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ANDRE
“WHY ARE YOU here, Andre? I thought you were going to stay away from her?” Zade strolls up beside me and stares at the side of my face.
I keep my eyes trained on the devils’ mansion, far more gaudy and grand than anything I’ve ever seen them acquire over the years. “She prayed for help, and I couldn’t deny her of my divine intervention. Lucifer, he—” I scrub my hands over my face, the image of Raven on the ground, her back exposed, and completely defenseless against Lucifer’s wrath hurts me at my very core. Her soul keepers stood there and denied her mercy, proving how devastatingly helpless she is. Anger swells inside me the longer the image of Raven brands in my mind. “I couldn’t let him hurt her.”
Zade opens his wings, his feathers caressing against mine. “I understand. It’s impossible to stand by and ignore such a brilliant soul. I would have done the same.”
Finally breaking my gaze from the flickering light in the living area, I turn and meet Zade’s turquoise eyes. Raven’s mark mars his cheek, the glow of the brand looking as fresh as it had on the day she gave it to him. Like he senses me studying it, Zade massages his fingers to it and offers me a reassuring smile.
“She is unlike anyone I’ve ever met, Zade,” I murmur, nervous to say the words out loud, but I can’t lie to him. He’s been by my side for as long as I can remember.
“Because she is. She carries the essence of grace inside her,” he reminds me as if I don’t know.
I shake my head. “It’s not only that. I’ve been in her dreams. I’ve felt her soul. I wish I could show you what I see. She—”
“Was to be left alone.” Cassius’s deep voice cuts me off, his arrival going unnoticed by both Zade and me. He did it on purpose, sneaking up on us and not announcing his coming appearance. “What have I told you, Andre? We have greater priorities to focus on. As long as we stay away, the devils will not get what they want. It won’t be much longer until things fall apart and they discover they were never a match against the Higher Power’s grace.”
“Lucifer was going to whip her with hellfire,” I say, ignoring his comment. “She needed me. She prayed to me.”
“To you?” Cassius asks incredulously.
I tighten my jaw. “Yes.” The word comes easily, instinctively, despite me knowing that Raven prayed to God. But even so, it didn’t feel like she was praying to the Higher Power. Her soul called to me. It felt as if her very essence wrapped around me, tugging me to her like a force I had no control over. “She prayed for help after standing up to Lucifer.”
“No mortal would stand up to Lucifer,” Cassius says like I’m capable of speaking anything but the truth to him. And who knows. Maybe I am. I haven’t tried much or ever needed to.
“Raven did. She threatened him with our grace,” I add, feeling a wave of something strange pulsing through me.
Seeing her confront the most feared devil did something to me on a level I never knew possible. Remembering the moment triggers the same sensation and need inside me, awakening my body with a desire to be near her.
“I’m not sure I follow.” Cassius follows my line of sight and steps forward to the edge of the sidewalk. He stretches his glorious white wings out, blocking my view of Raven’s glowing soul, calling to me.
“You know she doesn’t truly want to help Hell and has chosen to do so out of self-preservation, but I think being around the devils has reminded her that there is a world outside of her soul. She threatened him with telling you everything.” I bounce on my feet, growing more anxious by the second.
“Perhaps I was wrong about my concern of you being here. It sounds as if your presence might be influencing Raven.” Cassius folds his wings, his comment bringing me far greater relief than I had expected such a thing would.
“I think you’re right, Cass,” Zade says, offering me a smile in encouragement.
“As long as you remain uninvolved,” Cassius adds, turning to peer at me. He motions toward the mansion as Dante, Micah, and Elias emerge. His features harden at the sight of them, and he instinctively gathers heavenly power in his palm. “I will not lose you like I’ve lost them.”
“I promise you won’t,” I say, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. “I’ll even prove it to you by following the devils. It’s not often they leave Raven. Something must be going on.”
“I think you’re right, Andre,” Zade says, speaking up.
Cassius clenches his hands into fists. “Zade, go with Andre. I need to leave the plane for guidance. If what you say about Raven standing up to Lucifer is true, then I need to find out more. I have an idea that could change things. Can you manage while I’m gone?”
“Yes,” Zade says for the both of us.
I open my mouth, wanting to know what thoughts cross his mind, but Cassius launches into the air and disappears in a flash of light. Zade turns to me and squeezes my shoulder. A dozen thoughts flicker through his gray eyes. He shifts his jaw back and forth, silently waiting for me to give him directions. I know I should do as Cassius commanded. It’s in our best interest to keep watch on the majority of the devils when we can. If only Raven came rushing out the door to join them. I can’t get myself to leave her without finding out if she’s really okay after her confrontation with Lucifer.
“Andre, if we don’t leave now, we might lose sight of them,” Zade says, expanding his wings.
I wet my lips and nod. “I’m sorry. I have a lot on my mind.”
“Raven?” he prods, his brows lowering on his forehead. “Trust in Cassius to work things out for her. She might be hell-bound, but we all know that miracles can and do happen—ones even out of our control. Keep your faith, Andre.”
“Would you mind if I caught up with you?” I break his gaze and turn back to the mansion. The lights turn off in the living area, turning the property completely dark apart from the glowing moon overhead. “I’d like to peek in one more time to assure myself she’s okay and then I also need to return to the hunters I abandoned. Some could be of use to us—at least, the ones not already hell-bound.”
Zade ruffles his feathers and rubs his palm over Raven’s brand on his cheek. “We can call upon someone else for that. I’ll go with you to look in on Raven, and I’m sure we’ll still have time to catch up. The devils are on foot.”
