13. Olivia

Olivia

A zael’s roar throws the facility into chaos.

Experiments who are still locked up start banging on the doors, demanding to be let out. Screams and heavy footsteps fill the hallways above and below us.

429 grabs my hand and starts running, dragging me after him as doctors come out of the laboratories.

On our way to Azael’s office, we pass several dead guards. Noticing that one of them has a handgun on his hip, I stop to grab it and put it in the waistband of my pants. Bullets will not stop Azael, but the gun will give me some advantages in case of an ambush. In the worst case scenario, it will be my only way out since I don’t plan to return to my former life, where I was a pawn of my brother’s will.

In another pocket, I find a bag of mints.

429 checks the other guards for weapons or anything we can use. When he fishes out a mobile from a pocket, I quickly take it from him.

“If it has a signal, we will no longer have to go to Azzy’s office,” I say to 429 as I check the mobile. “Bingo!” The signal is weak, but it is there. I quickly type a message and share the facility’s location.

Seconds later, a reply comes in. On my way.

I exhale loudly. I never thought I’d get a reply and definitely not so fast. But damn, it is good to know that I have my back covered for once in my life.

Another roar echoes through the walls of the facility, this time closer to me.

“We need to hide,” 429 says.

I have been hiding all my life. I’m done doing that shit.

For years, I hid in some far corner of my mind with the help of drugs, wanting to forget everything. Yet, ever since I accepted the darkness inside me, I’ve come to the realization that I don’t need a knight in shining armor to rescue me. I’m done waiting for someone to come and save me from the nightmare I’m living. Guess what? I’m my own savior!

“We have two options: we either die as cowards or walk out of here as free people,” I look at 429 . “What’s your name? Your real name?”

He swallows hard before replying. “Anton.”

“Well, Anton, fuck Azael and this place.” I look at the end of the hallway, where the stairs start. “Bring it on, bitch!” I scream. A muffled sound comes from my butterflies. “Not you. The other bitch. Azzy,” I comment. Jason and my father are monsters, but Azael creates them. It happened with Rueben once. One look in his eyes and I knew he was no longer Camila’s brother, nor my friend, but a creature consumed by anger. After all this time, I now understand Rueben entirely. There’s this…rage…flowing through my veins…and the darkness inside me wants to harm all those who ruined my life, including him. And God help me, I want that too. I want him to feel the pain, the anguish, the desperation I've felt all these years. Over my shoulder, I say, “Let’s put the bomb in Azael’s office.”

A crease appears between Anton’s brow. “We risk destroying important papers Azael has in there.”

If there’s one thing I learned while being in the Celestial Heaven, it is that those like Carlos or Azael don’t get away with all the crimes they commit by leaving things in plain sight. They do it by being smarter than most people. “Any important shit Azzy might have is not there.”

The few times I talked with Azael proved to me how paranoid he is. With so many Lords after him, no wonder he is hiding his true identity.

“What about information on the experiments he did?” Anton keeps pushing the issues, making me turn to face him.

“Don’t you want that information erased from history? Let’s say we get it out of here, and it falls into the wrong hands.”

Anton avoids looking at me. “It’s for the Lord Elders. In case there’s a chance…to undo what was done to me. To others as well.”

Before I accepted that the old Olivia would never return, I also had the same desire as Anton. But there’s no turning back. Not for us, at least. I take his hand into mine. “Being different is not always bad. We are not victims,” Anton finally looks at me, “nor survivors,” a confused expression appears on his face, “but badass bitches.”

Despite being in pain because of the bullet in his shoulder, Anton chuckles. “No wonder 919 is so fond of you.”

We head over to Azael’s office at the end of the hallway.

I can’t help but notice that something feels strange. Except for us and the dead guards, there’s no one else on this floor.

“Speaking of 919 , he is usually in a frenzy when he is out and killing whoever gets in his path. Yet, today he is quiet,” I comment when we reach Azael’s office.

Anton looks over his shoulder to where the stairs start, while I check out the elevator. No sign of Azael or any of the guards, but more roars echo through the facility. “He and his angel finally found common ground and stopped hating each other. At least until they are out of here.”

I always knew 919 hated that he was forced to be a vessel for an angel, but I never thought the day when the two of them would get along would come. For his sake, I hope it lasts. Once he is in the real world, he will be killed by police if he loses his shit while downtown because someone accidentally touched him.

Roars and growls come from the stairs. Moments later, Azael appears on top of them, his wings tattered, broken bones sticking out from under the skin. Most of the feathers are missing, and the remaining ones are covered in blood. Looks painful. Good. I hope he fucking suffers.

I quickly open the door. “I’ll try to win you as much time as possible,” I say, pushing Anton inside before closing the door and guarding it. Azael looks at me like he wants to murder me and feed me to his dog. Does he even have a dog? If he does, I bet it’s not as cute as Diva. “It looks like someone ruffled your feathers a bit.”

My butterflies recede from the Bitch. She looks like shit, with foam seeping from her mouth. There’s a scared look in her eyes, but she doesn’t dare move or make a sound. Because the moment she does, my butterflies will kill her.

“I’m going to make you regret the day you were born,” Azael snarls as he marches up to me.

I put a hand on my right hip, cocking the gun. “You already did that by helping my father and brother torture and drug,” the love of my life, “my friends before locking them in the same room as me. I still have nightmares of the beating I received back then.”

Azael reaches me, and grabs my neck with such force my back slams into the door. My butterflies rush to protect me, but I make them return to the Bitch, afraid that she will get away before Anton can exact his revenge and I kill her.

“Before you die, you’ll tell me where the daggers are,” his face so close his spittle hits my face as he yells.

Did he hear me, or is he dismissing what I said?

Despite the pain in my back, I smirk.

“I would offer you a mint, but I’m not sure what stinks the most—your mouth or your attitude.” Azael squeezes my neck harder. I try to get the gun from my waistband while keeping him distracted at the same time. My voice is weak as I say, “Maybe you should shove it up your ass, but it won’t fix all the shitty things you have done.”

I manage to pull out the gun when Mose comes rushing up the stairs. He is drenched in blood, and cuts cover his torso and arms. Only shreds remain of his pants. His eyes are deep red, wrath showing in them, the wings protruding from his back are black as the night, his fingernails now replaced with claws, his face no longer entirely human, letting me know that Mose is gone, his soul consumed by his demon.

A wave of sadness hits me instantly. I might not love Mose, but I didn’t want him to end up like this.

Because of me.

He sacrificed himself for me.

Why would he do something like that? Because Azael said I’d have to spend the night with the one who won the tournament? The experiments were the only ones that never intentionally hurt me. I would have survived a night with one of them. But what of my bond with Ansel? It’s still fragile, and it would have no doubt broken… I don’t want that. Despite Ansel bonding with me without bothering to ask what I thought of it, I don’t want to break the bond between us. I don’t think I can love him, not the way he wants me to, but…I don’t want to lose him again, not after what happened to Levi. Grief grips me, but I push it back for when I have time to deal with it.

It’s hard not focusing on the pain, on the void in my heart, but I have to do it if I want to get out of here.

Even from a distance, I can see Mose or his demon—or whatever entity possesses him now—trembling with rage. Does he hate me for having to consume his human vessel?

Azael turns on his heels and yanks me in front of him. His hand is still around my neck. “Take another step, and I’ll break her neck.”

If Azael wanted me dead, he would have done so, not simply threatened to do it. “I bet you never thought Mose would pluck your feathers when you decided to experiment on him,” I antagonize Azael as I place the handgun against my stomach. If I die, it will be on my terms, not by Azael’s hands.

“No!” Mose roars as he moves faster than anyone I’ve ever seen.

The butterflies flutter their wings aggressively before flying to me. Mose reaches me first and yanks me away from Azael before he can hurt me.

“Mine!” Mose growls before he bites Azael’s neck, ripping chunks of his flesh with his teeth, spitting them close to my feet.

First a heart, now a jugular. Cannibalism has never been sexier. Are all demons into it, or only Mose? Dinner with him will be interesting. I hope he won’t invite people over so he can make hamburgers out of them.

Did I hit my head, or…am I trying to be funny? I remember being sarcastic when I was younger, but now I have a very dark sense of humor.

Mose is not angry at me but at Azael. I don’t know how to feel about it. He is even protecting me. He sacrificed his own wellbeing so I’d have a chance to get away alive.

Maybe knights still exist.

Azael claws at Mose’s chest, his long fingernails sinking deep into his muscles.

Even knights need to be saved from time to time.

The hand holding the gun trembles, but when I raise it at the level of my eyes, it becomes steady. Camila’s dead body appears in front of my eyes, and I instantly get sick. What if I miss and kill Mose? Azael’s fingernails sink even deeper into Mose’s chest.

Do I let Azael kill Mose, or do I at least try to help him?

Should I get closer?

The butterflies gather around me, flying under my arm; their presence soothes the memory so I can focus.

My darkness likes Mose. And I refuse to give up on him.

I breathe in and out, not wanting to miss my target—Azael’s head. I push any fear and any negative thoughts away and fire. Brains and pieces of bone splatter on the walls, my shirt, and Mose’s face.

My legs give in. I didn’t miss like I did on the night I killed Camila. I saved Mose.

The office door opens, and Anton pokes his head out. “The entire place will blow up in five minutes.”

“Just like Azael’s brains,” I say before starting to laugh uncontrollably.

“You,” Mose sneers and throws Azael’s body to the floor—I doubt he is dead, but at least he is not a threat right now—and goes after Anton, who quickly retreats back into the office and closes the door like that would do any good.

Fuck! Mose is still angry about Anton trying to kiss me.

I yelp in pain. Mose stops in his tracks and looks at me. “I hurt my ankle,” I lie. My eyes meet his. “I don’t think I can walk.”

Forgetting about Anton, Mose comes to me. “Mate,” he growls as he picks me up in his arms. I press my palms to his chest, trying to stop the bleeding.

Mate?

Then it clicks for me. If I’m a hellstar, I…have mates, which explains my bond with Ansel. Death, chaos, destruction, and havoc surround us, but the screams fade into the background as I put my palm against Mose’s cheek. The anger in his eyes is replaced by a gentle look.

My breath catches in my throat.

How can he look at me like that when he is doomed never to enter the Garden of Eden and spend eternity in the Catacombs?

I never saw a demon consume his vessel, but what if Mose is not lost and is still there somewhere, waiting for me to pull him into the light? To guide him back to me?

Something stirs inside my heart, and before I realize what I am doing, I say, “Mine.”

As soon as the word leaves my lips, I realize I mean it. Even if there’s no love between us, I care about Mose. He is mine.

My body starts to glow, and it engulfs his body. The butterflies surround us as a link forms between Mose and me. How the hell did that happen?

I’m too tired to analyze everything. Later, when I’m out of here and have a good night’s sleep, I’ll think about it.

The bond feels different from the ones I have with Ansel or him, but it feels right.

Mose presses his lips to mine, but I quickly push him away. His eyes narrow, clearly not happy. “You need a shower. But before that, we need to get out of here.” He turns on his heels and starts walking. The butterflies drag the Bitch after us. “Anton is coming with us.”

Mose looks down on me. “No.”

“He is a friend.”

“No.”

“What about Azael? We need to make sure he is truly dead,” I try to make him see reason.

“No.”

“Can you speak more than one word at a time?” I huff.

“No.”

Great. Just great.

I’m stuck with a mono-syllabic jealous demon.