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Then the tilt of his mouth disappeared, and the atmosphere around the angel changed. His body flexed to stone, and the severity of his gaze made me uncomfortable.
“He’d lose every part of himself. His memories, his connections, his life. It’d be like hitting the reset button in his case. All he’d know was he was an angel and he needed to protect humans. We call them rebirths. It’s happened before with our more powerful angels tainted by darkness, but it’s never happened to an angel with this much corruption. So his cleansing would be more invasive. It’d mean he couldn’t keep any part of himself. He’d remember nothing and be nothing like he is now.”
I didn’t expect the statement to hit me quite as hard as it did. “He wouldn’t remember anything?”
“His corruption is too widespread. They couldn’t risk it without a full cleanse, and they can’t risk leaving him as-is either. So it’s either he’s cleansed…”
“Or you kill him,” I surmised, face removed of all emotion. “And me?”
Fable smiled, but it was laced with sadness. “You’re the only hope we have to bring balance back. I agree with Nova. Lucifer needs to be dethroned, and you’re the only one who can do it.”
The acid was back, but I swallowed it down, refusing to acknowledge the unsettling thought that losing Nova in my fear dream meant I was likely in love with him. And for a second, I considered doing something stupid. I considered replacing his mark. I considered ruling Hell with him.
But then I lifted my chin. “I hope you have coffee in this shithole because I don’t fight without at least one cup down the hatch.”
Fable’s lips twitched before he gestured towards the door. “Ladies first…”
I left the asshole angel and his bad pun behind me as I headed for the kitchen, a pain in my chest I’d never admit to anyone hadn’t disappeared since the day I left Nova in the rain.
26
Hot Girl Summer
I DODGED THE ANGEL, HIS soft-yellow wings beaming in the moonlight. Twirling, I slipped past him, latched onto his shoulder, and got my bat around his neck. With a devilish smirk, I yanked hard enough to get a groan out of the oversized mythical creature.
Fable lost his momentum and hit the ground. I rode the asshole like a surfboard, enjoying every pain-filled grunt and groan like it was my own personal theme song. Excited by his agony when we finally came to a full stop, I landed my bat on his back and got to my feet, claiming another victory.
Swirling my favorite weapon in lazy circles, I pinned the angel to the ground with my foot and chewed the gum in my mouth, ready to move onto the next stage even if he gave me yet another excuse. “That’s my win, asshole.”
It’d been two weeks since I left Nova—two weeks since Lucifer attacked my mind and I slept with an angel after a whole damn night of poor choices. I still remembered the hangover like it was yesterday. Drunk Lady had gone full-blown college chick during hot girl summer, and I paid for it dearly. My stomach still twisted up at the sight of alcohol.
I’d learned my fucking lesson.
Fable continued his relentless flirtatious assault. I wanted to pretend I was immune, but after world-altering sex, it was difficult not to give in. I was the queen of saying no and beating a dude down though, so I hadn’t given into temptation again, no matter how attractive another night with the angel was.
Truth be told, I’d been enslaved to Nova from day one. His absence hit like Aidan’s, and I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Not when I considered I was probably Lucifer’s replacement. It made more sense that way. Nova hadn’t let up from the beginning. He was hellbent on having me, and if I was the mirror image of a lost love, then his persistence made sense.
But it sat on my chest like a thousand pounds of rock.
I didn’t like it, but even I couldn’t pretend not to know what it all meant. I was in love with the bastard. For some godawful reason, I’d fallen for his charms, and now I’d be forced to either let the jerk lose everything he was or tie myself indefinitely with him. Both options were unattractive at best. I didn’t want to be tied down, and I certainly didn’t want to be the reason another person was lost. Sure, he’d be alive, but he wouldn’t be the Nova I knew anymore.
It was a reminder how much easier this would all be if I just didn’t have feelings at all. If I’d discarded my humanity in favor of brutal justice and unfettered violence, this decision wouldn’t reek of ooey-gooey emotions. If I’d been successful in my endeavors to become the killer bitch I set out to be when I left my foster father dead the night I got my powers, this wouldn’t be such a goddamn lovesick chore. I blamed Aidan, and I couldn’t even tell him it was his fault anymore.
He was dead. He and everyone else I came in contact with. But like every time I thought about my one true friend, I refused to let the guilt hold me hostage. It’d only make me vulnerable. And if there was one thing I hated more than the fact that I was the reason everyone was dead, it was being in any way, shape, or form vulnerable.
Instead, I’d spent every free thought wondering if Nova was still the same smiling asshole wherever he was, or if he thought about me. Was he weakened without my blood? Was it dangerous for him the longer I stayed away? And most on my mind these days was how long the bastard would wait to see me again. Would he come in an illusion or in person?
He better fucking come soon before I go out looking for him with my bat.
“What about using my power? When are we going to do that, asshole? We’re wasting time,” I demanded before somersaulting off the angel the second his wing tried to strike out at me.
Something the stories about angels didn’t mention was how every feather on their back was as sharp as a knife. One feather could slice through skin and muscle. A collection of them could cut a poor bastard’s body in half. And evading their reach was a whole new set of acrobatics I was forced to learn over the two weeks I’d spent with the mafia-looking angel.
Fable was on his feet, chest heaving. His wings shuddered with violence, and his eyes beamed a vibrant gold. “Speed and focus are everything, so I think you’re ready.”
“Fucking finally,” I complained. “I’d like to go kill that bitch sooner rather than later. You know, before she comes to find me first.”
Sifting through dark, fight-messy hair, Fable sighed and nodded. “You’re right. I was worried you wouldn’t have the speed or evasive methods to keep up in a fight while concentrating on your power, but you’re always proving me wrong. Honestly, sweetheart, I’ve never trained anyone half as powerful as you.”
