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“The angelic army doesn’t trust me. They have taken it upon themselves to practice judge and jury and punish me for giving you my angelic light in the first place. They have ruined everything. Mikail and Meri are psychotic.”
Raven growls under her breath. “Don’t worry. We’re going to get you out of here.”
“No, Darlin’. It’s not safe for you and the babies. Just leave me here. I will figure this out. You need to stay in hiding.” Elias’s voice cracks with his words. I can feel it in his very being that he doesn’t want to say them, but he’s afraid for Raven.
Dragging us closer, Raven says, “I won’t—”
“Andre, take her back to Hell,” Elias commands.
Raven explodes with bright light. “No! No one is touching me! I’m getting you out.”
Before Andre can react, Raven rips her hand free of his, and he vanishes into the shadows. I’m too quick for her and tighten my arms around her. I won’t let her go. I don’t want to leave Elias here as much as she wants to save him.
Screw everything. This bullshit ends here.
Chapter 24
ELIAS
Imprisoned
EVEN THOUGH I prayed for mercy, I didn’t want Raven finding me here. I don’t want her getting anywhere near me or the wrath of the righteous bastards who deemed me an abomination despite my angelic light and soul. I wish with everything in me that I had stayed in Hell. It was just too painful. Even with the help of Micah constantly trying to keep me calm, it was too much for my very essence. I wasn’t meant to be there. But I’m not meant to be here either, because it’s just as bad. Actually, it’s way fucking worse. I don’t even know how much time has passed. It feels like it’s been decades, maybe even a century, though I know that’s impossible. Raven looks exactly like she had when I was forced to abandon her and save Cassius from the pits because he didn’t belong in Hell either.
“Raven, please. Don’t come any closer. I don’t want them to know you’re here. If they do, they will come, and they will get you. They’re using me to tap into you and your Hell power.” I clench and unclench my fingers, the rage that they use my soulmate to torture me bringing me such agony that I want to destroy the entire angelic army. They don’t deserve the title of warriors of Heaven. They are no better than the damned souls of Hell.
“What? How is that even possible?” The softness of her voice stabs me through the heart, and it takes everything in me not to crawl toward her. If I move, she might rush toward me. And if she passes into the angel trap binding me, then everything will turn to Heaven. We will probably end up amid the army, and it will all be over.
“Careful, Raven. You can’t touch him. We are on a spiritual plane, and if we connect, I can’t stop what happens. You connect yourself to Hell, but he is connecting you to Heaven right now. Andre was your anchor, and without him...please just don’t touch him.” Cassius holds Raven tighter, pulling her close enough to wrap his arm around her, ensuring she doesn’t fight and try anyways. It wouldn’t be unlike her to put him to the test. And usually, I would love to see that powerful woman really prove to the angelic army that they are nothing in comparison to her, but I have a strong need to protect her. I need to protect our future. I need to protect the babies she’s carrying.
“Then you do something, fucker.” Raven yanks at her black hair and tips her head back, staring up into the void of nothingness. “You said that you could use me to help him. So do it. Get him out of here now and take us back to Hell.”
Cassius squeezes his eye shut and rubs the back of his neck. He can’t help me. Not in this state. The only way he could truly help me is if he managed to break through the ward keeping him away from me. He’s an angel, but they have purposely created this world to keep him out. They don’t trust him as much as they don’t trust me. And they shouldn’t. Because the second I am free from here, I will take them to Hell myself. I will cut their damn wings off and throw them in the pits. I will feed them to Micah’s hellhounds.
“I am not strong enough to straddle the worlds. I don’t have Andre’s gift, and I don’t trust myself to get you through this,” Cassius says after a moment of quiet thought. “But perhaps you can do something, Raven. I know that you have enough light and darkness to battle this world. You’ve been able to create portals through different planes. You might be able to do so here. If you can manage to do it quick enough, we can grab him and go.”
Shock zaps through me, my eyes widening at his words. What the actual fuck is he saying? He should want to take her away and not help me. It’s far too dangerous. The devils would never allow such a thing. Cassius has nothing to lose. Not like I do or Raven.
“No. I am not going. Don’t even fucking try it.” I get to my feet and spread my wings out, feeling the sting of the air penetrating me to my very being. It hurts to move. It hurts to suck in air. This whole world was created to cause me agony for the rest of eternity.
“Don’t be fucking stubborn, Elias. You don’t deserve this fate. The Higher Power has guided me along this path to get to you. It is my duty to do what I can so we can re-join our power and get things back in order. If it wasn’t supposed to be, I wouldn’t have been able to keep Raven grounded to me.” Cassius stands tall and matches my stance by opening his wings, his heavenly light glowing bright enough to see through the haze.
“He’s right. I don’t know how I know, but I do know deep in my heart and in my soul that we were supposed to come here. You don’t belong here as much as we don’t.” Raven shuffles closer with her fingers twined through Cassius’s. A part of me hates seeing them together. I don’t know why, but I feel as if he hasn’t earned the right to hold her so dear in this moment. He hasn’t earned the right to make this kind of decision. He doesn’t have the same ideals as the devils, and he cannot see the reason why this is a terrible idea. He has too much faith in his ability.
I hold my hands up and shake my head. “I mean it. Don’t come any closer. I will not risk your very existence at the chance of leaving without a guarantee.”
“How can you not even let me try? You know I’m powerful. You know I can handle anything. And if the fucking angelic army shows up, they will regret it. I will destroy them. They have no idea what I’m capable of.” With Raven’s words, light emits from her, cutting through the darkness. It’s as if her essence cools the heat of the air around me, bringing me sweet relief. For a moment, I believe her. If only my fear didn’t argue with me. She might be able to handle it, but there’s always a possibility that something could go wrong. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to her or the babies. I would rather suffer here until someone comes up with a better plan.
“Because I love you. I know you’re capable, darling. You are the strongest being I know. But it doesn’t mean that I want you to jeopardize everything for me. You’ve already been through enough because of me. Let me handle this. I don’t want you to do anything rash. Please. I’m begging you.” I clasp my hands together toward the black abyss above me, sending a prayer to the Higher Power to please guide me and help me figure out what to do next.
“Elias.” Raven holds her palms up, light seeping from her fingers and crawling up her arms, her strange new power exhilarating and shocking in the best way possible. I can feel the purity of her soul and the power she carries. It’s enough to crack the realm, allowing her and Cassius into my prison.
“You did it, Raven. We have to hurry. Go to him first, but don’t let go of my hand.” Cassius says, motioning toward the crystal clear space within the hazy clouds.
“No. No. Please fucking no.” I stare at the crack in the veil and pray for it to close. I pray for the Higher Power to intervene. I pray for something, anything to help us.
Raven gasps, her whole body stiffening as she touches the portal between the veil separating us.
And then she vanishes, a peculiar darkness swallowing her and stealing her away from me.
