Chapter Thirty-Six
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX
Aurelie hadn’t known what she’d expected from Severin’s magic, but it wasn’t the carnage before her.
The innards of demons spilled out onto the pews, and there weren’t enough words to describe the sheer chaos and horror of it.
She gripped the edge of the window and breathed hard, trying to refocus her attention to fight down the panic rolling over her in heavy, nauseous waves.
She could do this. She would do this. What other choice did she have?
Vex’s claws dug into her shoulder as the vesper stretched to watch the scene unfold. She would have expected a Luminel to flee from such a nightmare, yet Vex stood transfixed, as if spellbound by the chaos. Her grip tightened, the bite of her claws grounding Aurelie.
She waited until Severin had earned Kieran’s attention before hauling herself up and through the broken window, careful to avoid any shards of glass that might betray her presence.
The church was painted with blood. It had sprayed the walls, staining the wood of shattered pews and pooling into the cracks of the stone.
The scent was heavy against the back of her throat, suffocating her, yet she forced herself to move even as each roar from the battle sent a shudder through her spine.
“Be on the lookout,” she warned the vesper, met with a flutter of wings against her ear as she crept slowly toward the altar.
Yuri was there before her, hanging by his wrists and wings.
The angel’s head bowed forward while his chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. His skin was slicked with sweat, ashen, and his eyes were sunken. Terror struck her at the sight; looking up at Yuri felt like looking into the face of a dead man.
A single nail was driven through both his wrists, pinning them above his head. Each wing was the same, wrenched so wide they seemed ready to tear. Gilded blood ran down the length of his arms and bare chest, splattering onto the stone below.
The air seemed to constrict as she looked at him, blinking back tears. The angel didn’t stir at her approach, and for one terrible moment, she feared she was too late.
“Yuri,” she breathed as she reached for him.
His lashes fluttered, eyes slowly cracking open, and his relief nearly brought her to her knees.
He was weak, barely conscious, and his eyes were glazed as they lifted upon her.
“Are you real?” he rasped.
Her throat closed around a sob. “I’m real, and I’m going to get you down from there. Hold on just a bit longer.”
His lips barely curved into the ghost of a smile before his eyes fell shut once more. That was enough to unravel her completely. She reached for him, hands shaking, but he was too high.
“Vex.” She lifted the vesper from her shoulder, cupping her in her palms. “Do you think you can pry out those nails?”
Vex hesitated, her tiny claws curling around the nail embedded in Yuri’s wrists, the iron slicked with blood. She braced her feet against the wooden beam and gave an experimental tug.
Yuri jerked violently. A guttural cry tore from his throat, fingers twitching as agony seared through him.
Aurelie gasped, seeing white as the pain flared through her own wrists. Vex’s ears flattened, her body going rigid. The vesper began to pull away, but Aurelie snapped at her.
“Don’t stop! Whatever you do, don’t you dare stop, Vex. Please.”
Yuri trembled, gritting his teeth so hard that she felt the shock of it in her own aching mouth.
His agony sank into her until it felt as if she, too, were being nailed to the beam.
Her fingers curled against the altar, splinters digging into her skin.
It was the only thing keeping her standing as waves of pain threatened to pull her under.
The vesper made a small, frustrated sound and pulled harder.
Yuri bucked, another strangled scream escaping him, and Aurelie swayed, barely keeping upright.
“I’m sorry,” she panted, helpless as she watched him writhe. “We’ve almost got it.”
The angel was no longer responding. His head hung limp, consciousness slipping. It was fortunate she couldn’t feel the pain in his wings, otherwise she likely wouldn’t be able to hold on. As it was, she was already on her knees, clutching her chest as glass shattered behind her.
Aurelie whirled, dazed, as a monstrous red prideborn with hulking wings and bloodshot eyes prowled toward them, swaying as he fought against Severin’s command.
She’d been so focused on Yuri that she’d barely registered the other demons, trusting Severin to take care of them. Quickly, Aurelie reached for her dagger. It was heavy in her grip, her body balancing exhaustion and the conflicting emotions of her two bonded.
On Yuri’s side, all she wanted was relief. To let herself succumb and forget any of this was happening.
On Severin’s, she felt intoxicated by the power spreading through him and revelry for the chaos he’d caused.
He was the only reason she was still clinging to consciousness, and she leaned into their bond with everything she had, begging it to consume her as she struggled to put herself between Yuri and the demon.
The prideborn’s eyes shifted first to her hair, then to her blade, and she knew he was waiting for her to summon Glory.
Her throat was dry as she begged the magic to come forth. She needed it now more than ever, yet it flickered at the edge of her blade before vanishing entirely, resisting her call.
A desperate cry escaped her, and she shook her dagger.
Blast her rotten bond and the lie she’d built it on. Was that why it punished her? Or was it because she was bonded to a demon now, too?
The prideborn smiled as he watched her struggle. “It seems your blade is broken.”
Aurelie’s chest burned with frustration as she gripped the hilt tighter. It didn’t matter if she had no Glory. She was a Rhovarian knight; she’d kill this beast with her own strength.
She pushed to her feet, steadying her mind as her training took hold.
The only choice was to win. She’d buy Vex enough time to free Yuri, and get the others out of here.
Because she was a Chantelune, and what good was she if she couldn’t kill a single demon?
She slashed at the prideborn’s knees when he came for her, aiming to throw him off balance. He danced to the side, missing the brunt of the blow and retaliating with a swipe of his claws.
“Faster, Vex!” she hissed, frustration burning through her as she tried and failed again to summon her Glory.
“I’m trying!” The Luminel strained against the nail. Finally, with a heavy grunt, she managed to pull one free. The nail hit the floor with a sharp clatter, and Aurelie felt her body sway.
One down, two to go.
Yuri’s shaky exhale twisted into a grimace as his weight shifted. His body, suspended now by only his wings, jerked violently, and the sob that tore from his throat sent a knife through Aurelie’s chest. She gasped, vision going white as pain lanced through her like a crack of lightning.
The demon lunged, and this time, she was too slow to react. She barely had time to lift her dagger before the beast slammed into her, knocking the breath from her lungs. She hit the floor hard, the impact rattling her teeth.
There were only seconds before his next strike, and she rolled aside just in time. She used the demon’s nearness to her advantage, her dagger slashing across his face.
The prideborn snarled, staggering off balance, which was precisely the opportunity she needed. Aurelie lunged, throwing herself onto the creature as she plunged her blade deep into his gut.
He collapsed to the floor, black blood spilling over Aurelie’s hands as she pressed until she felt the stone.
Seconds later, light faded from his eyes.
But they weren’t in the clear yet.
She was barely beginning to catch her breath when she caught sight of the monster lurking behind Kieran—silver wrathborn markings that shone upon orange skin. Black wings, and an envyborn’s barbed tail with spikes like a weapon.
A hybrid. Just like her father.
He was turned, facing Severin, but Kieran’s cold stare slipped over her as if he’d sensed Aurelie watching. His eyes skimmed down to her weapon, searching for the blazing light of Glory. The moment he realized there was nothing, he started toward her.
Severin’s song came faster, louder, as he made the horde into his puppets and turned what demons were left against their leader.
They snarled, flashing bloodied teeth as they lunged, but the hybrid protected him.
Electricity crackled upon his body, and one touch was all it took to send the attacking demons to the floor, screaming in pain.
Severin’s eyes cut to Aurelie, and the warning in them was clear as day: He couldn’t do this alone. The revelry that had once burned through her was waning as his magic exhausted itself. Aurelie, too, was depleted, too much of her energy siphoned away to fuel this level of use.
“Glory.” Yuri’s voice rasped behind her, fragile and aching. “Summon Glory.”
Aurelie shook her head. “I can’t—”
Kieran tore through the horde, clearing the path toward her.
“Aurelie.” Yuri’s voice echoed in her head, weak but insistent. Vex pried at the final nail pinning his wings with all her might, hissing under her breath. “You don’t have a choice. It has to be now.”
“I can’t!” She backed toward him, blade raised. “I lied, Yuri! I lied, all right? That’s why Glory isn’t working. I didn’t kill a demon before we made our bond. I lied!”
There was silence, and for a moment Aurelie was certain that the angel had fallen unconscious.
Goose bumps flared across her skin. Across the church, Kieran threw a demon off him, crushing their throat before tossing them aside like a discarded rag. He’d be on them any second.
Suddenly Yuri’s hand was around her wrist, squeezing weakly. His head lolled, but his eyes opened just enough to find hers. “You may have lied,” he rasped, “but you are still my bonded. And you will feel Glory.”
Before she could respond, the bond snapped taut.
Power surged through her veins like molten light, catching like an ember to kindling and flaring to life within her, a feeling more glorious than she could ever put into words.
Glory bore none of Severin’s wild chaos. It was not an intoxicating rush, or a raging fire that yearned to be used. Yuri’s magic was a balm, like slipping into a warm bath after a long day, water gliding over her and healing every ache and pain.
She surrendered herself to it, and the dagger flared to life in her grip, searing silver down its edge. But it wasn’t her doing.
Yuri was using her.
Through the bond, his magic threaded into her limbs, guiding them with unshakable purpose. Her body trembled as she gave in to it, letting him steal what little energy she had left. Letting him turn her into a conduit.
The prideborn lunged, and silver light reflected in Kieran’s eyes a second before his fate was sealed.
She plunged the blade into his throat as Glory shuddered through her.
He crumpled just as Vex shrieked in triumph, the final nail wrenching free.
Aurelie barely managed to soften Yuri’s blow as he fell into a heap on the floor. He sagged into her arms, yet his magic remained, steady and bright in her grip.
Aurelie held the angel close, her chest rising and falling with shallow, shaky breaths.
She’d always imagined what the full strength of Glory would feel like, though nothing could have prepared her for how alive it was, filling her chest until it ached. Her limbs thrummed with the power, body singing as it consumed her, as certain as the beat of her heart.
Her fingers trembled on the hilt as the light slowly began to dim.
His head on her lap, Yuri stirred faintly. “How did it feel?” he asked, a ghost of amusement tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Aurelie let out a breathless laugh, her hand brushing a streak of blood from his cheek. “More incredible than I could have ever imagined.”
She couldn’t be certain he heard the words, however, for Yuri’s body had gone slack as he fell unconscious once more.
His wrists were healing, the skin knitting together with agonizing slowness. But the blood—Light, his blood was everywhere. He’d lost too much of it.
The tiny vesper panted as she stared down at the angel, and with a quick glance Aurelie saw that Vex’s hands were bleeding silver.
“Thank you,” Aurelie told the vesper as she held Yuri against her, trying to pull him away as the carnage behind them continued. “You did amazing.”
The vesper brightened, the glow around her warming, then flickering as she noticed the hybrid.
The beast had turned his attention onto her when Kieran fell, red eyes raging as he fought against Severin’s pull. Even at the sight of Glory, he did not hesitate.
Aurelie had no energy left to fight it. Between Severin and Yuri, the two had used it all up.
The angel had slipped into unconsciousness, and Aurelie was struggling not to follow, doing everything in her power to keep her eyes open. The Glory blade burned bright in her grip, though it was a threat she couldn’t make good on.
Vex settled atop her head, growling at the hybrid.
He didn’t slow, movements erratic. Aurelie squeezed Yuri tighter.
“Help us,” she begged any of the Divine who might be listening as she curled tight against him. “If there’s any hope left for this world, then someone help us now, please.”
Aurelie couldn’t say with certainty what happened next.
Her prayer was answered, just not by the Divine.
A demon had appeared before her, monstrous and magnificent, with black feathered wings that struck like the gale of a storm.
They were larger than any she’d ever seen, as were the horns that curved up and behind him. Red markings glowed upon every inch of his brown skin, spiraling up his horns until they gleamed like a crown.
Aurelie clutched her dagger tight, only to realize that this demon was not coming for her, but to protect her.
Severin.
The hybrid snarled at the sight of him, wings bristling. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed of running into you again.”
“Here I am.” Severin smiled, ichor smeared across his snarling lips.
He was a monster unbound, and yet all it took was that single glance for Aurelie to understand that she and Yuri would be safe.
She curled her body around the angel, protecting him, and left Severin to his reckoning.