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Meri raises her sword next. “We can’t.”
Zade flies forward without warning and strikes Mikail with his elbow, while spinning and slashing at the front of Meri’s shirt. I’ve seen him fight before, but his moves now? Damn, he’s good.
Spinning around, he jumps back and sets me on my feet. “Stay guarded. Call out if someone even dares come near you. I must teach them their places. I’m done with this madness.” Zade’s words strike me on a deep level, and I stretch up and kiss him.
The two angels close in on us, but he doesn’t give them a chance to strike. He spin-kicks his leg, sweeping their feet out from under them. Meri calls out to Cassius for help. Just the sound of his name echoing through the air pisses me off. I know Cassius and I aren’t exactly friends. But I swear to the universe, if he tries to stand against me, this will be my last effort at playing nice with him. He knows the truth. He’s felt the darkness, and he knows it isn’t bad. He knows how perfect the balance is.
“Cassius, you must fight him. He has made his choice.” Mikail growls and gets back to his feet, lunging at Zade again.
“I can’t,” Cassius whispers, his voice barely sounding over the noise of the fight. “He still has his grace. He is not on Hell’s side. He is just upset. Please, stop. Don’t fight him. We can figure out a way to make things work with everyone.”
“This is the only way,” Mikail says, gathering heavenly light in his palm.
Surprising Zade, Mikail launches into the air and throws the power over his head, shooting it in my direction. I cover my face and scream, trying to protect myself. It won’t hurt me, but it will knock me back or out or at least leave me vulnerable for a couple of seconds.
Zade hollers and jumps into the air, swinging his sword at Mikail. Meri uses the moment to rush toward me. I shout for Zade. I can’t face this damn bitch. Mikail grabs onto Zade’s feathers, stopping him from trying to get to me and stabs his sword through Zade’s wing.
Darkness explodes through me, turning the world pitch black. It swallows Meri and her heavenly light, forcing her away from me before she can get within a foot. Her scream rips through the air, and I blink, trying to see through the haze. I no longer see Zade or Mikail. The only one who stands within my new darkness is Cassius.
He holds his hand out to me. “Raven, you have to stop this. I only have control over this plane for a second. You can’t destroy them. They might not understand the whole situation, but they are doing what they feel is right until we can change their minds. If you send Meri to Hell, it’ll be a war far worse than what it is now. The angels will consider you a bigger threat than even Hell.”
His soft voice comes through the air, lacing around me and drawing me closer to him. Ice travels up my spine, cooling the heat radiating from my skin. I close the distance to Cassius, placing my hand in his. With our simple touch, light flashes through the air and devours the darkness.
I’m thrown back into the Mortal Realm in the middle of an angelic battle. Zade stabs Mikail through his wing, stopping him from flying into the air. I gasp at the sight of Zade in this moment. His light is gone. Blood drips from his wings, and he begins to shift right before my eyes. Most of the time, the devils don’t show me their true appearance until they are comfortable with knowing that I won’t hold it against them. And Zade? He knows that I accept him for who he is regardless.
Long hair sprouts from his head, and he bulks up in his height and muscles. Fire rolls over his skin, devouring his angel façade. He looks half-man and half-horse, his ears pointing and his face elongating. Hooves stomp the ground, shaking the world around us until a crack forms. Heavenly light crackles through the air, and whatever heavenly shield was put in place explodes and disappears.
I stand frozen in awe, drinking in the sight of Zade in his devil form. His sleek, muscular body changes with his new blond fur glossing over his skin, left behind by the fire but now travels to his hands. I can’t help how distracted I am by the looks of him. He’s far from scary to me, but I can tell that the two angels are utterly terrified. They back up and try to launch into the air. Zade thrusts his hands in their direction, sending a mesmerizing purple fire at them. It’s as pretty as Kase’s ruby power.
“Zade, no!” Cassius yells, thrusting his own angelic light at Zade. “Please, don’t hurt them. You know that they follow what they feel is right.”
“I’m sorry, Cass. I can’t stand by any longer and do nothing. I’ve tried everything in my power to stay on my righteous path. I didn’t want to abandon Heaven, but I don’t know what else to do. I have to protect Raven and her babies. She is our future. She will help humanity far more than any of the angelic army can. I think they’re afraid because they realize it. They were once mortal, too, you know. All they probably see is change, and change doesn’t always settle well with some. Because what will they do if they no longer have to guard humanity? They will no longer have a path to follow.” Zade’s voice deepens with his words, his comment stabbing me in the soul. If what he says is true, it would explain so much. It would tell me exactly why the guardians are so determined to ruin me and my life. It proves why they want so badly to keep me from my devils. If I take Purgatory and my devils all have their thrones, we will change the balance. It won’t be in Heaven’s favor, but it also won’t be in Hell’s. It’ll be in Purgatory’s.
“That’s not true. You know that they will always have their paths to follow. They just want to protect that precious light growing inside Raven. I know this because I want the same.” Cassius wrings his hands together, jerking his attention to me. “I want to protect her more than that.”
“Then you agree what must be done. You don’t have to say it. I know you are far too cowardly to admit that you were wrong.” Zade grows taller, his hooves bigger, and then suddenly horns jut from his shoulders, turning him more monstrous with his transformation. It’s strange how I know I should be a bit unsettled by the sight of my sweet, angelic Zade turning into this powerful, beastly devil, but I’m not. I feel relief. I feel closer to him. It’s hard to explain, but it feels as if another piece of me has come together. It eases the stress and ache that has been tightening my whole body ever since I discovered that Elias isn’t on another cycle without me.
“I will not admit such a thing because it’s untrue.” Cassius summons his heavenly sword, and light crackles over the blade. “This is your last chance to just stand down. Take Raven and go.”
Mikail growls with his annoyance. “Cassius, you cannot allow that. I will not stand by and let you just give her to Hell. Must I go after your wings next?”
Cassius doesn’t have a chance to answer, because Zade charges forward and blasts his mesmerizing purple light at Mikail. The angel twists, trying to avoid it, but the power smacks right into his chest and knocks him on his back. Meri expands her wings and glares. I tense as her focus shifts from Zade to me.
Cassius steps forward, trying to steal my attention, looking as if he will attack. His face sharpens with his need to stop the guardians but also to stop Zade.
“Grab him, Cassius. Grab him now, and I will get Raven,” Meri snaps, flexing her muscles. Angelic light glows from her, and she dashes forward in my direction. Jumping into the air, she takes flight and circles around us.
I tip my head back and stare at her in the sky. The bitch summons heavenly power and tosses it at Zade. He tries to launch into the air, but his hurt wing doesn’t allow him to do it. Another blast of heavenly light hits him, and I watch in anger as Mikail attacks from his fall on the ground.
“Cassius, now!” Mikail shouts, his voice booming through the air. His anger ramps up his angelic light, nearly blinding me. “You are a savior. This is your duty.”
That fucker. I can’t help feeling bad for Cassius. It’s as if Mikail knows how to manipulate Cassius’s pride. And who knows? Maybe he does.
Cassius scrunches his face and nods his head. I close the space to Zade and grab onto the back of his shirt. We are outnumbered. He can’t fly us out of here. Meri also won’t stop attacking from above, and if Cassius joins Mikail and his fight, I’m afraid of what will happen.
“Raven, get on my back and don’t let go.” Zade holds his hand out to me without looking in my direction.
I do as he instructs, and he pulls me closer until I can hop on his back. His wings vanish, though his devil features remain the same. It’s freaky when he bows forward and plants his hands on the ground. Kicking his back legs, he manages to knock Meri away as she tries to grab me. The sound of bones crushing echoes in my ears, and the angelic woman screams in pain.
