1. Samael

"Stop breathing so loud," I complained as I scratched at the collar squeezing my neck. My skin felt ragged underneath it, irritating me.

I couldn't see a damn thing, but all I could hear was Azra's labored breaths.

It was easier to be annoyed about it. The alternative was to open the door on the sealed vault of worry that pinched inside my chest.

We are not going to die in this fucking place.

We couldn't. Death wasn't an option. And even if we did die, I'd drag my brother's worthless soul out of the depths of whatever hole we found ourselves in.

Because that was what we'd done in Purgatory.

Thanks to Lilith, our mate.

Only, she wasn't here to save our asses this time. She needed us, so it was far past time that we did something more useful than slowly wither away in a dark cell.

My throat closed off when the sounds stopped, Azra having apparently obeyed my command.

Was he just fucking with me?

Or...?

Cursing, I used my arm to wrap the chains attached to the collar around my neck. They'd only get in my way. Scrambling across the cell, I violated our rule not to expend energy in the darkness of our prison.

Don't be dead. Don't be dead, I chanted inside my head. My magic worked off the power of belief, so if I told myself something often enough, eventually I could manifest it into reality.

Only, that required that I had some magical reserves on hand. Those reserves were dangerously low after an indeterminate amount of time in the dark, away from any Angel Stones and away from my mate.

When I reached his body, I froze when the flesh I touched was cold.

And hard as a rock.

"Azra?" I whispered, leaning in, letting my chains drop with a loud clank.

A painful silence stretched out as my world slowly crumbled.

Then my brother's chest deflated as he released a wheezy laugh. "Gotcha."

I wasn't sure where his face was, but I punched in the direction of where I'd heard the sound of his voice. My fist connected with his jaw, giving me a satisfied snap.

"Come on, Sam. I'm boreeeed," he whined, lifting himself up against the wall. His own chains jangled noisily as he moved. His elbow bumped mine, suggesting he was rubbing at the broken bone that would take a while to heal. Neither of us had much magic to spare anymore.

"Don't pass the time by tormenting me," I chided as I butted up against his shoulder—mostly so I'd know if he stopped breathing again—before settling my weight against the wall.

Because I couldn't be sure if Azra was really fucking with me or covering up his weakness with humor.

I suspected he wasn't doing so well. It was hard to catalog the passage of time when there were no markers. We weren't brought food or water very often, probably every few days, just enough to keep us alive. And there weren't any windows or defining differences to help me know how long the stretches of time actually were.

In truth, we could have been here for a few weeks, or a few years. I had no way to tell anymore.

"Tormenting you… is too easy," he said on a loose breath, his chains clinking with it. A soft thump suggested he'd rested his head back against the wall. "I just wiggle that stick up your ass and you go nuts," he continued.

I rolled my eyes. Well, Azrael was apparently fine.

Or really fucking good at faking it.

"Mother of—" I cursed as a blast of light intruded on the darkness that had practically seeped into my skin and my feathers.

I used my heavy wings, along with my hands, to shield my eyes as scalding heat and raw sunlight invaded the cell.

A strong arm ripped away one of my wings, breaking a few feathers, followed by my arms, forcing me to look into the sun-speckled face of a demigod.

"Orion," I ground out as my eyes watered.

He didn't wait for my vision to adjust to the light he'd purposefully beamed into our cell.

"Samael," he said in return, then hauled me to my feet. "You're coming with me."

"Hey! Lightbulb! Are you already bored with me?" Azrael croaked, having somehow stood to his full height. His legs shook from the effort, but he proudly held out his wings and his characteristic smirk was deftly in place. His pupils looked like pinpricks, and the light washed out the purple in his eyes until they almost looked white. He might have looked intimidating had the magicked collar not formed blisters around his neck. "I thought I was your favorite."

Orion simply grunted at him, using one hand to push him out of the way.

The demigod had grown in strength, while we had been weakened, leaving Azrael's body to slam against the wall until it cracked.

He locked his knees and refused to crumple, though. And for that, a flare of pride surged in my chest.

My brother might be an asshole, but he was trying to take the heat for me.

"Get some sleep, Azra," I told him. "And don't stop breathing again."

Because I wouldn't be here to wake him up if he did.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but Orion ripped me from the room by my neck chain before he had a chance.