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I jostle in his arms, my mind and body struggling to realize that I have reconnected. Cool air whips around me, and I catch the fragrance of burning charcoal and something more gourmand. Maybe vanilla? I’m not really sure.
“You need to back down. I have brought Raven, and we are here to turn ourselves into the Almighty Grace. Do not fight us.” Elias’s voice stabs me in my chest, and my eyes widen in shock. What the fuck did he just say?
“Are you certain that she will comply?” The feminine angelic voice hurts me even worse than Elias’s comment. My vision refuses to clear, but I know it’s Meri. Just her presence leaves me panicking. I hate the angel. I want nothing more than to destroy her. I want to destroy everything she stands for.
“Of course, she will comply. She is here, isn’t she? She has my soul, and I have hers. You underestimated us and just assumed that we would be against you. She is no longer under the influence of Hell and is where she needs to be. But you need to step back because she’s terrified that you’re going to hurt her or our child that she carries.” He doesn’t mention the demonic spawn, and I don’t know how much the angels know yet. I know that they consider me a threat. But how much now that I no longer have the devils by my side? Obviously not a lot. They don’t bind me or anything. They don’t attack Elias either.
“We are here to bow in your heavenly light. We ask that you banish her darkness completely, so we can finally have peace.” Elias shifts his body, moving weight from foot to foot.
I have the urge to fight him. To punch him in the face for even saying such a thing. My whole body goes on guard, and instead of light exploding from me, darkness seeps from me, trying to swirl around in a protective haze.
Angelic light blasts through the air, stinging my skin. Pain radiates through me as the darkness recoils and buries itself inside me again, the power afraid and reluctant as the light tries to banish it.
I scratch my nails into Elias’s shoulders. “Let me go now. I told you that I didn’t want to be here.”
“Darlin’, this is the only way. I want to protect you.” He whispers the words, and his voice shakes.
I can’t tell if he’s serious or not. I know that he has played both sides before, but this is different. If he could’ve taken us from that realm, he could’ve taken me anywhere besides here.
“Hell has a strong grip on her. It could take a while. It also might cause great pain to the both of you.” Mikail steps closer, his angelic form coming into view. He steps close enough to set my body off, but another flash of light stops me from fighting him.
He touches his fingers to my chin and lifts my head up to look into my eyes. I wince at the sensation of his skin brushing mine, and if I could find the strength to punch him, I would. But Elias restrains me. He keeps my hands smashed between his body and mine.
“We are ready. We know what kind of sacrifice we have to make for the greater good. All I ask is that you allow us to stay together. We will fight your fight. We will give you the knowledge you need to control all the planes. The devils won’t stand a chance.” Elias rumbles with his words, the gruff sound of his voice reverberating through me. “I have made mistakes in my existence, but I see this as a second chance. The Higher Power would not have graced me with its light once more if I wasn’t intended to be part of Heaven. Grace understands. Once she sheds the weight of this body, tainted by Hell and the bad circumstances thrown at her in this life as punishment for my wrongdoings, she will fully cooperate. The light she creates will ensure that the balance will always stay toward Heaven.”
My mind whirls with his words. I wish I had a moment alone. I wish I could lash out at him and scream at him. I wish I could tell him that he is out of his damn mind if he thinks that I will ever act like Grace. Grace isn’t me. I am Raven. I am the queen of the devils. I am intended to rule Purgatory, and I will not let anyone stop me.
“Your obedience will ensure great things, Elias. Now, bring her to the portal. We must move fast. The devils are reigning in control of Hell, and we need to use her darkness against them. It will be them trapped in the pits for the rest of time for their treacherous ways.” Meri steps beside Mikail, and I raise my eyes and glower at her.
I can’t stand here and do nothing. It goes against my very nature to even humor them.
Jerking my hand free of the lies, I swing out my arm and smack the pretty angel across the face hard enough to send her head sideways.
Elias inhales a deep breath and steps back, spinning around to protect me from retaliation. He grunts and jumps from the sudden blast of heavenly light. That bitch. I will destroy her.
“Hand her to us immediately. You are obviously still protective of the soul, and it is imperative that we remove the darkness from her.” Mikail’s words steal my breath away.
He better not mean what I think he means.
“As I said, my stipulation is that we remain together. I am her strength, and she is mine. We come as one. You must allow me to help her through this torturous time.” Elias straightens his back and spreads his wings. “Do you understand? Do not undermine my authority as a savior. We are equals here. As you can tell, I’m on your side. I’m on Heaven’s side.”
The words scratch deeply into my soul and open up a wound. It feels as if just his admission of which side he’s on breaks me into a million pieces. Because if he’s on their side, that means he’s not on my side. He’s not on our side. I don’t know if he has lost sight or if he’s doing this out of desperation because he feels as if we’ve lost, and there’s nothing else we can do except comply. All I know is that I can’t stand for this.
“Elias, if you do this, I will never forgive you. Do you understand? I can’t stand by and let you try to take the most precious thing to me. You damn well know that my darkness and light go together. And if you’re even insinuating what I think you are, you better fucking run now. I will ensure that you can never use that fucking dick of yours again.” I sneer with my words, digging my fingers even deeper into his shoulders, making him wince in pain as fire sparks against my palms and battles with his heavenly light, burning him.
“Darlin’, what have I told you time and time again? I need you to remember those words. Please.” Elias relaxes his body, ignoring the pain the best he can.
Remember what words? That he loves me? That he’d do anything for me? It’s hard for me to think in this moment with my panic driving me crazy in the presence of the angels. It feels as if I’m about to go into a murderous rage worse than any devil. I need him to let me go. I need to fight, even if it’s by myself.
“It is time. Turn around.” Elias squeezes me once more and shifts my body, pinning me to his chest. He breathes into my ear and whispers, “Trust me. Please trust me, Raven.”
I squirm in his arms, watching as a dozen angels gather their heavenly light, blending it as one. It stings my eyes, the world around us so bright that I don’t even know where we are.
The light is both intoxicating and nauseating, and my stomach flops, threatening to expel the nothingness from my body. I don’t know if it’s the babies reacting to the presence of an army wanting to hurt me or what, but the strange tranquility suddenly suppressing my panic helps me think clearly. These angels can try all they want, but they’ll never be able to unchain me from the darkness of the devils. It’s no longer their darkness. It’s mine. All mine. I’m not only the soul of the devils, but I’m also a soul of Purgatory and humanity. There is no light in this world brighter than my own and no darkness as pitch-black as mine.
“This will be over quickly. Your soul might leave your body, but Elias will return it. We don’t want anything to happen to Heaven’s new savior.” Mikail steps forward, his eyes narrowing on me.
He’s out of his goddamn mind if he thinks that he can just blast Hell from me.
