Page 52 of Wings of Valor
“Rad, don’t. Let her do this her way.”
It’s more than obvious how much Raduriel wants to disagree, but he stares a moment longer at his brother and finally nods, stepping back.
I push through the door and cause a bit of an uproar inside.
“What is the meaning of this?” a council member says, looking from the Archangels to the group and back again.
Remiel, with his visions and glimpses of the future, doesn’t look surprised at all.
Mikhael, ever the peacemaker, says, “It’s fine, Thaddeus. Hayliel, we’re so glad to see you. What brings you here?”
“I know where Auriel is keeping Zeke and my parents, and I know that he’s planning something big.”
After a moment of silence, Shubael replies, “Please sit and tell us everything you know.”
Raph, Theo, and the others step forward, but I don’t budge. “I want assurances you won’t try to stop me or my friends from joining the rescue mission. And before you say anything, please know I’d prefer we do it together, but I’m fully prepared to take on this task without your help.”
21
After hours of discussion, we finally have a fully fledged plan.
Team A distracts while Team B sneaks in to rescue my parents and Zeke. It took a lot of convincing, since the entire council wanted us to wait. They said that if we had more time to plan, the odds would be more in our favor—but I’m tired of waiting. And after all the waiting we’ve already done based on their empty assurances, I refused to budge.
It wasn’t easy, but it helped that Remiel took our side. Awfully handy when someone who sees glimpses of the future agrees with your plan. The longer we hold off, the more likely it is that something terrible will happen to the angels I love, and that just isn’t worth it.
We have a plan. And a backup. Besides, I made enough damn weapons to arm everyone joining the rescue mission, so it’s really only Auriel I’m worried about.
Still. All we could find was an old set of blueprints from an underground bunker in the area. Let’s hope it hasn’t changed too much because it’s a pretty damn big part of our plan.
The council is dismissed, and we all head back to our shared room. We need pizza, and lots of it. Whoever had the foresight to order some in advance has every ounce of my gratitude because it’s waiting for us when we arrive.
“I knew you had balls after you told Karena off at her own dining table, but I didn’t realize they werethatbig,” Briathos says around a mouthful of pizza.
I raise my slice toward him in salute, a grin spreading across my face as I chew. Damn right.
“Is it really true, then?” Rad asks. “About the whole Seraphim thing?”
“It is.”
“Incredible.” Rad looks at me with a spark of awe in his eyes, then he turns to his brother. “Please let me be there when you share the news with Mom. I want to see the look on her face when she realizes all the snide, shitty little comments she made about Hayliel growing up Fallen don’t matter because she’s literally an angelic class above.”
I damn near choke on my pizza at his words, totally not expecting the dig at his mother. And even though I want to tell him yes, I know this isn’t something for me to decide. Besides, despite what I might be, my views on angels haven’t changed. None of us are better or worse. More powerful, maybe. Harder to kill, sure. But better? No. It’s what’s in our hearts that decides that.
When my eyes lock with Raphael’s, I can tell he already knows what I’m thinking, but he also knows me well enough tounderstand how badly I want to see her eat her words. “Deal. I’ll even try to snap a keepsake photo.”
The group chuckles before silence falls again as we continue eating, but I can’t stop the thought poking around in the back of my mind. “Briathos, you’re a Fallen. How come she doesn’t look down on you?”
He and Rad share a look before he shrugs and says, “Status.”
“Because you’re in the guild?”
“Well, that, and my Pure father held a rather prominent seat on the council before he retired. I think growing up in a household like that made me fit in a bit more with the Pures, so as long as Karena doesn’t see my wings, she can pretend I’m just like her.”
I roll my eyes. “The more I learn about her, the more I dislike her. No offense,” I add quickly. Not that I think they’ll mind. I know Raphael won’t, at least, but Raduriel is still a mystery.
“Never any offense, sunshine,” Raph says with a kiss to my temple.
Rad offers me a soft smile. “Despite how it may have seemed in the past, I’m not fond of her behavior either. Or Dad’s, for that matter, but that’s a whole other can of worms.”
