Chapter 13

13

“Come on.” I started walking in the direction they had gone. “We gotta keep moving.”

“Ariella, wait,” Farrah said.

“We can’t wait. If we wait, they might get too far.” With those wings, they just might. I glanced at Zad. “You and I can go after them, get to them faster.”

“But Rage said it’s not a good idea to fly here,” Zad said.

I gestured to the horizon. “It seems to be working fine for them!”

“Ariella,” Rage said, his voice firm, commanding.

“What?” I snapped, though I refused to look at him. At them.

Because I knew what was coming, I knew what they would say, and I hated to admit I understood. I even agreed. But that didn’t make this easy.

They stood there, forming a half circle around me, waiting for me to calm down. Only Barn and Mill weren’t so close, their attention on the surroundings, watching for unexpected enemies.

I let out a long breath and faced them. “I can’t pretend I didn’t see him.”

“No one is asking you to do that,” Farrah said, her tone too calm. “But we’ve been through many difficult situations and you know that sometimes, we need to take a step back and assess the factors.”

I groaned and looked at Lacey. “Don’t you want to go after your brother?”

“You know I do.” She sounded almost hurt. “But I don’t think he was himself. If he was, then he wouldn’t have attacked us. Attacked you.”

“He was a full-fledged demon,” Wyatt said. He had shifted back after Levi and Ylena left, and put on pants.

“It felt like he forgot who he is,” Lacey continued. “When we were researching the underworld, I remember reading about how some areas can mess with someone’s head. Even if you spend a brief time there, it can literally make you insane.”

“I was in a place like that.” Zad nodded. “My friends couldn’t handle it and died. It took everything to stay sane, and honestly, I don’t think I’m the same.” He inhaled. “To this day, I still have nightmares about it.”

He had been betrayed by someone on his squad and they all ended up in the underworld by mistake. But they had been in a prison like this, without any means of leaving, and slowly they went crazy and died.

Zad had said that had been the worst part—holding on to his mind while watching everyone he knew succumb to this place.

“Perhaps this is one of those sites,” Farrah said.

“Which means, we’re going insane too?” Wyatt asked.

“We’ve been here for two days,” Rage said. “Besides, we’re together and we have a purpose. It would take a lot more to make us insane.”

“Unless we get stuck here for twenty years,” Zad said, going for a joke.

I glared at him. Not a suitable time for jokes!

“I can see that,” Lacey said, her voice low. “Levi had a lot of rage in his heart, his demon side always spoke loudly. He came here, what, one week ago? Ten days? And was alone with the person he hates most. That would drive anyone insane.”

“He’s not insane,” I snapped. “He’s lost in his demon. We need to find him and bring him back.”

“Do you think you can?” Farrah asked.

I stared at her. “If it was Wyatt, do you think you could?”

She looked at Wyatt and nodded.

I realized what I had said. I had compared the true fated mates bond Wyatt and Farrah shared, to what Levi and I had. That my feelings for him were probably like Farrah’s for Wyatt.

Could they be?

I didn’t want to dwell on it. “So, what are your orders, Rage?”

“We go after them, carefully, and observe from a distance,” the mission leader said.

“And then?” Lacey asked. I knew that deep inside she was as anxious as I was. She was better at controlling herself.

“I’m not sure,” Rage admitted. “We might need to separate the two of them somehow, so we can get to Levi without Ylena drawing his attention.”

“And then?” It was Farrah this time.

“I’ll talk to him,” I said, feeling a little nervous about that. If talking with him would do the trick, then maybe he would have hesitated when he saw me.

I was probably overthinking this. I was overthinking and overfeeling everything right now.

“Me too.” Lacey reached over and held my hand in hers. “I’ll spell him, if I have to.”

I squeezed her hand, grateful for having her in my corner.

“All right,” Rage said. “You two deal with Levi, the rest of us will keep Ylena busy. Understood?”

We all nodded and said yes.

* * *

I felt like all we did the past couple of days was walk. This time, it wasn’t a long trek, but because I had seen Levi and knew we were close, it felt like an eternity.

With each step, the tug in my chest increased, the bond teasing me that we were closer.

After an hour, I started getting nervous. Maybe I should fly ahead. Zad could go with me. But I knew they wouldn’t approve of my plan, and I wasn't sure I could hold myself back from him.

“If we don’t find them in the next hour, we’ll stop to rest,” Rage announced.

Stopping to rest would only put us farther behind them. The irritation and the anxiety were talking louder now, making me feel like a petulant child.

I hated it.

I hated this.

I wanted to find him right now.

Walking to my side, Lacey slipped her hand in mine again. “I know this is hard for you. It’s hard for me too.”

I held her grip. “It’s torture.”

She nodded. “But we’ll find him, we’ll find a way to get through to him, and we’ll leave with him.”

With Levi.

Which brought something else to mind. “What will we do with Ylena?”

“You tell us,” Rage said.

I frowned. “I don’t know. The right answer would be to kill her."

“But it’s not that easy,” Farrah said.

I knew she meant it wasn’t easy for me.

It wouldn’t be easy to kill her even if she was a stranger. She was the most powerful archangel ever, the oldest one.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Lacey said.

I nodded, thankful they understood the conflict inside me. “As much as I think Elysium would be safer with her gone, Ylena was the mastermind of this whole thing.” I was grasping for another angle. “She has answers we need. That’s the only way to undo the damage she's already inflicted.”

“True,” Zad said. “We need her alive.”

Imprisoning her would be hard, but one thing at a time.

First, we needed to find them.

A shriek echoed from the sky and in a fast swoop, Ylena flew to us.

She crashed into me, almost driving me to the ground, but she closed her arms around my waist and carried me away.

I struggled and called my magic, but my magic refused to obey. I started on my wings, but Ylena knew what I was up to. She pressed a hand to my back and sent a jolt of magic coursing through me that made me dizzy, heavy. I could barely move my head, much less my limbs.

I looked down at my friends as they became smaller and smaller.

“Ariella, no!” Lacey shouted.

Rage prepared to send a darkfire bolt, but Farrah stopped him. “You might hit Ariella.”

Zad's wings erupted from his back and launched him after us.

Ylena twisted in the air, sending a spray of light bolts at Zad. He dodged all but the last two. They hit him in a wing and in the chest.

He went down.

“No!” I cried, though the words stuck to my tongue.

With a snarl, Ylena sent another jolt of magic into me and I slumped over her shoulder.

I fought to stay conscious. If I fainted, I was afraid I might never wake up.

After I don’t know how long, Ylena landed and dropped me on the rough ground like a sack of potatoes. I grunted in pain and rolled to my side, glad I was recovering my senses and movement, though too slow for my taste.

Ylena tucked her dark wings behind her back and circled me, like a bird of prey teasing its food.

Sitting up, I took in the surroundings. The rock formations were spread out, creating wider paths and clearings.

Ylena snarled at me, and I looked back at her.

“If you’re going to kill me, just do it,” I said, pushing to my knees. My strength trickled into my limbs.

“Who are you?” she asked in a shrill voice.

I blinked at her. “You don’t know me?”

“I know you but I don’t remember you.” She tilted her head. “I feel strong things for you. But I don’t know why.”

What the hell? Had she slipped so deep into insanity? Forgotten everything? And her ashen skin, her dark fingertips turned claws? Were they a trick of this place too?

If I stayed here for a week, would I become like that too?

“Do you know who you are?” I asked.

She tilted her head to the other side, but snarled at me.

Which was my answer.

Ylena didn’t remember who she was. She didn’t remember me, and perhaps she didn’t remember anything, which meant I could use that to my advantage. I could trap her before her curiosity ran out and she decided to attack me.

“You’re Ylena,” I said, standing up. A wave of dizziness coursed through me, but I blinked fast and contracted my core, willing myself to stay upright. “You were my mentor and friend.”

The word felt like poison on my throat, but I was playing a role here. Nothing more.

She stared at me, as if she could feel it made sense, that it was true, but she couldn’t see it.

“What—?”

A growl came from somewhere behind me, and I turned, only to get dizzy again and almost trip on my feet.

On a large rock formation was an opening, like the mouth of a cave.

The growl came again from there.

From behind me, Ylena closed her hand around my neck and pressed her claws into my throat. “She’s here!”

I jerked, trying to disentangle myself from her, but damn, she either had gotten stronger, or she had always hidden her full strength.

I forgot all about her when the growl echoed a third time and Levi emerged from the cave.

He was still in his demon form and looking more terrifying than ever.

I stilled.

“She’s all yours,” Ylena said, and only now I noticed her hand was gone and she was several feet back.

“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice low.

“He seemed to take interest in you,” she said. “You’re my ticket to get rid of him.”

“What—?”

Levi’s red eyes locked on me and I stilled.

Ylena flew away and he stared at me.

I retreated.

He growled louder this time and I froze.

With deliberate steps, he advanced toward me.

I would have been so glad for finding him except for the murderous gleam in his eyes, the tension in his powerful body; it made me want to run.

“Levi, it’s me,” I said. “Ariella.”

He stopped, huffed, and snarled. “I don’t know you.” His voice was so deep, so guttural, it was hard to believe it was him.

“Yes, you do. I can feel you in here.” I pressed a hand to the center of my chest. “Can’t you feel me too?”

His hand started up, but he closed it into a fist and lowered it again. He growled. “You’re an angel. Just like her. You want to kill me too.”

“No, I don’t.” I took a step forward but forced myself to stop. I was scared of him, and I didn’t want him to think I was attacking him. “I want to help you. To bring you back. To take you away from here.”

“Away.” He looked up, to the dark sky.

“Would you like that?”

His eyes returned to me. “I want to kill the angel.” In a flash, his wings flapped fast, pushing him to me. His hand closed around my throat and he shoved me against a rock formation. He leaned in to me and snarled. “I can kill this angel too.”

“Levi, you don’t want to kill me.” I struggled against his hold, but he was too damn strong for me. “I’m your mate.”

“Lies!” he shouted. “The other angel lied to me. You lie to me. Trick me. Trap me.”

I stared at him. He wasn’t as far gone as Ylena if he could remember how we first got stuck together. “Right. I trapped you, but it worked out, right?”

He bared his teeth. “You trapped me? Now?”

Despite the situation and being slightly out of breath, I couldn’t help but stare at him and hear my heart breaking. He was a giant and a brute like this, but he was also dense. His cockiness, his brightness, everything that made Levi himself was gone.

“No—”

He squeezed my throat a little more. “I’m going to kill you.”

“Don’t make me hurt you,” I croaked, barely able to speak.

“As if you could.” He brought his other hand up, his claws poised to strike.

Damn it.

I didn’t have time to call my magic, so I summoned my sword instead. I turned it sideways and hit his waist with the flat side of the blade, but I hit hard, knowing he would barely feel anything.

But he let out a roar and loosened his grip.

I brought my leg up and half kicked, half pushed him back, and before he could come at me again, I twisted out of the way and ran. In five steps, I had my wings out and I soared into the air.

Of course, he came after me.

To catch me? To kill me?

I had no idea, and until we could draw the circle and trap him, I wasn't staying here to find out.

I flapped my wings fast. Three times, he almost caught me, but I was smaller, and more agile. I twisted out of the way and changed direction.

It didn’t take me long to realize I had no idea where I was going. I could be going deeper into the territory, away from my friends.

That wouldn’t do.

I reached deep inside me, got a firm hold on my magic, and pulled it to the surface. It was stubborn, but I had no choice here. I extended a hand up and threw sparks in all directions. They went far and exploded like fireworks.

A few seconds later, black sparks came from my left, going straight up to the sky.

There. That was Lacey.

I turned and zoomed toward them.

I didn’t like bringing Levi to them, like a bomb ready to explode, but I couldn’t deal with him alone.

Levi almost caught me again, his claw swiping inches from my head. He definitely planned to kill me.

When he came back to himself, would he regret it? Would he miss me?

Damn it, what was I thinking?

I pushed those thoughts away and focused on getting to my friends.

Thankfully, Lacey shot the sparks back up again a moment later and I was able to course correct and fly toward them. It would still take another two or three minutes for me to get to them.

I just hoped they were thinking what I was thinking.

To make sure they had enough time, I gritted my teeth and circled around them. I almost regretted it when Levi caught my hair and pulled me back, making me shriek in pain. I had to flap my wings hard not to fall, and I kicked him in the stomach. He held on to my hair for as long as he could, but when I summoned my sword and pushed the hilt hard under his chin, he let me go.

I almost plummeted to the ground.

The sparks exploded again, closer this time, and I assumed that was their ready signal.

I flew low and saw them in a small space between the rocks.

Large enough for a witch’s circle.

I flew outside of the circle’s line, but Levi was so intent on catching me, he didn’t look down. He was about to fly inside the circle when a light bolt slammed into his side, pushing him back and out of the circle’s range.

Levi fell to the ground several feet back, but was up a second later, his wings spread out behind him, his claws ready, his teeth bared. He looked up and sure enough, Ylena stood atop a rock, another bolt twirling in her open palm.

I landed beside Lacey and the others.

Levi snarled at Ylena and she laughed.

“A proposition,” she said, her shrill voice cutting through the air.

Levi growled. “I don’t make deals with you.”

“But this one will get us out of here.”

That actually caught his attention.

“Whatever they are doing, we need to stop them,” Rage said. He got his spear and the others got ready for a fight.

As if they could read each other’s mind, Levi nodded and Ylena smiled—a wicked thing that chilled me to the bone.

Looking at Levi, she raised the bolt in her hand and threw it at our feet!

We jumped back, but the impact was strong enough to make us stumble.

In a flash, she and Levi flew toward us.

I called my sword, Lacey cast her magic, Wyatt turned into his wolf … but before we could do anything, a rain of light bolt and darkfire fell over us.

Farrah cast an ice bridge over our heads.

But that was all distraction.

Levi and Ylena swooped under the bridge. Levi caught Rage, passed him on to Ylena, and then slammed into me. He closed his strong arms around me and flew away with me.

“Let me go!” I screamed.

He snarled at me, and when I struggled against him, he tightened his hold, making it impossible for me to move.

I glanced back and saw as Zad came after us, but Ylena was ready for him. She appeared right in front of him, taking him by surprise, and threw that charged bolt right at him.

Zad grunted in pain as the shock rocked his body. He lost control and went down.

“No,” I whispered, hoping he would recover enough to catch himself before hitting the ground.

Rage fought Ylena’s hold, and though she was strong, it was probably hard carrying him and fighting him. Rage lost his spear and Ylena shocked him. He slumped in her arms.

I considered calling my magic and trying to surprise Levi with it long enough for him to drop me, but then I realized that this might be a good thing. He didn’t seem intent on killing me, and if he took me with them, I would know where they were going, what their plan was.

Despite my instincts, I stopped fighting.

And let Levi take me.