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I nod, tears pooling in my eyes, a mixture between heartache and agony from the bullet lodged in my leg. With a soft whisper of love, I summon the strength of all my devils. A soft smile crosses Elias’s lips, and I squeeze my eyes shut. I can’t watch. I can’t think about it. All I can do is pray to Hell that I don’t fuck this up.
“Raven, stop! Stop! Don’t do this!” Tamia’s voice rings through the air.
I snap my eyes open and watch as an angel drops her from above. She lands in the grass and scrambles to her feet.
“Raven, please,” she calls, waving a hand.
I can’t believe this shit.
“Micah, behind you!” Andre swings his tail, trying to knock Cassius out of the way, but another angel crashes into him.
Wielding his flaming sword, Cassius enters the circle, his whole body set aglow. Micah punches his heavy hoof-like hand, trying to knock him away. Another angel joins him, and the two attack Micah as Andre tries to get them away from the barrier.
Elias squeezes my arm. “Raven, she’s possessed.”
His words jerk my attention away from the battle between my devils and the fucking angelic army to where Tamia strides closer and raises a gun. It was her. She was the one shooting at us. She was the one who shot me.
I throw myself in front of Elias protectively. “Tamia, stop. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Tears shine in her glassy eyes, the same shape but bluer than my teal irises. “I can’t. I can’t stop. Please, you have to move. The angel is giving me only twenty seconds to convince you to move. She will make me shoot you otherwise.”
“Fuck,” I breathe, stealing myself. “Fight her. Kick her fucking ass out of you. It’s your body.”
Tamia clenches her jaw, her whole body shaking. “Please, Raven. I have to kill him. If you don’t let me, she will make me kill you too.”
Well this isn’t going to fucking work for me. Elias must die by my hands. It’s the only way. Right now, he must descend for Hell to rise. If the angels take his life...it’s over. Everything is over.
I gather my courage and raise my hands. “Then fucking do it. Shoot me.”
“Raven,” Tamia begs. “Ten seconds.”
“Shoot me!” I scream, stumbling to stand upright, the agony in my leg nearly sending me back down. “You can’t fucking kill him! He’s mine! He will descend!”
Tamia’s whole body trembles as her eyes flash and light up with Heaven’s glow. Anger and rage course through me, and I flip the angel possessing my cousin off. Aiming the gun, the angel forces my cousin to pull the trigger. I screech and clutch my stomach as she shoots me in the abdomen. Shadows edge my vision, and I fall backward and onto Elias. I do the only thing I can think of and twist around, lacing my fingers to his throat. This is it. I have to do this. It has to be now.
“Micah! Get ready!” I scream, begging for him to risk losing the circle to help carry Elias to Hell.
I squeeze harder, feeling Elias’s muscles tighten and spasm. His body fights against my strength, but I don’t let go. I can’t. The ground rumbles and splits open just outside the circle, and Dante catapults from his kingdom in all his hellish glory. He spits venom, sending a cluster of angels scattering, giving Micah the chance to turn to me.
Something firm taps the back of my head.
“Please, Raven. This is your last chance.” Tamia’s voice cracks.
I don’t stop. Micah roars, gathering his power.
Heat courses through my veins, the power of Hell snaking around me. The world slows and I look down at Elias, his eyes wide, his head shaking. Like he summons strength from the kingdom his death will build, he jerks his hands up and rips my fingers from his throat. He hollers and shoves his hands to my chest, knocking me onto my back.
I can’t even process what’s going on. Elias climbs on top of me and shields me with his body. Angelic light illuminates the world around us, cutting us off from Hell.
“I can’t let you die first. I’m sorry, darlin’. I’m so sorry.” Elias pushes on his hands, his neck struggling to keep his head up.
My ears ring, deafening me, and I stare in horror as Tamia shoots Elias in the chest, sending him sprawling forward and onto me. I scream, my vision turning red. My whole world collapses and burns around me. Fury snares my thoughts, refusing to let me go. Yells cut through the air as the angels retreat, shouting their joy.
Happiness.
They stole humanity’s chance at changing.
They stole Hell’s ability to rise.
