Page 97 of Shadows of the Soul

“Father,” I acknowledged.

My father’s eyes narrowed as he angled himself so he sank to the ground. His feet landed on the lawn and he stalked toward me. I didn’t bow my head or sink to my knees, but I trembled with the effort to keep upright. He circled me, causing the hairs on my nape to rise. He finally stopped in front of me and tilted his head. I gritted my teeth and swallowed. If I was to be executed, I would do it with my head held high.

“You have defied the natural order,” my father stated.

“Yes.” Ignorance was not a defense, and he would only see it as more fuel to crush me like an ant.

“Why?”

The angels created a circle in the air, ready for the encroaching battle. The horde pulsed with their need for violence.

“The beings that aren’t afforded the correct rituals to garner access to their afterlife are left in the cold, bitter world of purgatory. It is not okay.”

“So you would have an open gate policy to anyone regardless of how they had lived their life?”

“No. That was my error.”

He hummed under his breath.

Just kill me and get it over with. The adrenaline was making me twitchy and my beast pushed against her chains.

“Show your true self,” my father commanded.

I shook my head even as prickles of awareness erupted on my flesh. “No.”

“Now,” he commanded. The word reverberated through my mind. My beast clawed at my insides, fighting to be released into the world. Bile burned the back of my throat as I kept her on lockdown.

He sighed, and I held his eyes with my hard-assed Roberts’ stare. I wasn’t a pure angel—which made me an abomination—but it also made me stronger when it came to resisting the call of the angelic overlords.

“Can we get on with it?” Lucifer grumbled. “I have places to be.”

My father’s eyes tightened with frustration. “Which side do you fight on?” he asked.

“My own. I fight for my family, friends, and for those I love.” I glanced at the stables. Hudson was standing dumbstruck at the scene before him, but he was still safely behind my net.

“Family?” my father checked as he followed my gaze.

Shit. “Those I love,” I clarified.

“Fine, then fight for those you love.”

My father swung his arm out. His power tore a path in my lawn, the dirt flung high into the air, scattering far and wide. It made a beeline for the stables. Hudson took a step back and his pupils turned vertical as he tracked the encroaching threat. My body trembled, and I took off toward the stables and made a life-altering decision. I unwrapped the invisible chains. They disappeared in one fell swoop as my beast strained against my spine. I allowed the pain to ripple down my nerves, igniting my true form with power and intent. My father’s power hit the stables, and the building exploded, brick and mortar expanding into the atmosphere. Hudson would survive a collapsed building, but not my father’s intent. He would explode with the house. Nobody could survive that but an angel. I gasped as my wings tore free of my back. Blood glistened in the air, suspended. Almost there. I shot into the rubble and wrapped myself around Hudson, my wings arched and cocooned us. Pressure gripped my entire body. The world shrank to this one square foot of space. My beast leaked out a little more, and I lost my grip on reality.

“Let me save us,” my beast roared.

Shards of glass and rubble cut into the flesh of my wings, the sting bringing tears to my eyes. It was only pain. I sucked in a deep breath and let go of the final restraints. She tore free, and I took a back seat as my body doubled in size and my wings tripled in number.

“What are you?” Hudson asked. I glanced down at The Principal who was dwarfed by my true form. He was studying my new appendages with awe, horror, fascination, and trepidation.Don’t worry, Principal, knowing will make it much worse.

My beast grinned, showing a double set of dangerous needle-sharp teeth. “I am your mate.”

Oh boy.

He blinked at me, a frown settling on his face as he tried to put together everything he knew about me. Love was stupid. I stood to lose everything because my stupid heart demanded we save him. His gaze burned into my flesh as he picked me apart over and over.

“Who are you?” he asked.

An extra wave of power made my knees tremble, but I stayed upright. “You can call me Indigo.”

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