CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
REAVER
I sit perched on the grand window ledge, looking out over the beauty that is the Heavens.
Exactly how I spent the last two days gazing out and reminiscing about the lifetime I lived, fought, and nearly died for this place.
Now, falling seems like a merciful gift compared to what I plan to do.
But because my options are limited, my allegiance must be with Pesta, if for no other reason than her keeping her word to not harm Kennedy or anyone associated with me.
Themis’ guards don’t even bother to knock before they burst into the bedroom chamber.
Their appearance isn’t a surprise. I was counting down the minutes since they closed the doors and locked me in.
Themis agreed to go with me, but she required two days to prepare her guards.
Pestilence, of course, already anticipated this move.
No goddess is going to agree to go anywhere, especially with me.
“You’re to come with us,” the lead guard demands as he grabs my arm and pulls me from my seat.
I make no attempt to resist or even fight despite my internal need to show this wet-winged Arc what messing with an Elite can get you. Yanking my arm from his grip, I glare at him. “Haven’t you been taught that you get more bees with honey than vinegar?”
He stands staring at me, and I can visibly see him shake before he brushes past me. “You’re to be escorted to the Judgment Chamber where you will wait.”
Following them without a word, I note that the chamber has no guards stationed outside, which I find odd.
Even without knowing that a sworn enemy has a plan for you, a place as sacred as Themis’ Judgment Chamber should always have a guard posted.
No matter how many times I’ve seen the chamber, I am always taken aback by its beauty.
Soaring marble columns and celestial light that makes everything look either holy or pretentious, depending on your perspective.
After all that took place in this chamber with my fallen brothers, I leaned heavily toward pretentious.
The insolent guard pushes me forward. “You’re to wait here,” he barks out before pivoting on his boot heel and exiting.
As an Elite Archangel, warrior, or man, I don’t have much that I truly regret, and I’ve done a lot of shitty things over the years.
But sitting in Themis’ chamber, I can honestly say, I regret having agreed to help Pestilence.
Unfortunately, I was given few options, and I’m done putting other people in danger.
I’m lost in thought, sitting on the steps that lead to Themis’s throne with my head resting in my hands, doing my best to think of any other way out of the shit storm I’m about to unleash when I hear the door push open.
When I look up, I shake my head and blink my eyes a few times to make sure that I’m not hallucinating.
Kennedy just walked through the archway, and I swear to all that is holy, or unholy, given my current status, the woman looks like an avenging angel herself with her hair wild, eyes blazing with determination, wearing jeans and a leather jacket in the goddamn Heavens like she owns the place.
It doesn’t take more than a breath to realize that I love her so much it physically hurts.
”Reaver,” she says, and I hear a slight quiver to her voice as she backs up, pushing the massive door closed behind her. “I can’t believe I found you. We need to talk,” she adds as she rushes over to me.
I’m stunned at her presence, not just because this is the throne room of a goddess. This isn’t a mortal plane, and she shouldn’t be here. “You broke into Heaven to have a conversation?” I can’t help the smile that tugs at my lips. “Most people just send a text.”
“Can you please be serious for a moment? And most people’s boyfriends aren’t trying to trap goddesses for Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” She crosses her arms. “We need to lower the stakes for face-to-face meetings.”
There’s that word again…boyfriend. My chest tightens in a way that has nothing to do with divine retribution and everything to do with this infuriating, brilliant, absolutely fearless woman.
“Kennedy, sweetheart, while I appreciate the sentiment, you need to leave. Now.” I glance toward the entrance, half expecting Themis to materialize any second. “If she finds you here—”
“She’ll what? Judge me?” Kennedy steps closer, and I catch the scent of her—vanilla and something uniquely her that makes my wings ache to wrap around her and never let go.
“I’m already in love with a crazy archangel with a death wish.
So, I’m pretty sure that ship has sailed, crashed, and sunk to the bottom of the ocean. ”
“This isn’t a joke.”
“I know it’s not.” Her expression softens, and she reaches up to touch my face, her palm warm against my cheek.
“That’s why I’m here. Asher, Michael, Zachriel, and Cain—they’ve set a trap for Pestilence, thanks to Gabriel.
He figured out your plan, and then Michael figured out how to make a cell strong enough to hold her indefinitely. ”
I freeze, trying to contemplate what she is saying. “What?”
“You don’t have to do this, Reaver. You don’t have to trap Themis or play Pestilence’s game. Your friends—fuck, your family—we have it handled.” She reaches for my hand, her fingers lacing through mine with a certainty that makes my heart stutter. “You can come home.”
Home.
The word hits me like a physical blow. When had I last thought of anywhere as home? The Inferno was a base, a tactical location. Fuck, someplace I went to forget. Heaven was duty, and even when it wasn’t, it was never a home.
But the way Kennedy said “home,” it felt like something real and tangible, something that can be ours.
Shaking my head, I let the home-sweet-home thought die. “I can’t,” I say, hating myself even as the words leave my mouth. “Pestilence has leverage—”
“Had leverage,” Kennedy interrupts firmly. “Past tense. I told you, we’re handling it. But I need you to trust me, trust us, and get your stubborn angelic ass out of this palace before—”
“Before what?”
I spin around, instinctively grabbing Kennedy and placing her behind me as Themis appears in the doorway.
Well, shit.
Themis stands there, absolutely terrifying.
Her power radiates from her in waves, making the air around her shimmer like heat rising from pavement in summer.
Her fiery red hair blows around her head with wind no one can feel, and her eyes—pure, molten gold—fixed on me with an expression of such fury that I instinctively take another step back, forcing Kennedy to take a step up and closer to Themis’ throne.
My protective instincts are screaming at me to get her out of here, to shield her from whatever wrath Themis is about to unleash. But knowing Kennedy, she’ll probably punch me if I try to save her out without permission.
“You dare!” Themis cries out, her voice carrying the weight of divine judgment and approximately three thousand years of pent-up rage. “You sully my judgment chamber with this human pet. Is she another pawn in your plot?”
“I’m not his pet,” Kennedy retorts, and I feel her peek her head out from behind my shoulder. “I’m his girlfriend. There’s a difference. Pets get treats and belly rubs. I get existential angst and involvement in… angelic conspiracies.”
Another time—literally, any other time—I would be overjoyed to hear her call herself my girlfriend again. But standing in front of the goddess of Justice, in her judgment chamber, while technically committing multiple acts of high treason isn’t one of them.
“Kennedy,” I hiss. “Not helping.”
“Sorry,” she whispers. “But when have I ever helped by staying quiet?”
Behind Themis, I catch a glimpse of Salem, Aradia, and another woman I don’t quite recognize rushing up the marble stairs. The three women come to an abrupt stop as they pass through the archway and into the chamber, taking in the scene with varying expressions of alarm and awe.
Salem looks ready to murder, and Aradia seems torn between family loyalty and self-preservation.
And the third woman unfurls her dark gossamer wings, shimmering with an otherworldly iridescence.
She has a presence that makes my skin prickle with recognition of something not quite evil, but definitely not angelic.
When she looks around at the scene, she seems almost amused, as if she were watching a particularly entertaining play.
“Hey, Kennedy.” She waves with a big smile on her face.
“Hey, Jenna.” Kennedy waves back, and it makes me wonder if she realizes the immense amount of danger she and all the rest are in.
“Mother!” Aradia shouts, stepping forward with more courage than sense. Actually, it is exactly the right amount of courage. Someone needs to stand up to Themis, and who better than her own daughter? “Please, just listen—”
“You!” Themis rounds on Aradia, and the temperature in the room drops about twenty degrees. Frost begins to form on the nearest marble column. “How dare you conspire against me with these… these traitorous, fallen abominations!”
“They’re not abominations,” Aradia defends, and I make a mental note to buy the woman a drink if we all survive this.
Hell, I’ll buy her the whole bar. Well, technically, I guess she now already owns The Inferno, but I’ll buy her a drink anyway.
“They’re archangels… elite warriors who were unjustly accused and punished.
They were all judged and condemned by you.
When does it end, Mother? When do they get a chance at redemption? ”
“Never,” Themis answers coldly, each word like a blade of ice. “Some indiscretions are unredeemable.”
Her words hang in the air like a death sentence…
Unredeemable.
That’s what she called Gabriel’s crime. Unredeemable. That’s what she called Asher’s crime, and Jaxon’s, all of theirs. She didn’t have a chance to judge me, not yet anyway. But I did question authority and the status quo, actions punishable by death.