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I close my eyes and try to imagine falling to Micah’s kingdom. It’s still fresh in my mind.
Blinding light flashes across my eyelids, and I gather hellfire in my palms, preparing to fight.
“Hold on, Raven. This is going to hurt.” Elias’s voice snaps the fear out of me, and I gasp and feel his essence latch on to me.
The light vanishes, but his presence still remains.
“Hurry up. They sensed her.” Micah’s voice whips around me next.
I see a flash of gold wings.
The angelic army knows what I can do.
I’m not ready.
But I don’t think I’ll ever be ready. Regardless, this is my fight, and I will win.
Chapter 12
MICAH
Deal with the Devils
“RESTRAIN HER TIGHTER. I’m going to grab a hold of their attempt to tether her.” I stand in front of Raven, her eyes wide with fear.
The angelic army uses the angelic light she carries to link her soul with her mind. A wave of panic and anger bursts through my being. Raven somehow managed to access Heaven instead of Cassius because he had taken her to his private sanctuary before. The place should’ve been destroyed, but it would have just merged back into the heavenly plane. If it weren’t for Elias, we could’ve lost Raven.
But not only that. It’s with absolute certainty, I know that the angelic army realizes our plan. They’re going to fight back. We lost the element of surprise we desperately needed.
“Darlin’, listen to my voice. I need you to take a deep breath. I know you’re confused, but you’re safe. We have you. Micah is going to ensure that no one can tug you by the energy you’ve left behind.” Elias pins Raven to his chest, holding her toward me.
I lean in close and stare into her beautiful blue-green eyes. “Heathen, I need you to let me into your mind completely. I can untangle the lines they try to wrap around you. Imagine letting go of your own tethers. I know you don’t want to, because you feel more powerful this way, but you need to trust me. They’ll take me and not you. They will regret even trying.” Because the second Raven releases her grip on the energy, I plan to snatch it. It’s never been done—dragging Hell’s power source from its plane, but it doesn’t stop me from trying. I will take the pain of being blasted with Heaven power as long as Raven is safe. I’d do anything for her.
Raven’s mouth trembles, and she slowly bobs her head, finally comprehending what I’m asking of her. “I’m afraid they’ll try to hurt you.”
I smile softly. If it were any of the other devils, they would threaten her with punishment for questioning their power. A punishment she would enjoy, of course. Me, on the other hand? I didn’t even know it was possible to love her even more. She cares so much about me that she’s willing to risk herself to protect me from pain.
“You can tie one of your tethers to me. I promise that I’ll be back. They can’t keep me...not that they’ll want to when I’m through.” I brush my lips to hers, getting her to finally release a deep breath. And with the relaxation of her muscles, she loosens her mental grip on her power enough for me to grab a hold of the angelic line as if I am taking the reins and controlling an unruly beast.
Pain shoots through me, and I grit my teeth, but I wrap the tethers around my wrist and let the angelic army pull me. They’re going to have one massive devilish surprise when I show up to their summons. I brace myself to hit the heavenly veil, but the burning light swallows me only to drop me onto the concrete floor of a dimly lit warehouse. It’s an old hunter’s safe house, completely protected by different holy runes and sacred artifacts.
I explode into my devil form, stomping my big hooves into the ground, knocking the angels surrounding me off their feet. Summoning hellfire, I create a wall around me, protecting myself from their attempt to blast me back with their heavenly light. Their obvious lack of power, unable to summon Raven from one plane to another fills me with satisfaction. My connection to Hell remains strong, and they’ll regret even attempting to take Raven from us. They’re fighting a losing battle.
I snarl, spitting hellfire at the angels. “How dare you lock your binds to Raven. She will never belong to you. You might have her soul in your possession, but it won’t be forever. You’ve failed, and it’s time you recognize it. Heed my warning to you,” I say, my voice guttural as it escapes my monstrous mouth. I narrow my eyes, trying to glimpse the features of the angels but they remain hidden in their light. “You’ve declared war on Hell, and you will get it. This is your last chance to surrender and accept my offering for mercy. If you don’t take it, you will be destroyed. You might think you’re superior to us, but you’ve underestimated our power. We will not allow you to reset the universe. You have gone against the path set before the universe by the Higher Power, and it is my duty as Hell’s power source to ensure things go as planned. The miraculous gifts given to my queen have proven it.”
“She has proven nothing but being the perfect vessel to power, Micah.” Mikail expands his golden wings, stepping closer to stare at me over the wall of flames. It’s the first time he dimmed his power, and it takes everything in me not to thrust fire at him. “You are mistaken to believe we would want to reset the universe by choice. That is not the case. We want balance. We want to ensure souls remain on the proper cycles. But the gifts Raven possesses will lead to the total annihilation of everything Heaven has spent eternity creating. All we want is for you to leave things as they are. If you agree and allow us to keep Raven’s soul, we will end this war immediately. You can also keep her spawn until their mortal lives end and then they will ascend into Heaven’s ranks. If you agree to those terms and bow to Heaven, taking the place where you belong, then we can just move on. If you do not, you will leave us no choice. We will set things right.”
I purse my lips, thinking over his words. He expects me to agree with this nonsense. But angels aren’t capable of making proper deals. That’s my job, and I know exactly what I need to do. I need to lie to Mikail to give us some time. I need to act as if it is a better deal than risking the universe. If I can convince the angelic army that we’re afraid they’ll succeed, we can hit them harder and faster. They’re lying to themselves if they think that they have a chance at winning this war. The only reason Mikail offers such a shitty deal is because he knows that Heaven can’t beat us. Not with Raven and the twins. Not with the devils all uniting. They don’t stand a chance. It’ll be so satisfying watching them burn.
I lick my lips, catching Mikail in a staring contest. I want him to squirm under the heat of my power. Sweat glistens on his forehead, his body reacting to the Mortal Realm. Shifting on his feet, he breaks my gaze to look at the others quietly waiting for his command.
“I’d also like to offer visitations to Raven’s soul for Elias in exchange for Meri. You can’t keep her.” His jaw twitches with his words.
All I do is smile, baring my teeth in amusement. He has no idea that Raven managed to destroy his companion Meri and reset her completely, keeping her energy. I’d love nothing more than to throw it in his face, but I’ll wait and give Raven the honor of telling him.
“Hell will consider your proposal. As I am not the sole devil, I’ll have to discuss it with the other kings. The twins are ours. We’re not going to let you take them at the end of their mortal lives. As for the other stuff, we’ll see.” I don’t mention Raven specifically for the sole reason that if I do, I’ll blast all of them off their feet and give myself away. I want to destroy them for even thinking that we’d just give her up. They are out of their minds.
Mikail unsheathes his sword. “The decision must be made now. You were always a good soldier for Heaven. You found yourself in an unfortunate situation, and I know you’ll do the right thing. So agree now or face the consequences.”
