Chapter 21

21

For a moment, I blacked out. I came back to when Levi reached for me and helped me up.

“Are you all right?” he asked, looking me up and down.

I pressed a hand on my chest, where Rhodes’s last strike had hit me. It had hurt like a bitch and I still could feel the aftereffect swirling inside me, as if he had let it slip into me to hurt me later.

“I’m fine.” I glanced at his arm and back. “You’re hurt.”

He shook his head. “It’s all superficial.”

“We need to go,” Rage declared as the rest of the angels perished at my friends’ hands. He pointed to the sky. “The others are coming.”

In the distance, a cloud of angels approached.

Shit.

Aspen opened a portal among us. We grabbed one another and crossed the portal. It took us to the front yard of a large three-story house at a cliff’s edge in a thick forest.

We all collapsed on the soft grass as soon as the portal closed and we knew no one else would be following us.

The pain in my back and my chest screamed, but it was nothing compared to my wounded pride.

I had lost the dagger.

Rhodes had it. He had killed Ylena with it, and now he had it, and he was on his way to Elysium, where he would do angels knew what!

Levi reached for me and squeezed my hand. “Hey.” I looked at him. “It’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is,” I muttered. “I was supposed to protect it, to keep it from them, to take it to a safe place.”

Levi embraced me. We both groaned from our injuries, but we didn’t care. Right now, I needed this. His warmth, his big, protective arms around me, his breath on my ear.

“We’ll fix this, sweetheart,” he whispered. “I know we will.”

I held on to him, tight, suddenly afraid that he would be gone. He groaned, and I pulled back. The wound from the other day had opened during the battle and now a couple of thin lines of blood trailed down his side. It didn’t look pretty, but he would survive.

“How’s your back?” he asked, reaching for me again.

“It’s fine,” I lied. It wasn’t fine at all. It hurt more by the second and I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to take a step, but at the same time, I felt like I deserved this.

For losing the dagger.

The damn dagger.

By the light, if I let it, the guilt would consume me.

On my knees and hurting, I glanced around. Everyone was beaten, bruised, and bloodied.

To the side, Harvey tended to Ava’s bleeding shoulder. Rage held on to his left arm as if it was either sprained or broken, Andre seemed to have a nasty wound on his head, and at the back of the group, Zad held a fainted Topaz in his arms, while Lacey tried to heal her in the rush.

A shudder rocked my body, followed by a sudden sob.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. A few of them looked at me. “For bringing you all out here and losing the dagger.”

Abbie shook her head. “It’s not your fault.”

“We knew the risks,” Farrah said with a small smile. “Besides, we’ll get it back.”

The others nodded. Even Lacey, who seemed focused on healing Topaz.

If the witch died now, I would never forgive myself.

“We will get the dagger back,” Rage insisted. “But first, we need to regroup and rest.” He stared at the house. “Where are we?”

“A warlock manor,” Aspen said. His lip was busted, and his left eyebrow was bleeding.

“You mean, one of Soren’s old hideouts,” Wyatt asked, his tone flat.

I frowned. I had heard a lot about Soren, the first Warlock Lord. I had even been captured by some of his former warlocks months ago.

Aspen nodded. “Yes. But now it’s one of the bases for our spy network.”

At that, the front door of the house opened and two warlocks walked out.

“Aspen,” one of them asked. “What’s going on?”

“They are with me,” Aspen said. “We were on an important mission, but it didn’t go as planned. They need healing and a place to rest.”

The warlock nodded. “Of course. Please come with us.”

Everyone started following him with slow, painful steps.

Holding my hand, Levi stood and pulled me up. I gritted my teeth as a wave of pain traveled down my back and legs.

“Sweetheart, how bad is it?” Levi walked around me, and I didn’t have the strength or the will to stop him.

Instead, I watched as the second warlock walked to the back of the group and knelt beside Lacey. They exchanged a few words. He then placed his hands on top of hers and they healed Topaz together. After a couple of seconds, the witch exhaled loudly.

Lacey and the warlock retreated their hands, said something else, and stood. Zad followed them, with a dazed Topaz still in his arms.

Approaching us, Lacey caught my eye. “She’ll be fine,” she assured me.

A sense of relief washed over me.

Until a finger touched my back and a wave of pain coursed through me. I almost screamed but was able to close my mouth and swallow it.

“You’re not fine,” Levi said, through gritted teeth.

“Look who’s speaking.” I turned and pointed to his waist. “I did a bad job there and it shows.” I took a step closer and looked at him. “You’re here,” I whispered, suddenly aware that something had gone right. “You’re back.”

“Thanks to you, sweetheart.” He took my hand in his and tugged me even closer. He leaned into me and rested his forehead on mine. “Really … thank you.”

“Oh, the almighty Leviathan said thank you about three times in the last hour. That’s surely a record.” I almost chuckled, but I was too busy enjoying this moment.

My chest started throbbing and I suppressed a groan.

Levi noticed, though. “Let’s get you healed, sweetheart.”

* * *

The manor was even bigger on the inside, going another two stories under the main floor. There was an entire infirmary with beds, all of them with curtains for division. Most of my friends and I ended up on those beds, waiting for the warlocks and Lacey to come around and heal us.

When Lacey stopped beside Levi, she could barely contain her tears. “Thank goodness you’re okay.” He hugged her, but didn’t say much while she healed his injury, finally closing the cut properly. “I don’t think I’ll be able to erase all of it,” she said, explaining that my stitching had definitely saved him, but it had also marked him in a way magic couldn’t undo. “We can keep trying, though.”

Levi shook his head. “It’s fine. I like it.” He looked at me.

Clearing her throat. “Right. Here.” She shoved a black shirt at him. “From the warlocks.”

Gingerly, Levi put on the shirt and I quietly mourned the loss of such an incredible view.

Lacey rounded my bed and stood behind me. She hovered her hand over my wound and started working. I first felt a sting, then warmth as her magic did its job.

“How’s Topaz?” I asked. The witch was sleeping on the bed across the large room, and I could barely make out her form from here.

“She’s fine,” Lacey said, her voice tight. “She was hit pretty hard, but she’ll be okay.”

I bit down on my cheek, dying to ask her what was up between the two of them. I wanted to, and I would, I just wasn’t sure this was the time and place.

Lacey pressed her hand to my back. “How does it feel?”

I groaned. “A little sore.”

“That’s expected, but the injury is gone. You’ll be good as new in no time.” She smiled at me, then turned to Ava, who was two beds from me.

I opened my mouth to tell her about the pain in my chest but shut it again. There was no visible wound, and right now, other people needed her more than I did.

I glanced around.

Rage was seated with Zad beside Topaz’s bed, and his arm looked mended. Andre and Doreen were on the other side of Ava and Harvey, and they looked fine too.

Abbie, Farrah, and Wyatt were behind Levi’s bed. The warlock who had helped Lacey with Topaz was now healing Wyatt’s scratches. His name was Kadir, and he had been working with Keeran, the Warlock Lord, for a while. He and the other warlock, Bevan, who had welcomed us inside, oversaw this place, and kept Lord Keeran and Lord Drake informed of everything that was going on in their spy network.

When Kadir was done, he looked around and scratched his short beard. “I think everyone is healed now. The dining room should be prepared for you, and while you eat, I’ll make sure your bedrooms are set.” He gestured for us to get up. “Follow me, if you’re ready.”

Everyone got up and started going after him, but I stayed back. With slow steps, I approached Topaz’s bed. Her skin was pale and she looked incredibly frail.

“Don’t look so glum,” she said, her voice thin.

I gaped at her. “You’re awake.”

She peeked at me with one eye. “Barely.”

“I’m sorry.”

“About?”

“Bringing mayhem to your doorstep.”

“Oh, Ariella, we can try to hide from it, but as supernaturals, mayhem will always find us. I’m surprised it took so long.”

“Still, it’s my fault.”

She opened both eyes. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be okay.”

“But your agreement with the Mojave tribe. You weren’t supposed to make a ruckus on their land.”

“I’m good friends with their leaders and I’m sure I can make them look the other way. Don’t worry about it. I’m not.” She reached to me and patted the top of my hand. “Go with the others and let me rest now.” She closed her eyes and whispered, “Everything will be fine.”

With a sigh, I turned to leave and saw Levi had stayed by the door, waiting for me. As I approached him, he offered me his hand.

I stared at it for a second before taking it. This was new. Before, he wouldn’t have held my hand while walking down a hallway.

“They went this way,” he said, taking the lead.

As we walked, I glanced at him. There was so much to talk about, so much to understand, but now wasn’t the right moment.

We found the others as they entered a room in the front area of the manor, near the foyer. We followed them into the dining room, with a long table for twenty.

Another warlock was there. “I’m Calder.” He had cropped black hair, like a military buzz, and dark skin. “If you need anything, let me know.”

He gestured for us to come to the table, which was brimming with food and drinks. We all sat down and dug in. After pouring myself some red wine, I looked around the table. Levi to my right, Lacey to his right, Abbie to my left, Zad to her left, Farrah and Wyatt right in front of me, and Rage, Ava, Harvey, Doreen, and Andre took the right side of the table.

We were just missing Topaz.

I took a sip of my wine. I owed Topaz a lot, and I would have to find a way to make it up to her.

Everyone ate and chatted with the people beside them, as if we were gathered here to celebrate.

After taking a few bites of my food—which was delicious—I couldn’t take it anymore.

“We can’t ignore what just happened,” I said. The conversation around the table died out and everyone looked at me. “We got Levi back, and I thank you all for that.” Levi reached under the table and placed his big hand on my thigh. “But I lost the dagger.”

“ We lost the dagger,” Zad said. “We were all there. It was our responsibility.”

My brows curled down. I could argue about this, but the guilt wouldn’t go away, no matter what they said. “Rhodes has it, and while we’re here eating, he’s probably enacting the next step of their plan.”

Rage lowered his fork and knife. “I agree we need to act fast, but we can’t finish this with Rhodes exhausted and hungry.”

“Or without a proper plan,” Doreen said.

I nodded once. “All right, then let’s come up with a proper plan.”

“We’re too angry and tired to think straight,” Andre said. Even though he had been healed, dried blood caked his hairline, where he had been hit.

I looked around the table. We had all been healed and had cleaned some of the blood and dirt away with damp rags, but we still looked like we had been run over by tanks.

“I agree with Andre,” Aspen said. “If we come up with a plan now, it’ll be rushed and not well thought through.”

I groaned, but didn’t say anything. Not even Levi seemed to be on my side.

For a moment, disappointment cut through me. Before, I had kept to myself, not sharing my problems, because I knew no one would care about them like I would.

And now, that exact thing was happening.

Only it wasn’t true. That was my anger—toward myself, toward this situation—talking.

Probably getting hints of my feelings through the bond, Levi took my hand in his and squeezed.

I let out a long breath. “All right. Let’s rest. But tomorrow, we’ll come up with a plan.”

The others agreed.

“Right,” Rage said. “We'll meet here before lunch?” He glanced at Aspen, as if to make sure that was okay.

Aspen nodded. “That works. And in the meantime, we can activate our network and find out if anyone has seen Archangel Rhodes since this afternoon.”

“That would be great,” Ava said. “Thank you.”

The rest of the meal was quiet but tense. I didn’t eat anymore, especially because the faint pain in my chest was giving me indigestion. Finally, everyone was done and Calder escorted us to our rooms.

Ava, Harvey, Doreen, and Andre shared a two-bunk bedroom, Abbie and Lacey got a room with a queen bed, Farrah and Wyatt got one with a king bed, and Zad and Rage scored a room with three twin beds.

Levi and I got a small room with a queen bed, similar to the other one.

“Not all bedrooms have bathrooms,” Calder said. He pointed to a door down the hallway. “That’s the common bathroom for these rooms.”

We thanked him and disappeared inside our bedrooms.

Once the door was closed, I leaned against it, closed my eyes, and exhaled loudly. I left everything behind the door—the dagger, the angels, the upcoming battle, the danger?—

Everything except for one thing.

One person.

A demon.