Page 23 of Wings of Valor
My gaze continues past him, searching for the angels I came here for. My parents.
Auriel says nothing, watching me take everything in with a satisfied look on his stupid face.
When I don’t find my parents anywhere, unease blossoms beneath my ribs. “Where are my parents?”
“Nearby,” Auriel replies smoothly.
“Well, bring them out. I’m here, as instructed. Now it’s time to play your part.” Surprisingly, my voice doesn’t shake like I expect it to. I don’t sound weak at all.
I sound strong.
Confident.
Even though I don’t feel it. All I feel is his sickly presence and a fear that his promises were all lies to get me here. Maybe I’m just the foolish, naive girl who bought them.
Auriel grins wide, his perfect white teeth glinting in the desert sun. “There’s been a change of plans, my little seraph.”
And just like that, my stomach drops to my feet. “What do you mean? What changed?”
“I don’t think I want to give them up. And I don’t think you will either—once you know the new plan.”
For a second, I can’t find any words to give in response. Is he for real right now?
“I’m only here because you promised to free my parents.Thatis the plan.Thatwas our deal.”
“Yes, well, I’ve changed my mind.” He holds out his hand to me. “Come with me as intended, and you can see your parents. They’ll stay with you—with me—until after the cleansing. Until the world is free of the impure.”
Questions bubble up in my mind … questions that I have no answers to. Why would he need me and my parents to stay with him? What could have possibly changed to have him acting like this?
I came here fully prepared to sacrifice myself to save my parents, but I’m not willing to allow them to stay caged while our sacrifice means nothing. They are meant to be free.
“And after? What then?” I almost don’t want to know the answer, but I need more time to figure out my next move. Mira and I never planned for this.
“Then we’ll enter a new era. A better era. One where only the unsullied and powerful reign supreme.”
He says the words with such confidence, like he truly believes all the bullshit.
His answer doesn’t reassure me. It’s not even an actual answer to my question. If the cleansing means what I think it means, I doubt he’d allow my parents and me any semblance of freedom. What was it he said?Ridding the world of the impure.
It’s not very hard to read between the lines there. He wants to erase the Fallen from existence—and that includes my parents.
Once again, the weight of his evil presence presses heavily against me. I shake my head, trying to clear the fog begging to settle. “No,” I say, not needing to think about it. “I want our original deal. Set my parents free, and you’ll have me for whatever your twisted plan is.”
Auriel only sighs. He glances at Uriel, who looks more than pleased at my refusal, then he looks over at the demons. If Iweren’t paying such close attention, I might have missed the almost imperceptible nod he gives them before he says, “I’m disappointed in you. I thought we could be a team. You and I against the world, as friends at first, and eventually maybe more. But I see now that you’ve spent far too long with the filth of Silver City. It’s corrupted your mind. Tainted your soul. There can be no partnership for us.”
After that, everything happens so fast.
Auriel steps back as Uriel advances toward me with an angel blade grasped in one fist and a needle in the other.What the fuck is that?
This asshole has had an issue with me since the very beginning, and it looks like he’s finally getting the chance to act on his hatred of me.
But I won’t let this bastard win. I’ll do everything I can not to let him get the best of me.
My gaze darts to the black-and-red swirling orb in the handle of the blade he’s holding. I hold my breath, legs trembling as I recall every ounce of pain and anguish I felt the last time that weapon was so close to me. Except, I think just as Uriel reaches me, as painful as that blade was, this asshole can’t kill me. I just have to make sure he doesn’t inject me with whatever the hell is in the syringe.
That thought is enough to bolster my confidence as I evade his first blow and land a solid hit to his kidney. I damn near stagger as I right myself, but I still landed the first blow.
Damn. That felt good.
