28. Nox

28

Nox

I wasn't sure what had got into Micah. His mood had switched so erratically that I wondered if I missed something aside from the obvious. Being chained and escorted by an army was bound to test even the most patient of souls.

I glanced at him several times as we were led from the dungeon, but each time, Micah had a serene smile on his face.

It couldn't have been further from the vengeance and rage I knew he was feeling.

My little angel was coming close to the edge.

He wasn't about to lose control of his powers like Lyle had. His grip on them was even more ironclad than usual.

No, Micah's loss of control was going to manifest differently. And, I suspected, far more catastrophically.

As we stepped into the courtroom, I had to blink a few times to adjust to the light. The cells had felt strangely familiar to me, the dark corners something I was well used to from Hell.

This brightness though, it was something new. I raised a manacled hand to try and rub my eyes, only to realise I couldn't lift them that high.

Micah turned his head at the movement. As he realised what I was unable to do, his fury doused the bond in ice.

Oh, this isn't good.

I tried to smile at Micah to reassure him I was fine, but he fixed his attention on something before us. Unlike me, Micah's eyes didn't seem to be having any issues adjusting, which made sense.

When my vision finally cleared, the regents had moved to stand against the edges of the all-white room. Their weapons were drawn and shields raised.

Seven archs sat on a dais in a semi-circle, a high, thin table in front of them. In the centre, a beautiful woman with long blonde hair smiled down on us. "Micah, how good of you to finally join us."

He smiled back, like she wasn't the one who'd decided exactly how long to make us wait. "Gloria. I'd say it's a pleasure, but that would be a lie."

"Hm, I'm surprised you didn't, given you're quite the liar these days."

My eyes narrowed. Okay, so this bitch needed to die.

"Can't think what you're suggesting," Micah said. "The only person I've lied to is myself when I thought I could live without Nox in my life."

It was like a small bomb went off. Murmurs broke out among the angels along the wall, only falling silent when Gloria raised a delicate hand. "So you admit it. You've fallen in love with a demon."

"Yes." Micah's blazing smile burned brighter as it fell on me. "I'm in love with Nox."

"Well, Micah." Gloria clasped her hands together. "I must say, this is very disappointing. "

I laughed hollowly. "That would be more believable if you didn't look like the cat who'd caught the canary."

All pretence of kindness was replaced by loathing as Gloria turned to me. "You do not speak, demon. You have no authority here."

A door banged open behind us. "Actually, as his mate, Nox has the same level of authority as Micah does."

Beside me, Micah tensed in horror. I flinched. Oh Satan, was that Benji ?

I'd only met them all briefly, but it had been enough for me to get an impression of each of them. It had been Micah's stories that coloured in the rest of their characters.

Sure enough, Benji's short but muscled figure strode around us, power rolling off him in waves. In his hands was a book that looked even more ancient than the room we were standing in. "Article seven hundred and three, paragraph eight and line five of the Angelic Code states that ‘All mates are to be granted the same authority, rights, and benefits as their angelic counterpart.'"

Gloria stiffened. "Your presence was not requested, Benjamin."

"Probably because you know I understand our legislation better than you do." Benji turned his back on her dismissively, strolling to stand at my side. "Don't worry, I can make sure you don't overlook any further laws."

"Benji," Micah hissed from next to me. "What are you doing here?"

Benji turned to face us, a small, puzzled frown on his forehead. "Where else would we be?"

That was all the warning we got before the doors slammed open once more. Micah and I twisted in unison to see a unit of angels enter.

Not just any unit. The Seraphim .

Micah's unit.

They filed into the room silently, fanning out on either side of us. None of them drew their weapons, but they didn't need to. Not when every one of them had murder in their eyes.

I counted them quickly, frowning. One was missing. Rami—the healer.

There was no time to wonder on it, not with Micah spiralling beside me. This was the last thing he'd wanted to happen.

He whispered to his second, panic thick as treacle in his words. "What the fuck, Ez? I told you to keep the unit together. To keep them safe."

"That's what I'm doing," Ez murmured from Micah's right-hand side. "You're part of the unit. Or did you forget that?"

Before Micah could respond, Gloria summoned our attention by clearing her throat. "Seraphim, what is the meaning of this?"

"We received word that Micah was being put on trial. As his unit, we're here to testify on his behalf." I wasn't sure which contained more undisguised hate, Ezekiel's tone or the twist of his lips.

"On his behalf?" Gloria gave a lilting laugh as Micah groaned beside me. "You don't even know what crime he has committed."

"That's assuming a crime has been committed, let alone by Micah," Ezekiel continued. "Benji, can a full trial be called without the crime first being announced to Heaven and the greater areas?"

"Nope." Benji flicked to a certain page to check. "There is supposed to be a minimum of a forty-eight-hour notice period. The accused also has the right to plead their case, as well as provide witnesses, character or otherwise."

"This is absurd," Gloria sputtered. "Those laws haven't been looked at in centuries."

Ezekiel smirked. "Are you suggesting we ignore the holy texts that Heaven uses to govern? How…revolutionary."

It was as though a lightbulb went off above Gloria's head as her sweet smile returned. "Not at all. In fact, we should revisit the very first law listed. Remind me, Benjamin, what is that?"

From the corner of my eye, I saw Benji tense. He didn't flick through the pages to check, apparently knowing it well enough to not need to.

"Is there a problem, Benjamin?" Gloria purred. "Do you need a moment to refresh your memory?"

Benji cleared his throat, shooting an apologetic look at us before speaking. "Angels are not to be romantically involved with demons."

Gloria's smirk deepened. "Oh, Benjamin. I think we all know it doesn't stop there."

My heart sank. I was certain I could guess the rest of it. Poor Benji was flushed now, rocking on his heels as he tried to keep the knowledge inside.

Micah noticed his distress. Leaning past Ezekiel, he whispered, "It's okay, Benji."

"It's fucking not," he muttered back before raising his voice to a normal level. "Angels are not to be romantically involved with demons. Any angel who falls in love with a demon will be stripped of his rank."

Beside me, some of Micah's fight left him. It wasn't as bad as execution, obviously, but losing the unit?

That would kill a different part of him.

"Hang on." One of the twins stepped forwards, but I had no idea which. "If you care so much about that law, why'd you let Dimitri get away with it for so long? He was fucking Dagon for centuries and no one batted an eyelid."

The other archs around the dais shifted in their seats, two of them exchanging whispers behind their hands.

Gloria's smile turned brittle. "The circumstances were different."

"Different." The other twin stepped forwards. "Meaning Dagon's daddy would've used you stripping his mate's rank as an excuse to go to war?"

"Our reasoning behind that decision is confidential."

The second twin copied her smile mockingly. "Confidential, yet somehow, we all know that's why."

Benji crowed suddenly, drawing all eyes to him. While this conversation had been going on, he'd been searching for something in the book. "Here. Article thirty-five, paragraph one, line one: ‘The mating bond is sacred. Fate's decision is to be respected, regardless of who the mate is . '"

He slammed the book closed triumphantly. On either side of us, the Seraphim wore matching grins, thinking they'd bested the judges. But Micah and I didn't share in their triumph. There was no way they'd let us just walk out of here. It didn't matter what their laws said.

They had a point to prove. A message to deliver.

Sure enough, Gloria wasn't fazed by this latest development. "Micah's crime can be overlooked, but sadly, the same can't be said for Nox's."

My stomach flipped as the smiles were wiped from the Seraphim's faces. Micah's fingers twitched, light glimmering around his manacles.

When he spoke, his voice was cold enough to freeze the fires of the river Styx. "You dare accuse my mate of a crime?"

I had to give Micah credit—he couldn't lie to me, but with everyone else he had the best poker face I'd ever seen. He knew damn well that I'd executed Emilio, as did every other fucker in this chamber.

But looking at Micah's face, you'd never believe he knew that.

"Come now, Micah. We all know that Nox executed Emilio. After all, that's why you were sent after him, remember?"

Micah lifted his chin defiantly. "What proof do you have?"

"All the proof we need," the man to the left of Gloria said gruffly. "None of us wanted to get to this stage, Micah. But you've forced our hand."

My mate switched his piercing gaze to the speaker. "How, exactly, have I done that, Ozias?"

"You were supposed to execute the demon, not bond with him."

"Let's not pretend any longer," Micah said. "You all knew who Nox was to me when you gave me my orders. You surely must've known that I'd be unable to follow through, not with my fated mate. Therefore, we must deduce that this is the outcome you were hoping for. The question is why? Haven't I been loyal? Obeyed orders? The scars on my back would suggest so."

"Micah's right," Ezekiel said, the rest of the Seraphim nodding in agreement. "He's been the best leader you could ask for. Treating him this way is despicable."

"Are you forgetting the recent incidents you've involved the Seraphim in unnecessarily?" Gloria said. "Was it loyalty to us that had you leading your unit into Hell to aid the sons of Lucifer in rescuing a human who belonged there? Were you following orders when you intervened in that disaster in London?"

Micah stayed silent, but the Seraphim were anything but. Furious whispers were passing between them, growing louder with every word Gloria spoke.

"That's before we even consider your most significant transgression. You led not only your unit, but many others, into Hell to intervene in a battle that had nothing to do with us."

"If Lucifer had lost, there would've been nothing to stop the demons leaving Hell en masse and going topside," Micah said through gritted teeth. The Seraphim had stopped whispering now, settling instead for glaring daggers at Gloria. "I've already explained the rationale behind my actions, and paid the price for them. I chose the path that ensured the safety of the human race."

"Right there is the issue, Micah. You don't get to choose the path. You don't choose the orders. We do. You are not to interfere in supernatural matters unless commanded to. You are not to alter the natural course of human life. It goes against everything we believe in."

That was it. I couldn't stomach her bullshit any longer. "Oh, so you expect angels to just ignore suffering? To let things happen that they know will cause anguish and pain? And there I was thinking us demons were the evil ones."

Gloria bared her teeth. "Do not speak on matters you do not understand, demon."

"That's the funny thing, I think you're the one who doesn't understand." My gaze swept pointedly over the angels surrounding us. "I doubt anyone in this room understands suffering quite as well as I do. It is, after all, how I was raised. Interesting that the same can't be said for you. How is it that your belief system rests on just letting humans fuck everything up? I mean, what exactly is the point of Heaven?"

Ozias and the angel beside him began to sputter in outrage. Micah smiled, pride humming through the bond.

"Think about it," I continued. "Demons are there to ensure the evil are punished and to tempt humans to the path of darkness. Where's the balance? Surely angels should be rewarding humans who are just and true? Why aren't they spending their days granting miracles or encouraging them to follow the light through acts of kindness? Isn't that what your belief system should be based on?"

"Enough!" Gloria's voice rang out around the room. "This topic is not up for debate."

I fell quiet, but not because of her. Because the seed had been planted. All around the room, I could see the regents whispering, eyes wide. Even three of the archs behind the dais had lapsed into a frenzied, hissed discussion.

Good. Let them ask questions. Maybe it would lead to a brighter future for other angels.

Gloria had reached her limit. "Nox, you are sentenced to execution for the murder of Emilio. Bring him forward."

A beat of stunned silence rippled through the room as everyone waited for what would happen next.

Everyone, that was, except for me and the Seraphim. I think we all could've predicted exactly where this was going.

A group of regents detached from the wall just as Micah neatly stepped in front of me, wearing a pleasant yet deadly smile.

"Oh, I don't think you're going to want to do that."