CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE #2
But standing here with Kennedy’s hand in mine, I realize I don’t regret a single choice I ever made. Because of all those choices? They all led me to her.
“No.” A deep male voice echoes from the doorway, and I feel my heart—my actual heart, not the metaphorical one—skip a beat.
Gabriel strides into the throne room, and fuck if he doesn’t look as magnificent as the first Elite Archangel should. His massive golden wings spread wide, power emanating from him like a second sun. This was Gabriel before his fall, before the torture, before everything Pestilence put him through.
This is the first archangel, Heaven’s greatest warrior, and one of my oldest friends and mentors. As a child, I wanted to grow up to be him, fight alongside him, and defend with him.
The last time I saw him like this, we were fighting side by side against a demon horde in what is now modern-day Turkey. He saved my life that day, took a blade meant for my heart, and laughed it off like it was nothing.
Looking at him now, I feel a surge of brotherhood so strong, it nearly knocks me over.
“Not unredeemable or unforgivable,” Gabriel continues, his voice carrying authority that even Themis can’t completely dismiss. “There’s a big difference between justice and vengeance, Themis. You taught me that once, or have you forgotten your own lessons?”
I watch as Themis shakes off the expression of surprise at seeing Gabriel. I’m positive the last time she saw him, he was standing in this very chamber being judged and sentenced—thrown from Heaven for the crime of genocide. For choosing one person over all of humanity.
Looking back at Kennedy, feeling the weight of her trust and love, I finally understand what that felt like. I’ll burn down Heaven itself if it means keeping her safe.
“How is it even possible that you’re here, and displaying wings you no longer deserve?” Themis’ voice is laden with condescension as she looks at Gabriel, then back at me. “And you… I should have torn your wings off when I had the chance, instead of imprisoning you in Treachery.”
“I guess hindsight’s kind of a bitch,” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
Kennedy elbows me in the ribs. “Not helping your case,” she whispers.
“I’m not trying to help my case. I’m trying to get you out of here alive.
I need to get you to safety,” I whisper, acutely aware of Themis’ attention shifting back toward us like a predator tracking prey.
“I love you, but this shit show is between Themis and me, and if you haven’t noticed, you are the only human here. ”
“Like hell it is,” Kennedy whispers back, her jaw set in that stubborn way that means I’ve already lost the argument before it’s even begun. “We’re in this together, remember? Didn’t we just have the ‘All for one’ conversation? I got your back, you got mine, remember?”
Gods, I love this woman.
Her fierce loyalty, her refusal to back down, her absolute certainty that we are a team even when facing down divine judgment.
She makes me want to be better, to be the warrior I used to be before cynicism and centuries of disappointment wore me down. I was willing to trap Themis for Pestilence because I thought it would keep Kennedy safe.
I was willing to become the villain again, to sacrifice whatever remains of my honor, because the alternative means losing her forever.
But looking at her now—at the determination in her eyes, the way she stands beside me instead of behind me despite the very real danger—I realize I was going about it all wrong. Kennedy doesn’t need me to sacrifice everything for her. She needs me to trust that we can face these things together.
Love doesn’t mean protecting her from the world but standing with her against it.
For a moment, I almost forgot that Gabriel entered. I was so focused on Kennedy, on the weight of her hand in mine, that the rest of the world had narrowed to just us. But I was damn thankful for Gabriel’s presence—and I’m sure I had the same question as Themis.
How is it possible that Gabriel, the first of the Elites to fall, the first-ever Blood Angel, is somehow standing again in the Heavens with his wings restored?
“We have Pestilence captured and imprisoned,” Gabriel states calmly, smiling over at the tiny woman standing behind Aradia—the one with the dark wings and otherworldly presence.
“By morning, she’ll be transferred to Treachery Prison, where she’ll spend the next few millennia contemplating her poor life choices. ”
“Impossible,” Themis breathes, and for the first time, I hear actual uncertainty in her voice.
The goddess of absolute certainty looks genuinely shaken.
“You, of all people, know you cannot contain a Horseman. And even if you can, she’ll thrive in Treachery, emerging more powerful than you can imagine. ”
“Actually,” Gabriel’s smile widens, and it isn’t kind—it is the smile of an archangel who just won a battle that everyone thought was unwinnable, “with the right containment chamber and a few really pissed-off fallen archangels, turns out we can. You turned us into monsters, Themis. Did you really think we wouldn’t learn a thing or two about how to survive through unspeakable horrors? ”
Kennedy squeezes my hand, and when I look down at her, she is grinning. “Told you we had it handled.”
For the first time, Themis looks uncertain. Her golden eyes flicker between all of us—measuring, calculating, probably running through about seventeen different divine contingency plans.
“The balance—” she starts.
“Pestilence’s capture doesn’t upset your precious balance,” Gabriel interrupts, and I’ve never been prouder of my brother-in-arms. “Death, War, and Famine remain. The apocalypse can still happen if it’s meant to.
But it won’t be because one Horseman threw a temper tantrum over being dumped thousands of years ago. ”
“Dumped?” Kennedy questions.
“Long story,” I whisper back. “Involves Gabriel, Pestilence, and the literal destruction of humanity. I’ll tell you over drinks sometime.”
“That’s one hell of a break-up story.”
“You have no idea,” I mumble.
Themis looks between all of us slowly—Gabriel with his defiant stance and restored wings, Aradia standing her ground against her mother, Salem crackling with barely contained magical energy, the mysterious dark-winged woman watching everything with knowing eyes, and me with Kennedy tucked against my side like she’s always belonged there.
Because she does. She absolutely belongs by my side.
Slowly, the fury drains from Themis’ expression, replaced by something that might be resignation. Or possibly indigestion. Hard to tell with goddesses.
“You realize what you’ve done,” she remarks, turning her attention back to me, her voice losing some of its edge, but the warning is still clear. “By double-crossing a Horseman, you’ve set events in motion that cannot be undone. There will be consequences, Reaver. For all of you.”
There will never be a scenario where I come out of this clean.
It doesn’t matter what side I betrayed, each has enough power to render me useless.
“I’m aware,” I reply, reaching for Kennedy’s hand and lacing our fingers together more tightly.
“And we’ll deal with the consequences. But Pestilence crossed a line when she tried to use the woman I love as leverage to get me to do her bidding.
And I’ll protect her by any means necessary. ”
The words hang in the air—a declaration, a promise, a challenge to anyone who thinks they can use Kennedy against me, including Themis. She may be the goddess of Justice, but she is not above using people she deems less than as leverage.
Kennedy’s hand tightens in mine, and when I glance down, her eyes are suspiciously bright. “That’s the second grand romantic declaration you’ve made in the last ten minutes,” she says with a coy smile, her voice thick with emotion. “You’re really committing to this whole expressing feelings thing.”
“Seems like a good time for it, captive audience and all.”
Themis’ gaze settles on me, and for a moment—for just a fleeting second—I see something that almost looks like regret flicker across her face.
“Love,” she snickers softly, almost contemplatively. “It’s both humanity’s greatest strength and its most profound weakness. You’ve chosen to embrace it fully, knowing the cost?”
“Every single time,” I answer without hesitation. “I’ll choose her every single time.”
A smile spreads across Themis’ face. “Even if it means eternal damnation and never returning to the Heavens?”
I glance at Kennedy, taking a moment to really look at her.
At the woman who walked into my life and turned it completely upside down.
Who challenged me, fought with me, saw all my darkness and didn’t flinch.
The crazy woman who broke into Heaven itself just to tell me I didn’t have to face things alone.
The one woman who makes me believe that maybe, just maybe, I am worth loving.
“Especially then,” I profess. “Because Heaven without her isn’t paradise, it’s just a prettier prison.”
Gabriel makes a sound that might be approval, while Salem full-on grins, and even Aradia looks touched.
Kennedy, meanwhile, is blinking rapidly like she’s trying not to cry. “You’re such a sap,” she squeaks out, her voice breaking slightly.
Smiling down at her, I gently wipe away a lone tear that has escaped and is trickling down her cheek. “You love it.”
“I really do.” She lifts up on her tiptoes and kisses me, soft and sweet and perfect, right there in Themis’ judgment chamber like we have all the time in the world. “I love you, Reaver. All of you. The warrior, the protector, the sarcastic asshole who pretends he doesn’t have feelings.”
“I have feelings,” I wink. “I just prefer to express them through violence and witty banter.”
“I know. It’s one of your more endearing qualities.”