Fallen Kings

28

Callan flies down the stairs, with Jonah and Tanwen only a few steps behind him, and even with the Staff, Grace can’t fight all of us at once. I hope.

“Grace!” Jonah calls out, and I hear the pain in his voice.

She barely gives him a second glance as she shoots the Staff’s light at us. Callan and Tanwen both rush her at once, knocking the Staff aside, and Jonah quickly rushes forward to retrieve it. The second they grab her arms though, she seems to fade out of view, and they’re left holding nothing. Somehow, she slipped free. No…she became intangible. What the…?

Jonah spins and shoots Grace with the Staff, and she’s knocked back. It’s over for her. We’ve beaten her. Especially when Araceli, Bastien, and Marcus run down the stairs to join us.

Suddenly the entire ceiling is ripped open like it’s tinfoil, and someone flies over us with white and black wings, long white hair, and menacing black eyes. Azrael.

He swoops down and picks up an unconscious Grace, then goes invisible as he flies away, holding her in his arms. We all gape after them, wondering what the f**k just happened. Why did Azrael save her? Is he in the Order?

I don’t have time to work that out right now. I rush forward to Kassiel’s limp body, but his head lolls and he’s barely alive. I send some of my power into him, using my Archdemon gift in the hope it will help, but what he really needs is darkness and some Malakim healing. Will that work on a Fallen? Guess we’ll find out.

I can’t get the light-imbued chains off him and I let out a futile cry as they burn my fingers. Eveanna is at my side seconds later, and she uses her magic to break them—the light doing nothing to hurt her. Good thing they’re not iron or we’d be in real trouble. I let out a sob as Kassiel falls forward into my arms and I stroke his blood-soaked hair, willing more energy into him. I’ll give him whatever I can as long as he lives.

“Let us help,” Araceli says, with Marcus at her side. They pry Kassiel away from me, and I sit back against the stone wall to catch my breath while they work on healing him.

“Uh, Liv?” Jonah asks and points at my chest.

I glance down and let out a soft whimper. My mother’s necklace, the one her fae lover made for her that kept me safe and hidden for so many years, is no more. The aquamarine in the center is gone, replaced by a scorch mark. It must have been destroyed by the Staff’s beam of light.

“We need to get out of here before they come back with reinforcements,” Tanwen says.

Marcus has his hands on Kassiel’s head. “This is going to take time. He’s got several broken bones throughout his body and a bad concussion, along with the light-imbued wounds.”

“I’ll carry him to safety,” Callan says.

I look at him in surprise. “Thank you.”

He gives me a quick nod as he scoops Kassiel into his arms. We fly straight up and out of the house, since Azrael basically tore the entire thing apart. Jonah carries the Staff, while Tanwen carries Eveanna.

We did it. We rescued Kassiel and got the Staff. But Grace escaped…with Azrael.

Chapter Nineteen

Callan

K

assiel’s in bad shape. There’s no way we can get him on a plane like this, so we find a motel in the middle of nowhere about five hours away from the farmhouse. The entire way there, Jonah and the other guys kept offering to take Kassiel off my hands, but I refused. I had to do it on my own.

I don’t owe Kassiel anything. He’s still the son of Lucifer. But he didn’t break under torture, and he was a good teacher once, even if he was deceiving us the entire time.

More importantly, Liv cares for him.

Bastien manages to get us four rooms with two beds each, and the others sort it out while I stand in the shadows with Kassiel in my arms. He hasn’t stirred at all. I’m not sure if he’s just that far gone, or if the Malakim did one of those healing trances, but I’ll feel a lot better once they have a chance to work on him some more. For Liv’s sake, obviously. She’s been a worried wreck this entire time, hovering near me and casting concerned glances at the Fallen. He better not die on her.

“This way,” Marcus says, once the rooms are ready. “Araceli and I will be taking turns between healing him and sleeping during the night.”

I grunt as I carry Kassiel inside the dimly lit room. The motel seems to be decorated in what can only be described as 70’s puke yellow, green, and brown, but it looks clean enough. I set Kallan down on one of the two beds in the room, and then back away so the healers can do their thing. My job is done, and I’ll only get in the way now.

As Araceli and Marcus discuss who should sleep first, Olivia rushes in and sits on the edge of Kassiel’s bed. He manages to open his eyes and gives her a weak smile, and she lets out a soft cry and kisses his forehead. Pure adoration shines from her eyes as she whispers something to him, and the expression on her face makes my chest ache.

She loves him.

I pull the door closed and stand outside the motel room as a great hollowness fills me. She looks at Marcus and Bastien the same way sometimes.

But not me. Me, she hates.

“You’re with me tonight,” Jonah says, from the doorway of the next room over. “We’re guarding the Staff.”