13. Gabby

Gabby's father's already waiting for her at Veritas. She suppresses a frown as he turns and heads toward a rear corridor the moment he sees her, assuming she'll follow. There's no hello. No, how are you?

He's been using you from the beginning.

You're nothing but a means to an end for him.

Gabby stiffens, her feet faltering as she was about to do exactly what the great Archangel Gabriel expected—follow him. The obsidian just voiced her deepest, darkest fear when it comes to her father.

Archangel Gabriel impregnated her mother purely so he could have a child of the prophecy. So she could do exactly this, end the Grigori.

It's time to choose your own path.

Colt's hand brushes Gabby's lower back. "Is everything okay?"

She looks up at him, biting her lip. She hates that the obsidian's words have struck a chord. She hates the words that slip past her lips. "Does he even care?" she whispers.

"He…" Colt stops, looking like he's rethinking his words as he studies her face. "He brought you to Mercy Academy, Gabby. He revealed himself to you. He's been here every step of the way. In all my centuries, I've never heard of an archangel doing that."

Of course he did. So he can use you.

Colt shakes his head, his lips twitching. "I can't believe I just said all that."

Gabby finds herself unwinding, despite the war going on inside her. Every step seems to be a battle between the darkness of the obsidian and her heart. The irony that the demon she loves sides with her angelic essence almost makes her smile. It's further proof her and Colt's love is pure. Good. Beautiful.

She presses a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, Colt."

His face grows somber, yet tender. "I'll always be there for you, Gabby."

She doesn't need to see the flash of ferocity that passes over his handsome features. Colt's words ring with truth. As if they're a vow.

A huff reaches them. "This will be quicker if you stop looking at each other like that," Gabby's father grumbles from several feet away.

Gabby turns to him, ready to give him a snappy retort when she realizes he's stopped. That when she didn't automatically follow, her father didn't continue.

So she takes Colt's hand and sashays forward, turns toward a door before she reaches her father, and enters what she already knows is a reading room. To her relief, it's empty.

The obsidian won't determine her actions.

And neither will her father.

Inside, she and Colt stand side by side beside the large table in the center. She places her bag on it, hating that she draws it closer so there's as little distance between herself and it as possible.

It's to keep the Spear close, she tells herself.

It's because you know we are about to become one.

Her father enters, scowling. "I can feel you've not only retrieved all seven shards of the obsidian, but that you've also fused it."

There will be no stopping what happens next.

Gabby ignores the hissing words that slide through her mind, keeping her gaze on her father. "What was the deal with Nathaniel and Uriel?" she asks, needing answers before they move on.

Her father clearly had some ulterior plan all along. One he didn't share with her.

Archangel Gabriel sighs. "I was hoping to help."

Gabby waits, biting back the sarcastic response that manipulating isn't helping.

"Nathaniel and Uriel were in search of a relic. Uriel, unfortunately, was apprehended during their quest." He pauses, his eyes revealing a depth of understanding that extends beyond the mortal realm. "Every plan requires a contingency."

Colt narrows his eyes. "A contingency?"

Gabby's father draws in a deep breath, expanding his chest. "The Spear of Destiny was created by the essence of Light. Obsidian, as you know, is darkness personified. If the obsidian's power fuels the Spear, unintended consequences could follow."

"You told me to find the obsidian," Gabby points out with a frown. "That it's the only way."

"Unless we're able to infuse the Spear with the essence of Light," her father responds.

Colt straightens. "What essence of Light?" he asks, his voice flinty. He sounds as annoyed as Gabby that this has been held back from them.

Because he's manipulating you!

"There's a relic," Gabby's father says, inscrutable as ever. "It's cloaked from the world, safeguarded against those who would misuse its power."

Gabby absorbs this revelation, her mind racing with the implications. There's a chance she doesn't have to use the obsidian?

The roar of denial that rips through her almost makes her lose her balance. Instead, she tenses. Tightens every muscle.

Her father may have kept this from her, but he's also given her hope.

"What relic?" she asks, having to work to keep her voice level.

Right now, the fate of the three worlds hangs in the balance. The threads of destiny are interwoven with Light and Darkness, between the obsidian's power and the possibility that Primordial Light still exists on Earth.

Her father's face remains solemn. "The Holy Grail."

Gabby straightens, her gaze squarely on her father. The possibility of an alternative to the obsidian, a chance to avoid the temptations and dangers it carries, is a beacon of hope she didn't know existed.

You're fighting inevitability, the obsidian warns. It's no longer hissing. It's a seething, roiling shout.

Colt draws in a sharp breath. "The Grail hasn't been seen for centuries."

Gabby's father nods, and with each movement, his shoulders drop a little. "It remains elusive. Uriel was caught as he discovered the last lead we had was fruitless."

Gabby grips the nearby table, disappointment washing through her.

As the obsidian simultaneously roars with victory.

"We will continue the search, but it will require time—time we don't have," her father continues. "The Grigori are on the brink of altering fate, and they will grow desperate, coming for the shards after their negotiations failed."

And just like that, using the obsidian, with all its unforeseen consequences, becomes a necessity.

"I tried," her father says quietly, his gaze heavy.

Gabby nods, unsure whether the flash of hope was helpful or not. Hope given, only to be taken away, is a bitter pill to swallow.

Her father walks toward her, stopping beside her to reach out and place a hand on her shoulder. "You have a battle ahead of you, daughter," he says solemnly. "Never forget you were chosen for a reason."

With that, he leaves.

"Gabby…" Colt starts.

But she shakes her head. "There's one thing he's right about. We're running out of time."

Gabby reaches for her bag, removing the Spear, then the obsidian. The first rests in one hand, heavy and lifeless. The second rests in her other hand, light…but carrying the weight of fate.

Every soul in the three realms depends on this.

On her.

On us.

Colt's hand slips over the palm cradling the obsidian, drawing Gabby's gaze to him. "Your father's right. You were chosen for a reason." He steps back, faith molding his features into determined lines. "You're the only one strong enough to do this, Gabby."

She nods, even as she's not sure she believes him. Colt clearly has no idea how powerful the obsidian is.

That it's already inside of her. Tempting her…

Gabby takes a step back, her stomach so tied in knots it hurts. She closes her eyes, drawing on her angelic magic, on her Light. The legends of old speak of Lucifer using the Spear of Destiny during the Rebellion, charging it with Primordial Light.

To fulfill her destiny and confront the Grigori, Gabby must follow in Lucifer"s footsteps.

Except she'll be connecting the Spear to the obsidian"s profound Darkness.

She closes her eyes, murmuring the spell she's never heard, yet already knows.

"Obsidian's might, prepare to fight,

In this sacred rite, blend power and night.

Spear of Destiny, now empowered, arise,

With darkness united, reach for the skies."

A gust of wind buffets Gabby, tugging at her hair and clothes, but she barely feels it. She becomes the conduit, her being linking the Spear to the very essence of the obsidian. The air becomes heavy, the room charged with palpable energy.

The dark power flows through her, shifting from the obsidian to the Spear. And with it come the whispers, far more malevolent and seductive. They cascade into Gabby"s mind, like shadowy tendrils seeking to ensnare her.

We will end the Grigori.

And then we will show the world how it should be.

Gabby struggles to ward off the relentless voice. But it's not just in her mind, it's in her veins. Filling her. Fueling her.

Making her stronger than she ever imagined.

She battles to maintain control, now knowing that all the promises the obsidian has made up until now have been a lie. The obsidian wants total control.

So it can turn the three realms into its dark image.

"Gabby! Gabby!"

At first, Colt's voice feels like it's far away. But then she can feel hands gripping her arms, then hear the roar of wind he's shouting over.

Her eyes fly open, registering the chaos in the room. The books and chairs scattered around are now whipping around the room like they're caught in a whirlpool. The table is overturned. Colt's hair is a tangled mess even as his eyes fill with relief.

The moment Gabby lowers her arms, everything stops. Thuds hit the ground just as the door is thrown open. Blaise and Sierra rush in, looking panicked. One glance at Gabby and they halt. Sierra's hand flutters to her throat as her gaze falls on the Spear of Destiny.

Blaise's mouth forms a thin line. "It is done."

Gabby brings the Spear into her line of sight. It looks the same.

Yet totally different.

The silver length with its intricate scrolling hasn't changed. Its weight and length are just as before. It's the tip that's now altered.

A black stone is now melded into the leaf-shaped tip, shimmering with onyx energy.

The Spear and the obsidian are one.

And it"s hers.

So it begins.

Gabby tenses acknowledging in that respect, the obsidian is right.

Her gaze falls on her friends, then settles on Colt. "Get ready for war."

She's never felt more powerful. More invincible.

More unstoppable.

But there's one thing the obsidian's wrong about. It won't control her.

She won't let it.