke out among the angels along the wall, only falling silent when Gloria raised a delicate hand. “So you admit it. You’ve fallen in love with a demon.”

“Yes.” Micah’s blazing smile burned brighter as it fell on me. “I’m in love with Nox.”

“Well, Micah.” Gloria clasped her hands together. “I must say, this is very disappointing.”

I laughed hollowly. “That would be more believable if you didn’t look like the cat who’d caught the canary.”

All pretence of kindness was replaced by loathing as Gloria turned to me. “You do not speak, demon. You have no authority here.”

A door banged open behind us. “Actually, as his mate, Nox has the same level of authority as Micah does.”

Beside me, Micah tensed in horror. I flinched. Oh Satan, was thatBenji?

I’d only met them all briefly, but it had been enough for me to get an impression of each of them. It had been Micah’s stories that coloured in the rest of their characters.

Sure enough, Benji’s short but muscled figure strode around us, power rolling off him in waves. In his hands was a book that looked even more ancient than the room we were standing in. “Article seven hundred and three, paragraph eight and line five of the Angelic Code states that ‘All mates are to be granted the same authority, rights, and benefits as their angelic counterpart.’”

Gloria stiffened. “Your presence was not requested, Benjamin.”

“Probably because you know I understand our legislation better than you do.” Benji turned his back on her dismissively, strolling to stand at my side. “Don’t worry, I can make sure you don’t overlook any further laws.”

“Benji,” Micah hissed from next to me. “What are you doing here?”

Benji turned to face us, a small, puzzled frown on his forehead. “Where else would we be?”

That was all the warning we got before the doors slammed open once more. Micah and I twisted in unison to see a unit of angels enter.

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