“Yeah. Told you this planet was primitive.” There was a hint of amusement in his voice. “Luckily, this island is too small to accommodate the main inhabitants of this world.”
“This is amazing. A front row seat in prehistory.”
“Any time you want to come back here, let me know.”
“I’ll do that.” She never would, and they both knew it. Move on, Bella. She’d wasted enough time as it was. “Can you take me home so I can get changed?” For real, this time.
“Tell me what you need, and I’ll collect your stuff.”
She turned to face him. “I’m going with you.”
“It’s not safe.”
“I don’t think abandoning me on a world full of dinosaurs is exactly safe, either.”
He frowned as though her accusation was unwarranted. “Dagan will never find you here. And I’m not abandoning you,” he added, as though that was an afterthought.
“Okay. Worst case scenario. You disable my abilities and then something happens, so you lose your powers. Wait.” She raised her hand at him, and whatever he’d been about to say clearly stuck in his throat at her nerve. “Right. So there you are, incapacitated on Earth, with no way to rescue me. I could die of starvation, or be poisoned by eating something, or even end up as some creature’s supper.”
“And you said archangels are dramatic.”
“I’m being realistic. You can’t leave me here, Nate.”
“You’re—” He bit off his words and glared at her. “Frustrating.”
“Why? Because I’m right?”
He growled something in the language he’d used once before. It was obviously a curse, and the poetic cadence was enchanting.
Maybe Dagan wanted to harm her, although she wasn’t convinced. But one thing she did know for certain.
Both Nijah and Zane were out for her blood.
Chapter 23
Nate
Nate prowled through the wrecked kitchen of Isabella’s home. There was no sign the Watchers had been searching for anything. They’d been out for nothing more than vindictive destruction.
And Isabella’s head.
Teeth clenched, he marched into the drawing room, where he’d found her just a couple of hours ago. Currently, she was upstairs in her bedroom, the only room that hadn’t been destroyed, changing her clothes, and he still couldn’t wrap his brain around the way she’d managed to manipulate him.
The problem was, she was right. When he’d seen her looking so vulnerable surrounded by her ruined possessions, his overriding impulse had been to protect her, but he hadn’t thought it through. Like everything when it was connected to her, his good sense was fucking scrambled.
He’d have to revert to his original plan and keep her by his side when he spoke to Gabe about the demon.
Hey, Az.
Azrael answered at once. What?
You still with Gabe?
It was a pain in the ass that Gabe no longer possessed the archangelic telepathic link. He should’ve got his phone number, but it hadn’t occurred to him.
Yes.
I need to speak with him. I won’t be alone.
Okay. There was a thread of curiosity in the word, but Az didn’t push it. Nate disconnected their link, as Isabella walked into the room. She’d pulled her hair back into its usual ponytail and was wearing black jeans with a sweater that matched the color of her eyes. He stifled a sigh. When had he ever noticed such a thing about a woman?
She glanced around the room and swallowed before returning her attention to him. “Are we still going to Romania? You said you’d warned Nico.”
“We’re visiting Gabe.”
“The one Dagan’s pissed off with? Who is he? A human?”
Nate wasn’t sure what Gabe was anymore. “He’s the Archangel Gabriel.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh.”
There was no reason to tell her anything else, yet that didn’t stop him. “He’s lost his immortality. If Dagan finds him, it won’t be an even fight.”
“I didn’t know archangels could lose their immortality. Is that a thing?”
“Yeah, seems that falling in love is dangerous for archangels’ health.” He wasn’t just thinking of Gabe, either. An image of Azrael’s severed wing flashed through his mind. And before he could stop himself, the vision of Isabella, with her hair tumbling over her naked shoulders as she wrapped her arms around him, filled his head.
Fuck. He wasn’t going there. He sucked in a sharp breath and didn’t miss the questioning glance Isabella gave him.
Questioning? Or knowing?
Enough.
“Ready?”
“Sure.” Once again, she glanced around her ruined room, and pressed her lips together. He was going to hunt down those bastard Watchers and fucking enjoy feeding them their entrails. But first, he had to discover what Gabe had done to Dagan.
He held out his hand, and Isabella threaded her fingers through his. His thumb stroked her knuckles. Her bones were so fragile. So easily broken.
She’s more than she appears. He had to remember that.
A moment later they arrived outside Gabe’s house. The weather was dull and drizzling and instinctively he wrapped his wing around Isabella, protecting her from the rain. As the door opened, he reluctantly released her hand. There’d be enough questions regarding her presence without adding more speculation to the fire.
Gabe gave him a quizzical glance, before stepping back so they could enter the hallway. He closed the door before focusing on Isabella.
“I’m Gabe,” he said. “Welcome.”
“Bella. Thank you.”
Huh. Did she usually introduce herself as Bella?
Gabe folded his arms and transferred his gaze to Nate. “Az said you need to speak to me. But before we get into that, there’s something you should know. I no longer have the advantage of being able to read auras.”
His unspoken question was obvious. Who the hell is Bella?
Then again, even if Gabe hadn’t lost that ability, he wouldn’t have gained much by trying to read Isabella’s. She shielded her true nature, just like he did.
“Isabella and I are working together. She’s aware of what happened to Az.” He wouldn’t reveal her heritage. It wasn’t his secret to share.
Gabe scrutinized her. It wasn’t threatening or even unfriendly, but Nate’s feathers bristled, regardless.
“I’m half-demon,” Isabella said, as though she wasn’t dropping a fucking great revelation. “I was searching for the immortal forged sword before I teamed up with Nate.”
“Why were you searching for it?” Azrael walked across the hall to them, and Isabella sucked in a sharp breath as she turned to him. He sympathized. His gut still knotted every time he saw Azrael’s wing.
She licked her lips as indecision flashed across her face. Then it was gone. “To discover its origins,” she said in a cool voice.
Shit. He still needed to tell Az who had forged the sword. And that it wasn’t a fucking demon.
Az contemplated Isabella in silence, before turning to Nate. “You’re working with a half-demon?”
That’s all he said. But Nate got the subtext. It wasn’t only because Az knew of his aversion to demons. It was because, only weeks ago, Nate had raged at his friend for falling for a dhampir, when Az had spent a thousand years loathing their very existence.
“Yes.” He failed to keep the belligerence from his voice, which as good as told Az that Isabella was more than merely his working partner. But he wasn’t prepared to discuss Isabella with anyone. “That isn’t why I needed to speak with Gabe.”
Gabe and Az exchanged a glance that grated along his nerves. As though they shared a secret communication. But since Gabe was no longer telepathic, he was clearly paranoid when it came to anything even loosely connected to Isabella.
“My office, then.” Gabe led the way to the back of the house and parked his ass on the end of one of the desks. “Is this about Mephisto? Have you seen him?”
Fresh irritation swept through Nate at the mention of Mephisto. “It isn’t. And yes, I have.”
“He didn’t have any insights on that atmosphere shit?” Az flexed his damaged wing, and grimaced.
“He’s dealing with it.” Disgust dripped from each word. “But decided not to share.”
“Typical Mephisto.” Gabe exhaled an impatient breath. “What’s this about, then?”
Nate glanced at Isabella and she gave him a faint smile. It was a struggle not to take her hand. He folded his arms instead, to ward against the temptation.
“What did you do to Dagan?”
Gabe stared at him. “What?”
Fuck, had Gabe’s memory been affected by his mortality?
“The demon, Dagan. He—”
“Yeah, I remember Dagan. Wait. A demon? Thought he was a demigod.”
“He was a demon?’ Az cut in. He sounded fascinated. “I always thought there was something about him.”
“What was he doing in Ama-gi? Spying on us?”
Nate had no doubt that was exactly what the bastard had been doing. Except it was irrelevant to the current problem. Because it was obvious Gabe hadn’t confronted the demon since the destruction of Ama-gi.
He might as well get straight to the point. “He’s after you, Gabe.”
Gabe frowned. “Why?”
“I was hoping you could tell us that.”
Gabe glanced at Isabella. “Are you connected to Dagan?”
“No,” she said. “But the last time we saw him he was pretty mad about something. Said you fucked up his most promising cell.”
Comprehension glowed in Gabe’s eyes. “What the fuck.” He sounded shaken. “Dagan was behind that?”
“Behind what?” Nate demanded.
“There was a pirate cult on Anzu. They were hunting down forgotten descendants of archangels for their blood.”
“What’s Anzu?” Isabella asked.
He sucked in a harsh breath. “It’s the largest planet in the Seventh System of the Fornax Galaxy.” Did she even know the truth of where demons had fled when they’d been banished from Earth? “Fornax is demon domain.”
“The Primus of Anzu crushed the cult in her Sector, but only because Aurora and I discovered what they were doing. Fuck.” Gabe pushed himself from the desk and strode to the French doors that led out into the garden. “If he comes anywhere near Aurora—”
“He won’t. I’m going to find him, Gabe.”
Gabe swung around. “I know someone who might help. If I could just fucking contact him.”
“I don’t need any help.”
Gabe ignored him and turned to Az. “Eblis has contacts throughout the universe. I need a way to speak to him.”
“Don’t look at me. I still can’t teleport.” Frustration burned through Az’s words. “And I’ve never had a telepathic link with him.”
“Eblis?” There was an oddly strained note in Isabella’s question and he only just stopped himself from taking her hand. Again.
“He’s a powerful demon.” They’d crossed paths several times in the distant past, but Gabe’s comment thundered through his head, making it hard to focus on anything else. He glanced at Gabe. “Why would Eblis help you?”
“Long story.”
“I’m sorry,” Isabella said, looking at Gabe. “May I use your loo?”
“Sure.” He went to the door and opened it. “It’s just down the hall, on the right.”
There was a silence after Isabella left the room. Nate only dragged his gaze from her when she disappeared into the bathroom and turned to find the other two staring at him.
“What?” He knew he sounded belligerent and couldn’t help it.
“Can you trust her?” Gabe said.
It was a fair question, but he didn’t have to like it. He trusted her in this. He had to. “She wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
“How do you know she’s not in league with Dagan?” Az demanded.
He’d asked himself the same thing more than once. It was possible. Anything was fucking possible. But he didn’t believe she was.
“She risked her life for me.” It was true. She might have died when she thrust her hand into that forcefield. But she’d done it anyway.
“Demons are masters of deception,” Az said, as though Nate wasn’t fully aware of that fact. “Look how Dagan fooled us all back in Ama-gi.”
It was my fault he was in Ama-gi. Guilt corroded any defense he might have constructed against his own gullibility, but he wouldn’t allow Az to slight Isabella.
“I believe in her.”
Neither Az nor Gabe said anything. But they didn’t have to. The expression on their faces was more than enough to let him know they’d read way too much into his statement.
Curse the gods. Just because he cared more for Isabella than he should, didn’t mean he was in any danger of falling for her.
Deep in the darkest recesses of his psyche, his words mocked him, ruthlessly.
He wasn’t in any danger of falling for her.
Because I already have.
Chapter 24
Bella
Bella closed the door and let out a ragged breath. The downstairs cloakroom Gabe had directed her to comprised of an original Victorian high tank toilet with a pull chain and any other time she would’ve admired the tasteful renovations which appeared to be only half-complete.
But right now, she had other burning issues on her mind. Mainly, what the hell was Eblis up to?
He’d told her Earth would become a battleground for ancient immortals if they didn’t find out who had given Sakarbaal the sword. She’d assumed he was talking about demons and archangels.
Was he, though?
She’d gone to Romania to track it down for him. Put her life on the line with the Elite. Because she believed Eblis had told her the truth.
Had he?
Anger bubbled. It wasn’t because Eblis had used her for his own ends. She’d always known he had his own reasons for everything that he hadn’t shared with her. It was because it hadn’t crossed her mind that the damn sword might not have been as important to him as he’d made out.
Something else was going on, and Eblis appeared to be involved. She needed to have it out with him, but now wasn’t the right time to accuse him of anything. Not when Gabe wanted his help and she was the only one who could contact him. She gritted her teeth.
Eblis.
She wrapped his name in urgency, something she’d never done before. Seconds passed. What was he doing?
Hey, Bella. He sounded annoyingly unconcerned. What’s the problem?
She had so many questions for him. But they would have to wait.
What’s your relationship with the Archangel Gabriel?
Gabe? His shock was palpable. If she weren’t so churned up inside about everything, it would almost be funny. Where are you, Bella?
And she wasn’t falling for that one. Would you help him if his life was in danger?
Gabe’s in danger? The sharp concern that spiked his response told her everything she needed to know.
How were Eblis and Gabe such good friends when demons and archangels were supposed to be such deadly enemies?
Then again, look at her and Nate.
Things got complicated. I’m the only one who can contact you. Can you meet with us if I arrange it?
Why can’t Gabe contact me? Obviously, he had no idea Gabe was no longer an immortal. She’d bet anything he was attempting to connect with Gabe right now.
I don’t have time to discuss it. She didn’t even try to hide her impatience. This was important, and she was willing to put her own issues with Eblis aside for now. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to grill him on what, exactly, his agenda was with having her go undercover in the Watchers.
Very well. It was a dismissal, but she cut their connection before he could—another first. She was done deferring to him anymore.
When she returned to the others, only Nate met h
er eyes. It was blatantly obvious they’d been talking about her. Not that she could blame them. Azrael’s damaged wing snagged her attention for a second but this time she managed not to react. Maybe he deserved such retribution for the way he’d hunted dhampirs in the past.
She pushed the archangel’s fate to the back of her mind and focused on Nate. Because he was the only one who mattered. “I know a way to help. But you’re not going to like it.”
“What is it?”
“My mentor… it’s Eblis.”
“Your mentor?” Gabe repeated. “Are you telling us Eblis visits Earth?”
She didn’t know why he found it so unbelievable. Archangels had allegedly abandoned Earth millennia ago, and yet here they were.
“He’s agreed to meet. I just need to let him know where,” Bella said as two women entered the room. From sheer force of habit, Bella scanned their auras. One was human, although her aura was unlike any other human she’d met before. The other was…
Awe trickled along her spine at the unique structure of her aura. She had no idea what the other woman was.
“Hi.” The human smiled at her. “I’m Aurora, Gabe’s other half. This is Rowan.” She introduced the dark-haired female, who also smiled at her before going over to Azrael.
Rowan? The dhampir Octavia had told her about? What had happened to her? There was no trace of dhampir in her aura. She tried not to stare but couldn’t help it as Azrael wrapped his undamaged wing around Rowan in a protective gesture, while Gabe threaded his fingers through Aurora’s.
When Nate had said falling was dangerous for an archangel’s health, she’d guessed he was talking about Gabe. But Azrael, too? And the price was his wing?
“Gabe tells me you’re in contact with Eblis,” Aurora said. Clearly, Gabe hadn’t lost all his telepathic ability when he’d turned mortal, if he’d already explained things to Aurora.
“Yes. But I didn’t let him know where I was if that’s what you’re thinking. I told him I’d get back to him once we’d decided on a safe place to meet.”
The tips of Nate’s feathers caressed her arm, a silent show of support. It took all her willpower not to glance at him. Because if she did, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to hide just how much that simple gesture meant to her.
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