“He’s human.We’ll let the human authorities handle this,” Rathiel replied, his tone firm but not unkind.He bent down, scooping up my charred winter jacket, likely to keep the police from finding it.
The sirens were closer now, echoing off the alley walls, a reminder that time was running out.Rathiel’s arms slid around me, pulling me against his chest.His wings flared wide, and with a powerful beat, he launched us into the air.The ground dropped away beneath us, the city blurring into a haze of distant lights as we soared higher into the sky, away from the alley, from Jack’s lifeless body.
I clung to him, the wind whipping through my hair as the reality of everything sank in.Jack was gone.I had failed to protect him, and no amount of fire or fury would change that.
ChapterTwenty-Seven
The world wasquiet when we landed on the balcony.Rathiel tucked his wings away, but the cool night air did nothing to numb the ache inside me.He opened the door and shooed Vol and Purrgatory out of the living room before guiding me inside with a soft touch to my back, careful not to touch my injuries.The pain was still there, a dull throb, but compared to the hollow ache in my chest, it barely registered.
I walked inside, my steps slow, almost robotic.My mind still replayed the image of Jack lying there in the alley—broken, lifeless.I’d killed Zera, but was it enough?This was all my fault.I’d welcomed Jack into my life.My dangerous, psychotic life.I was an angel, for crying out loud.The daughter of Lucifer.I hadnobusiness fraternizing with humans.And he’d paid the price for my foolishness.
I dropped into the nearest chair and stared at the wall.It was as though the fire that had burned inside me had died completely, leaving only cold embers in its wake.
Rathiel stood near the balcony door, observing me closely.He hadn’t said much since we left the alley—giving me space, I suspected—but the tension in his shoulders told me he was worried.I could feel his concern, like a shadow hanging in the air between us.
He took a slow step forward, then another, as if unsure of what to do.“Lily,” he began, his voice soft, cautious.
I didn’t respond.I couldn’t.I was too…numb.Empty.
Rathiel moved closer, crouching down in front of me, his silver eyes searching my face.
“How did you find me?”I asked, my voice completely devoid of emotion.
“It wasn’t hard,” he said.“You weren’t answering your phone, and I grew concerned.The bus would take too long, so I took to the skies.I saw the fire and knew.”
“Someone could have seen you,” I mumbled.
“I don’t care.You’re more important.”
That broke me.“I—” My voice cracked, the words caught in my throat.I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes, but I blinked them back.“It’s my fault, Rathiel.Jack…dead because of me.”
His expression tightened, his eyes darkening.“It’s not your fault,” he said firmly.“Zera killed him, not you.”
“He was looking for me,” I rambled.“I broke things off with him and left the coffeeshop.I don’t know, maybe he was watching?Waiting?He thought I was in trouble.Maybe he planned to follow me?Or maybe he stumbled across my jacket and came looking for me.I don’t know.But that’s the kind of person he was.He waskind, Rathiel.He wasn’t like us.He was the stark opposite of us.”I sucked in an unsteady breath.“I should have done more.I should have protected him better.”
I leaned forward and dropped my head into my hands, gripping the roots of my hair.Voices echoed in my head, telling me that this was all my fault.That if it weren’t for me, he’d still be alive.And the voices were right.
Rathiel peeled my hands away from my head and squeezed them tight.“Lily, stop.”
His voice wasn’t soft or gentle this time—it was steady, commanding.It cut through the fog in my mind, forcing me to lift my head and meet his gaze.I could feel the storm of emotions raging inside me, threatening to tear me apart, but there was something in the way he looked at me that kept me from spiraling completely.
“Don’t do this to yourself,” he said.“You’re going to destroy yourself if you don’t stop.”
I pulled one hand free from his grip, wrapping my arms around myself, trying to hold it all together.“You don’t get it,” I whispered.
He gave a harsh laugh.“You think I don’t understand?Me?The guy who stripped you of some of your most important memories and abandoned you here?”He shook his head, his dark locks spilling in front of his eyes.“I understand guilt better than anyone.But I also understand that blaming yourself won’t fix anything.It won’t bring him back.”
“It isn’t about bringing him back!”I snapped, the words escaping before I could stop them.“It’s about the fact that I was supposed to protect him, and I failed.Just like I’ve failed at everything else.”
“What are you talking about?”Rathiel asked softly.
“Hell?The Rebellion?The prophecy?”I gave a bitter laugh and pushed to my feet, pacing through the living room.“I failed at those too, didn’t I?That’s why I’m here.Because I couldn’t cut it.Because I couldn’t kill Lucifer.I’m a failure.”
Rathiel rose to his feet, following my movements with a calm intensity, but he didn’t speak right away.He let my words hang in the air, like he was waiting for them to sink in.When he finally did speak, his voice was quieter, but no less steady.
“We may not have won the war,” Rathiel said, “But what you did wasn’t meaningless.You arenota failure.”
I stopped pacing and faced him, fists clenched tightly at my sides, trying to steady the trembling in my hands.“Then why does it feel like everything I touch turns to ash?”My voice rose.“Jack is dead.Lucifer crushed the rebellion.You wiped my memories and sent me here.What’s left, Rathiel?”
