Page 18 of Give a Devil his Due
The only sound is our breathing.
Hel’s cargo pants cling to her legs and lush ass, pulling my gaze to the way each butt cheek wobbles with every step she takes. A sliver of skin is visible between her t-shirt and waistband, making my fingers twitch with the need to touch it. I would, too, if not for her tail flicking from side to side in a way that tells me she is not as relaxed as she wants me to believe.
“I don’t think it’s a bad sign,” Raphael says out of nowhere.
“What’s not a bad sign? That the tunnel is empty?” Confused, I give him a side-eyed glance.
“Her glow when she was flying.” His chin tilts up, pointing at Helena’s back.
“I would’ve asked what you think if you lit up like Christmas tree instead of me,” Hel mutters and speeds up her footsteps.
“Hear me out,” Raphael persists, and I bite the inside of my cheek so I don’t cut him off.
I’m ready to kill anything and anyone to protect my mate, but how can I fight something I can neither see nor understand?
I stay silent.
“Zadkiel was …” He clears his throat when he chokes up. “Zadkiel is an Archangel, too. She can do almost everything I can, including casting a glow around herself. It stands to reason that you inherited some of her abilities, Helena.”
“Lucky me,” my mate mutters, but I know her attention is on every word coming out of the Archangel’s mouth.
We pass one locked metal door with a heavy chain tightened to its limit around the doorknob.
“It is what I believe,” Raphael pipes in with enough smoothness her head turns to give us a view of the side of her face, and she nods at him. “Also, Satanael commands the magma of Hell, does he not?”
I absently shake my head in confirmation, glancing around anything I can see for threats. An uneasy feeling pokes at me like we are being watched, but there is no one in the tunnels but us.
“I don’t know where you’re going with this, Raphael. I haven’t seen my father leak any magma, and we were all in a fight together where we thought we were about to die. Remember?”
“I said he can control it. He is not Vulcan the Titan to leak magma through his orifices.” A low chuckle rumbles in Raphael’s chest.
I join him until Hel throws me a pointed glare.
My lips fold inward to stop me from laughing.
“And?” Hel snaps at the Archangel.
“I think now that your angel and demon parts are blended and brought to light, as they always should’ve been, you are adopting both powers to fit your specific needs.” The deep tone is lulling and calming. Stupidly, I let it lower my alertness. “You are adjusting, that is all. You should not fear it.”
“Maybe you are …” her words trail off, and I yank her behind me.
“Trolls.” My snarl bounces off the walls, and my knees bend.
“Oh, shit,” Hel breathes a second before a handful of eight-foot tall creatures with impenetrable skin fill up the tunnel.
Helena
Tripping over one of the metal tracks, I stumble behind Eric when he practically throws me behind him. He and Raphael form a wall between me and the trolls, and crouch so I can see how many of them are there.
“Well, shit.” I whispered on a shuddering exhale, trying to count the block-size heads when eight of those ugly motherfuckers’ eyes meet mine.
“Helena, stay back,” Raphael growls, hunching forward and preparing to fight.
“Go up the railing,” Eric adds, his words only spiking my anger.
The dagger in my palm warms my damp skin. “I don’t know if you two dumbasses forgot, but if any of them slaps your smug mugs, I’ll feel it too. So how about you shove all your machoism up your arrogant asses, huh?” Shouldering my way between them, I place all my weight on the balls on my feet. “If anyone is going to use me as a punching bag, I’m going to make them bleed first.”
Panic twists their faces, but I don’t care. There is no way I’m going to hide like some shrinking violet while others fight my battles. These brainless monsters were inmycity terrorizing humans that are mine to protect. If they think I’ll run like some little girl, all of them have another thing coming.
