Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
Z
W e met Atta and Axel in a small town. Hell, I wasn’t sure if I could even classify it as a town. It appeared to be a single street lined on either side with old, crumbling buildings. There wasn’t a soul that I could see.
I glanced first at Lupe, who stood to the right of me, and then at Devlin, who stood on my other side. Bash—who I’d kissed the shit out of as soon as I met up with him, then scolded for disobeying me—drove, but we’d left him behind in the car a mile back, just in case we needed to make a quick getaway.
My other mates weren’t happy about being left behind. However, they agreed that it would be best if some of us remained behind to deal with the fallout of the goblin battle and the influx of fighters from the mages, incubi, and vampires.
Tension radiated in my shoulders as I peered into the distance, searching for Atta or Axel.
“Are you sure this is the right location?” I asked, focusing on Lupe.
Lupe shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “This is the address.”
As if on cue, the door to one of the more dilapidated buildings opened, and two familiar figures stepped out.
Lupe crossed the street in three leaping strides and tugged his little sister into his arms. “Atta. Thank god you’re okay.”
Atta hugged her brother fiercely and murmured something, her voice too soft for me to hear.
“Hey, little sis.” Axel offered me a two-fingered wave as he swaggered forward, his favorite machete slung over his shoulder.
Relief filled me. I hadn’t even realized how worried I’d been about Axel and Atta until just then. I had no idea if they were alive, dead, harmed, or imprisoned.
“It’s good to see you.” I gave Axel a quick hug—which he returned with gusto, despite the growls of my mates—and then stepped back, studying the two of them. “You need to tell me everything that happened. Your letter made no sense.”
Axel absently grabbed a blade out of his thigh sheath and tapped the pointed end against his chin. “I think it made perfect sense. I wrote it myself.”
“The letter simply said— Daddy’s home and causing trouble. Kings still imprisoned. Meet at this address ,” I deadpanned, quoting the letter verbatim.
Axel blinked at me. “Exactly. What is there not to understand?”
Lupe pulled away from Atta and ran a hand across the lower half of his face. “Let’s start at the beginning. What’s going on at the capital?”
“The council is confused,” Atta jumped in, stepping forward so she could address me. “The vampires, mages, and incubi have turned on the others. We have no idea why?—”
“We do.” Quickly, I filled them in on the Trials of Lilith and how we had received Lilith’s approval to rule.
Atta’s lips parted in a perfect O, but Axel leaned against the side of the building and folded his arms over his chest, the blade dangling from his fingers.
“Interesting.” He exchanged an unreadable glance with Atta. “If Lilith’s involved?—”
“Then that explains why he involved himself in this mess,” Atta finished with a weary sigh.
“Who’s this elusive ‘he’?” Devlin interjected.
Once again, Atta and Axel turned to stare at each other, having an entire conversation with just their eyes.
It was Atta who answered, though, her voice rife with reluctance. “Z’s father arrived at the capital.”
I blinked, certain I’d heard her wrong. “My father’s dead.”
He was torn apart by shifters. I saw him die with my own two eyes.
“Not your human father, little sister.” Axel pushed himself off the wall and ventured a few steps towards me. “Your…winged father.”
Shock surged through me like a lightning bolt. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t think, couldn’t even breathe. Barbed wire had coiled itself around my heart, and every beat of the organ caused the wire to sink its jagged teeth in farther.
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Devlin kept his voice low, though I could sense the wrath simmering just beneath the surface.
“That there’s an angel in the capital?” Axel pursed his lips. “Yup.”
My legs gave out, and I would’ve fallen if Devlin hadn’t grabbed me, holding me upright. I turned in his embrace, and his arms wound around me.
“I got you, Z. I got you.” His husky voice flooded my body, infusing me in warmth, and I squeezed my eyelids shut. Shock and panic barraged me from all directions.
An angel was here. On earth. In the capital.
Not just any angel, though.
The same angel who’d allowed me to be raped, tortured, and then murdered in my past life because I dared to fall in love with the Seven Deadly Sins.
My father.
Gabriel.
“What is he doing there?” Lupe demanded.
A second later, his huge hand touched my back, rubbing soothing circles through my shirt.
“Absolutely nothing,” Atta answered.
“What do you mean?” Devlin asked, voicing my own question.
“What she means is that Daddy Dearest has been spending his days ordering servants around, sipping cheap wine, and lounging by the lake. He doesn’t seem to give a shit about the war unfolding around him.” Axel sounded slightly amused—maybe even a little impressed by the angel’s nonchalance.
“But this is where it gets strange,” Atta continued. “Apparently, he was a prisoner in the royal dungeons. Remember the man Laurel asked you to free?”
She directed this last question at Devlin, who stiffened, his arms turning into iron vises around my waist.
“That’s impossible.” A shudder rippled through my genie’s body. “The dungeons aren’t capable of holding a… They can’t hold an angel.”
Disbelief raised his tone in pitch.
“We think he took the place of the shifter originally imprisoned there. Or maybe inhabited the body of him. But why? We have no idea.” Atta sighed.
I finally pulled myself away from Devlin and pivoted on my heel. Both Atta and Axel stared at me, the former frowning in sympathy and the latter attempting to balance his blade on the tip of his pointer finger but failing epically.
“The kings are still imprisoned,” Atta said. “Seth has been helping us keep them contained.”
Ryland’s father was the only one I would trust with something like that.
I tried to pay attention to their words—I honestly did—but my brain was still stuck on the fact that my father was here. What did he want? Obviously, it had something to do with me, but what ? Was it because I was participating in the Trials of Lilith?
Questions zipped through my mind, one after the other, and I tried to catch one to focus on it, but it proved impossible. Nothing made sense.
“We can talk about this when we return to camp,” Lupe said gravely, sensing my distress.
Atta bit her lower lip and turned to stare at her brother. “We’re not going back with you, big brother.”
“What?”
“We’re needed at the capital,” Atta explained, a frown touching the corners of her lips. “There have been nightmares arriving daily with questions and concerns. We’re not meant to be on the front lines.”
“Actually,” Axel interrupted, “I am most definitely meant to be on the front lines. However, Atta needs protection, and who am I to say no to a damsel in distress?”
He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her, ignoring Lupe’s growl of warning.
Atta scoffed. “Who was the one who stopped that rogue mermaid from killing you?”
“I was distracted.”
“You were staring at your reflection in the mirror and commenting on your ‘sexy length.’” She lowered her voice in a poor impersonation of Axel’s.
“I’m talking about the length of my machete, for your information,” Axel told us, reaching up to stroke the wooden handle. “It’s very long. Thick.”
“And then, when you saw the mermaid coming at you with a knife, you screamed like a baby and tried to hide behind the curtain,” Atta continued.
“Nobody would’ve seen me behind the curtain,” Axel reasoned, completely serious.
“We were in a crowded ballroom. Your feet were poking through the bottom.”
Axel chuckled and finally resheathed his knife. “You may have a point.”
Lupe stared at his sister warily. “Are you sure this is safe?”
“Is what you’re doing safe?” Atta countered, one of her eyebrows lifting imperiously. When Lupe didn’t answer, at a loss for words, Atta’s expression softened. She reached forward to take one of Lupe’s hands in both of hers. “This is what I was meant to do, Lupe. I know it.” A wobbly smile touched her lips. “And once you’re ready to claim your throne, the capital will be ready for you.” She shifted to address Devlin and me as well. “For all of you.”
Overcome with emotion, I lunged forward and pulled Atta into my arms, inhaling her cherry perfume. “Thank you.”
She squeezed me back just as tightly. “Of course. We’re practically sisters.” She pulled back just enough to meet my gaze. Indecision warred with desperation before she finally blurted, “Mali?”
Of course. I should’ve mentioned Mali sooner. Atta would want to know about her mate.
“Mali is okay. She’s helping with preparations.” I placed my hands on her slender shoulders and gave them a squeeze. “You could always come with us and see her, if you wanted.”
She bit down on her lower lip. Her eyes flicked over my shoulder, landing on her brother, before she focused on me once more. I could see the need in her eyes—she wanted more than anything to see Mali and know she was okay.
But then she sighed, her shoulders shuddering, and said, “No. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Atta—”
“I’ll see Mali once this war is over.” She cleared her throat, pushed back her shoulders, and tilted her chin up. “I know what my purpose is.”
“As do I,” Axel interrupted. “And that’s to stab as many assholes as I can.”
“Only stab the assholes who follow the old ways, not the assholes who are loyal to us,” I told him firmly.
A pout played on his lips. “But?—”
“Axel,” I warned.
He sighed heavily. “Fine. Ruin my fun.” He placed his hand over his heart. “I solemnly swear to only stab assholes who aren’t loyal to my little sister and her sexy mates.”
“Better.” Ish.
At the very least, it was the step in the right direction.
Atta gave me one last squeeze. “Be safe.”
“You too.” I turned towards Axel. “Both of you.”
Axel, his expression uncharacteristically serious, nodded once—a promise to look after both himself and Atta.
And as the two of them retreated in the opposite direction, the shadows of the town swallowing them, I couldn’t help but wonder if they would keep their promise. I wasn’t sure I’d survive if this was the last time I saw them.