Alistair narrows his eyes at my position and looks at Luca. “I hear his heart beating. Are there injuries I can’t see?”
“He used a lot of magic,” Malach says. “I think he’s exhausted.”
“You think”—my fingers curl—“but you don’t know.”
“Then move aside so I can get him off the street.” Alistair passes dangerously close to my flaming right wing. I tuck it into my back automatically, even as I consider using it to incinerate his bossy judgment.
“Why are you here?” I snap. “If anyone sees you with?—”
“Everyonehas seen me with you, angel. In fact, three of my informants called to tell me there was a magical battle happening outside my girl’s apartment.”
I grind my teeth and face him, wincing as something sharp digs into my bare foot. It’s probably a piece of metal spat out by thekoil’nashra. I’ve never seen one in action before, but they certainly lived up to their name, which roughly translates to death coil.
Alistair’s nostrils flare. He lunges at me, grinding to a halt when I hiss in warning. “You’re bleeding,” he says, his voice like glass dragging against steel.
“I’m fine,” I echo Luca’s earlier reassurance, relieved when I don’t get dinged for it. At least my magic doesn’t think I’m pussy enough to consider a cut foot grounds for a lie.
Luca stirs, and I hoist him into my arms, wincing as I survey the surrounding rubble. “This is a mess,” I say.
Malach grunts and raises his hands. Moonlight catches on his wings, reflecting off the feathers and bathing the carnage in subtle shades of gray as he directs his magic at the shrapnel and stone.
A curtain shifts on the bottom floor of my building.
I swallow a curse as Alistair’s words sink in. We fought a battle in the street outside my apartment complex. Six angels are dead, and with celestial magic flying everywhere, it was loud and impossible to ignore. My neighbors won’t be able to pretend they didn’t see or hear. They will talk about this, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
Luca is heavy in my arms. I need to get him inside, but—I never finished unlocking the door. I glance up. My window has never seemed higher, and my wings are weak from years of disuse.
The final oozing hunk of metal disappears with a groan, whisked away by Malach’s magic. He’s at my side a second later, bumping Alistair out of the way.
“Allow me to carry him inside,” he says.
Nodding, I transfer Luca to Malach’s arms reluctantly, watching with a nauseous twist of envy and gratitude as they reach the window and disappear inside.
“You ignore my help and hand Luca over to that murderous lunatic?” Alistair advances on me. “Have you forgotten he tried to kill us both? He could be smothering him as we speak.”
“Things have changed.”
“Have they or is Luca’s life less important than your pride?”
“Fuck you!” I shove his chest. “This has nothing to do with pride; you’re the one I can’t trust!” I shove him again, stumbling when my cut foot grazes the jagged edge of a pothole.
Alistair grabs my arms, his eyes flashing a wild, feral red as my flames flicker against the harsh planes of his face. I’ve never seen him this angry. I flinch away.
He makes a wounded sound low in his throat.
“Please,” he begs. “Please, angel. Let me help.”
My burning wings are inches from his arms. They could hurt him. My stomach churns, and the flames go out. Horrified, I try to back away, but Alistair doesn’t let go. He walks with me, his gaze crimson and impossible to look away from.
“A-Ali,” I stammer. My voice cracks, and I lick my lips. What is there to say? Everything’s broken, and I don’t know how to fix it. Not this time.
Alistair saves me the trouble. His lips drop to mine in a hungry kiss. My feet leave the ground, and air moves around us. I keep my eyes squeezed shut.
If I don’t look... If I refuse to watch the life I built crash around me, maybe it won’t.
A door slams. My ass hits something smooth and cold. I shiver, and my tongue grazes the tip of one of Alistair’s fangs. A burst of salty copper coats my mouth, and my shoulder blades connect with the countertop.
Alistair’s hands are rough—exactly how I prefer them—and I moan as my wings bump something that falls to the ground and shatters.
