Page 49
ABRAXOS
"She's breathing. Her pulse is steady. Somebody get this male off the ground before he cracks his skull open," Jace's voice cut through the ringing in Abraxos's ears. It was coming from somewhere above him. And it was only then that Abraxos realized his knees had given out in the middle of Angel's Alley. His heart began racing until he realized Sarah's limp weight was still cradled against his chest.
"I'm not letting go of her," he croaked out in response.
His arms had locked around her the second she'd collapsed. No amount of logic would convince them to release her now. That feeling was only reinforced when his eyelids cracked open, and he saw that blood smeared her upper lip. It was dark against her skin, which had gone the color of old ash. Every instinct he owned screamed at him to get her somewhere that didn't still smell like Lucifer’s armpit and demon rot.
"Nobody's asking you to let go of her." Jace dropped into a crouch beside them and pressed two fingers against the pulse point at Sarah's throat. "I'm asking you to let me do my job without you crushing her ribs in the process."
Izzy landed on Abraxos' other side a heartbeat later. She was still holding her sword and had blood that wasn't hers streaked across one cheek. "She managed to seal the Titans away for good. They can’t come back through and get to her. Lucifer is also gone.”
Pema crouched behind Izzy and scanned Sarah while saying, “She’s more powerful than we thought. This new Scribe just pulled off in one night what we thought would take most Guardians a lifetime. And she did it without any training. Though she expended an exorbitant amount of power."
"She's not dying, right?” Izzy blurted as she looked from Jace to Pema. “Because I've used up my vigil quota for the month."
Jace shot his niece a fond look. "She's not dying." The healer's hands moved over Sarah in slow passes. The warmth of his power oozed from his palms and into Abraxos’s mate. "She exhausted herself. Same as him." His gaze cut to Abraxos, who caught the tremor running through his hands that he hadn't noticed until that moment. "You both burned through everything you had and then some. The bond made sure it was split evenly between you. Without that, she’d have died."
In the end, Abraxos had to let go of Sarah so he could walk to the SUV Zander pulled close to the alley. Elsie carried Sarah, and as soon as they were loaded into the vehicle, the king took off. He expected to be taken to the med bay, but Jace insisted they be taken to their room. It turned out that there was only so much the healer could do for them.
Two days crawled by before Sarah's eyes opened again with enough clarity to appease the knot in his stomach. The vice around his heart eased when she argued with him about being fussed over. Abraxos had spent every hour of that time doing exactly that. He refused every offer to relieve him of the watch.
"You've got to stop staring at me while I sleep," Sarah complained in a rough voice. The color had come back into her cheeks. The mark on her palm had gone quiet and was no longer emitting power like it had while she was locking the Titans away in the alley.
"You're asking the impossible." Abraxos pressed his mouth to her forehead. The bond between them settled into something steady for the first time since Lucifer's blade had come within an inch of finding his ribs. "You scared the hell out of me, Little Guardian."
“Sealing the Titans away was worth it. We weakened Lucifer,” she pointed out. “Now we can get mated.”
Abraxos smiled at that. “Amelia and the queen have been making plans for the past two days. Amelia swears you would want a beignet bar, etouffee, and Cajun chicken and rice. They’ve got four choices of gowns for you. Amelia had the junior angels string lights throughout the backyard, and they bought all the flowers from the wholesalers. The Rowan sisters enchanted them to remain alive until you were ready for the ceremony.”
Sarah’s eyes went wide, and she tried to push herself up. Abraxos helped her as she opened and closed her mouth. “Wow,” she finally muttered. “They’ve done everything. I should feel guilty, but all I can think of is how excited I am. We can have our ceremony tomorrow if we want.”
Abraxos inclined his head. “We can. I’m ready whenever you are. I want you to have everything you’ve ever dreamed. We can start over and do everything ourselves.”
Sarah wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “I’m good with people doing the work and giving me choices. Amelia was right about the food choices. The rest doesn’t matter as long as you’re there.”
As if she’d heard them talking, Elsie pushed through the door to their room before he could respond to Sarah. She was carrying a garment bag long enough to trail the floor.
“We’re all so glad you’re awake. Abraxos filled you in on what we’ve been planning. I brought the dress Amelia thought you’d like best. I can get the others if you’d like." She hung the bag from the wardrobe door before either of them could get a word in.
Drawn to the gown, Sarah crawled out of bed and scurried over with more enthusiasm than Abraxos expected. She unzipped the bag and gasped. “It’s perfect.”
Elsie clapped her hands. "Good. Get showered. Breslin will be in shortly to help with your hair and makeup. They’re setting up for the ceremony."
Sarah squealed and swiveled to the queen. “Thank you so much for doing all of this. I can’t ever repay you.”
Elsie shoved her toward the bathroom. “You can repay me by showering off the sweat.”
Abraxos followed Sarah’s lead, and when she told him to go get ready, he reluctantly did as she instructed. He felt her excitement and joy through their bond, or he would have insisted they wait, no matter how much work had gone into the planning. He was as anxious to have the official ceremony as she was.
The next few hours passed in a blur of Abraxos helping put the finishing touches on things while the females fussed over Sarah. Jace went in at some point and made sure there were no lingering concerns.
The mansion's back lawn had transformed by the time the sun dropped low enough to gild the oaks. Strings of lantern lights were strung between the branches. The fountain had been repaired by the pool company Sarah had suggested and was running again.
Angels lined either side of a path cut through the grass. Their wings were spread and overlapping until they formed a corridor of colorful feathers that shimmered under the lantern glow. The Rowan sisters stood around the ceremony space with their hands raised as they cast new wards. Abraxos could feel them humming against his skin even from the front of the aisle.
"You look like you're about to pass out." Izzy's whisper carried from somewhere behind him. She sounded entirely too pleased with herself. "Jace already used up his patience on the two of you this week, so try not to need him again tonight."
"I've got it under control," Abraxos insisted, though he wasn't entirely sure that was true.
