Present day

Sariel

Lucifer clicks his tongue and rolls his shoulders. “Take care of them,” he says, waving a dismissive hand in our direction. “But leave Willow for me.”

What must be twenty pairs of glowing eyes appear in the darkness around us, swarming our small band of warriors from all sides. Vampires…no, not anymore. These are Watchers who have taken control of their hosts. They’re strong and desperate.

“Fucking hell,” Galen mutters as he puts himself in front of Reese and grabs his blade.

“That seems like an apt statement.” I try for light and easy, knowing they need to feel like I’m not fazed by the daunting horde of Watchers closing in on us.

A churning takes hold in my gut at the sight of so many of my brothers, fallen because of me, who’ve chosen to join with Lucifer, to burn for eternity and become demons. Hand at my side, I let my grace take over, and Michael’s sword materializes in my palm. Lucifer growls as the light burns bright in the dark space. Glancing around, I take in the rows of shelving, the forklift in the corner, and the rotting wood pallets. He’s brought us to an old warehouse—abandoned, dirty, and easy to hide.

“I thought you were doing better than this, Luce.” Frowning, I gesture to the surroundings. “Squatting? You should have come to me. I could have loaned you some cash.”

Galen groans in frustration next to me. “Are you really fucking with Satan right now?” he grumbles.

“Don’t give him so much credit. Technically, he’s just a naughty angel who didn’t like Daddy’s rules. He didn’t even fall for a good reason. Think of his fall as more of a tantrum.”

I don’t miss the clenching in Lucifer’s jaw. I hit a nerve there. Good.

“What are you waiting for? Take them out!” he shouts.

The fallen rush us. My focus is erratic as I move to protect the two humans I’ve dragged into this mess. Pain blossoms across my jaw as one of the fallen strikes me with all his strength. If I was human, I would be dead. He’s not going for me, though. As I step back trying to right my footing, the dark-haired vampire races toward Reese. Galen and I both run for him, me wielding Michael’s sword and Galen a stake. The vampire is on Galen in the blink of an eye, breaking the man’s arm with a sickening crack. Galen’s face pales with the pain, but I can’t get to him. In my rush to save Reese, I neglected to pay attention to the five other Watchers who have surrounded me. Eyes on Galen, I wait for the inevitable moment the vampire kills my friend. Reese screams as a vampire pulls her hands behind her and holds her tightly. “Watch your lover die, human,” he snarls as he pushes her toward her husband.

The broadsword glows with power as I raise it above my head. I catch the gaze of Willow as she fends off a vampire who is at least double her size. She kicks him square in the chest before plunging a stake in his heart. As the circle of Watchers closes in on me, Willow leaps across the room, tackling two of them and breaking the circle. I strike, smiting two of my brothers as I tear across the room toward Galen and Reese.

“Willow, you get Reese, I’ve got Galen!” I call even as I close in on my friend.

The vampire who holds Galen pinned to the cement floor shudders and goes still. Galen grimaces and shoves the body off him with his one good arm. A stake protrudes from the chest of the dead vampire.

“Reese,” Galen cries as I help him to his feet. The idiot is trying to use his broken arm to push me aside, but with every attempt, agony blossoms over his face.

“I’ve got her.” Willow’s words are tight, uncomfortable. Her gaze is trained on Devin.

“Bloody fucking hell, this hurts.” Galen’s voice is a pained whisper as we take up a formation, backs to each other, facing our enemies. Willow breaks free of us, smoothly working her way toward Devin with the katana. She beheads Watcher after Watcher without looking back while Lucifer watches. Curiously, he doesn’t stop her as she tears the chains from her lover’s body and pulls him from the cross.

“Go ahead, you can’t escape, and after you watch your friends die, I’ll make Sariel stand helpless as you willingly give me your soul. You don’t have the vaguest understanding of my power.” He extends his black wings, and with a flare of power, summons more of the fallen to his side. “You see, every one you kill can be returned at my will.”

Dragging Devin with her, Willow leaves a trail of blood behind as she goes, but still, Lucifer stands there with an amused expression on his face, a general watching his army, confident he’ll win.

A fallen jumps on Galen’s back, his fangs digging into my friend’s shoulder, producing a roar from the Irishman. Without a thought, I rush to him, but Reese has already staked the vampire through the back, and he releases Galen before crumpling to the ground. As she tends to Galen, I smite every one of the fallen who approach. I had hoped to save them. That hope is gone. Lucifer may have thought I’d be weak without Selah. He was wrong. I’m an avenging angel.

Soon, all there is around us is a pile of bodies and dust.

Walking the injured Galen along the same path Willow took, the three of us make our way around, until we stand in front of Lucifer once more.

“That was…impressive. Too bad it won’t help you,” my brother sneers.

“Won’t it?” I lift my hand and slice open my palm as Reese does the same. “Blood freely spilled. Watcher, soul bearer, mother.” Reese and I join hands and mix our blood as Willow slices her own and places it on top.

“You have to draw a circle in blood to hold me.”

Cocking an eyebrow, Devin rasps, “We did, motherfucker.”

Looking around him, Lucifer roars as he sees the trail of Devin’s blood sealing him in a binding circle. He tests the strength of our spell by pushing his power at the barrier.

“No!” he roars. “This won’t hold me for long. And believe me, Sariel, once I’m free, I’ll come for you and make you suffer.”

His wings extend, and he shoves against the barrier over and over as we stand together. Then, curiously, he stops and cocks one eyebrow. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as Reese is ripped out of my hold, a scream tearing from her throat.

Galen and I both rush toward her, but a fallen we’d thought dead has her in his grasp.

“Free him, or I’ll turn her.” His voice is an angry hiss. “She’ll be a Watcher.”

“Let go of my wife, you goddamned bastard.” Galen lunges at the same time Reese plunges her dagger into the Watcher’s throat. The vampire jerks and falls back while Galen thrusts a stake through his chest.

It seems surreal, watching these two humans destroy such a powerful creature. But Reese staggers as Galen pulls her to his side, and I see the blossoming red on her shirt as it spreads across her chest. I know the Watcher didn’t do this. This is fate. Magic. A sacrifice.

“A ghra, where are you hurt?” Galen’s hand slides across his wife’s torso, trying to find a wound that doesn’t exist.

The disembodied voice of Helena fills the room, sending a wave of despair through me. “A blood sacrifice. The prison isn’t complete until the price has been paid.”

“No! She’s done enough. Fucking hell, what more could you want?” Tearing off his shirt, Galen balls up the fabric and presses it to the invisible injury, trying desperately to stop the flow.

There’s nothing I can do to end this pain for him. The air around us changes as the witches appear.

Lucifer groans. “Witches? You had to bring them into this. You little traitors. Why tell me about Willow all those years ago if you were only going to help them trap me?”

Willow sucks in a sharp breath. Hurt flashes across her face, and I know it’s because she’s remembering the deaths of her parents. The end of her normal life.

“Hedging our bets.” Isolt’s voice is a singsong tease. “Besides, it was a vision Guinevere had a hundred years ago. We said she’d be instrumental in your end. Not that you’d stop her.”

Lucifer’s beautiful features twist into an ugly mask of rage. “You little whores. When I break free of this pitiful trap, you’ll—”

“Hold your tongue, fallen.” Helena shoots him a scathing look.

Galen cradles Reese in his arms as her blood pools on the ground. He murmurs soft assurances in her ear while running his fingers through her hair. Her skin is paler than it should be, and soft pants fall from her lips as she struggles for air. She’s dying. Falling to my knees, I do what I can to comfort her, placing my palm over her heart and willing any pain away.

“Helena, why is the blood not mixing?” Isolt cocks her head as she points to the pool of blood that stands a few feet from the circle.

“What?” Helena peers down and throws her hands up. “Bring the woman. Damn, Guinevere was right again. Reese isn’t the right one.”

My heart leaps as Reese’s color begins to return and the rise and fall of her chest evens out. But the instant Selah appears next to Guinevere, I know my world is about to end. Selah stares at me with wide eyes filled with mistrust and hurt as she watches me with Reese.

I jerk my hand away as though Reese has burned me and rush to Selah, hoping she’ll allow me to explain.

Guinevere stops me with a palm to my shoulder. “No, Sariel.” Then, turning to Selah, she takes her hand. “Do you give this blood freely?”

To my horror, my Selah nods. “I do.” Then, turning to me, she breaks my heart with a few words. “I’m so sorry. I have to do this.”

Blood flows from her palms as soon as Guinevere lays a hand on her. Selah kneels and presses her fingers to the floor, the trail of entirely too much crimson immediately traveling toward the circle. As soon as it connects, flames run the diameter, high and threatening. Lucifer writhes and screams, his wings catching fire as the prison seals and he vanishes. Then, only silence, darkness, and the smell of smoke and copper surround us.

* * *

Summoning all my grace, I light the room with nothing but my power. I have to see her. See what she’s done. My gut churns as soon as her form comes into view. Selah lies on the ground, bleeding from invisible wounds, but the blood has slowed to a trickle, and her skin is ghostly white.

“No. No. No. This can’t happen again,” I say, dropping to my knees next to her. I can’t lose her again, I can’t watch it happen and stand, powerless to stop it.

Her skin is cold, and those beautiful steel eyes are closed against my need to see them.

“Selah, please,” I whisper. Then, in a moment of pure clarity, I know what I need to do. Pressing my forehead to the cool floor, I pray to my Father for the first time since I fell.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for my disobedience. Please, Father, I ask for your forgiveness. I ask you to punish me but spare her. I will pay the price, anything, if you’ll forgive me and give her back her life.” Tears tighten my throat. “I was selfish to love her, to keep her even though you forbade it. I see that now. Father, please hear me.”

Warmth envelops me, covering my back as my wings move under my skin. Instinctively, I hear His message. He is calling me home. My wings burst from my back, filling the room with an even more brilliant light than I’d conjured with my grace.

“Fucking hell,” Galen mutters from somewhere behind me.

As I rise, my wings move, stretching and flexing in preparation for their intended purpose. I need to see Selah safe before I go. Her cheeks already hold more color, and as I scoop her into my arms, I can feel the steady rise and fall of her chest and the warm skin I’ve longed for.

“Thank you,” I say, staring heavenward.

In one quick pulse of power, we appear in my bedroom, leaving everything behind. I lay her on the bed, brushing hair from her eyes and taking in the last moments I’ll have with her.