Angel Betrayed

“Because if you don’t, I will light this whole damn town on fire.” He smiled, showing lots of teeth. “I don’t have anything to lose. I’ll burn, I’ll fight,” and he pulled out the claw that was still stained with an angel’s blood, “and I’ll kill.”

Uriel’s gaze dropped to the weapon. “You’re actually threatening me?” Now there was emotion in his voice and on his face. Shock.

“I killed one angel.” Sam shrugged, then yanked out the bottle he’d gotten from Mateo. Smart-ass witch. The guy had no doubt seen this coming. No wonder he’d made sure Sam had a good stock on that holding powder. The bottle exploded, and the white smoke sprang up around Uriel, trapping him just as it had trapped Rogziel. “How much harder can it be to take out another?”

Uriel’s jaw dropped. He slammed his hands against the invisible wall that bound him in place.

“I don’t think he saw that coming,” Az murmured.

“Angels . . .” Sam shook his head. “Sometimes, they’re just too damn cocky. Just because they’re high up on the food chain, it doesn’t mean they can’t still get eaten.”

Uriel screamed, no, he roared, and his wings slammed into his crystal-clear prison.

“When you calm down . . .” The area was deserted now. Smart Other had fled. “We’ll talk, and then you’ll bring me Seline.” Sam shrugged. “Or I’ll cut off your wings.”

Seline was walking through a cloud of—well, a cloud. Everything was beautiful. Gorgeous. But . . . there were only other angels around, and they weren’t exactly chatty.

No humans. No shifters. No charmers. Delia had told her that when those beings passed, they went “far beyond the gates.” Yeah, there’d been a bit of yearning in Delia’s words. So when most folks died, they got some sparkly, happily-ever-after paradise. But angels had . . .

“You have to come with me!”

Seline spun around. Okay, wow, Delia’s wings were all ruffled. “What’s wrong?”

“Sammael.”

Her heart slammed into her chest. “Has something happened to him?”

Delia glanced around, and the woman looked worried. Not good. Delia didn’t worry. “If you don’t stop him, something exceedingly bad will happen.”

“Then why are we standing here?” Seline yelled as her own feathers ruffled. “Get me to—”

Delia grabbed her hand and yanked her right off the cloud. They fell fast and hard toward earth. The clouds whipped around them, and Seline could just make out a sea of blue and the thick darkness of land and—

“Use your wings!”

Oh, crap, right. Seline started flapping.

Delia didn’t let go of her hand. The woman flew forward, not down, and Seline struggled to keep up with her.

The air was cold on her face. It felt like raindrops were stinging her skin. Faster, faster, they went. Their surroundings blurred. She lost track of time.

And then . . .

Darkness.

Her feet hit the ground.

“Seline?”

Broken, rough, Sam. Her eyes opened. He was there. Tall, strong, but with hollowed cheeks and wild, shadowed eyes. Pain etched deep lines on his face. She hurried toward him, and heard someone—Az?—mutter, “Wings . . .” from her side. She didn’t look his way because she couldn’t look away from Sam.

Her fingers trembled when she touched Sam’s face.

“I dreamed about you,” he whispered.

She tried to smile. Couldn’t. “And I dreamed about you.” Her heart beat so fast she hurt.

“I tried to save you.” Gruff, torn from him.

She shoved back the memory of fear and pain and of his eyes—on hers. Afraid, angry. Desperate.

Seline stood on her toes and kissed him. This wasn’t a dream, he was real now, and she needed to feel his mouth against hers.

His fingers brushed over her wings, and a shiver skated down her body.

“She’s here, now let me out,” Uriel snarled.

Keeping Seline’s fingers twined with his, Sam stepped back. He kicked away the white powder that circled Uriel.

“What is that?” Uriel demanded. “Nothing should hold us, nothing.”

“We can hold each other. Our own powers can lock us in. Bind us.” Sam exhaled slowly. “The powder is made from angel wings. What the hell do you think happens to the wings when we fall? They burn, turn to ash and dust, but they keep a glow of our power.”

Seline tightened her fingers around his.