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I was fuming. Never would I entertain the Sky Watchers’ bargain again. I’d rather put up a fight at Zhèmson’s side. He always won anyway. I never heard the dagger land. But something had changed. A resounding peace settled in my heart.
Gingerly, I hopped down from the windowsill, landing quietly. A light breeze slipped into the bedchamber, chilling my nude body. I was ready to slip back to Zhèmson’s side and nuzzle him, stealing some of his warmth. I turned around and found glistening pale-amber eyes piercing into me with a depth of pride and profound love that made my knees buckle.
“My Zhèmson,” he echoed.
Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I jut out my hip and crossed my arms, working to regain some of my usual sass.
“In case you thought you’d ever belong to another.”
His grin was wolfish. And those burning dimples surfaced, showing off. The sight overwhelmed me, triggering a pool of tears. I ran to him, throwing myself into his arms. He caught me easily, pressing his lips to mine before he’d finished lifting me up. On instinct, my legs wrapped around his waist, my nails lost in his hair. He spread my thighs open, preparing to take me right where he stood, when a vicious snarl of disgust sounded behind us.
Zhèmson growled against my lips. A thin shift in the surrounding air lifted the hairs on my arms, the tingling like pricks of electric heat against my skin. In a blink, we were both clothed as Zhèmson put me down, pushing me behind him. Across from us in the bedchamber floated Kiranon, Dèravhen and Nèrvanya. Behind them floated a host of Sky Watchers.
Zhèmson
“Get out,” I snarled.
Kiranon Heavrethre floated in my chamber with his siblings, but his eyes were elsewhere. I’d dealt with him for more than a lifetime. It was always this roundabout game. It still pained me to see him, clothed in Watcher armor, hatred contorting his face. To think, a lifetime ago, we were so close we’d once called each other frè. Brothers of the Creed. Best friends until the Ellelights. Kiranon had never brought over seven Sky Watchers to face me.
Until now.
I counted no less than thirty in the chamber. Beyond the threshold, I heard more. His eyes lingered on where Daliah hid behind me, gripping me in terror. I’d heard every word of her confession.
I knew Kiranon heard it, too.
I felt the slight tremors in her shoulders. Her quick breaths as she tried to be brave. I simmered with a primal rage. I would protect her from the Sky Watchers at all costs. Everyone of them would die for making my Lightheart feel like this.
Starting with Kiranon.
“You had one job to do, fae,” Kiranon sneered. Dèravhen floated close behind, eyes blackening. “We asked you to steal his secret, not spread your legs for him.”
My nostrils flared at the insult. Daliah tensed. She began moving from behind my back, ready to claw Kiranon’s eyes out. I was of half a mind to let her.
“I’ll say it one more time,” I growled. “Päästä lanfè.” Get out.
The quiet of my voice permeated the chamber. Sky Watchers looked between themselves, summoning their ethèr for a fight. Kiranon floated in place, eyes moving between me and Daliah. A cruel smile curled his lips as his eyes latched onto the window behind us.
Hells.
I whirled around, but I was too late.
An explosion resounded behind us. The windows shattered. Amid the chaos, I heard Daliah release a blood-curdling scream.
“Get off me! Get your filthy hands off me. Zhèmson!”
In the fog of the chaos, I found my way to her blocked by growling Sky Watchers. I bent low, snapped open my wings, and charged. The Sky Watchers by the windows dragged Daliah away, carelessly yanking her like some slave through the shattered windows. She screamed when a Watcher dragged her through, letting a shard of glass slice her arm open.
My vision turned black as rage boiled hot through me.
I lunged.
The Sky Watchers lunged, too.
Ethèr broke loose in the chamber as every angel against me pulled out their power. My body thrummed with energy. I threw myself into the melee. I punched my knuckles into jaws, before breaking noses. The hot flow of blood soon warmed my hands, but I didn’t stop. I swiped my wings like swords, slicing across abdomens, severing heads, puncturing hearts until angelic fôrs completely drained. I tumbled into bloodlust, bulldozing through the Sky Watchers. My hearts pumped with adrenaline, beating like drums. Each time I cut down a row of Watchers, a new one formed. Where in the hells did they come from? Daliah's voice grew further away, even though I had gotten no closer to the windows.
This was a rotting distraction.
Kiranon hadn’t come for me.
