15. Gabby

He will pay the price of betrayal!

Kill him!

Power surges through Gabby, endless as night and just as dark. It fills her with strength. It infuses her with the knowledge she's unstoppable.

It has her surging forward, the Spear held high, its obsidian tip pointed at Moroni's chest.

He was supposed to be her father's trusted general.

He's an angel.

Yet he betrayed them all.

And for that, he will pay.

Gabby leaps high, lifts the Spear even higher. The cry that erupts from her throat dredges deep from the darkness within her. Moroni's eyes are wide and white, defined by terror. He raises an arm as he trembles like the traitorous coward he is.

The Spear seems to be vibrating in her palm, as excited at what's to come as she is. This will be its first kill since uniting with the Dark power that now infuses them both.

This will be a fitting end.

And it will only be the beginning.

A hand clamps around her wrist. "No, Gabby," Colt says quietly. "You don't want to do this."

"I really, really do," she grinds through clenched teeth, not tearing her gaze from the terrified Moroni. "Like, really, really do."

"No, the obsidian does." Colt keeps hold of her hand as he steps into her line of sight. "And the obsidian is Darkness."

"Let. Me. Go," Gabby bites out.

If he does not, end him.

Colt's face softens, clearly unaware of the danger he's foolishly put himself in. "You're an angel, Gabby. You can fight this."

"She's no angel!" Moroni screams as he scrambles backward. "Her eyes are black!"

Gabby's muscles twitch. Her hand clenches and unclenches around the Spear.

"Yet your heart is Light," Colt says, not tearing his gaze from her. "Your soul is beautiful and compassionate and touched by Grace."

"Does it matter?" she growls, her eyes snapping to his. "Moroni needs to die."

"Yes. This choice matters, Gabby. Is it you? Or the obsidian?"

We are one!the obsidian screams through her mind. I am in your mind, in your veins. Where you start, I end.

Which is the truth. The obsidian has invaded her very cells.

"Step away, Colt," Gabby whispers. She shakes her head. "I can't fight it."

"You have been this whole time." Colt's lips curl up at the edges, his chocolate gaze melting and warming. "You haven't killed Moroni."

It's only a matter of time.

Once we end this demon.

Colt steps in closer. "And you haven't killed me, when I know that's what the obsidian is telling you to do."

Gabby stills. Her breath dissolves, disintegrates. Disappears.

Kill him!the obsidian screams, surging the most powerful wave of power through her yet.

Yet she doesn't move.

She'd never hurt Colt. She may as well stomp on her own heart.

Clarity hits her like a wrecking ball. The obsidian tried to tell her she's not strong enough to fight this. But she is.

She is.

Gabby closes her eyes, focusing inward. Her angelic Grace, an essence of pure Light, pulses within her like a radiant wellspring. She reaches for it as if she"s touching the very fabric of her being. She envisions it as a shimmering, golden light, a counterpoint to the dark influence of the obsidian. She visualizes her Grace as a powerful, radiant force, ready to confront the encroaching darkness.

The obsidian flares, more than ready for the challenge.

More than ready to win the ancient war of Light and Dark.

Gabby almost smiles. There"s more to this inner struggle than just celestial and infernal power. In the depths of her heart, her love for Colt, the unwavering connection they share, is a source of immeasurable strength. It"s the beacon of her resolve, the steadfast anchor that keeps her from losing herself to the obsidian"s seductive darkness.

With the fusion of her angelic Grace and the love she holds for Colt, Gabby channels their combined energy into the tumultuous storm within her. The celestial Light and the profound depth of her love merge, intertwining like two lifelines in this cosmic battle. Together, they form an indomitable force.

She concentrates, her willpower unwavering, and slowly but surely, the darkness begins to recede. The obsidian"s power, once all-encompassing, weakens in the face of her angelic Grace and the strength of her love for Colt. She can feel the malevolence diminishing, like a tide retreating from the shore, inch by inch.

It"s a battle that demands every ounce of her strength and resolve. Her breath comes in short pants. Her heart is a thundering, shuddering mass.

Yet with each passing moment, the Darkness is pushed back further, until it"s contained within a small, quivering corner of her being.

Gabby opens her eyes, her gaze falling on Colt. The obsidian is still there, a presence lurking in the shadows, but it no longer dominates her. She's achieved a fragile balance, a delicate equilibrium.

She's won.

Colt lets out a breath. The smile that blooms across his face is her reward. The pride, the tenderness, the love that warms his gaze are her trophies. He leans down, resting his forehead against hers. "The obsidian underestimated you."

She angles her face so their lips are a heartbeat apart. "The obsidian underestimated us." Gabby reaches up to cup his heart-stopping, soul-searing, life-altering, world-saving face. "It underestimated the greatest Light of all—love."

Their lips brush, their breaths mingle. Their hearts beat for the other.

A shuffling sound fractures the moment and Colt spins toward Moroni. With a growl, he launches into the air, snapping out his wings. "You're not going anywhere."

He shoots forward, grabbing Moroni who's trying to run away. The general grunts as he's hauled a few feet off the ground by his shirt, wriggling and kicking his legs as Colt brings him back.

He soars a little higher before dropping the angel. High enough that Moroni crumples to his hands and knees, but not high enough to injure him. "I wouldn't recommend trying to run again," Colt growls, moving around to stand beside Gabby.

Moroni hangs his head for a moment, his wings hanging limply over his back. Yet when he looks up, his eyes are ablaze with conviction. "You still have a chance to make this right. Give me the Spear."

Gabby tightens her grip on the golden weapon. "That's why you've been helping us all along."

"Of course it is," Moroni spits. "As much as it galled me to work alongside a demon, I knew you'd find the pieces of the Spear and the obsidian."

Colt doesn't respond, simply curling his lip in disgust.

"You've sided with the Grigori," Gabby points out, the same feeling coiling through her gut. "I wouldn't be getting all divinely superior."

Moroni slowly clambers to his feet, his hot gaze focused on her. "The Grigori are trying to save us from what's coming."

"By resetting the timeline!" Gabby says, working to keep the distress out of her voice.

The Grigori are planning to wipe the world they know from existence.

"And what's the alternative?" Moroni demands. "Angels will continue to fight amongst themselves. Demons will always want to spread their evil to this mortal plane. The apocalypse is coming."

Gabby shakes her head, her chest tight. "You really believe what you're saying…"

"Of course I do! If the Grigori go back and influence Eve, not Lucifer, not Michael, Earth would be a place of peace. Of beauty."

"You don't know that," Gabby says, shaking her head even harder.

Moroni's face tightens with panic. "I know that if you kill the Grigori, Darkness will rise. They'll no longer be able to protect the world from the seven Sins."

Gabby falls silent, now digesting the warning without the obsidian clouding her mind. It could be a scare tactic. Or the threat could be far from empty. Can she choose to be the one who risks unleashing that on the world?

Now clear-headed in ways she hasn't been since she touched the first obsidian shard, Gabby realizes that's what the obsidian would've wanted all along. Why it wants the Grigori dead. Shouldn't she be making a different choice?

Should the Grigori be allowed to live?

Even before the thought has finished, Gabby already knows the answer.

No. The Grigori will never stop in the quest to reset fate. They will never stop being a threat to every life that exists or has existed.

Which leaves only one alternative. The only choice to make. She'll end the Grigori, as she's destined to do. That this will all work out.

She has to have faith that love and Light will win.

She weaves her fingers with Colt's, then opens her mouth to speak.

Moroni must see that a decision's been made, because he reaches forward, his hands open, his eyes pleading. "Please, daughter of Gabriel. With the Spear, you have the power to end the Grigori. But I'm begging you. Give it to me. Let them clean the slate."

The answer is a no-brainer.

"Never," Gabby says, her voice sure, her heart even surer.

Moroni's face morphs from devastation to fury in a blink. With a roar that splinters the air, he leaps at Gabby, two celestial blades appearing in his hands.

Yet, he never reaches her.

Colt's already moved, as if he was expecting it. As if his only role in all of this is to protect Gabby.

His onyx wings snap out, creating a shield in front of Gabby as Moroni throws the dual blades. A sweep of Colt's hand, an incantation on his lips, and the knives flip and change direction.

They slam into Moroni's chest, impaling to the hilt. The general's surprised gasp turns to a gurgle as he drops to his knees. He never gets a chance to fall any further. His body disintegrates, leaving golden angelic Grace behind. It flickers as if it's weak, then dissipates and fades away.

Gabby reaches out to brush a black wing that's still serving as a shield. Colt turns to her, his face hard, his eyes harder.

She quirks a brow. "I wasn't allowed to kill him, but you could?"

His chiseled lips twitch as he turns to her, tucking his wings behind him. "He hadn't made the fatal error at that time."

Attacking Gabby.

A soft smile starts somewhere deep in her chest. They've conquered so much together. All because he fell in love with an angel, because she fell in love with a demon.

Gabby pushes up on her toes, her lips already tingling at the prospect of feeling that love, when they still.

Voices echo through the air, cracking like lightning.

Seven voices speaking as one.

"Mercy Academy is ours."