Page 13 of Descent of Angels

“You don’t need to tell me, but we’ve been here a day. I’m not saying do nothing, I’m saying we keep our eyes open.”

I sucked in my breath, my blood still boiling at the thought of someone laying a hand on Dylan. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be watching him. You can count on it.”

Ade nodded. “Trust me, I’ll be watching too, and if we do find out he’s been hurting her, well, then we’ll take action…” His voice trailed off and his eyes darkened, the gold fading a little.

I smiled coldly. “Yes, we will.”

He walked away, and my eyes narrowed. “We’ll fucking kill him.”

SEVEN

DYLAN

I held my breath as I tiptoed past the snoring figure passed out on the couch. He’d been fairly drunk earlier when he’d called me up from the barn and angry at being kept waiting for his dinner—my ribs ached from the results of his temper. I was fairly sure he’d be out for hours now, probably well into midmorning judging by the cluster of beer bottles and the empty whiskey bottle on the coffee table, but I still didn’t want to risk waking him up. Every slight sound or movement had me freezing in place, but I made it to the back door and slipped through with no real issues. Once outside, the weight lifted and I headed down to the barn, keeping my breathing shallow to ease the pain.

He’d be furious if he caught me sneaking out at night, but I really needed to check how Remiel was doing and see if his bandages needed to be changed. I had fresh ones with me, a Tupperware of hot broth, and a fresh flask of coffee for whoever would be sitting up with him. I paused outside the door to yawn, my mouth stretching wide as I blinked blearily. I was desperate for sleep, and as soon as I knew Remiel was okay, I was heading straight to bed.

“So you do get tired. And I thought you were some kind of wonder woman.” I spun around to see Jophiel smiling at me from the shadows.

“You scared me!” I whispered.

He frowned. “Sorry, Dylan.” He stepped forward and took my hand, raising it to his lips. “I would never want to scare you.” His mouth moved over my skin as his eyes met mine, and a tremor ran through me, fluttering down in my stomach.

“Are you cold?” he asked, and without waiting for a reply, he moved to my side and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, tucking me under his arm and pressing me up against his body. I felt his warmth seep through my clothing and leaned against him gratefully. He had more of a slender build than Ade and Eleth, but I could feel the strength in his arms as he guided me into the barn.

“Dylan!” I looked up to see Ade heading toward us between the stalls. He grinned at me, and the fireflies in my belly started dancing again. “I was going to see if I could catch you before you went to bed. Come with me.”

He held his hand out for me to take, and I glanced up at Jophiel who smiled down at me and released me from his hold. “Go on,” he murmured. I took Ade’s hand, a small smile spreading across my face at his excitement. His large hand wrapped around my smaller one, and he tugged me toward one of the stalls. I followed him into the shadows—this stall never got much light. He knelt down, and I did the same, letting my eyes adjust to the dimness. It turns out I didn’t need to. There was a snuffling noise before a wet nose thrust itself into my free hand.

“Jess!” I reached out and ran my hands over her, but all I found was sleek, soft fur and a tongue that wouldn’t stop licking my fingers. She jumped up, setting her paws on my shoulders to lick my face, and I laughed and pushed her back down. I looked over at Ade, but in the dimness I could only see the golden gleam in his eyes and his white teeth.

“She’s okay?”

“She’s completely healed. Turns out Joph’s healing power works on animals as well.”

I sighed in relief and turned around as Jophiel knelt next to me, reaching out to rub his hand over Jess’s head. I let go of Ade’s hand and threw my arms around Jophiel. “Thank you, thank you so much.” I might have been a little overexcited, because when I collided with him, Jophiel lost his balance, and we both tumbled sideways into the straw, with me on top of him. He laughed breathlessly and wrapped his arms around me.

“Well, if that’s the thanks I get, I’m going to have to do a lot more things for you.”

I looked down at him. “You don’t need to do anything, ever. She’s my only friend, and you saved her. You have no idea how grateful I am.”

“I’m getting a good idea.” He smiled, reaching up to cup my face with his hand. “Hey...” He wiped away the tears that had begun to fall. I had deliberately concentrated on helping Remiel so I didn’t have to think about the possibility of losing Jess. I didn’t have the strength to confront that pain on my own. Jophiel’s arms tightened around me, and I gasped in pain as my ribs throbbed. I shoved at him, and he immediately let me go.

“I’m sorry, that was so over the top. Forgive me. I got carried away,” I rambled, not daring to look at him as I scrambled to my feet. I was shaking, and I wasn’t sure if it was from relief, exhaustion, or cold. Ade came up behind me and set his hands on my hips. He pulled me back against him before wrapping his arms around me. He was as warm as Jophiel had been, if not a bit warmer.

“Stop apologizing,” he told me. “We owe you everything for saving Remiel, and she’s a lovely little creature, so she deserved to get help on her own.”

The lovely little creature in question launched herself at Jophiel, landing square on his chest and winding him for a second time. Ade laughed, and I found myself leaning back against him, also laughing at the sight of Jess bestowing her own gratitude on Jophiel. He ruffled her fur and pushed her off, struggling to his feet with her still leaping around trying to lick his face.

I turned to Ade. “I need to see Remiel before I go to bed. I want to check if he’s okay.”

Ade nodded. “Of course.” He let go of me, and the four of us headed toward the back of the barn. Jess raced ahead of us, and I was about to call her back when I rounded the stall and saw she had curled up quietly next to Remiel. She looked up at me as if to say, “See? I’m being good.” I smiled as Remiel lifted his hand and laid it gently on her back, twisting his fingers into her fur.

Eleth was stretched out on the other side of the stall under one of the blankets, snoring quietly. I knelt down next to Remiel and laid my hand across his forehead.

“How are you feeling?” I asked. He was warm to the touch, but his skin was dry and smooth, and it felt as though his fever had broken. Remiel smiled up at me. His eyes were green with flecks of gold, and they seemed much warmer than they had been so far.

“I’m feeling much better,” he confessed quietly. “Hungry.”

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