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Asura wasn’t writhing anymore, but she was still on the ground, her chest heaving with harsh breaths.
I took a step toward her, and Micah turned his glare on me. “Don’t make this unpleasant.”
There was a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’d been on the receiving end of many of Micah’s glares over the years, but this was different. There was a coldness in his eyes that told me hewouldput me on my ass if I pushed him. The respect and loyalty that had existed between us was absent.
“Nathaniel,” Micah said, jerking his chin toward Asura.
Nathaniel drew one of his fighting knives from his boot and moved to stand guard over my mother. Heavenly fire danced over the blade, and I saw Asura shrink back from the weapon.
Micah didn’t so much as glance her way. His attention was focused solely on me. “Why, Samuel?” he asked, still sounding calm, but I could hear the undercurrent of anger, could see it in the way his indigo eyes burned.
“She told me about my father, about how shefellto be with him.”
“And you believed her? I know you’re smarter than that. What’s really going on?”
He was right.
I didn’t believe Asura’s sob story or that she could really offer me anything. If I’d joined her, it would be me fighting the battles, probably alongside a handful of demons Asura convinced to side with her. This wasn’t about her at all. It was about Micah and what I owed him.
On some level, I’d figured that if I broke the bond between us, he wouldn’t have to deal with the guilt when he had to punish me for what I’d done with Siren. And if I betrayed him first, maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much when he chose the law over me. Micah gave me a family after my own abandoned me. I couldn’t ask him to pick sides. So I’d made the choice for him.
Asura had offered me a distraction from the fact that I couldn’t offer Siren the life she desired. I couldn’t give her the house in the country, the big white wedding, the children she wanted so desperately. It wasn’t Micah’s fault that he was the one who’d have to deal with my traitorous ass, but it was easier to blame him than to accept my reality.
“I love her.” The truth of the words hit me hard. I’d said it. There would be no more lies or hiding. I loved Siren, and I was done pretending I could stay away from her.
The words hung in the open between us.
“The girl with Sierra, I’m assuming,” Micah said.
“When were you with them?” I asked. Had he gotten close enough to scent me on her? Where was she now?
“A couple of hours ago, when I got the message from Nathaniel and Joriel.”
My hands clenched into fists at my side. Everyone I’d ever trusted was standing against me. “Where is she?”
“That’s not really what you should be concerned about at the moment. You’re meeting in secret with a Fallen, and you’re worried about the whereabouts of a human you broke things off with?”
I felt my answering growl rumble in my chest. “Where. Is. She?”
Micah’s eyes met mine. “She’ll be fine. The same can’t necessarily be said for you.”
“I don’t care what you do to me. I know what I want, and I’m done trying to fight it. She deserves titles and rings, to be openly claimed. I want to give her a wedding and a family and everything she wants out of this life. I can’t give her any of that if I’m busy hiding from you. So either give me your blessing or go ahead and make me pay. Because I can’t love her the way she’s worthy of with the law breathing down my neck.”
I didn’t even see the punch coming. Micah’s fist drove into my stomach while his other hand grabbed the collar of my shirt. “I am not the law,” he growled, his anger breaking through his calm tone.
“Yeah,” I wheezed, “you pretty much are. You’re an archangel.”
He punched me again. “And that means I’m not a person with my own thoughts and feelings?”
I coughed. Damn, Micah had a good arm. “What would you have done if I’d told you?” I demanded. “You have a duty to uphold the law.”
“I have a duty to protect my family and lead the secret order,” he gritted out. “I expect you to come to me with shit before you go behind my back to cavort with a Fallen.”
“You’ve done enough!” I shoved him back. “This was my fight.”
Micah spread his arms, his lips stretching into a smile I’d seen so many times when I was first training with him to be a part of the secret order. “Come fight me then. Maybe after, I’ll tell you where your girl is.”
I swung at him, clipping his jaw. Micah grinned wider and came right back at me.
