Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Two Weeks Later

Willow

I check my reflection in the mirror. The dark circles under my eyes are mostly gone, but the scar around my throat remains a permanent reminder of how close Gabriel and I came to losing everything.

Zoe brought me some magically-enhanced concealer yesterday, but I can't stand to touch the raised skin. Every time I try, I feel the void rushing toward me.

According to the Bureau's healer, Anastasia, the magic in the power chain is gone. It couldn't survive without Hannah and Calista. But I can still feel it long after Gabriel used Lucifer's axe to chop the thing into tiny pieces and Killian magicked them into dust.

Nights are the worst. Gabriel holds me when I wake up screaming, and the helplessness in his eyes is almost too much to bear.

My angel knocks on the bathroom door. "Willow? Are you ready, deliciae? "

Am I? This was my idea. But now that the day is finally here, all I want to do is burrow under the blankets and hide away from the whole world.

As appealing as that sounds, it won't help me protect the Blade—or myself.

He's pacing the hall when I finally work up the courage to join him. Shit. His shoulders are hiked up halfway to his ears. He's no more ready than I am.

"Hey, stud." I slide my arms around his neck. The delicious scent clinging to him—something angelic and powerful and mine— calms me, and I take my first steady breath since I woke up. "We're going to be okay. All the whispers will be there. Sin and Zoe too."

A muscle in his jaw clenches. Once. Twice. "Sinclair and Zoe caught a case this morning. They may be a few minutes late. Something about Sin finally getting to witness the aftermath of a vampire orgy."

All the blood drains from my face. I don't want to know what a vampire orgy looks like. Not after having Hannah root around in my head and force me to drive the Blade through Gabriel's heart.

A shudder wracks my entire body. I barely manage to stifle my sob.

"Fuck, Willow. I am sorry." Gabriel touches his forehead to mine. "I did not think?—"

I silence him with a kiss. When my darkest memories threaten to drown me, Gabriel's touch, his warmth, and his very talented mouth pull me from the depths.

He saved me. And he keeps saving me over and over again.

Too soon, we have to come up for air. Licking my lips, I savor the taste of him. "I'm okay, Gabriel. Or…I'm getting there."

"We both are." He keeps me tucked against his side as he guides me down the hall to our living room.

"I will never get used to this view," I say. The floor-to-ceiling windows look out over the city, giving us a view almost as good as the penthouse one floor up. I almost fell off the couch when Sinclair offered us this place basically for free.

"Without Gabriel, Zoe and I would be trapped in Hell for eternity. I owe him much more than an apartment. You will be safe here. I own the entire building, and my wards will protect you until Killian can show you how to create wards of your own."

Gabriel plucks Lucifer's axe from the counter. "When we return, I will make you come pressed up against those windows, deliciae. Privacy glass is a wondrous invention."

This shudder is very different from the last one. "Promises, promises," I tease.

He pulls me against him so quickly, I gasp. "I am still an angel, Willow. You know I do not lie. When I make a promise, I keep it."

The antechamber holds a bone-deep chill. Someone—Sinclair, probably—set up floodlights to chase the shadows away, but they've done nothing to dispel the overwhelming sense of foreboding I feel being back in this room.

"Are you certain about this?" Gabriel asks. "We can go back home right now."

Am I? No. I'm still not sure about anything. Except the love we share.

I press my hands to the sealed vault door. "I have to do this. Putting it off isn't going to make it any easier. The grimoire killed dozens. It could have killed me, too. I won't let it hurt anyone else ever again."

The whispers of all the ones who came before surround me. My whisper offers me her hand. I can sense her unease, but it's nothing compared to her determination.

"You know how to get me out of there," I say, meeting Gabriel's worried gaze. "You'll feel me the whole time."

He wraps his arms around me, one hand cupping the back of my head. "Come back to me, deliciae ."

"Always." I reach for my whisper, and as soon as our fingers brush, the world goes quiet and dark. A moment later, the first hints of blue flame start to glow.

We've been practicing for the past week, and I send all my power flowing into our connection.

She glances down at her hands and smiles. They're almost completely solid. The flames are brighter now, and the scent of incense is almost choking.

On the altar, the book waits for me—us.

"You've killed too many. Never again."

I can feel its fear. Its anger.

My whisper's hands snap to the grimoire's pages unbidden, and now I'm the one who's angry.

"No. You're not in charge anymore. We are."

All the other whispers lend us their strength. Love fills the room with golden light. The magical flames fight against it, but there is no power in this world greater than love.

"End this," I say silently, and my whisper smiles. She's ready. We're all ready.

She splays her fingers wide over the pages. My magic—our magic—flows through her, brighter and hotter with every passing second.

The grimoire fights back, but it knows it won't win. It can't.

The ancient pages start to burn. A haunting low cry fills the room until the entire book is on fire. We step back. Watching. Waiting. Until the last of the spelled ink has turned to dust, and the only light in the room is ours.

It's done. I'm the last Whisper Keeper. The last wielder of the Blade. And now, I'm free.

Gabriel

I sit on a folding chair in the middle of our darkened living room, shirtless, barefoot, wearing only a pair of loose pajama pants. Willow sleeps easily tonight—at least for now—but I have no such boon.

Seraphiel is trying to torture me. That is the only explanation. He should have taken my wings two weeks ago. But I have heard nothing from him. Or Azrael, for that matter. The Angel of Death has been suspiciously absent since breaking all the rules and releasing my soul from death.

I cannot take this torture a moment longer.

"Azrael? Are you there?" I call softly.

The air in the room stills for a split second before he appears in front of me, knocking me—and the chair—halfway to the kitchen.

"I suppose I should have expected that," I mutter as I get to my feet.

"You have no furniture." He sweeps his gaze around the apartment, his brows furrowed. "Why do you have no furniture?"

"Because we have not decided what we want yet." The judgement in his eyes riles my anger. "It is a big decision. With consequences."

"Consequences?" He huffs. "Go to IKEA and get yourself a couch, Gabriel. It isn't that hard."

His words take a moment to register. When they do, I grab his arm. "How do you know about IKEA?"

With a chuckle, he shakes off my hold and turns to the windows. "You have a nice view."

"Fuck the view. Answer me."

Azrael shrugs. "I like it here. In the earthen realm."

"Seraphiel would certainly not allow you to spend all your days here?—"

"Seraphiel is not in a position to allow anything at the moment." Azrael's lips curve into a wide smile. "The Almighty is quite displeased with him, and he has found himself reassigned. "

"What the fuck does that mean? He's a Seraphim. What else would he do but lord over all the other angels?" I am ready to shake my brother. "Are you purposely trying to be as vague as possible? If so, that is a dick move."

His laugh echoes through the empty room. I send a burst of my power down the hall so he does not wake Willow.

"A dick move? Clearly, humanity is finally starting to rub off on you. I approve." He runs his hand through his hair, indecision playing over his chiseled features. "The story isn't mine to tell, Gabriel. Not fully. But Lucifer got that audience with the Almighty he was demanding, and…well…she was not amused when she heard the real story of what happened with Zoe."

Azrael's counsel as I was trapped between life and death comes back to me now.

"Seraphiel is about to learn the true meaning of the phrase, ‘fuck around and find out.'"

"Where is Seraphiel now?" I ask. "And what is going to happen to my wings?"

Az claps me on the shoulder. "You are an angel, brother. In any realm. You will eventually become mortal. Your powers will diminish eventually. You'll age. You'll die. But your wings are a part of you and always will be. Seraphiel cannot take them away from you now, and none of the other angels would ever try."

Relief washes over me. I stagger back, unsure my legs will hold me much longer, and right the folding chair.

"I have to go," Azrael says suddenly. "There's something I…need to take care of. But I'll see you again, Gabriel. Soon."

"Wait! You never told me where Seraphiel was…reassigned."

The Angel of Death offers me a wicked smile. "I'll give you a hint. He's overseeing a place that's very hot, filled with screaming, and with gates newly locked from the outside for at least the next millennium."

"Hell? Seraphiel is the Underworld's new minder? What happened to Lucifer?" I rub the scar over my heart, needing the sharp ache to prove I am not dreaming this entire conversation.

Azrael chuckles. "He's somewhere in this realm, I believe. Having the time of his life. You should call him. I'm sure he'd love to tell you all about it."

With a burst of angelic power, Az disappears, leaving me in an empty room, stunned into silence.

"Gabriel?" Willow stands in the hall, her hand pressed to her heart. "Your wings…? Is Seraphiel demanding you go back to the celestial realm?" Her panic washes over me.

Fuck. I have tried to keep worries from her, but that was foolish. She is my heart. The other half of my soul. I can hide nothing from her.

"Come here," I growl.

She wraps her arms around my waist, and her nipples tighten under her t-shirt.

With a great whoosh of air, I loose my wings. Their celestial glow chases the shadows to the corners of the room. Sealing my lips to hers, I kiss my witch for so long, her knees go weak and my cock threatens to split my new pajama pants.

"I love you, deliciae . Until the end of my days. I hope that pleases you, because my wings and I are going nowhere."

Thank you for reading Gabriel's Gambit . I hope you enjoyed getting to know Gabriel and Willow. Azrael and Lucifer too. I can't wait to see where their books take me. Or them. Or all of us.

If you'd like a bonus epilogue from Gabriel's Gambit , you can find that here . You'll never guess what Gabriel ends up doing with his time in the earthen realm. Or maybe you will. But I'm sure there will be at least one surprise in there for you.

I hope you'll consider leaving a rating and/or review for Gabriel's Gambit on your purchase site of choice—or that you'll recommend the book to your friends, family, random readers on social media, or your local book club!

For updates on all of my books (including my plans for both Azrael and Lucifer), join my reader group on Facebook!

Thank you again for all your support. It means the world to me. Truly.

Patricia