Page 8 of Conflicted

“You led the entire unit into danger, losing your second in command in the process.”

I hadn’t bothered to point out to Emilio that Dimitri had been lost to us regardless. One of his fated mates was ademon,for fuck’s sake. Not just any demon, but one of the sons of Lucifer. His time with the unit had been borrowed, destined to run out. That he’d lasted this long was akin to a miracle.

Or it had been because of my past interference…but that was something I was too ashamed to revisit.

When the nausea from the pain subsided, I buttoned the shirt with shaky fingers.

“This isn’t punishment, Micah. It’s a reminder. Step out of line again, and your immortality will be the price you’ll pay.”

Emilio hadn’t needed to remind me of that. To be honest, part of me had expected that to happen this time. I’d been summoned upstairs the day of the battle, still reeling from everything that had happened.

Especially the thing I refused to acknowledge, even in the privacy of my own thoughts.

My arguments as to why our presence had been required must’ve been enough to downgrade my punishment from an eternal execution to a whipping.

Unfortunately, Emilio had been tasked with reminding me of my ‘place.’ I’d kept my face impassive as the sentence of one hundred lashes was passed, already knowing it’d be far more. Not that Gloria or the other judges who sat on the council seemed to care. They appeared to relish deciding my punishment almost as much as Emilio relished delivering it.

The cell in which I’d received my whipping was one I’d been to many times before. Every time myself or one of my unit committed an infraction, or sometimes just aperceivedinfraction, I was the one to pay the price. If it was another angel, I could count on the punishment following the sentence that had been given.

That was never the case with Emilio.

Emilio was a wild card. We’d been trained together, several centuries ago. Born to parents who had hated one another, we were doomed before we’d even met. Rivals from the start, I’d risen quickly through the ranks while he’d struggled to make it past the first few challenges. I’d been given control of the Seraphim, God’s most elite unit of soldiers, while Emilio had landed in the disciplinary office.

Needless to say, he had a chip on his shoulder where I was concerned. A massive fucking boulder that led to him ignoring whatever punishment had been officially given and delivering what he saw fit.

It was the longest I’d spent chained in that dank chamber. Hanging from my wrists, blood dripping down my body, I lost count around the three hundred mark. A little while later, I blacked out. Or died. With the amount of blood I’d lost, that was entirely possible.

When I regained consciousness, the worst should’ve been over. My wounds should have been knitting together, healing until there was no physical evidence of my trauma…just the mental reminder lest I fuck up again in future.

For some reason though, they weren’t. I could feel my powers fighting to close them, but they were failing. The bleeding had stopped, but there was a barrier there, preventing me from healing completely.

All had become clear when Emilio’s gloating face danced in my eyeline. He shook a pot in front of my face.“Cursed ointment. It’ll take months to work its way out of your system. Maybe this time you’ll actually learn not to fuck around where you don’t belong.”

I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t do anything.

Emilio wasn’t done. He spat at me, grinning widely as his saliva dripped down my cheek.“Fucking demons, Micah. They are the lowest of the low for a reason. Remember this. Rememberthat next time, it might not be you in these chains. It might be one of your precious unit. Perhaps you should consider protecting them instead of dragging them into danger.”

I didn’t need the fucking reminder. Everything I did was for my unit. Even leading them into Hell had been for them.

I met my own gaze in the mirror.Sure about that?

Yes, I was sure. Dimitri was part of our unit. Or rather, hehadbeen. He wasn’t now. He wasn’t even an arch. He’d fallen for those he loved without a second thought.

That I also wanted to help him because I loved him didn’t matter. It never should’ve mattered. He was never meant to be mine.

It was a fact that had been hammered home a few weeks ago when Dimitri had reached out asking for help. Again.

And I’d gone running, only to be reminded that he was happily mated.

Again.

He hadn’t even needed assistance for himself. No, an angel had broken into the Grim Reaper’s new place, leaving behind a feather as a calling card. Ferry, the former reaper, had taken it as a warning. He was right to be worried, but that didn’t mean I was able to help. I hadn’t been able to offer them anything useful. It had served no purpose other than introducing yet another crack to my already broken heart.

There was a knock at my door, Rami’s deep voice rumbling through. “Micah, you ready? Everyone’s waiting.”

“Yes,” I called back, pulling my jacket from the hanger with a wince. It was going to hurt like a bitch to wear it, but I wasn’t taking any chances. The last thing I needed was one of the Seraphim spotting the wounds through my shirt. The knowledge that I bore punishments on their behalf wasa secret I’d take to my eternal grave. “Go down, I’ll be there in a sec.”

I gritted my teeth as I pulled the jacket into place. Despite my best efforts, a small hiss of air escaped.

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