Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Son of a bitch. “Dionne wants nothing to do with the ‘family business,’ does she?”
The woman’s eyes hardened. “She will change her mind.”
Ella refocused on Ophaniel. “You asked her to befriend my aunt and wring her dry of any helpful information.”
He conceded that with an incline of his head. “Your aunt wasn’t very forthcoming, unfortunately.”
“And so Maxine planted her daughter at our store,” Mia surmised.
Maxine sighed. “She didn’t learn much either. But when I recently noticed your aunt and mother buying baby clothes and took into account Ella’s recent habit of wearing loose tops, I had an inkling that she was pregnant.”
“A surface scan of Prophet’s mind confirmed the suspicion,” Ophaniel added. “And so I passed on the news to those in the upper realm. Just be grateful they don’t instead wish to take and raise the child to use for their own purposes. They would … not be kind.”
Ella had the feeling he spoke from experience. Maybe, like Viper, he’d been forced into a life he didn’t want. It would explain his complete lack of enthusiasm here.
“You may judge me for my actions,” he began, “but know that Samael has done far worse deeds, even going as far as … ”
His words faded as Mia’s voice again poured into her mind: Two wards are unraveled, there’s just two more to go.
Ella felt her pulse spike. Good, because I don’t think this shield will stay up for much longer. And those strix want to rip me apart and get to the baby.
“You know,” began Ophaniel, his voice tipping up in volume, “it’s rude to have telepathic conversations when someone is speaking to you.” He gave a mocking tut, tut.
Ella lifted her chin. “Can’t say I was interested in listening to you try to excuse your own behavior by comparing your acts to those of Viper. He might have done some dark shit in his time, but he never harmed children.”
She slid her gaze to Freddie, who still appeared remarkably uncomfortable. He wasn’t an archangel, but she got the sense that he was some form of celestial. “It doesn’t bother you that you’ll have contributed to the death of a child?”
His throat bobbed, and he plucked at his tie. “It is not a child, it is an abomination.” Harsh words. But there was a shake to his voice, as if he was repeating an opinion that he didn’t entirely agree with.
“Freddie is eager to earn his halo and return to his family in the upper realm,” said Ophaniel. “When my superiors hear that he aided me, they will grant him what he wants.”
Ella frowned. “Good deeds earn halos. He’ll have innocent blood on his hands.”
Ophaniel gave her a look that could only be described as one of gentle condescension. “None of you are innocent.”
“Neither are celestials.”
His lips twitched. “Quite so. Holy blood doesn’t ensure goodness.” His gaze zipped from her to Mia. “But you both have killed, have you not?”
“My baby hasn’t.”
“But it will.” Ophaniel sighed. “In this realm, it is rare for your kind to go without taking lives due to the brutality of the demon world. The fetus may be half archangel, but it’ll still be firmly in that world. And it may very well carry Samael’s curse—perhaps even share his inability to avoid drawing evil like a magnet.” He gestured at the strix. “Case in point.”
“How did you manage to gain their cooperation?”
Ophaniel shrugged. “I simply promised I would help them kill Samael. They’re very eager to make him pay for the deaths of their brethren.”
Again, the shield flickered—this time for several seconds, making Ella fear it would wink out altogether. But it didn’t.
“Not long to go now,” said Ophaniel.
Snickers ran through the crowd of strix, their eagerness to charge almost tangible.
“I would much rather not hang around for this part,” he said. “It will bring me no real pleasure to see two women—demons or not—savaged by strix. But my superiors will be angry if they’re not able to watch the replay of your deaths via my memories.”
His superiors needed to have their necks snapped. “If I’m going to die, I’d like to know one thing first.”
He tipped his head to the side, a brow hiking up in question.
“Why didn’t you act sooner? Why use notes and subtle moves? Why try hijacking the wills of others? You’re an archangel. It shouldn’t have been all that hard for you to kill me.”
“That’s several questions, but I don’t mind answering. Truthfully, I would have much preferred if my assignment had been a straightforward execution. But I’m under strict orders to ensure that your deaths do not taste of celestial interference—people would, after all, immediately suspect we’d targeted you to punish Samael for falling. That meant being very careful how I proceeded. We can’t have a war breaking out, can we?
“When you die at the hands of the Black Saints’ enemies, people will blame them as well as the strix. Joe will share some of the blame as well. But I’m quite sure he’ll die here and now, so he’ll be spared any punishments from your lair.” A smile lit his eyes as the shield began to ripple, its brightness fading. “Ah, here we go.”