Lucille #2
I scratched her ear, and her body practically hummed with contentment.
“I’m going to shower.” Aspen sighed, walking to the bathroom.
The humor bubbling in my chest faded. Any peace he may have found in sleep hadn’t followed him into the waking world.
“So I really do have to share my room?” Oliver’s face scrunched in displeasure.
I rolled my eyes. “As if you ever slept in here.”
He nodded back and forth. “Touché. But do you think he took up all the closet space?”
I side-eyed him. He knew full well Aspen had no clothes to take up space. “You’ll be happy to know Alexei’s clothes are in your shared closet space.”
Oliver grinned. “I think I need to go change.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “And maybe shower while you’re at it. And keep an eye on Aspen.”
“I’d ask you for money for babysitting duty, but you have none, and I’ve decided Alexei’s clothes will do—for now.”
I socked him in the side, and he mock-glared at me as I left. With everything going on, it felt good to have Oliver back by my side.
After changing, I found Oliver, Aspen, and Rune outside my door. Oliver was dressed in his red-and-black Hell Squadron uniform, while Aspen wore sturdy winter clothes and boots.
“I know Sam cleared you, but did he say anything about training?” I asked.
Oliver shrugged. “Just not to bash my head on anything anytime soon.”
“Because that’s not a possibility in the arena,” I said dryly.
“Gotta get these babies back in shape.” Oliver patted his small biceps.
After two months, his angelic blood had helped him tone up, but the meager muscle he’d put on was nothing compared to Aspen’s.
Even after Aspen had spent so much time chained to Lilith’s sex bed and wasting away.
Oliver just had a lanky physique, and I imagined he didn’t have the ambition to be big and muscular—only strong enough to survive.
“Alright, but I’m sidelining you if things get too rough.”
This time, Oliver rolled his eyes at me.
Aspen stood there, humoring us with his presence, walking through the motions of living. He didn’t want to be here. In this hall. In his mind. In this life. I could feel it. Like the moment he woke up, the Eternal Forest called his name, seducing him toward an early grave.
I didn’t know how to help.
Oliver stepped closer to me, grabbing my hand. “We’ve got him,” he murmured.
Heavenly Hell, I loved my best friend. He was always there for me through it all, even with this.
I knew Aspen wasn’t his favorite. But it didn’t matter, because I mattered to him, which meant Aspen did too.
I assumed Rune had the same logic. MJ… I wasn’t sure what swayed her.
Why she turned from murderous intent like Ronen to begrudging help. But I’d take more eyes, more help.
I blinked away the stinging moisture and nodded. “Right. Let’s go.”
We walked across the sandy arena toward our squad, and Aspen started to veer to the left. I grabbed his wrist.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m with the Devils.”
“No, you’re not. You’re with us.”
Aspen pried my fingers from his wrist. “The guardian bond can’t influence you if it can’t see or feel a threat. This is for the best.”
“No—”
“You want a choice.”
“But not like this.”
He turned his back and walked toward the Devils Squad.
“Aspen!”
He ignored me.
“Aspen!”
Oliver stepped in front of me before I stormed after him. “Lucy, if the guardian bond is as controlling as you say, this way you’re both safer.”
“How? He’s struggling. What if, during training, he decides not to block a sword coming toward his chest?”
“I’ll keep my eyes on him. Give yourself this space. You need it.”
I stared at Aspen’s back. The thing inside me slithered awake, peeking an eye open, displeased with this development. But without seeing any threats, it had no reason to take over.
Oliver grabbed my shoulders and turned us so we switched places. “I’m your eyes. Promise?” He held up his pinky.
“Promise,” I mumbled, hooking my finger with his.
This was for the best. I just wish it felt that way.
We walked over to our squad and MJ. Her presence settled the nerves in my stomach. She had to be here to lead us. Or so I hoped.
Ichi maneuvered to my side, slightly in front of me like a bodyguard. That shouldn’t have surprised me, but it still did.
Facing the dais, the military waited for the morning debrief.
Ronen gestured to Xavier on his right, where Alexei should’ve been.
But he remained bedbound. Oliver had mentioned that before Sam cleared him, Alexei’s screams could be heard throughout the wing—not from pain, but rage.
Sam had explained that the icicles had killed much of the intramembranous tissue, reducing the odds of salvaging his wings to seventy percent—and the odds of ever flying again to thirty.
We gained Oliver back only to lose Alexei.
Ichi’s small stature grew and bulked. The stiff red-and-black leather uniform hugging her body transitioned to gold and black—her single sword now two on her back. My mouth dropped as her hair shortened into a dark fade and familiar swirling tattoos marked her neck.
Oliver, who had been standing on my other side, held out his muscular arms. His face no longer looked like his, but Ronen’s.
I scanned the entire arena, mirroring everyone else’s reactions as I stared at dozens of replicas of the General of Hell.