Through the shadow conduits, Bane carried Amaya’s body clutched to his chest. A part of him registered her cooling body. Exactly one percent. The rest of him refused to acknowledge her death because it wasn’t possible. Halflings were harder to kill than a bite to the neck and draining the blood. A warning tickled the back of his mind. He ignored it as the shadows peeled away and he stepped into the burial cavern of Braile.

He moved swiftly through the tunnel and didn’t pause in the verdant antechamber. He trampled the lush grass and strode to the illuminated tunnel ahead. Into the center, he stepped carefully around the trees and flowers. With just a thought, he shifted three feet of earth to create a shallow grave. It almost took everything he had to stretch her body out and lay her in the ground. Too much like a funeral, and that wasn’t why he brought her here.

He brought her here for a miracle.

And that’s exactly what I’d damn well better get. On his knees, he grabbed fistfuls of dirt and covered her. A week ago, he’d never buried anyone. Now, he buried his fourth. Didn’t understand how humans survived the pain, because right now, he hurt. Bone deep agony. He wasn’t supposed to feel like this—EVER. Nothing could ease the agony other than Amaya alive and in his arms.

He held a handful of dirt. All he had to do was ignore the tremble racing up his arm and drop it over her face. Then he would climb out of the hole and finish the job. He’d never prayed, didn’t know how. And even if he did, as an UnHallowed, his plea would never be heard. Yet…

Father—

“What the fuck are you doing?” Kush barked.

Damn it, he was right back in the same situation he’d just left—answering to the UnHallowed. He didn’t need to look over his shoulder to know there were seven UnHallowed at his back. Gadreel the only one missing. It didn’t matter anyway. The prayers of the damned were never answered. Still, he took his time covering her face, then climbed out of the hole and shoveled the rest of the dirt on top of her while Zed whispered in awe.

“Those are Ghost Orchids from Cuba.” Zedekiél circled the room, pointing to a delicate white flower. “And an extinct Chocolate Cosmos from Mexico.” He pointed to a red blossom. “Over there are Lady Slippers from England and Jade Vines from the Philippines.” His shocked statement garnered everyone’s attention.

Bane couldn’t decide if they were more surprised the UnHallowed was a horticulturist, or by the glowing subterranean forest. After Amaya was completely covered, only then did Bane face his fallen brethren.

“There is only one way this tropical bounty filled with flowers from all over the world could exist inside a hillside outside of Detroit,” Zed muttered.

“Who?” said Daghony, grief heavy in his voice as he took in the beauty with everyone else.

“Braile,” answered Bane. A strangled cry came from someone. “This is where he bled out and gave the last of his grace to close the Cruor.”

Zedekiél reached out to touch a yellow and purple flower. He closed his hand before making contact. “Then he was a fool. This world didn’t deserve his sacrifice.” His voice was nothing but bitterness.

“He didn’t bleed out. Gideon killed him and took the last of his grace,” Bane said, tired of continuing the lie.

The room shook, a 4.0 on the Richter scale which they all ignored.

A collective snarl echoed in the room and ended with Sam’s dry snicker. “Tell us how a simple warrior angel of Gideon’s caliber managed to slay the Chancellor of the Celestial Army, an archangel that trained each of us. An angel none of us could defeat on our best day.”

“Gideon had Braile’s help,” Razuel answered, anguish layering his voice. “It was the only way.”

The knowledge of Braile’s suicide sunk into their brains. The enormity of his sacrifice and loss couldn’t be quantified.

“Why did you bury her here?” Daghony changed the subject.

“Because here is where she belongs,” Bane answered.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Kush stomped around the room.

Rimmon stepped forward, his eyes closed and his head tilted to the side with concentration. “The scent…it’s the same scent at the farmhouse.”

“You’re right,” Razuel said. “That means we scented Braile at the farm. Not Michael.”

Chay shook his head. “That can’t be. The Cruor was closed six months ago with Braile’s blood. You’ve only been at the farm, what? A week?” His attention on Bane.

“It was Braile you scented, but not the archangel. You scented Amaya. His daughter.”

The room went silent and Bane waited for the explosion. Yet, no explosion came, probably because what he said made sense. They couldn’t deny the logic of Braile’s blood at the farm even while his presence, his grace, saturated the ground.

“Braile betrayed his vows,” Chay choked out.

Razuel mumbled, “It doesn’t seem possible. He was…”

“The best of us.” Rimmon finished.

“Not the best. Better,” Sammiél growled. “I would say it wasn’t possible, not Braile except…there has to be a deeper reason.”

“He couldn’t have just fallen for a woman and…” Zed spat and slammed his fist into a wall.

“And screwed her? Knocked her up? Had a kid?” Tahariél shouted in mock horror. “Well, apparently, he did.”

“And lost his immortal head over it,” Daghony said in a quieter tone.

Zed strode forward to the burial mound. “So, his child,” said with a sneer, “is dead. Bringing her here is a desecration of this sacred site. You should’ve dumped her in a human cemetery where she belongs. Not. Here.”

Nods and murmurs of agreement circled the room as a stronger rumble shook the ground.

“Dig her up!” Kush demanded, his skeletal wings rattled with aggression. “Or I will.”

Weapons freed and clutched in his hands, Bane stepped to the former Archangel of Atonement. “Touch her and I gut you.”

Tahariél wedged himself between them. “Explain why you brought her here, to hallowed ground.”

Eyes still on Kush, Bane shrugged. He didn’t have an answer for that question. Instinct brought him here. Instinct instructed him to place her in the ground here, and nowhere else. “I had no place else to take her because here is where she belongs.” Bane met each UnHallowed’s gaze in challenge. He didn’t back down and neither did they. There was only one way this would end and it wouldn’t be good.

Chay cleared his throat and pointed to the burial mound. “Don’t mean to interrupt, but can someone explain why the ground is moving?”