Page 68 of Crown of Blood and Vengeance

Enzo frowned. “Why did he want you to?”

“He wanted me to learn how to drain supernaturals so I could finally drain Raphael enough...” I swallowed hard, my throat tight with the horror of Balthazar’s plan. “So he could kill him. If I didn’t do what he asked, he said you would die.” I looked at Angelo. “I couldn’t bear that.”

“Serenity,” Vlad said.

I forced myself to look at him, waiting for judgment.

But his eyes met mine, the wisdom of ages softening their dark depths. “Was the prince possessed when you did that? The prince and I both were.”

“When he first came, he was...” The memory of that night sliced through me: Rocco’s agonized face, the sickening pull of power, my own screams mixing with his. “But when I woke up the next morning, the demon was gone. Balthazar wanted to see if I could draw a vampire’s power...” I broke out in a broken sob, shaking so hard I could barely stand.

Angelo gripped my shoulders, his touch fierce and warm against the cold horror of the memory. “This wasn’t your fault. You were trapped in hell.” His voice roughened with protective fury. “Balthazar mind fucks people. That’s what he does. He’s a demon.”

“We move at midnight.” Enzo’s voice cut through my guilt like a siren, piercing and unavoidable. “The cathedral... Balthazar’s twisted it into something evil. That demon corrupted holy ground, turned it into his own dark playground.” His jaw tightened. “But Angelo has to go in alone, or Petar will kill Gianna.”

“I can position my wolves in the swamp,” Trystan said, his eyes gleaming with predatory focus. “We’ll catch any demon’s scent before they catch ours.”

Keir nodded, his wings rustling in the shadows. “My harpies will take the perimeter. Silent. Watching. But far enough back that Petar’s spies won’t spot us.”

“And the rest of us?” I asked, hating the idea of Angelo walking into that corrupted place alone. I wanted to go with him, but he would never let me.

“We stay put and do nothing while my mate’s in there?” Dimitri’s voice was deadly quiet, his usual cynical sneer replaced with barely contained rage. His hands clenched into fists, veins darkening beneath his skin. “Fantastic plan. Really. I especially love the part where we sit on our asses while Petar holds a knife to her throat.”

Angelo’s eyes turned cold, that deadly calm I’d seen when he dealt with enemies settling over him. “You think I want to leave her in there another second? But if any of you compromise her safety by showing yourselves...”

Dimitri’s laugh was bitter. “Right. Because waiting out here is so much safer. Just know if anything happens to her, I’m ripping out spines first, asking questions never.”

We had strategizedall day and now we were here, but I was still worried. What if our plan backfired?

As midnight approached, I stood in the murky shadows of Lumina Glade as planned, my heart thundering against my ribs. The abandoned cathedral loomed before us, radiating waves of Balthazar’s corrupt magic that made my teeth ache. Twisted spires clawed at the star-strewn sky, and demonic energy pulsed from within its rotting walls. Somewhere in that defiled sanctuary, Rocco waited. The same vampire I’d been forced to drain in hell. My stomach twisted at the memory.

Angelo turned to me, his expression softening for just a moment. “Remember what I said, bella. What happened before wasn’t your fault. Tonight, we make it right.”

I nodded, not sure what else to say. Petar was desperate to keep his crown and he was using Gianna to lure Angelo into a trap, but what choice did Angelo have?

The bayou, usually alive with a symphony of frogs and crickets, had fallen into an unnatural silence. Even the swamp creatures sensed the evil radiating from those corrupted walls. The stillness set every nerve on edge, raising the hair on my body until my skin prickled with dread.

Angelo moved toward the cathedral with predatory precision, a dark shadow against the decaying stone. He moved with lethal grace, his black duster swirling around his boots. I knew the silver blade was concealed beneath the long coat’s folds, but my stomach churned at the thought; Balthazar would be expecting it. The demon who’d tormented me in hell would be thirsting for revenge against Angelo, planning something worse than a simple ambush.

Behind me, Dimitri let out a low growl. It wasn’t the first time tonight they’d had to hold him back from charging into the cathedral after Gianna. The barely contained fury in his rigid stance told me it wouldn’t be the last.

The others melted into their positions, becoming one with the shadows. The only sound was the whisper of rot-heavy air blowing through the twisted spires above.

I struggled to keep my wings tucked inside me, fighting their instinct to burst free. They sensed the evil seeping from the cathedral; yearned to spread wide and chase away the darkness. But if they manifested now, Balthazar would know exactly where I was hiding. The demon who’d tormented me would do everything in his power to drag me back to hell.

My fingers brushed the blade at my side, its weight a reminder of how much I’d changed. This time, if he came for me, I wouldn’t be his victim.

The cathedral doors creaked open with an otherworldly groan, swinging wide on rusted hinges though no human hand touched them. The stench of evil billowed out like smoke from a grave, rotting and sweet and wrong. I buried my face into my shoulder, choking back a cough that could betray us all. My eyes watered from the putrid assault.

Without hesitation, without a backward glance, Angelo stepped across the threshold. His silhouette was swallowed by the darkness within. The doors slammed shut behind himwith an earth-shattering boom that echoed through the swamp, sending birds fleeing from distant trees.

Fear struck my heart like an icy blade. The last time I’d smelled evil that strong was in hell itself. And now Angelo was trapped inside with it.

Chapter

Thirty-Nine

Angelo

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