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“Why don’t we go inside? We need to talk.” Micah drapes his muscular arm over my shoulder.
I stiffen, my whole body cooling. Oh, no. Oh-fucking-no.
Pulling away from him, I prepare to bolt to the backdoor, but Kase calls my name. I heave a few breaths as tears fill my eyes. Micah hasn’t even said anything, but I know something is up with Elias.
“You guys figure it out. I have to go.” Panic tightens through my muscles. “And Micah, you shouldn’t even be out here. You should be with Elias. What if—”
Micah cuts off my words with a kiss and pulls me into his arms, hugging me. His heat eases the ice in my veins a little, but it also sends my emotions over, and I can’t control the sob that escapes my lips. Silence fills the air as the other devils stop fighting and focus their attention on me.
“Lucian, bring the angel out and give him to Andre. Now. He will handle it. When you’re done, meet us at the apartment.” Kase points at Dante. “You’re coming with me. We’re going to sweep the area and make sure no one besides Zade lurks around. He’s our next target, and I don’t want anyone scaring him off. He’s already in tune to Raven, and now is the time he’s going to try to use his angelic charm to help her. Everyone understand?”
The others all nod their agreement. Each of them take a second to hug me, including Lucian, and I finally manage to get my quivering mouth under control.
“I can’t do this alone,” I say, swallowing the burning in my throat. “Please hurry back.”
“We wouldn’t miss it.” Kase plays with my hair, tucking it behind my ear. “Just let Micah take care of you two for now, okay?”
My voice stops working, so I only nod and kiss him one more time. Hugging Micah tighter, I let him carry me inside and to the elevator. I breathe in his familiar scent, summoning the comfort he brought to me when he was an angel. The same comfort I still feel with him even as a devil.
“Raven, this might be one of the hardest things for you to bear in your mortal life. It hurts me on the deepest level of Hell that you’re in this position and must face such an act on our behalf,” Micah says, breaking the silence yet keeping his voice at a whisper. “I’m truly sorry, but I want you to know that I’m here to guide you through everything. Elias too. We were once inseparable, and it was fate that your soul brought us back together. I don’t even know where to begin thanking you.”
Stopping outside his bedroom door, Micah sets me on my feet. Music hums through the air, trickling into the hallway. I grab his hand, stopping him from opening the door right away. The uncertainty scares the living shit out of me.
“Being here is enough for me.” I hug him, sinking into his embrace. “I’m scared. More than scared. I’m terrified. Is he really that bad? He was still joking and laughing with me this morning.”
Micah sighs. “Sometimes things happen so quickly. A disease like his is unpredictable, and no matter how much you think you’re prepared, you might never be. He’s conscious, but he’s not speaking vocally. Just in my mind.”
I steel myself, trying to keep my eyes from spilling a waterfall of tears. Micah is right. Nothing could’ve ever prepared me for this. No amount of reasoning with myself or assurance that things are going to work out. Even knowing that Elias suffers in this state and once his mortal life ends, he’ll finally regain his health and power, does nothing for my grief. He’ll be stronger than ever. A devil. But he’ll never be the mortal man who kidnapped me, pissed me off, and somehow still managed to make me fall in love with him in this life. What if things change in the next?
“Oh, God. Help me,” I whisper, my silent prayer humming through the hall. I slap my hand over my mouth and stare at Micah with wide eyes. “I’m sorry.”
He chuckles, his voice helping to lighten the heaviness of my mood. “My beautiful heathen. I might have turned my back on the Higher Power’s grace, but it wasn’t because Heaven and the almighty are my enemies. I’m here because of you. It doesn’t bother me if you feel the need to find faith in the light of your soul. It was born from Heaven, after all.”
“You should still punish me later for that. I don’t want them to think I want help. Their kind of help is shittier than the torture Kase and Dante plan for Cassius when they find him.” My voice stops shaking with my comment, and I manage to get myself completely in control. I’ll just have to summon some extra strength by thinking about all of my devils. They swore I won’t go through this alone, and I believe them with my entire being. They’ve been the ones to prove their worth and they haven’t let me down yet.
“I’ll think of something if that’s what you truly want,” Micah murmurs, his voice turning breathy and sexy as Hell. “Maybe you can help me teach Elias what it truly means being a devil.”
I lick my lips and nod. “I bet he’d love that.”
Sucking in a deep breath, I finally turn the doorknob and ease it open, peering into Micah’s room. It’s smaller than Kase and Dante’s but still large enough to feel more like an apartment rather than a tiny guest room.
“Darlin’.” Elias’s soft whisper sounds out before he groans and wheezes. Lying on Micah’s big bed, he looks so frail and weak. I hate seeing him like this. I hate that he’s going through any of this, especially because of a man who never deserved such a gift he gave him.
I rush to the bed. “I’m sorry I took so long to return, but I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere, okay?”
His chest heaves as he tries to respond, but he gives up and offers a small smile instead.
“He says don’t you apologize and what he wants most is for you to cuddle with him.” Micah comes up behind me and rests his hands on my shoulders. He leans forward, staring at Elias’s heavy-lidded gaze for another moment. “And...I’m not saying that Elias. You’ll get the end you want when the others return.”
I raise my brows. “Tell me what he wants.”
Elias’s smile widens and he wheezes with another cough.
“He wanted to perform cunnilingus on you in hopes that you’d suffocate him and let him descend into glory.” Micah’s voice remains even. “He’s over his mortal life and is ready.”
“Fuck,” I whisper, trying not to sob and laugh at the same time. “Elias. I’m...just let me cuddle you for a bit.”
“That’s a good idea, heathen. I wanted to talk to you both anyway.” Micah remains expressionless, though it does nothing to ease my worry. No one likes hearing that phrase. It’s usually followed by something negative like a breakup from someone you love or reprehension from an employer.
