Page 14 of Her Twisted Sinners (The Seven Sinners of Hell's Kingdom 5)

“Fucking shit. We’ve got to split up. There’s a couple featherheads on the ground, and they’re already preparing to blast us with light.” Lucian growls and transforms into his devil façade as Andre glides next to me. Lucian has far better vision for soul spotting than I do, and it takes me a moment to realize what he’s talking about.

He’s right. There are at least a dozen angels summoning heavenly power in their hands, protecting their crack as a fiery figure stands beside it, pulling the souls from where they were intended to spend eternity in Hell’s kingdoms.

“We will circle in close. Don’t let any of them go. Lucian, you need to focus on sending the souls back to Hell. Kase and I will take care of Meri. The rest of you separate and send those blasted angels to the pits. Secure them there. We can’t have this bullshit right now.” Dante hisses with his words, expanding his wings to slow down.

I flare my nostrils. “Raven should stay out of—”

Micah covers my mouth with his hand, cutting off my argument. “She needs to do this. Don’t worry. She can handle such things. You must allow her to channel her power. It’s the only way she will learn to have complete control. She needs to be able to fight beside us instead of having us stand in front of her. I know it’s hard because we all want to protect her, but the best way to do so is to let her find her strength.”

“I’m all here for it but not until after she delivers...” I let my words trail off. I can’t think about it. I struggle with keeping hope when the world around us seems dark even though it’s just because the light of Heaven tries to devour everything. When Raven delivers the babies, things can change. I don’t even want to think about the consequences of her giving birth to the twins without a soul.

Micah groans and shakes his head. “The twins make her more powerful. They give her a reason to fight harder. Let her.”

I sigh and nod my head despite my innate need to do everything I can to see to it that Raven never has to throw a punch or stab with a blade, gather hellfire, or blast some monster away with heavenly light. I just want her to be able to enjoy sitting in her favorite spot with her legs curled to the side watching her favorite shows.

Fuck.

But the only way that will ever happen is if I get shit under control. I’m a fucking savior, for Christ’s sake. I should be able to get the angelic army in line. I should be able to beat them down and get them to see how off-path they are acting. I should know. I turned my back and fell from Heaven before. I don’t even truly know why the Higher Power returned my wings to me, but I know it has something to do with this. It has something to do with Raven and our children. And not just my angelic child. I will accept the devil spawn as mine too. These precious gifts will unite all of us as a unit. I’ve already accepted it. The others have too. It doesn’t matter whose blood runs through their veins. It just matters that we love and care for them. We will do whatever the fuck it takes to ensure they have an amazing future. An incredible eternity. We will not let the angelic army destroy their chance.

“Drop me low, and I will clear a path for you,” Micah says, twisting in my arms so that his back presses against my chest. He shifts into his devil form, and the sudden change of his weight causes us to freefall faster. He doesn’t yell or complain as I let my wings glide us toward the earth.

“I got your back, man. Just fuck them up for our girl.” I grind my teeth and flatten out my wings, slowing down our descent enough that Micah can jump from my arms and land on his giant hooves without stumbling.

I launch back into the air and spin, shooting blinding light at the angels focused on the crack, the force enough to turn their attention toward me.

They don’t see the devils arriving around them, and Andre drops Lucian and Zade next. I protect their backs, blasting a wave of heavenly light at a fallen angel who now carries the fire of Hell over his being. He hisses and growls, whipping his attention toward the sky and at me. Andre lands in front of him and whips his giant tail over his shoulder and stakes the bastard, throwing him a dozen feet into the air.

I allow Andre to cover Zade, Micah, and Lucian and I fly toward where Dante and Kase land with Raven. I haven’t seen her look so magical in a while, and the air around her radiates with fire and light and everything beautiful she summons. Her hair blows in the breeze of the angel wings, but Kase and Dante let no one near her. They let her channel her energy into her palms, and I can’t stop being distracted by her presence. It takes her whipping her attention up to me and pointing for me to realize someone heads toward me.

“Mikail!” she screams, thrusting her hands out and shooting a wave of hellfire in my direction. I freefall to the ground and land in a crouch as Mikail yells as Raven’s Hell power collides into him.

I jerk my head up and stare at the bastard, fury rolling through my very being. He’s a dead angel. I will destroy his very being, and he’ll never exist again.

Bending my knees, I launch back into the air and unsheathe my heavenly sword. He averts his gaze from Raven and the other devils and glowers at me.

“You are an abomination. You traitor! You know what must be done!” Mikail gathers heavenly light and tries to blast it in my direction.

I duck and fly under him, jerking my sword up and slicing it across the back of his calf. “You’re right. I do. It is my path to cut your fucking head off in the name of the Higher Power, the universe, Hell, and my soulmate!”

Mikail releases a loud whistle, and flashes of bright light come from every direction, smacking into my body. It’s as if he called all of the angels away from the crack of Hell to bring them toward me. It’s now that I realize what the fuck he’s truly trying to do. He’s given up on tapping into Hell for a moment to try to end me. I still have a connection to Heaven, and I can use that. He wants to stop me from being able to tap into heavenly power. Even if it means...

“Protect our girl! I have to go!” I yell, dodging out of the way of another blast of heavenly light.

It hurts my very soul to abandon Raven and the devils like this, but if I can get them to chase me for even a couple minutes, the devils can get things under control and stop the souls from seeping out. It’s a risk, but I don’t have a choice. I don’t know what else to do.

Gathering heavenly light in my palms, I blast it at the air and break through the Mortal Realm to access Heaven. The world shakes around me, and I fly as fast as I can, flapping my wings until they blur and I can dive into the portal.

Something strange happens, and one second, I feel the peace of being in Heaven and hear the battle cries of the angelic army around me as they circle me, and in the next, shadows swallow me whole, and Raven’s voice envelops me a second before she jumps into my arms, forcing me to catch her.

“You better kiss me before I smack you upside the head for that move. Micah told me what you were thinking and trying to do. You know the risk you face going to Heaven. They could imprison you again.” Raven groans, resting her forehead to mine.

I obey her command and kiss her, adjusting her to straddle me even with her bulging belly between us. Molding my lips to hers, I don’t let her pull away and savor her closeness and the taste of her mouth. I savor her body touching mine and what it feels like having two incredible beings moving and shifting between us, reacting to our presences coming together. Raven might not have her soul, but she can still touch mine in a way that leaves my body buzzing. It leaves her breathless.

Something washes over me, and I snap my eyes open and see a strange halo of light surrounding Raven. It’s not the heavenly light of our baby together, but it carries the same energy as if her soul returned to her body. But it’s different. It’s not hers. I don’t know what it is, but it mimics a mortal soul enough that it leaves me confused.

“Darlin’, what the fuck have you been up to the last day? Something light has gotten into you, and I know it wasn’t me or Cassius.” I tilt my head, searching her stunning blue eyes, wanting to drown myself in the depths of her irises.

She lifts and drops her shoulders. “I don’t know how to explain it, and it sounds really fucked up to put it into words. But I kind of obliterated a soul in Hell and somehow absorbed it.”

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