I looked to Esmael. “What’s happening?” A hint of panic edged into my tone. “What did you do?”

Esmael’s eyes were warm, and if I didn’t know better, I would have said he was smiling. “I awoke the Lord of Death.”

Uriel

“No, Uriel, the gates cannot open for the keepers. I’m sorry.” The divine says.

The chamber of light is empty save for us. No celestial will risk being close to me, a tainted keeper who’s clawed his way up from the Underealm. They shied away as I was led here, shackled like a criminal.

Shackled for doing my duty.

Tainted for serving the divine.

I fall to my knees and implore the divine, hands held out beseechingly. “They have done only what was asked of them. They deserve to come home.”

His expression softens, and for a moment I think that he will capitulate, but then his mouth flattens in resolve.

“Letting you through the gates was risk enough. The taint on you is strong. I can see it. Smell it.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Maybe if the circle had closed a century ago…It’s too late now. The keepers have been amongst the demons for too long.”

“Father, please…”

He approaches and crouches by me. “Don’t fear child, you were his first, his most beloved.”

I’m confused. “Who do you speak of?”

His smile is wistful, almost sad. “You will stay. I will make this right…for him.”

“The others?”

“Will be remembered for their sacrifice.”

No. I can’t abandon them. “Please, there must be a way.”

“Not for them. Only for you.” He presses his palm to my forehead. Bright light fills my head and then I am gone.

I suck in a sharp breath and open my eyes to the moon and the stars. Memories, so many memories, flood my mind, settling into place like cards being laid out in order. The circles.

My keepers.

My Seraphim.

I am Seraphim.

My chest heats, and I look down to see an orange glow expanding beneath my diaphragm.

“Uri!”

Fee? Fee is here.

Then the glow explodes outward, and once again, I am gone.

Fee

“Uri!” I wanted to grab him, but he was glowing like a fucking lantern and my gut told me to keep my distance, that this needed to happen. “Uri…”

The glow began to ebb, and Uri was revealed, unharmed.

He touched his chest, and then his face, before turning to me. “I remember who I am.”

I took a tentative step toward him. “Who are you?”

“Lord of Death,” Esmael said. “The first Seraphim, and our General.”

Seraphim?

“I would have come back,” Uri said to Esmael. “I wasn’t given a choice.”

“I know, brother. I never doubted your intentions.”

Uri approached Esmael and reached out to touch his face. “This isn’t right.”

“The taint of this realm had its effects on our forms,” Esmael said. “We understood, when we volunteered to be the keepers of the nine circles, that we would be tainted by this place. But once you were gone, once we were abandoned, the taint manifested on our skin.”

“I’m so sorry, brother,” Uri said. “What was done to you is unforgivable, but the divine that abandoned you is gone, and his brother now rules. Things have changed.”

“Not Lilith. Not her actions.”

“Lilith may still be the same, but the humans and the innocent citizens of this world should not be judged by Lilith’s actions.”

Esmael sighed, expeling more mist into the night air. “I agree. However, she murdered us. Hunted us. Even if I wished to help, I am unsure I can convince the others to join me. Not for fear for themselves, but for their offspring.”

Of course they were worried about coming out of hiding. “Lilith has given her pardon to your kind if you assist. No Seraphim will be hunted ever again.”

“She has gall,” Esmael said

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m not a fan of her either.”

He snorted. “I would doubt your character if you were. I will do what I can. Meet me back here at sunrise for my answer.” He turned to Uri. “Will you come with me, brother?”

Uri looked torn and my heart ached, because as much as I wanted him to have this, I didn’t want him to go.

I fixed a smile on my face. “Go. Maybe you can help Esmael convince them.”

Uri shook his head. “I can’t leave you to travel back to camp alone. It isn’t safe.” To Esmael. “Tell the others of my survival. Tell them their general calls on them to fight.”

I caught the conflict in Esmael’s eyes, but he stood taller. “I will deliver your message.”

He turned and launched himself into the air, rising until he was simply a speck, then he winked out in a flash of light.

Uri continued to stare at the night sky, and my stomach fluttered with unease at how distant he looked. Distant from me?

“Uri?”

He blinked slowly as if surfacing from a dream. “Fee…”

He looked the same, yet he looked different. It was his eyes. There was a darkness in them now that hadn’t been there before. He’d been here before. Been here for a long time, and he’d sensed that the last time we’d come. He’d felt the familiarity of this place.

I pushed my anxiety aside. This was Uri. My Uri. “What did you remember?”

“I remember being here,” he said with a sigh. “I was a keeper of human souls. We ran the nine circles. We were guardians, guards, watchers, and when the circles were no more, we were stranded. I remember clawing my way back to the Beyond with every last ounce of strength I had. They almost didn’t admit me, but the divine offered me an audience, and then… Then he took my memories.” Uri paused in thought. “I think… I think I was his brother’s first celestial. I think I may have been his favorite.”

Which explained why the divine twin we’d liberated from limbo had been so taken with Uri and why he’d brought him back when the super vamp had… I couldn’t bring myself to think about that moment.

“I was the Celestial of Death,” Uri continued. “That was my official title. I was revered and feared, responsible for herding the human souls across the bridge and into damnation.” The frown between his brows deepened. “It feels strange, like the memories belong to someone else, even though they’re mine. But for the first time in a long time I feel…whole.”

I took his hand and he gently drew me into his arms. A soft chuckle escaped his lips. Familiar and totally him, and the knot in my stomach eased.

“Fee, I’m a Seraphim.”

I hugged him tight. “You’re my Seraphim.”

“I am.” He stroked my hair. “I have faith in Esmael. I have faith in my keepers.”

I wanted to have faith too, but I’d seen the doubt in Esmael’s eyes. I didn’t think convincing the others was going to be that easy.

We’d find out at dawn.

Chapter Forty-Four

Keon

Lilith’s summons doesn’t come as a shock. The woman is astute, and she’s seen me with Fee. She will have questions.

I breathe deep and compose my features into bland indifference before entering her bunker.

She’s alone, sitting on the edge of her bed, back ramrod straight as if she’s seated on her throne.

“Keon. Samael tells me that you were instrumental in my rescue.”

“Yes, my queen.”

Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “And you saved my son Azazel.”

“Yes.”

“And your memories…”

I must choose my lies carefully. “I have them back.”

Her shoulders sag. “You told no one.”

“I told no one.” I repeat her words. That is not a lie.

Her gaze narrows as if she doubts me, and it’s with great force of will that I keep my heartbeat steady. If she suspects otherwise, my steady pulse will throw her off.

Finally, she relaxes and sighs. “Good. You will keep it that way. You will tell no one that you are my son.”

Her words act like a noose around my neck, pulling taut and choking me. This is a puppeteer’s command, and one which will tie my tongue.

“As my queen commands.”

She stands in a fluid motion and walks toward me before circling me. “And what do you make of Seraphina Dawn?”

A loaded question. “I do not make anything of her.”

A soft sigh. “Do you like her?”

Like is such a mundane word and in no way expresses how I feel for Fee. “No. I do not.”

She comes to a halt in front of me and reaches up to caress my cheek. For a moment, her hard gaze softens. For a moment, I see the mother from my past, the one who cradled me and sang me to sleep. The one who’d lift me up and swing me around, her laughter a melody ringing in my ears. My chest throbs with nostalgia.

But the moment is brief. Her hand slips away, taking the warmth with it.

“Seraphina Dawn has been a burr in my side from the moment she entered my life,’ she says. “And now Samael is taken with her. His daughter.” She spits out the word as if it’s a foul thing. “He dares to tell me of his deception and expects me to accept it. No. I finally have my husband back, and I will not share him with anyone, especially not with her.”

Ice trickles though my veins, because I know what she’s about to ask, and I’m powerless to stop her.

“Keon,” she purrs up at me. “I want you to kill her.”

No.

The noose is around my neck, tight and unforgiving.

No, please no.

“Make it look like an accident. Do it in the heat of battle. End her. You will end her.”

The order settles into my mind, into my soul, and I am bound.

I will kill Fee.

I have no choice.

Chapter Forty-Five