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"Nobody outside this house knew about that alley before we did," Sarah pointed out. "Could one of the Flensers have hung back and hidden so it could report back?"

"Or," Izzy offered, "your mark's broadcasting louder than you think, and he doesn't need a spy at all. Just a decent set of ears."

"It wasn't broadcasting in the mansion three hours ago." Sarah shot the theory down fast, shaking her head. "It only lit up once we got to the alley. He knew before that."

The door swung open before Donovan could answer, and Amelia came through it with Elsie a step behind. Both women read the room in the half-second it took to cross the threshold. Amelia's eyes went straight to the blood on the table, then to the mark at Sarah's throat.

"Somebody want to tell me why Camael said he sensed an angelic bond activate without so much as a heads-up text?" Amelia crossed to Sarah and took her chin in one hand, tilting it toward the light to get a better look at the mark. "You couldn't have mentioned this over group chat? I had to find out from my mate. This isn’t normal for angel mates. What exactly did you guys do?"

"It happened kind of fast." Sarah shrugged, the motion pulling at muscles she hadn't realized were sore until right that second. She gave them a brief rundown of what had happened in the alley. "The situation left no time for texting."

"Sure, blame the apocalypse." Amelia teased, some of the tension easing out of her shoulders now that she'd confirmed they were both upright and breathing. "Congratulations, I suppose."

"We've got a bigger problem than the bond." Donovan dragged them back before the moment could soften any further. "Lucifer knew where we'd be tonight before we told anyone outside this house. We were just discussing whether we have a leak. Or a flenser remained behind to spy. Or Sarah is broadcasting like a lighthouse."

Elsie's expression shifted. The humor drained out of it so fast that Sarah got dizzy. "You actually think one of the warriors or angels is sharing information with Lucifer?"

"I've been feeling something at the edge of the wards for the last hour," Amelia interjected. “I can’t get a feel for their intentions, but their presence is unmistakable."

"Somebody's watching the house." Sarah's grip on Abraxos's hand tightened. “They might have told Lucifer. We were talking about where we were headed before we took off.”

"Somebody is watching you specifically, Sarah. While they remained in place, their focus changed when you were gone and returned." Amelia's gaze dropped to the mark on Sarah's palm, then back up. "That thing's been quiet since you got back, but even I felt it broadcast when you were in that alley."

Silence dropped over the med bay. It was thick enough that Sarah could hear her own pulse in her ears. She looked down at her palm, half expecting the mark to answer for itself. When it didn't, she looked up to find every set of eyes in the room fixed on her instead.

"Well." She barked out a humorless chuckle. "At least now I know what to get everyone for the holidays. Tinfoil hats, all around."

"I'll take mine in gold," Izzy put in. "It matches my aesthetic better."

"I hate that you people can joke right now." Elsie shook her head, though the corner of her mouth had curved despite herself.

"It's that or scream." Sarah shrugged one shoulder. "And screaming will wake up the patient." Her gaze dropped to Abraxos. His eyes were closed, and the tight lines around his mouth were gone. His breathing had evened out, as well.

"The patient's awake," Abraxos muttered from the table. "My mate is significantly more terrifying than anything currently on the other side of these wards."

"Thanks, Sparky." Sarah squeezed his hand once before she let herself look back at Amelia. "You can help us figure out who's been standing close enough to hear our discussions, before whatever's listening gives everything away."

CHAPTER 15

ABRAXOS

"Jace, I respect you, but if you tell me to lie still one more time, I'm going to test whether Dark Warrior healers regenerate teeth." Abraxos threatened as he tried to swing his legs off the med bay table.

He needed to show his mate that he was fine now. He could read her better than anyone. She was going to do something stupid without him. He refused to let her leave the house without him.

Jace didn't look up from his work, his hands steady despite the dig in his voice. He'd patched up more angels than anyone else. He’d treated broken wings, cuts, and injuries involving their grace with the same competence he brought to treating wounded Dark Warriors. He could handle simple things like claw marks and fractures without breaking a sweat. Abraxos had long ago learned that the man's calm never cracked, no matter who was bleeding on his table.

"You're both staying put until sunrise," Jace insisted. “That's not a request. You need rest."

"It's cute you think you can tell us what to do." Sarah was already reaching for her canvas bag. “We need to find out who is watching us.”

Abraxos caught her wrist before she got away. His side still burned where the Titan's claw had opened him. His wing also throbbed with every breath. His injuries could use another few hours of downtime, but that wasn't going to happen with that look on her face.

"Jace isn't wrong, love.” He tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. “You burned through more magic tonight than your body was built to carry."

She lifted a shoulder while leaning into his touch. "Somebody's parked outside our wards listening to every word we say." She didn't pull away from him, but she didn't back down either. "We don't have time to sit here recovering while Lucifer plans his next move around whatever he's hearing."

The door swung open before Jace or Abraxos could argue further. Camael filled the frame with soot still streaking across his forearms. His black wings were tucked against his back. He'd clearly come straight from a fight. The look on his face told Abraxos he'd caught the last part of the conversation.