40. Ezekiel
40
Ezekiel
T ake a lap.
Take. A. Lap.
Sam’s words echoed through my mind like a siren.
Take a lap.
He didn’t want me to lose control.
It brought me right back from the edge. The monster’s leash slipped into my hand.
No, that was wrong. It was in the hand of my mate. My mate, who was confidently striding towards the enemy, a twin on either side of him.
Micah grabbed my chin the same way Sam had. He searched my face desperately. “Ezekiel, you good?”
“I’m good,” I rasped. “Fuck, that was close.”
Losing control completely was the line you didn’t cross as an angel. To do so would endanger everyone around you.
And give Gloria grounds to execute me on account of being a ‘loose cannon . ’
Worse, I could’ve taken out the entire unit before even realising.
Now, without the haze of fury clouding my mind, I could see how she’d been baiting me. Sam had spotted it before I had, knowing exactly how to bring me back to him.
Take a lap.
“Up to the boundary,” I barked, unsheathing my sword and letting my power crackle from my other hand. “She said I can’t cross, but like Sam said, she didn’t say anything about the rest of you.”
The twins had snapped their shields over the one I already had over Sam. At my order, seven more clicked into place. The air around him was practically pulsing with power now.
The rest of my unit fell into formation behind my mate and the twins, Micah in the lead.
It went against everything in me to remain where I was. My weapon was drawn, my power ready. It was more of a reminder than anything else.
A reminder to Gloria that my temper could no longer be influenced. That my power, control, and love, were all guided by someone else now. The human who stepped over the boundary, barely a flicker of fear in his veins.
It probably helped us both to know that he had a whole cabal of deadly archangels at his back, but I couldn’t help the pride roaring in my chest.
Sam was defending me. He knew the danger he was walking into, but was doing it regardless.
For me. For us.
“Well?” His challenge rang out as clear as a bell. The monster tugged, but I planted my feet firm. “I’m here.”
Gloria pursed her lips, glaring at me where I stood. If Sam’s life weren’t at risk, it would have almost been funny. She was so transparent as she searched desperately for her next angle of attack. “Very well. Seraphim, lift your shields so I can check whether he truly is bonded.”
Terror clutched at my heart, but it was needless as Micah spoke. “You do not need the shields to be lifted. Every supe here can tell he’s mated.”
There was a cunning gleam in Gloria’s eyes. “Really? I can’t. I’m afraid the combination of your shields is too overwhelming to reveal the truth.”
Nate stepped directly in front of Sam. A heartbeat later, Theo did the same.
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Nate said, sparks dancing along his hand. “Shields don’t affect that.”
I could feel the power pulsing from the twins all the way back here. All of the Seraphim would protect Sam, but the twins were taking this personally. Almost as personally as I was.
Funny how Sam had been scared of them until recently. I wondered if he knew he now held their loyalty as tightly as he held my heart.
“Let’s see if any other supes can confirm that,” Gloria’s voice rang out, and we all knew we weren’t the ones she was addressing. “Angels, are any of you willing to step forward and confirm that you can see a mating bond on this human?”
The twenty soldiers behind Gloria were stone faced and silent. My lips pulled back in a snarl as I memorised each of their faces. I didn’t know a single one of them.
I wouldn’t forget them now. If I came across any of them after today, I’d remind them of this. Of how they’d refused to speak up to save an innocent human.
Then I’d unleash everything my father had taught me.
Around Sam, I knew the rest of the unit was doing the same as it became evident none of them would speak up. Breann was outright growling as Grace shook her head in dismay.
“What a shame,” Gloria crooned, spreading her hands wide. “Not a single other supe can see through the shields either.”
“Bullshit,” Rami spat. “You have an entire unit telling you we can see the bond. You don’t need any other proof.”
Gloria shrugged. “My faith in your unit’s honesty and integrity was called into question months ago. Unfortunately, I can no longer rely on your word.”
Micah let loose a lethal growl. “You mean when you tried to execute my mate before me? That didn’t end well for you, Gloria. I can assure you this won’t either.”
Battle lines were being drawn. My unit readied themselves, weapons and powers rising to meet the coming challenge.
I had to stay here. I had to.
But then Sam’s hands began to tremble.
And sickening fear rolled like a slow wave through the bond.
I took a single step forwards.
“Without the confirmation of another supe outside the unit, I’m afraid we have no choice.” Gloria’s smile was deadly as she noted my movement. “So either lift the shields, or we will take your refusal as an act of rebellion.”
If I weren’t choking on terror, I would’ve rolled my eyes at that. How many times did she need to threaten that before realising she was the one rebelling? This power she wielded was not hers. We did not fight and die in her name.
We were not Gloria’s Seraphim. We were God’s.
Micah was right. We needed to build a case against Gloria then stand back and watch her fall.
Assuming we survived the next five minutes.
Benji and Rami drifted closer on either side of Sam, the twins lifting their weapons. Beside them, the rest of the Seraphim dropped into defensive poses.
Not a single one of them was prepared to let them hurt Sam.
I took another step forwards, then another. Another.
Then I was running.
Twenty-one against ten. Not the best odds, but we’d faced worse and survived. We’d survive this time too. I didn’t give a fuck if it meant going to war with all of Heaven.
They weren’t taking Sam from me.
I didn’t stop until I was over the boundary, my mate within reach. I hauled him back against me, my arm like an iron bar over his chest. “You won’t walk away from this, Gloria.”
Gloria bared her teeth and Sam shrank back against me. “I always walk away, Ezekiel. How do you think I got here when so many others failed?”
Before anything else could be said, a vaguely familiar voice rang out. “Oh, you’re getting started without us. That’s no fun.”
An array of weapons turned to point at the female demon now strolling down the road. Her hands were loose at her side, her green eyes bemused as she surveyed the scene before her. “My, my, Gloria. You have been busy.”
Dahlia wasn’t alone. At her heels were three more demons. All men. All carrying lethal weapons.
“Thank fuck,” Nox muttered under his breath. “Took their fucking time.”
I grunted in agreement. Trust the demons to wait until the most dramatic moment possible before making their entrance. Still, they were here now. I’d take Satan himself showing up if it’d shift the balance in our direction.
A few of the angels behind Gloria began to shift as they recognised the newcomers. Dahlia, Quill, Jeremiah, and Darius.
None of them held the same reputation as the sons of Lucifer—or us, for that matter—but their names were well known enough to make others pause. There weren’t many demons who could put ‘trained by Lucifer’ on their CVs.
I’d met them all the night the crane had collapsed in London. Two of them, Darius and Dahlia, I’d seen several times since when they’d visited Nox at the compound. Dahlia was wearing her usual assortment of silver jewellery, her pointed nails painted black. Darius’s long raven hair was pulled back in a bun, his cunning gaze sweeping over the assembled soldiers. He had a silence about him that unnerved me more than the rest of the demons put together. Like there was a hidden depth just lurking within him, waiting to be unleashed.
The other two were less familiar.
Quill, he was the one who’d collapsed that night, the one who’d pulled on his powers too much. From the slight shake in his hands and how his eyes were darting around, he wasn’t over whatever was torturing him. But he’d come. He was here because Nox had asked for help.
It hit me then, again, how lucky I was. Not many people could put out a call for help and have this much support and power rock up for their cause.
I owed everyone a drink after this.
The final one, Jeremiah, was the most intriguing. His long blond hair had been cut short now, making the planes of his face appear sharper. More ruthless. He was pointedly keeping his eyes averted from us.
The same couldn’t be said for the Seraphim. After the bombshell Nox had dropped earlier, we were all glancing at him. The same question on everyone’s mind.
Are you the mate of someone here?
He couldn’t be, right? We’d all met him all those months ago, before he’d fled to fuck knew where. We’d have known then?—
There was a quick indrawn breath from my left. A stumble back as he caught himself.
All of us turned to look at Noah in unison. Noah, whose face was bloodless, his eyes fixed on the demon only feet away.
Noah, who I suddenly realised had not been there the night of the rescue.
“Fuck,” he whispered, not looking away from Jeremiah for a second. “ Fuck. ”
Jeremiah stiffened, his cheekbones colouring. Yet he didn’t so much as glance in Noah’s direction.
There was no time for anything other than a brief pang of sympathy for Noah before our attention was dragged back to Gloria. To her, and the swaggering demon now cradling her shocked face.
“Come on, Glo,” Dahlia crooned mockingly. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”
Gloria froze before shoving the demon off with a growl. “I’m never happy to see you, Dahlia.”
The demon laughed, the sound cool and sinister. “Not what you said when you were riding my face five years ago, but sure. Go with that. Good to know you’re the same stone-cold bitch you were then.”
Rami had to cough to cover his laugh, while the twins didn’t even bother to try. Micah and I exchanged a bemused look. Seemed like Gloria wasn’t as prejudiced against demons as she liked to pretend.
“Why are you here?” Gloria demanded. Her fake smile was long gone now as she recognised that the situation was slipping away from her. “No one invited you.”
“I did,” Nox drawled.
Gloria shifted on her feet, calculating. “Because you were planning on attacking us.”
“Because you can’t be trusted,” Micah said, stepping forwards and lifting his chin. “Once again, Gloria, you’ve overstepped your bounds. Your issue is that you cannot see the bond, and no other supe can see the bond. Here we have four other supes. Let’s ask them.”
“I can see it,” Darius said, not even waiting for the question.
“As can I,” Quill said, his voice quiet but firm.
Dahlia waggled her fingers at Gloria tauntingly. “Three for three, clear as day. Are you having power issues, Glo? Maybe we should go a few rounds and find out.”
From the venom dripping from her words, she didn’t mean in the sack.
Sam was stiff against me, holding his breath as we all looked to the final demon. Really, we didn’t need him to verify it too, but the more who did, the better.
Jeremiah’s gaze flicked up, immediately meeting Noah’s before darting away. “The two are bonded. This is just a fucked up power play that’s wasting everyone’s time.”
Noah lurched forwards with a whimper, a pained expression on his face. He barely took a step before seeming to catch himself and coming to a halt.
The demon didn’t so much as look around. It was as though Noah didn’t even exist to him.
Shit.
“Well, Gloria,” Micah said bracingly. “You’ve got your proof, not that you need it. Benji?”
“Article two, paragraph three, line five—mates fall under the protection of all archs.”
God love Benji and his studies of the lawbook.
“Meaning if you threaten my mate, we will have just cause to put you down. Doing so won’t be considered an act against God.” I smirked before once again calling on Benji. “Article?”
“Article sixteen, paragraph eighteen, line six. No arch is above judgement. If an angel believes justice being delivered is not honest and true, they are permitted to intervene however necessary.”
It was the exact law we’d thrown in her face last time.
Gloria narrowed her eyes at me. “And you think you’re capable of that, Ezekiel?”
“I know we are.” I felt my unit draw in around me, the demons joining us. “Unlike you, I have a solid team around me. We live together. We fight together. We die together. Can you say the same about the angels at your back?”
Uncertainty flickered over Gloria’s face as she glanced over her shoulder. Was she noting how few the number seemed now? How poorly trained they were compared to us?
Or was she noting the lack of conviction on their faces? Those who had paled since the demons appeared? The ones who looked perturbed by the turn of events? Did she see those who had sheathed their weapons entirely?
Just as she had that day with Micah and Nox, Gloria was smart enough to know when she was beaten.
“This isn’t over,” she hissed. “One way or another, I’m taking you down.”
Micah bared his teeth. “Same goes, Gloria. Let’s see who manages it first.”
I reluctantly let go of Sam, nodding at Nate. He understood my meaning, taking my place behind him and wrapping his arm around Sam where mine had been.
Under ordinary circumstances, seeing someone else’s hands on my mate would have had me feeling murderous towards them.
Right now though, all my murderous intentions were focused in one direction, and it wasn’t on the angel protecting Sam.
Moving to Micah’s side, I let my wrath show on my face. “Like I said earlier, Gloria, we do everything together. Taking you down will be something we do together too.”
Gloria’s scoffing laugh had my hackles rising. “Please. I’m not afraid of you. I have the might of Heaven behind me.”
“And we have the might of the Seraphim. You stepped over the line the day you threatened Nox, and today you obliterated it completely by threatening my mate.”
“So be it,” Gloria said ominously, stepping backwards and inclining her head. “Until next time, Seraphim.”
There was a great flash of lightning, and then Gloria was gone.