Page 61 of Crown of Blood and Vengeance

“But first…” She held out her palm where my mother’s soul hovered—a soft, pulsing light that somehow held all the warmth and love I remembered. “…I need to escort your mom to heaven.She’s suffered long enough.” The sight of my mother’s soul made my throat tight with a complex mixture of grief, relief, and hope.

I wished I could hug my mom one more time, feel her arms around me telling me everything would be okay. The sob I’d been holding back finally broke free, raw and unrestrained.

“You’ll keep her safe?” I managed, wiping futilely at my tears.

“It’s my job to guard souls and escort them to heaven.”

I took a shuddering breath and straightened my shoulders, trying to be brave for her one last time. “Goodbye, Mom,” I whispered, watching the light that was her essence pulse once—almost like a response—before I had to look away.

“You’ll see her again. Just not yet. Take care, Serenity. You’ll see your dad soon. I promise.”

Butterflies beat against my chest at thought of meeting my dad, but right now, he was fighting in hell. I looked down at Angelo. I had my own battle to fight.

Poison flew out between the open doors and disappeared into the night.

Rose knelt next to me, her face drawn with the kind of fear that only comes from watching someone you love slip away. “I know you’re worried about Angelo, but...” She cleared her throat as tears slid down her cheeks, each one tracing precious seconds ticking away. “My mate, Valentin, he’s dying. Keir says he doesn’t have much longer to live.”

She had helped us during this war against Balthazar, fighting alongside us without complaint even as her own world was crumbling. The thought of leaving Angelo left me cold, my heart torn between two impossible choices. But looking at Rose’s face, seeing the same desperate love I felt for Angelo reflected in her eyes, I knew what I had to do. I sighed, the sound heavy with shared understanding. “Where is he?”

“At Keir’s.” Hope flickered across her tear-stained features, fragile as a candle flame in the wind.

For once, I didn’t have to choose between duty and love, between helping another and protecting my own. I put my hand on her shoulder, feeling her trembling beneath my touch. “Yes, I’ll help him.” This was a promise—one soul-bonded warrior to another, understanding the devastating depth of possibly losing your other half.

Enzo studied me. “Do you think you can? You’ve used your power on Angelo.”

“I think it’s my wings. I don’t feel drained.”

“Touching as this howling tribute is,” Dimitri cut in, his voice razor-sharp with barely contained desperation, “my brother is dying right now. Serenity—” He turned to me, the facade of sarcasm cracking to reveal raw fear. “You have the power to heal Valentin. We need to go. Now.”

Enzo scanned the church, his survival instinct evident in his taut posture. “I suggest we return as well. Balthazar is drawn to this place and I don’t think we should linger.”

Trystan bowed his head as if giving Angelo homage, the gesture full of ancient respect between supernatural kings, then he led his pack out of the church, their movements silent and coordinated like shadows at dusk.

A harpy stretched its black wing, the feathers gleaming like polished obsidian, then picked up Angelo with its talons, cradling him with unexpected gentleness. Keir climbed onto the other’s back with fluid grace born of long practice.

I stood and my wings unfurled, the sensation still strange yet increasingly natural, like remembering a forgotten dance. “I will meet you at Keir’s.” The words came out stronger than I felt. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Balthazar would track me down like a bloodhound and drag me back to hell to finish what he started with my father.

“We won’t be far behind,” Enzo promised, touching my shoulder with fraternal concern. His gaze betrayed a hauntedknowledge of Angelo’s darker nature as he added, “Be careful. If anything happens to you, I’ll end up in Angelo’s secret room.” No one ever came out of the room alive.

“I will.” I kissed him on the cheek, trying to dispel the chill his words had sent through me.

The harpies soared into the night air and I lunged into the sky, momentarily losing myself in the pure freedom of flight, relishing the cool caress of the night wind. But when I looked down at the graveyard, my breath caught in my throat. A pair of red eyes gleamed in the darkness, watching me with predatory intensity, then vanished like a nightmare at dawn.

I flapped harder, my heart hammering against my ribs as I caught up with the harpies.

“Keir?”

“I saw it too,” he said, his ancient voice grave. “We don’t know what it is yet. But it’s not Balthazar. It’s something else.”

I shuddered at his words, exhaustion and fear weaving together in my chest. I was so tired of dark entities following Angelo and me, each new threat stealing another piece of peace from our lives. I didn’t want to fight another supernatural being, didn’t want to face whatever new horror those red eyes promised. All I wanted was to be alone with Angelo, to fall into his arms and pretend, just for a moment, that we were normal lovers without supernatural threats lurking in every shadow.

Chapter

Thirty-Four

Serenity

Keir’s mansionstood proudly in the Garden District, a crown jewel among New Orleans’ most elegant homes. Ancient oak trees lined the approach like silent sentinels, their sprawling branches draped with Spanish moss that swayed in the moonlight like ghostly curtains. Their massive roots had broken through the sidewalk over decades, a reminder that neither nature nor Keir cared for human constraints.

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