“Council. I know.” Snatching my pack and dagger off the ground, I discreetly give myself a sniff. As expected, I don’t smell fantastic. That’s going to make agreatfirst impression with the angelic overlords. “I don’t suppose I have time to take a shower before dinner?”
“I can help with that.”
My face tightens as I freeze, staring at him. “Uh…”
Like the devious bastard he is, he grins, waving a hand in my direction. Faint warmth floods over me, and a moment later, all the oil and grime clinging to my skin disappears.
“Good as new.” Dusk motions for me to follow him. “Come on. I’ll give you the run-down on the walk up.”
Stowing my items on my body, I follow him down the path out of the training yard.
“So, I’ll try to make it easy by color-coding them with their wings.” He holds up a hand to count them out on his fingers as he talks. “Red wings, excessively tall and buff, looks like he’s of Middle Eastern ethnicity? That’s the one I hoped you’d never have to meet. Michael.”
“Noted.”
“Second in command is Gabriel, outfitted with gaudy gold wings and samurai armor, who always looks like he’s constipated.” He rolls his eyes before lifting another finger. “Then we have Uriel, with his lavender wings—pale as a corpse, looks like walking death, makes you feel like someone’s walking over your grave when he speaks….”
If I’m not mistaken, goosebumps seem to rise on his arms just talking about the angel.
“And, finally, there’s Raphael. Green wings, dark brown skin. Always radiating peace, love, and sunshine. The healer type, you know? He’s the only somewhat tolerable one.” Leaning towards me, he drops his voice toa whisper, as if telling me a secret. “But don’t be fooled. Being around him may feel like a warm hug, but he’s still Council.”
“Huh.” The leaders of the entirety of the Elohim angels are shitty people. I don’t quite know how to feel about that. Or, maybe, Dusk is just being a touch too dramatic? “So they’re really allthatbad?”
“They’re insufferable, Kae. I can’t stand to be alone with them for any substantial amount of time. Luckily, it was a direct trip here… I think I’d rather gouge my eyes out than travel with Michael any longer than this took.”
“Gross?”
“You’ll understand soon enough,” he says with a dry laugh. We’re almost to the side door of the castle, closest to the dining hall. “But I hope you’ve been doing okay? Has the King of Moroseness been taking care of you, at least?”
I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say he’s beencaringfor me. I haven’t been maimed or killed under his watch, which is good, at least. “I’ve been doing, um… mental exercises… with him. Trying to understand my soul, find the star, and shit.”
“Sounds like so much fun.”
“Totally. It’s been such a blast. Abaddon is the biggest bucket of sunshine there ever was.”
Dusk stops me by grabbing my arm. “But hehaskept his oath, correct?”
“Yes.” I refuse to look him in the eyes, instead glancing at the castle door. I, myself, can’t understand what’s going on between Abaddon and me. There’s no way I could explain it to him, even if I wanted to. “We’ve just had a bit of a disagreement lately.”
“Ah. So that’s why you were beating that sack of meat to a bloody pulp… In that case, dinnerdefinitelywon’t be excruciatingly painful for both of us.”
He holds the door open for me, and I give him a wry smile.
“Definitely not.”
We walk down the corridor, closing the short distance to the dining hall. Nothing seems amiss, but my apprehension builds in each step. Something feels off in the air. Where I might have expected some noise coming from behind the carved double doors, it’s deathly quiet.
“Be ready.” Dusk mumbles, reaching for the ornate handles.
My eyes flit to him, and I rub my clammy hands on the side of my pants. “For what?”
“Anything.”
The moment he swings the door open for me, a wave of power crashes into me like a hot sonic blast.
I stumble backward, clutching my chest. Pressure pushes in on my body, my soul—everything.I try to suck in a breath, but I can’t breathe. It’s as if all the air around me is sucked out, leaving me in a crushing void, andI. Can’t. Breathe.
“That won’t be necessary, Michael. I have already vetted her.” I hear Abaddon’s cool, steady voice slide through the air. For once, I’m grateful to hear it. To have him on my side.
