I cocked my head. Time to test his reaction. “And nothing can stop you, right? There’s nothing on earth with the power to stop an angel from his quest.”
He crossed to me, and a sharp pang of dread pierced my chest. I didn’t want him too close to me. “Nothing,” he repeated—but his tone lacked conviction.
For just a moment, his eyes flicked to a darkened corner of the war room. He was thinking about something there.
And that was exactly where I needed to look when I returned later.
Aereus moved closer, boxing me in where I sat on the table, and planted his hands on either side of my hips. “Tell me how war thrills you.”
My gaze darted to the door. This would be a great time to get the hell out of here, if I didn’t have a giant angelic asshole breathing down my neck.
Put on a good show, Ruby. “I can feel the power in this room, all around us. Once, I fed off the worship of humans, and I remember that feeling. It’s coming back to me now.”
His wrathful power intensified, choking me like a fist at my throat. Even though I’d never be able to take him in a fight, my mind began to burn with images of his bloody demise.
“In the old days,” he began, “I took what I wanted. I’d have you bent over the table right now, that little dress up around your waist. I’d show you what you’re missing with Adonis.”
For just a moment, Aereus’s eyes began to darken—the first hint of a fall. Then, he gripped the oak table so hard it began to splinter.
Swiftly, I slipped off the table, ducking under his arm.
“From what I understand, you can’t get too close to me, can you?” I said. “Or you’ll be at risk, just like Kratos. And I know you have the power to resist that temptation.” I began traipsing over to the corner of the room—the place where I’d seen him looking.
There, a wooden bookshelf stood, crammed with faded texts.
Books? I’d been hoping for a box of some kind—something that might contain stones.
“I can’t get too close to you,” he roared. “But Adonis can, can’t he?”
I turned to face him, backing up against the wall.
This topic clearly pissed him off.
“Only temporarily,” I said. “I’m sure his curse will torment him soon enough.”
Aereus’s lip curled. “I’ve been cursed for five centuries.” Rage dripped from his voice. “What good is war without the spoils?”
It took me a moment to understand what he meant—women were “the spoils.”
Once again, I had to bite down on a searing flash of rage that threatened to overtake me.
Okay. How do I get out of this situation?
I touched my chest, feigning horror. “Five centuries of abstaining! How terrible. No reason to sabotage your success now, though, is there? Perhaps you should get back to ruling your palace.”
I started to make a move for the door, when Aereus lunged for me, pressing his hands to the wall on either side of my head. Veins bulged in his thickly corded arms.
“I want what Adonis has. I can’t touch you. But I can see you. I want you to take off your dress.”
I clenched my jaw. I could let my feral side come out, inflicting some serious damage with my poison-tipped knife. But that would disrupt the entire mission. I’d come here for the Stones of Zahar.
This seemed like a good time to use that mental link I had with Adonis.
“Adonis!” I screamed within my mind. “This would be a good time to interrupt!”
I needed to stall. I took a deep breath. “Oh my, your arms are very strong, aren’t they?” The words tasted like poison on my tongue, because I could think of nothing but ramming my knife into his stupid, fat neck, right into his throbbing jugular.
“Yes,” he growled. “Strong. Take off your dress. Let me see Adonis’s prized possession.”
Before I could get another word out, the sound of shearing metal pierced the air as the iron door twisted away from the frame.
I let out a slow, relieved breath as Adonis strode into the room, bathed in light, his midnight wings trailing behind him. As soon as he stepped inside the space, my muscles began to relax a little, and Aereus released me.
Adonis shoved his hands in his pockets, completely at ease, as if he’d just happened upon us at a picnic.
His eyes shone with amusement. “Ah. There you are. I thought I felt a current of primitive, mindless rage spilling through the door, and I knew it must be my old friend Aereus.”
“He was just showing me his war room,” I explained hastily, as if we’d been caught unawares. “It’s all completely innocent.”
Aereus’s entire body had tensed, and he unleashed a wild roar that trembled through my bones. “You broke my door.”
Adonis blinked. “That? It didn’t seem to have a doorknob, so I found my own way in. I suppose it’s not there to guard against other angels.”
I’d mentally telegraphed the spell to Adonis, and I was sure he could have used it. But that would have given away our mental link.
“Now I’d like my succubus back.” This time, Adonis injected venom into his voice.
I needed to satisfy Aereus’s primitive ego to smooth things over.
“Did you know that Aereus has caused thousands of wars?” I cooed.
Adonis’s eyes shone with icy rage, and shadows thickened around him. “Get back to our room, Ruby.”
I smoothed out my dress, crossing over the floor as if I’d been chastened.
The moment I stepped into the hallway, the roars of wrathful angels rumbled over the hallway, and the walls shook with the sounds of divine bodies slamming against marble.
Chapter 27
I stood in Tanit’s room, waiting for Adonis and his demon friends to arrive. The eerie cherubs had guided me here—just as Adonis had suggested—but I’d found it empty. I could only hope Aereus hadn’t broken Adonis on one of his iron-spiked garden features.
From the expansive bedroom, I stared out over the Jardin des Tuileries, at the charred stumps of trees and the frozen earth. Aereus had put all his efforts into his death garden, completely neglecting the world outside the Louvre.
Outside, a group of cherubs drifted past the window, heads cocked. As I’d moved around the castle, I’d tried to study the cherubs’ movements. Sometimes, they glided together in groups, speaking in unison. It was as if they shared some kind of mental connection. If I had to glamour myself as a cherub, I’d never be able to work as a synchronized drone among their numbers. They seemed to patrol the same paths within the Louvre, their movements predictable and unified, the product of a shared mind.
But occasionally, a taller cherub with silver-streaked hair would float by on her own. The taller ones seemed to move about more freely, taking on some sort of supervisory roles. I never heard them speak, but their pale eyes held a keen intelligence I didn’t see in the smaller cherubs.
Behind me, the door creaked, and Adonis crossed into the room. Tanit and Kur followed close behind him.
At the sight of Adonis unharmed, my chest unclenched a little. “How exactly did that situation resolve?” I asked. “It sounded like you were both breaking the walls with each other’s bodies. I’m surprised your wings are intact.”
Adonis rubbed his chin, narrowing his eyes at me. “Of course my wings are intact. I can hold my own in a fight. One scuffle with Johnny and everyone’s acting like I’m broken. I’m an immortal who’s lived for—”
“For four thousand years, since the Amorite conquest of Ur,” Tanit chimed in. “We know.”
A few bruises marred Adonis’s skin, but he seemed to be healing quickly. “As to how I resolved things with Aereus, after we battered each other senseless for a while, I simply told him that we needed his help to keep Kratos in check.” Adonis leaned against the wall, folding his arms. “He seemed to like the idea of being needed. Pathetic, really.”
His pale eyes stood out sharply in the room’s dim light.
Tanit and Kur dropped into lar
ge armchairs on the other side of the room, their bodies illuminated with the twinkling light of a chandelier. Tanit had definitely landed herself a better room than ours.
“It’s a good thing we’re not being kicked out,” Tanit said, eyeing me sharply. “So far, you’ve only found a bookshelf. Is that right?”
“An important bookshelf,” I corrected. “Why keep a bookshelf in a war room? Aereus is obviously not a reader. He’s more of a ‘sticking sharp things in people’ type than an intellectual.”
Kur leaned back in his chair. “I see it didn’t take you long to work out that Aereus is an idiot.”
“I need to get back into the war room,” I said. “When I asked if anything could stop him, his eyes definitely went to the bookshelf. He was thinking about it, and it made him nervous. Maybe there’s something hidden within the books.”
“Maybe,” said Kur without much conviction.
“You’re not going back in.” Adonis’s inky magic tinged the air around him. “I already regret leaving you alone with Aereus in that room. He’s worse than Kratos. This time, I’ll go on my own.”
I crossed my arms. “And how will you get in there discreetly? You can’t even glamour yourself.”
Adonis tilted back his head. “I have other skills. Aereus has invited us to dinner tonight to discuss the fallen angel problem. I just need you all to keep him distracted, while I use shadows to cloak myself. As long as he’s with you, I know that he won’t be surprising me in his war room.”
Kur threaded his fingers behind his head. “I could challenge him to a wrestling match. I’ve noticed he likes throwing men around.”
“A wrestling match,” I repeated. “At this dinner party.”
Kur sneered. “Nothing can keep him occupied like a chance to prove his physical prowess.”
“That’s a start,” I said. “And maybe Tanit can flirt with him. I already took one for the team earlier, and I’m not eager to revisit it.”
Adonis smirked. “Let him think that you both belong to me, and that he has a glimmer of a chance of stealing you from me.”
Tanit hissed, her eyes flashing with blue light. “I belong to no one.”
“We all know that,” Adonis soothed. “But you can play the part. Let Aereus think he’s stealing something from me.”
I paced the room, the cogs turning in my mind. “If we both moon over him and ask him about all his glorious war stories, we’ll have his attention completely rapt.” I met Adonis’s gaze. “All you have to do is return with the stones, without anyone noticing.”
We sat at a long banquet table laden with food, my stomach already full of shortcrust pie and fruit. Torches lined the stone walls, and below them, a row of human guards stood pressed against the walls, their faces gaunt and scared.
I cast a nervous glance at the ceiling.
You know how sometimes people use the “sword of Damocles” as a metaphor, a threat of an impending demise hanging right over your head?
Tonight, we had literal swords hanging over heads as we ate. On the high ceiling above us hung an assortment of weapons—battle-axes, broadswords, maces—all of them dangling from iron chains that I could only hope had been forged with care.
The dinner hadn’t begun until ten p.m., which had given me plenty of time to search the entire palace from top to bottom, glamoured as a cherub. I’d found no stones, no references to stones—just a crapload of violent art festooning the walls. The hours glamoured as a cherub had cost me—sapping my energy with magical effort. Now, fatigue burned through my body.
So I sat at dinner, with my most charming smile on my face, trying to block out our utter failure so far.
A human female, her neck ringed with an iron collar, refilled my glass of wine.
Tanit sat on the other side of Adonis, candlelight gleaming in her dark eyes. “So glad Adonis took me with him on this trip.” Her toneless inflection suggested otherwise. “You know, being the lover of the angel of death doesn’t always come with many travel opportunities.”
Aereus’s lip curled as he gripped his copper chalice. His hand clenched, bending the metal in his fist. “Two lovers? You have two?”
Adonis flashed a satisfied smile. “Why not? Might as well enjoy myself until my seal is broken.”
Okay. We didn’t want to go too far down this path or we’d end up with shattered walls, broken angel bodies, and no allies.
I took a final bite of my pie. “I’m just so glad you’re agreeing to help us. If the other horsemen come for us, I’m not sure what we would do. But with you two working together, you can simply unite against them, imprison them until they come to their senses.”
Aereus leaned back in his chair, surveying us. “Then you should stay here. Sadeckrav Castle has superior magical fortifications to your humble pile of rocks, Adonis. We’ll figure out a way to capture them, to weaken them with…” His gaze darted around the room, uneasy. He didn’t want anyone to know about Devil’s Bane. “We’ll weaken them, until the mortification of their bodies reminds them of their mission here on earth.”
“Good,” said Adonis. “All your iron toys will come in handy.”
Aereus smiled. “Yes. We will make them submit. No one must rebel against the mission of the horsemen. You and I both know that. The heavenly horde rule as archangels in the heavens, while we may rule as archangels on the earth.”
Adonis lifted his glass. “As it was meant to be.”
Tanit leaned in to Adonis, then stroked her hand up his thigh. “You two are both so strong.”
I narrowed my eyes. She didn’t need to go quite that far with her hands to prove that she was his lover—Aereus had already bought that story.
Not that I cared.
I glanced at Kur, giving him a quick nod. Time to get this show on the road, so Adonis could make his discreet exit.
Chapter 28
Kur spread out his arms, flexing his muscles within his leather clothing. “I’ve heard you’re known for your wrestling ability, Aereus... Is it true?”
Adonis lifted his wineglass, staring at the wine as he sloshed it in the chalice. “You know, I do think Aereus may have spread those rumors himself.”
Gods below. He just couldn’t help himself, could he?
Aereus gripped the edge of the table, face reddening. “Just as you spread the rumors about your legendary seduction abilities?”
The easy smile never left Adonis’s features. “Is that what you tell yourself?”
Aereus’s snarl told me he didn’t believe his own claims. His anger curled off him, rippling over my skin. Unconsciously, I’d started gripping my knife, ready to plunge it into something. No one else seemed quite as affected by Aereus’s magic as I was. But then again, none of them were feral.
The horseman of war’s face had become dead serious, flecks of red burning in his eyes.
Kur cleared his throat. “Wrestling. How about it?”
Aereus turned to him. “No one has ever beaten me in a wrestling match.”
Kur cracked his knuckles. “Really? No one?”
“No one.” Aereus’s tone brooked no argument. “Do you doubt me?”
Kur leaned back in his chair. “It’s just that I’ve never lost a wrestling match, either. And I’ve wrestled some of the high lords of the shadow kingdom.”
Aereus’s lip curled in a snarl. “But you’ve never wrestled the horseman of war, have you.” His chair scraped across the floor as he rose, and he marched into the center of the hall. “It’s not often that I have a formidable challenger, though a shadow demon could never win against an angel such as myself. These two shadow demonesses have probably never witnessed prowess such as mine. We’ll wrestle now. Let’s find out how long you can last.”
Kur rose from his chair. “Do think now is the best time for this?”
“Right now.” Aereus held out his arms to either side. “Servants!” he barked.
Instantly, two male servants hurried over to him, pulling off his brocade coat. The swiftnes
s with which they executed this maneuver suggested that this was something Aereus did often.
Kur strode into the center of the floor and held out his own arms. Another set of servants pulled his coat from him. Then, the angel and the demon pulled off their shirts, tossing them on the ground.
Kur’s body rippled with muscles, lines of green scales glinting in the torchlight. Still, Aereus had at least a foot on him. The horseman’s skin was a deep gold, his muscles thick as oak trunks.
In unison, they paced to opposite ends of the hall, then pivoted to face each other.
Tension sparked in the air as they glared at each other, and Aereus’s magic hummed across the room. The hot, arid feel of his magic sparked an ancient wrath that burned within my ribs, stoking embers of rage. I gripped the chair, restraining myself from running into the wrestling match to try my own mettle. They’d crush me—I knew that. But the stupid part of me wanted to fight.
In fact, I was beginning to think that angels’ magic gave me a bit of a death wish.
“You know the rules, don’t you, Kur?” asked the angel. “When I throw you to the ground, I will be declared the winner.”
“Likewise.” Kur’s grin was cocky. “If I throw you to the ground, I win. I’m ready for it.”
In the next moment, they ran for each other, feet pounding over the stone floor. They collapsed into each other with the force of hurricane winds, arms grasping for each other’s shoulders.
As they began to grapple with each other, eyes blazing with aggressive intent, violent impulses gripped my body. Aereus’s power was overwhelming me. My gaze darted to one of the human servants who stood pressed against the wall. My muscles tensed, thighs clenching, lip curling in a snarl. It would be so easy to break her neck...
Adonis brushed his fingertips over my knee, soothing some of the rage out of my system. I hadn’t even noticed as he’d slipped next to me. He really could move discreetly within the shadows. In the depths of my mind, his silky presence brushed against my thoughts, and his magic swept over my body like a balm. My muscles began to relax, thighs unclenching.
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