by Maya Daniels
Colt jolts awake in my arms, and I look down at him. Anger boils in my veins from seeing my home destroyed. If any of them had anything to do with this, our petty scuffles would be child’s play compared to what would happen to them.
After you find Helena, my mind reminds me.
“Where is my mate?” My twin glares at me at my question, and I debate dropping him, but the fucker will just fly if I do.
“Nice of you to join us, brother.” Sneering, he shoves off my hold, and his own wings spring up.
“Where is my mate?” Clenching my teeth and my jaw, I push the words out.
“She went looking for our cousin and her friends.” Colt lifts both hands in surrender when my body stiffens. “Beelzebub and Leviathan are with her. The fucking Archangel, as well as the damn Haltija, are there too.”
“You let Leviathan get near her?” My roar echoes over the city as I fling myself at him.
We go down, all tangled limbs and wings, while I punch him in the face in rapid succession. Kicking with his legs, Colt hits my chest, sending me off him. We are both breathing hard when we face each other again. His eyes are burning in a fury, and he is barely holding onto his human form.
“The one that almost killed you was a jinn,” Colt spits at me, his face twisted in anger. “For once in your life, ask questions before settling everything with your fists.”
“I will ask questions after I find my mate.”
I don’t trust him.
Colt has always looked out for himself. He has no set of morals, no ideas of what is right or wrong. As long as it suits him and he gets on top, it’s right in his book. We never saw face to face on anything. He accepts his place and sees it as something inevitable and granted. I don’t. I want to make up my own mind, much to my father’s displeasure.
“Well, you are in luck.” My twin grins, looking over my shoulder, lifting a hand in greeting.
Flipping in the air and giving him my back, contrary to my better judgment, I look at the broken wall of windows in my apartment. The breath gets stuck in my throat when I see Helena leaning one shoulder on the side, watching up with her arms folded over her chest. That high, the wind is whipping her hair around her head, strands dancing around her beautiful face.
My entire body is shaking with the need to touch her.
I need to assure myself that she is real. That even though I wasn’t there to protect her, she made it safely back. It’s not me doubting her, not when she always doubts herself and the choices she makes. Yet, I’ve never met a person as compassionate or as a loving her. Even when she tries to hide it.
With my heart beating painfully hard and fast in my chest, my body coils up to spring at her so I can wrap her in my arms. Colt calls out my name in alarm when I shoot through the air. The fucker doesn’t understand the need one has to hold his mate pressed to his skin. He can shout all he wants as long as I have Helena in my embrace.
The air rushes past my ears, but I don’t look away from her. Keeping my gaze locked on hers, my breathing gets harsher the closer I get. Her green eyes flash, forcing me to blink, but a smile lifts her lips and I forget all about the weird light I imagined.
“Eric…” her voice covers me in chills.
She takes a step back, allowing me to land inside the apartment. I can see nothing but her. My whole purpose in life is centered on this woman. Helena looks me up and down before locking her gaze with me again.
She smiles, and all my blood rushes to my groin.
I reach for her, intending to tear her clothes off right here with Colt watching. I care about nothing apart from taking what is mine. Her smile grows when I take a step closer. I get yanked and thrown out the window before I touch her.
My furious roar rattles the building.
Helena
I should’ve known that this woman was working with Mammon. Maddison’s secretary, or assistant, never liked me. I based it all on the fact that she is obsessed with Eric, so it’s kind of normal for her to hate my guts. Not really, but I can’t say that it’s strange. How I never thought that she might be involved is what pisses me off. I should’ve seen it.
A lot of things make sense the moment I realize that it’s her voice. Not just the fact that she must be the reason the jinn, pretending to be Michael, found the demon sanctuary when the Holy ass kidnapped me. It’s also the fact that she must be the reason Michael seemed to always be one step ahead of us. I also recognized her voice from my delirious states in that white room where they kept me. The female purring voice that grated on my ears, but I was too weakened to recognize at the time. Lauren has been tangled in this mess from the start.
Now, she will pay.
My steps slow down even when I feel the three men pound the pavement with their boots to reach me. My eyes are locked on Lauren’s wide gaze. I’m not sure who she expected to see, but sure as hell it was not me judging by the stunned, slightly fearful look on her face. Narsi is still standing stiff and straight like a nutcracker, decorating the broken front door of that cursed building. She pays him no mind at all now.
My smile grows.
“Surprise.” My voice bounces off cheerfully around us when I stop a few feet away from her.
She flinches.
“You need to get out of here.” Snapping out of the shock, Lauren looks concerned when she steps closer to me. “Where are the rest? They’ll be looking all over this city for you soon. It’s not time yet for you to be walking around in the open.” She looks me up and down, her face scrunching up in distaste. “But I must say you look perfect. I couldn’t tell it was you for a second.”
My eyebrows hit my hairline. I mean, I know I’m blonde, but does she really think I’m stupid enough to fall for this? Or she’s hoping I didn’t hear what she said to my sidekick. Come to think of it, Narsi is quiet as a church mouse, so unlike him that I flick my gaze in his direction. I frown when he keeps his face turned to Lauren, ignoring me.
“Oh, don’t mind him.” Lauren chuckles gleefully. “The wards that bitch Maddison placed around this building will hold anyone trapped like that until she releases them. We can just stay here and wait her out. She must come out at some point, and we might lure her away from her protection with you being here.”
I’m still staring stupefied at this alternate reality I find myself in. What the hell is going on? Maybe Lauren went insane or something? None of this makes sense. I’m about to start asking questions when she looks over my shoulder, her face stretching in a wicked grin.
“Nice! They believe it’s you!” her conspiratorial whisper makes me jerk back.
She thinks I’m someone else? Alarms blare in my head, my stomach dropping to my feet. The jinn flicking through faces, changing his appearance from one person to another is like a meteor hitting my head. My mind is spinning with this new development, the fact that the jinn can change into me and trick people into following them wherever they want. Why I find this strange after knowing for a fact that they impersonated Lucifer and Michael themselves is beyond me .Maybe because you are no one special, the voice in my head says snidely, but it’s true.
I’m nothing special.
“Helena, you okay?” Raphael stops next to me, watching me warily.
“Yeah.” I can only imagine what the three of them are thinking right now.
Now is neither the place nor time to get into explanations, and I can’t look away from Lauren.
“What was that then, little girl?” Leviathan sneers, pointing at the uneven, cracked street, and I want to punch him to shut him up.
“I thought Lauren was going to get hurt.” Keeping my face impassive, praying I can pull this off, I glance at the fallen in question. “The Trowe was acting strange. This is Maddison’s assistant by the way.”
“I did expect the worse.” Lauren presses a hand on her chest, blinking at Leviathan.
My stomach churns, and I grind my teeth. If I didn’t hear and see her for myself the last few minutes, I would’ve actually believed he
r. Beelzebub narrows his eyes, looking from me to Lauren a second before Leviathan does the same. My heart skips a beat. I don’t know why, but deep in my soul, I know that if we just keep up this charade, we will finally be one step ahead of Mammon and the jinn. Wracking my brain to find something to say to keep this blowing in my face, I come up with nothing.
“Nice to see you again, Lauren.” Raphael’s voice jolts me from my panic. “I’m glad you are safe.”
“Yeah, well…” Lauren pushes her breasts up, looking down her nose at him. In other words, her usual attitude. “It’s not thanks to your brother Michael, that’s for sure.”
“Why is the Haltija frozen?” Beelzebub rasps, still not looking convinced that everything is okay.
“Maddison has strong wards.” It’s Raphael that answers him, and I see Lauren zero in on him with calculation in her eyes.
Oh no, you won’t, bitch, I think to myself. Lauren might think everything is working out for her, but she will be in for a nasty surprise real soon. I feel Raphael’s eyes on me, and I lock my gaze on his. His yellow eyes flick between mine, and I try my best to tell him something is wrong without being obvious about it. Seeing the golden glow blink once and a hard look entering his usually soft gaze almost makes me cheer. The Archangel turns to the two fallen, and I notice a look passing between the three of them. I can only hope Raphael understood me.
“Come, Maddison will release him when she sees it’s us.” Raphael turns his back on all of us, striding across the street.
Beelzebub and Leviathan are stiff around me, but Lauren is practically bouncing in her shoes. I follow Raphael, the sound of my heartbeat deafening in my ears. After staying alive all this time, Maddison and my friends, not just us, can get hurt or killed if this backfires. Is it worth risking their lives for this? What if Lauren doesn’t know anything more than us? What if it’s her playing us and this whole thing is a trap?
I have no time to work myself into more panic because Raphael whistles softly and, in no time at all, Maddison’s face pops up in the shadows past the open door. A sigh whooshes out of me when I see her mane of red curls and unnaturally blue eyes come into view. The fear that she may not be as okay as Raphael said she was must’ve been subconsciously eating at me. I have to force my feet to stay planted so I don’t rush for her.
“Helena?” Maddison’s eyes glow that eerie light, and she looks me up and down. “Where is Eric?” She doesn’t come closer or acknowledge the others, although her gaze flicks to Lauren for a second.
“He got hurt, so he is in a safe place right now.” I’m unwilling to say where with Lauren here. “We came to get you guys there, too.”
“Raphael?” Maddison finally looks at the Archangel. “I see you are back.”
“Yes, it was not a visit as I expected.” Taking a step to the side, he gives Maddison a clear view of all of us. “I couldn’t tell who was who. Luckily, I can assure you that the four of us are who we say we are.”
Maddison gives all of us a quick look before doing a double take on Lauren when Raphael’s words get their point across. He said who the four of us are since Narsi is trapped. But it’s five standing at Maddison’s door, counting Lauren.
Lauren must’ve got his meaning too because she turns to flee, but Beelzebub and Leviathan already had her escape route cut off. She bounces off Beelzebub’s broad chest, landing on her ass with an oomph. I blow out a breath in relief. No one jumped on us so we should be clear.
“If this is the real Helena, I have to tell you that even if I die today, I’ll die laughing because I know that right this minute that arrogant fuck Eric is getting sliced up!” Lauren laughs in my face, and I’m already running so fast I can barely hear the shouts telling me to wait from behind me.
Oh, dear God, no! Eric!
We are no longer hiding or trying to be stealthy. I’ve never run this fast in my life even when I had murderers going after my head. But, no matter how hard I push myself, Eric seems too far away. I will never reach him in time, and I can only pray that Colt will be strong enough to hold on until we get back. My feet are barely touching the ground as I pump my arms. That anger, the power that shakes the earth under my feet, churns inside me, but thankfully doesn’t rattle the city so I can keep my feet under me. A shrill shriek comes from my mouth when arms wrap around my waist, lifting me in the air.
“I got you!” Hearing Leviathan of all people cuts of the second scream that was building in my chest.
“Faster!” I yell to be heard over the rushing wind.
The whooshing sounds of a couple more pairs of wings make me twist my head around. Raphael and Beelzebub are right behind us, their faces set in determination. Lauren must’ve gotten away if both of them are here. I can’t find it in me to be upset about that when all I can think of is Eric, unconscious and surrounded by Mammon’s lackeys and jinn.
“Lilith’s daughter has Mammon’s bitch.” Leviathan grunts from above me and my face snaps up to look at him.
Leviathan acts aloof and arrogant, and most of the time, he just looks like he wants to murder everyone, but it’s times like this when I’m reminded how perceptive the fallen is. I can’t claim to know or understand any of them, so it’s this moment I decide to cut him some slack. We all deal with our own bullshit, and unless I know everything about him, I should stop being as judgmental as those that judge me based on who my parents are instead of who I am.
I say nothing, but my fingers tighten where I’m clinging to his arms in gratitude. His piercing blue eyes snap to my face, and he holds my gaze for a long moment before jerking his head once in a nod. I guess me and the dragon came to some truce or something. Whatever it is, it makes me feel a little better at least. I can’t dwell on it for long because I recognize the buildings under us. We are close to Eric’s apartment, and all my focus turns on finding the building in question. My body sags in Leviathan’s arms when I see it.
“Look!” Pointing frantically, I’m vibrating in his hold. “He is awake!”
I can’t believe my own eyes. Eric is flying in front of our eyes, heading right for the penthouse. I want to laugh and cry from joy at seeing him awake and alive. That’s until I see Colt right on his heels, gunning for him. Like two giant birds, they split the air like arrows. My body stiffens at the sight, and I feel Leviathan’s muscles turn to granite under my fingers. Why is Colt chasing Eric like he wants to hurt him? They are still far enough away that it’ll take us a few moments to reach them.
Leviathan doubles his efforts, his wings lashing the air with a vengeance so we can move faster. I stare at the scene unfolding before us, my eyes burning from the wind that’s slapping my face. Holding my breath when Eric disappears inside his home, I pray that he and Colt don’t hurt each other too much by the time we get there.
That should’ve been the least of my worries.
Someone else is inside the apartment, but I can only see a slight movement of an arm at the corner. Eric lands inside, reaching for whoever is there, when Colt nears the car-sized hole in the broken windows. Instead of landing as well, Colt doesn’t slow his speed. Wearing off, he only grabs hold of Eric’s wing, wrenching him out of the apartment and flinging him like a doll in the air.
I don’t breathe.
An enraged roar splits the air a moment before Colt loses control of his direction. His body hits the side of the building, taking out a good chunk of it before following the debris to the ground. From the corner of my eye, I see Raphael tuck his white wings next to his body and shoot straight at Colt. I hope he reaches him in time.
Eric flips ass over head a couple more times before righting himself. He has changed his human form, and his double horns glint in the moonlight. His amber gaze locks on Colt, and a shiver goes up my spine from the rage in it. To my shock, he looks away from the target of his anger and focuses again on the apartment. Bile rises in my throat because as he nears it, I already know what I’m going to see.
I can’t look.
“Eric!” I
nstead of looking at the jinn I know is in the apartment, I scream for my mate. “Eric, stop!”
“Shadow!” Beelzebub’s bellow is much louder than mine.
Eric’s head snaps in our direction, his burning gaze landing on me like he knows I’m here. The stillness in his body is unnerving. Even his wings stop their movement where he hovers in the air. He looks like a predator ready to pounce. Very slowly, his head turns to look at the apartment windows and I finally turn to see as well.
I’m standing at the center of the broken glass, my hair flying with a mind of its own around my head. It’s perturbing to see yourself, your exact copy, staring at you with an evil smile. Eric and Colt are twins, identical for that matter, but I still notice little things that set them apart. Not counting the wicked smile and gleam in the eyes of my doppelganger, I can’t even tell the difference.
“It’s a jinn!” I shout at Eric, pointing at the disturbing copy of myself.
Leviathan stops close to him, still keeping enough distance to bolt out of here if Eric attacks. Not that I’ll blame him. I wouldn’t know who to believe either if I was in his place. He doesn’t know what happened and that I personally brought all of them here. Since he knows me too well, Eric might try to kill us all. It’s not like I knew I could bring fallen from Hell to the human realm with me. Not until I tried. So there is no way my mate knows.
“I got him.” Raphael jars us all from our stare down, holding a banged-up Colt in his arms. “Unless any of you are planning to fight the jinn, I suggest we go back to the warded safe house. We need to make a plan so we can handle this better. Being on the defense is not the solution to our problems, and that’s exactly what they want to keep us.”
I think nothing could’ve convinced Eric more on who the copy is than the Archangel. Raphael’s eyes soften, kindness, sorrow, and compassion mingling in his gaze when it lands on me. I don’t doubt I look disturbed by seeing myself as another person, so it must be visible on my face. At least he doesn’t look at me with pity. I’ll take it.