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“I still don’t trust you,” I hissed. “I think you’re lying about your intentions, and I think you’re going to turn on me the moment I show you my back.”
“Turn around, and let’s find out,” he said, his tone reaching a low, dangerous timbre.
I was playing with fire now, suddenly aware of how close we were. My heart was frantically beating, my pulse reaching fever pitch. I was starting to feel too hot in my own skin, and far too exposed standing so close to him… but that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was the pit of desire welling up inside of me. I remembered this feeling. I had felt it back at the Tyrant’s Bastion a few times before—this want, this need.
It was Lust.
Lust had no place in this room, not when I was trying to interrogate him, when I was trying to determine whether or not I could trust him. And yet, it had reared its head once more, filling my mind with images, withmemoriesof the near misses he and I had experienced. How had he flipped this around? Moments ago, I had been the one in control. I was the one in authority. The one in power.
But here I was, almost trembling. I stared at him, my eyes darting to each of his. He was waiting for me to make the next move, for my grip to slacken, for my weight to shift just enough that he could break free.
“What now?” he asked, fastening his grip around my throat, then releasing it, then tightening it again.
I couldn’t say I hated the feeling. That only made things worse.
“Don’t think for asecondyou can manipulate me into doing something stupid,” I growled.
“I am not manipulating you, but if you want to stop Lust from taking control of us both in this cell, you are going to have to be the one to stop it.”
“Why not you?”
“Because I have no desire to stop myself from wanting you.”
Groaning, I shoved the Tyrant away from me and moved into the other side of the room. I was trembling, my entire body firmly held in Lust’s vice-like and satin grip. It took every ounce of willpower I had to keep myself from acting on these dark impulses, but when I thought I was ready, I called out to the guard.
“Open the cell,” I said “Let Helena know we need to see her right away.”
The angel glanced at the Tyrant, then back at me. Quietly, he unlocked the cell door and let us both out. I made the Tyrant walk ahead of me. Neither of us had a word to say about what had just happened, and that suited me just fine.
Neither of us needed to talk about this. In fact, the faster I could forget this near-miss and all the others that had come before it, the better.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SARAKIEL
Helena wasn’t ready for us.
She and Micah hadn’t just been standing around in the bastion’s grand hall this whole time. I had to wait for them both to be summoned by one of Helena’s Trumpets. Luckily, the grand hall was so pretty, and vibrant, and full of life, I didn’t mind the wait.
This place was beautiful. It was earthly, and grounded, and serene. I felt at peace, here, which was a strange sensation to feel considering the general state of the planet and our situation as its occupying angels. I didn’t think I had ever truly felt at peace before I came here.
I didn’t think I would’ve been able to recognize it, either.
The Tyrant, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care for it. “Boastful,” he said, picking up a vine that was covered in pretty flowers and letting it drop. “And loud. How could anyone stand being in this place?”
“Do the croaking frogs and chirping birds bother you?” I asked.
“A grand hall is meant to be used for two things: eating, and war coordination. This is no place to hold a strategic meeting.”
“Not everybody is at war, and not everybody thinks like you do.”
“Helena is at war whether she admits it or not.”
“This bastion, from what I can understand, has been a refuge for angels for years. I don’t think they’ve seen combat even once.”
“You do not have to tell me twice. I haveexperiencedtheir defenses once already, and they are entirely lacking.”
“I don’t think you should begrudge them for peacefully making a home for themselves in this remote location. They wanted to be safe, and they have achieved that objective.”
