Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
SAMARA
Iclung to the handle above my head as the carriage Raphael had called a sports car practically flew up a hill at speeds that should have been impossible without magic.
My stomach lurched with every turn, threatening to expel the few sips of poison I’d forced down at the coffee shop. The drink had been sweet, yes, but it had also made my brain hurt like someone was dancing on the inside of my skull while simultaneously squeezing it.
And the flavors? Absolutely revolting.
They still lingered in my mouth with a weird combination of bitter and sweet. I wanted to guzzle water, preferably the red kind from Inferna that didn’t smell like something from a witch’s bog.
“You know, most people enjoy the drive.” Raphael’s voice held an amused tone that made me want to stab him.
I didn’t respond. I was too busy focusing on not throwing up all over his seats. He’d probably make me clean it.
The world outside the car was too bright and too fast. How did humans live like this? No wonder they needed those weird drinks and disgusting cake on a stick to function.
Finally—finally—Raphael turned the death carriage into what looked like a cave. It opened with magic and swallowed us whole.
Raphael pressed something, and the entire machine went silent. The sudden lack of motion made my stomach do one final protest roll.
He turned to look at me, and his face split into a grin. Then he laughed as if my misery was the most entertaining thing he’d seen. “You look like you’re about to murder me.”
I let go of the handle, my fingers aching from how hard I’d been gripping it. “I am absolutely considering it. What are the consequences for murder on Earth?”
He laughed harder. “Prison. Possibly execution, depending on where you are, your motivation, and how you do it.”
I weighed my options. Prison didn’t sound great, but neither did spending another second in this death trap with this bastard. But execution wasn’t high on my list of priorities, and I needed him to help me get back to Inferna.
For now, stabbing him could wait.
He shook his head, still chuckling as he got out, leaving me inside. I’d missed how he’d opened the door and had to wait for him to walk around and open it for me.
With some effort, I extracted myself from the cursed contraption, my legs unsteady as I stood on solid ground again. I grabbed my bag only to have it yanked from my grip before I could properly secure it on my back.
“Hey! That’s mine!” I reached for the strap, but Raphael was already moving with long, confident strides toward a door, completely ignoring my protests.
Stealing people’s belongings was another charming trait to add to his growing list of offenses, right alongside kidnapping, feeding me poison, and nearly killing me with his navigation skills.
I stumbled after him, my boots squeaking against the smooth floor. I caught flashes of things I didn’t understand, but I had no time to process any of it because Raphael had already crossed the room and slid open a massive panel of glass leading outside.
Green. So much green. Rolling hills covered in vegetation that wasn’t black or gray, stretching as far as I could see. And in the distance, the enormous white letters perched on a hillside, mocking the landscape.
Raphael dumped the contents of my bag onto a table, and the pink sparkly bag landed on top.
His shoulders started shaking before the sound came out. Then he was laughing again, holding the bag up like it was some kind of prize. “Where did you get this?”
Heat flooded my cheeks. “It’s charming and functional.”
He turned it over, and the sparkles caught the sunlight. “Functional.” He repeated the word as if it were the funniest thing he’d ever heard.
Before I could defend my choice in emergency containers, he waved his hand in an arc over the table.
The feathers lifted like they were caught in an invisible current. They swirled in a graceful spiral, climbing higher and higher until they disappeared.
“No!” I lunged forward, but it was too late. “Those were mine!”
They were my only way to Inferna if this archangel decided I was more trouble than I was worth.
I glared at him, nails digging crescents into my palms as my fists clenched. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to launch myself at him, to wipe that smug satisfaction off his face with whatever blunt object I could grab first. The table looked sturdy enough.
But attacking an archangel probably fell somewhere between inadvisable and spectacularly stupid. And I’d already hit my quota for spectacularly stupid decisions.
I’d just have to fight him with words.
“I was planning on selling those.”
The amusement on his face vanished, his expression turning dangerous in a way that made my hand twitch toward my knife.
“You were going to do what?”
“Sell them.” I lifted my chin, refusing to back down even as he took a step toward me. “Why should I care what happens to angel feathers? They’re probably worth something to the right buyer.”
His jaw tightened, and for a second, I thought he might wrap those hands around my throat and squeeze.
Instead, he moved faster than I could track, his hand darting inside my jacket before I could stop him. His fingers found the inner pocket, and he pulled out the last feather. It was gone in a flash.
I should have kept my mouth shut.
“I don’t see why we can’t go right now.” I sat on the couch in his living room with my arms crossed over my chest.
After he’d sent my feathers flying away, he gave me a tour of his home and rattled off the names of so many different objects that I couldn’t keep track of them all.
I didn’t even know what time it was, but he’d ordered dinner and was now moving around his kitchen, ignoring me for the hundredth time.
“Do you want a beer?” He opened the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles. I watched him in the reflection of the shiny rectangle above the fireplace.
“Is it the same as in Inferna?” I didn’t know if I trusted the man to feed me again. He might spit in my dinner, which he claimed was coming soon.
Pizza. It sounded like more poison to me.
“It’s alcohol.” He came around the counter and handed me a brown bottle. “Isn’t it all the same?”
Inferna and Earth were similar but vastly different. There were a lot of the same things, except their technology was superior and ran off something called electricity.
Inferna ran on magic.
I sniffed the rim of the bottle and scrunched up my nose.
It smelled like Nico’s feet after a long trip.
I sighed, thinking of him. He was probably shitting bricks worrying about me.
Then there was Val and Amari. Those guards were after all of us, but they were Val’s father’s.
I wasn’t born yesterday; it didn’t sit right with me.
I put the bottle to my lips and took a sip. I cringed, and Raphael laughed from his spot in a chair. It was a behemoth of a chair with a footstool that came out of the bottom with the push of a button.
“It’s an acquired taste. Sorry I don’t have any wine.” He shrugged and took a gulp of his beer.
I looked around his sitting room. It was plain, considering how much color Earth seemed to have, with mostly brown furniture, but there was a window that looked out onto the hillside and the Hollywood sign. He told me it was an iconic landmark people came from all over Earth to see.
It seemed a little ridiculous to travel to see giant letters, but what did I know? Maybe that’s what humans liked to do.
Raphael was staring at me, which I’d caught him doing several times.
I adjusted my posture since I’d sunk into the cushions. It was almost like it was built to be a trap. “Is there a reason you’re staring at me?”
“Are you a dream demon?”
“If you’re asking if I have the same capabilities as Reve, no, I don’t.” I ran a hand through my hair and cringed at how dirty it felt. “The females don’t have the same abilities as males, but they can cause sleep with a touch. A mated pair is very powerful.”
“Why didn’t you do that to me in the bathroom then? Wouldn’t that ability be useful in that kind of situation?”
“I’m null and have no abilities.” I shifted my weight, suddenly aware of how exposed I felt under his scrutiny. I didn’t like to refer to myself as null. It was condescending and reduced me to one of my flaws.
Two lines appeared between his brows. “That must have been hard growing up.”
He had no idea.
While my brothers were developing their abilities to gain power from the nightmares they caused, I was in my room whittling soap. Adding to the blow of having no powers, Reve could cause lucid visions and had a phantom form since he was the alpha male and heir to the throne.
I put my beer on the table next to the couch. “Are you the kind of archangel who tortures human souls in Hell? Like Lucifer?”
He shifted in his seat, and his furrowed brow was replaced by amusement. “I wouldn’t call it torturing. It’s more… rehabilitating.”
He phrased it so casually, like he was discussing a hobby instead of damnation. Rehabilitating. What a sterile word for whatever horrors they subjected their dead to. “I heard all the souls are kept in tiny boxes and filed away until it’s their turn to be tortured. What’s the point? They’re dead.”
The history of the archangel’s presence in Inferna started long before I was born.
While most of what happened in Hell remained a mystery because of demons bound by blood oaths, there had always been rumors.
It was surrounded by tall fencing that had a magical shield to keep things both in and out.
One side was at the edge of Inferna, where no demon dared to go.
“Being in those boxes gives them time to replay their lives.” He finished his beer and put the empty bottle on the floor next to the chair.
I had a lot more questions, but a cacophony of high-pitched bells and sounds rang out.
He lowered his chair’s footrest and stood. “Pizza’s here.” He walked down a hallway, and I heard him talking to another man.
He came back into the room a minute later, carrying a large, flat box with a smaller box on top.
The smell immediately hit my nose, and my stomach growled. I didn’t even remember the last time I ate, besides the bite of cake pop. Had it been before the council meeting?
I stood and headed toward the dining table.
“I don’t eat there.” Raphael reached up into a cabinet, his shirt lifting to show a sliver of skin.
It was odd having everything, and I mean everything, in one room. The bedrooms and bathrooms were separate, but the sitting room, kitchen, and dining room were all in one big open space.
He opened the lids of the boxes, making an audible inhale. “Oh, pizza, how I love thee.”
He filled a plate, grabbed a cloth off a roll and a new beer, and went to his chair. He grabbed a small rectangle and pointed it at the reflective rectangle over the fireplace.
What was with Earth and shiny rectangles?
“Help yourself.” His eyes were glued to the rectangle as it flashed with light and people and voices came on it.
“What is that?” I stared at it wide-eyed. “Does it use dark or light magic?”
He laughed. “It’s a TV, short for television. You can watch shows and movies on it. They’re similar to plays, and it uses electricity, not magic.”
“Surely it has to use magic.” I watched as men ran around like bugs and threw a ball.
I walked into the kitchen and picked up a plate that was made of thick paper. How did their dishes hold soup?
There was no serving utensil, and Raphael was eating with his hands. I sighed and served myself.
“It’s a shame you don’t have pizza delivery in Inferna.” He didn’t look away from the TV as I sat down on the couch with my plate.
I felt his eyes on me as I lifted the slice and took a bite. I closed my eyes. Sweet baby hell serpent, it was delicious. A tiny moan escaped, and Raphael made a noise that sounded like a strangled laugh.
We ate dinner in silence because the noise from the TV made it impossible to hold a conversation. He was staring at the TV like his life depended on it and occasionally cursed under his breath at whatever was happening.
I tried to relax into the soft cushions after I finished but found it difficult. I needed to get back to Inferna. The council could implode for all I cared, but there were three—no, four—men who needed my help.
“Are you tired?” Raphael picked up my plate and beer and put them in the kitchen.
I grabbed a pillow and hugged it. “I need to get back to Inferna.”
The room went dark besides the glow from the TV as he sat next to me on the couch. A sensation curled low in my belly that definitely wasn’t indigestion. I wanted to smack myself upside the head.
I told myself he was getting ready to turn in for the night, not trying to create anything romantic.
I pulled the pillow tighter as he turned toward me, propping his elbow on the side of the couch.
He was way too close, but I was next to the arm and couldn’t scoot away.
“Let my contacts in Inferna get some information so we know what we’re walking into.
There are a few demons in Hell that could help us if we need reinforcements. ”
He looked at me thoughtfully, and my skin heated from his stare. He wasn’t watching the TV any longer, but now I was staring at it.
“You’re still registering as an angel. Did you ingest any angel blood or lick the feathers?” He sounded serious.
I scrunched my nose and finally looked at him. “Yuck. No.”
He reached forward and moved my hair behind my ear but left his hand against my cheek. I was going to pull away, but then his hand warmed, and my body immediately relaxed.
I was sure he was putting me under a spell, but I couldn’t bring myself to pull away. My body turned to jelly, and I sank further into the cushions, leaning into his touch.
“You’re worried about four men.” His eyes searched mine. “Interesting.”
“What are you doing to me?” I felt drunk, and my eyelids grew heavy. I had the urge to lean over and lie in his lap, but I couldn’t move.
He yanked his hand away suddenly, as if he had been shocked. He looked at his hand and then at me. “Let me show you to your room.”
I attempted to stand but was going nowhere fast. Whatever he thought had happened didn’t bother him because he scooped me up, my head immediately landing on his shoulder.
He smelled magnificent. It was unlike any scent I’d smelled before, and I could only describe it as a clean hug.
“Don’t think I’m forgetting this.” My words barely left my lips as he opened a door to a bedroom.
The room was all white, with a luxurious bed in the center. He carefully held onto me as he pulled back the covers and set me down.
I moaned as I sank down into the softness and could have sworn his eyes flashed darker. He cleared his throat, pulled off my boots, and moved my legs under the covers.
“Good night, Samara.”
I couldn’t even respond.