Page 136 of Guarded
This was an arch back at full strength.
He was still no match for Noah. At least, he wouldn’t be if Noah weren’t also having to hold his shield. It wrapped around his body like a second skin now, absorbing hits from all angles. The injury to his wing was healing rapidly, but that would be draining him too.
He wasn’t showing any signs of fatigue, but it wouldn’t be long. No arch could hold out against so much. It was awe-inspiring that Noah had lasted this long.
I had to get to him. I had to fight alongside him.
But first I had to survive this.
With Noah distracted, there was nothing stopping Lucifer from advancing. “It’s just the two of us now your little boyfriend is occupied. The way it’s meant to be.”
My blood chilled as he raised his hand and hordes of demons took to the air, heading straight for Noah. He smirked at me as he did so. “We both know you’re not the threat here.”
Lucifer meant that as an insult, but it had pride roaring through me. “You’re damned right I’m not. You’ve got no idea who you’re dealing with.”
Lucifer smirked. “It’s almost a shame that he’s going to die today. Such a waste of power and talent.”
I grabbed a discarded sword and encouraged my power into it until it was flaming. “Over my dead body.”
“Oh, don’t worry, you’ll be alive to watch his execution. I wouldn’t want you to miss out.”
Then, he attacked.
Lucifer didn’t bother with a weapon. Why would he, when hewasone? He simply launched himself at me, flying through the air at the same time as his fire did.
His power reached me first. I gritted my teeth as my shield took the brunt of his hit, my skin sizzling in the flames that made it through. Jumping to the side, I swung the sword up as Lucifer twisted in the air. The blade missed his neck but sliced a cut along his stomach.
Lucifer hit the ground with a crash, and I didn’t give him a chance to recover, bringing my flaming sword down with a roar. He rolled at the last second and the steel landed on nothing but the bones littering the river.
“Come on, Jeremiah.” Lucifer jumped to his feet. “You can do better than this.”
He was right. I could. And for Noah, I would.
Lifting my weapon, I pulled out every trick I had. Every step Nox, Darius, Dahlia, Quill, and I had worked on in secret. Each manoeuvre they’d taught me, and the ones I’d seen the Seraphim using when I’d visited the practice roomover the past couple of weeks. Being unable to be parted from Noah, even when he had to train, was turning out to be a blessing in disguise.
At least, it would’ve been if Lucifer hadn’t been evading all of them. But it kept him on the defensive, which was exactly where I wanted him.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t under any illusions that I could best him. All I wanted was to knock him down long enough to get to Noah.
He lunged at me again, launching us into another frenzied dance. Frustration built in me, but I shoved it down. I wasn’t letting anything get inside my head. Not with Noah at risk.
Just then, I spotted it. A weakness in Lucifer’s stance. Each time he sidestepped, he left a gap at his right side.
I feinted left with a jab of flame and Lucifer spun out of range…
Right into my waiting sword.
Triumph flared in me as Lucifer hissed. He fell to one knee. I yanked my sword out and raised it above my head. This was my chance. I was going to do it. I was going to best him and save my mate.
Everything was going to be okay.
But then, a shout.
A choked cry.
My name skidding across the river of flames.
“Jem!”
