Chapter Twenty-Three #2
What was this we shit, Batman? Last I heard, Calyx had been the one to jot down that little prophecy seeing as how he was the former scribe of Heaven. I didn’t ask that question out loud, though. See? I could restrain myself. Sometimes.
I waited for him to say more. Something, well, helpful. But he just stood there like the marble statue he was.
“Well,” I finally said, my voice a little higher than normal. “Uh, that’s the plan.” And had been since I started this whole rebellion thing.
Eliza coughed into her hand. Rathiel just sighed and glanced away. Levi, though, just continued to glower. Curious.
My sarcasm didn’t deter Cael.
“You need to understand, little one, that defeating your father will not be enough. You must also defeat the crown.”
Little one? Seriously? The angel suddenly didn’t look quite so bright anymore. And wait, what did he say? I must also defeat the crown?
I waited for him to elaborate, but the longer I waited, the clearer it became that he had no intention of doing so. He just stared at me like this mysterious message was something I should have already known. Which, spoiler alert, I did not.
“Yeah, see, that’s not helpful,” I said, my voice hitching at the end like I’d asked a question. “Perhaps you could give us a little more information?”
Cael’s mouth almost twitched—almost—but then his expression smoothed again into something unbearably serene. “You will understand when the time comes.”
“How about you just tell us now?” Rathiel demanded.
But Cael didn’t so much as spare his fallen brother a glance.
In fact, he hadn’t once looked at Rathiel since stepping through the gate.
My gaze bounced between the two of them.
Was it personal? Had they hated each other back in Rathiel’s glory days?
Or did it go deeper than that? Were angels not allowed to look at or converse with their fallen brethren?
Levi did. But again, Levi’s circumstances were unique.
“We may not assist beyond this moment,” Cael continued. “But I was permitted to bring this last message to you, with the hope that it’ll help you in the coming battle.”
“Permitted?” I repeated. “By whom…” But my voice drifted off when I realized who would permit an angel to do anything.
“Holy shit,” Eliza repeated, her voice a squeaky imitation of herself.
Okay…I couldn’t focus on that right now. Focus on the angel in front of me. Not the big kahuna sitting in Heaven currently.
“You can’t tell me anything more?” I pressed.
Cael smiled but shook his head.
“Of course not,” Rathiel muttered, his jaw tight. “Because Heaven never bothers to give straight answers. Or helpful answers. Or help at all.”
I laughed, but it came out sharper than normal.
Once again, Cael ignored Rathiel. “You must prepare yourself, Lilith. For the darkest battle of all awaits you. Not with your father, but within yourself.”
“Yeah, see, cryptic messages like that are what keeps a girl up at night, haunting her,” I blurted, before Rathiel combusted with impatience.
Cael, again, didn’t respond.
“Alright then. Really appreciate the, uh, warning?” I said.
Rathiel practically shook beside me, all but choking on his frustration.
Cael’s focus shifted from me to Levi. Apparently, he was permitted to look at the only other pure-blooded angel.
Levi stilled until he, too, resembled a statue brought to life. Cael’s gaze sharpened, searching his face.
“I do not know you,” Cael said finally, a frown cutting across that impossibly perfect face. “I sense something familiar about you, but your aura is…strange.”
Levi merely nodded. “Unsurprising, given how I’ve been trapped here for a millennium.”
“Yes,” Cael said, his upper lip curling. “You reek of Hell. Its stench is…off-putting.”
Ah, so we did stink then.
“A necessary sacrifice,” Levi said. “For the cause. For Him.”
Something flickered in Cael’s expression then.
Not recognition—something else. Something softer.
He smiled. And when he did, I forgot how to breathe.
It wasn’t a mortal smile. It was like light itself breaking open, spilling through every crack in the world until nothing remained but warmth and radiance.
Tears sprang to my eyes without warning.
Gods, if this was what my mother had looked like—if Sofiel had ever smiled like this—I suddenly understood why my father had hated her light so much.
It wasn’t something you could fight against. Nor was it something you could possess.
You either basked in it or let it destroy you.
But it also broke my heart to think that Rathiel had given this up, that he’d chosen to fall alongside my father, to become dark.
Maybe he hadn’t known what he would give up, and if that was the case, my heart hurt all the more for him.
It had to cause him pain to see his brother again.
To see all that he’d lost—only for Cael to not even acknowledge him.
“His name is Levi,” I said. Though, now that I came to think of it, it likely wasn’t his real name. Angels had more, well, angelic names. Huh—apparently there was much I didn’t know about my friend.
Cael’s smile softened. “After order is restored, Levi, you are welcome to return home to the heavens.”
Levi sucked in a breath so sharp I thought he might choke on it. His hands clenched at his sides, but he didn’t answer. His jaw worked as though a hundred words wanted to pour out, but none could.
And then—just like that—Cael stepped backward. His wings spread, white feathers catching the warped air around the gate, light pouring from him like it couldn’t be contained. He looked at me one final time. “Do not falter, Lilith. Everything depends on you.”
Then he was gone.
The gate rippled once, twice, and sealed shut as though it had never been there at all.
I dragged in a shaky breath, trying to get a grip. My head was spinning. Defeat Lucifer. Defeat the crown. Fight the darkest battle within myself. Oh, sure. Totally manageable. No big deal.
Then my gaze slid sideways—straight to Eliza.
Her face said everything. Wide eyes. Tight jaw.
The kind of pain that made my own chest squeeze in sympathy.
She was looking at Levi. And at that moment, it hit me.
Whatever Levi chose next, whatever his future held if we somehow pulled this off, it was going to break her.
Either he went home, leaving her. Or he stayed, and she’d know he’d given up Heaven for her.
Eliza didn’t say a word. She didn’t have to. The way her stare clung to Levi, the way her throat bobbed when she swallowed—it was heartbreak written in real time.
And it gutted me.
A muscle pulled tight in my chest. I wanted to tell her it would be fine, that Levi would never abandon her, that Cael’s radiant promises didn’t change the bond they’d forged. But the words died before they made it out of my mouth. I couldn’t lie to her. Not about this.
So instead, I did what I do best. I shoved it all down and focused on the one thing I could control.
I turned back to the empty space where the gate had been, my lips pressed tight. Defeat my father. Defeat the crown—whatever that meant. And prepare for the darkest battle, within myself.
Seriously, would it have killed Cael to hand me a manual? A pamphlet? A sticky note? Anything? Step one: stab Dad. Step two: destroy crown. Step three: don’t die. Done. But no. Were all angels so dramatic?
We returned to my army and ordered them to continue their march. Meanwhile, my thoughts spun in circles.
Two battles then? Or was it three now? Time to count. One with Lucifer. One with myself. And one with a damn crown, apparently. Did that even count as a battle? Was it going to bite me or something? Burst into song? Smite me with “royalty energy”?
Was it even a real crown? I’d never seen my father wear anything close to a crown, but that didn’t mean it didn’t exist. Or were we talking more metaphorical? As in, destroy my father’s reign? If the latter, then why bother sending such a message? I was already planning to do exactly that.
It had to be a literal crown then. Maybe my father had one hidden away somewhere. Except, that didn’t make sense either. If there was a crown, an actual object that represented his reign, why not wear it? Why not broadcast to all that he, and only he, controlled this realm?
My grip tightened on Inferno’s Kiss until the hilt bit into my palm. Guess there was only one way to find out. Time to end all this.