Iniquity (The Premonition, #5)(68)

The angel’s wings rustle. He lands near me, but his wings still flutter—restless air fans me. Reaching down, the angel picks me up, extracting me from the cold cobblestone floor. My cheek rests against his bared chest, leaving streaks of red on his perfect skin. I hear the powerful beat of his heart. Mine slows, making me pant for air. He flies us upward, landing on the loft. Gently, he lays me in the straw. His hands move over me, checking my injuries. I know it should be painful, but it isn’t.

A growl turns his expression dark. His perfect mouth twists in anger as one of his hands touches my ribs. I feel him move the shard of bone, pulling it in a way that he shouldn’t be able to if it weren’t broken. There’s a sucking sound as he moves it.

I can’t breathe! My eyes go wide in distress. Quickly, he moves my rib back. Whatever hole he’d opened by shifting the bone from my lung fills once more. The angel gathers me to him. He sits and leans against the dusty wall with me in his lap. I look up at the exposed rafters of the carriage house. His hand goes to my forehead, moving my blood-soaked hair from my eyes. I cough hard. Blood spills onto my lips.

His deep voice vibrates through his chest, “Do you need to say goodbye to anyone?”

My voice is thready as I ask, “I’m dying?”

“Yes. I cannot save you.”

I think of Nicolas—his beautiful brown eyes, boyish grin—so kind and so perfect. Being in my husband’s arms was what I wanted for my life once, but that’s so far away now. Is he still alive somewhere out there?

I hope I never see Nicolas again, I think. A tear falls from beneath my lashes.

He’d never understand that I’m not the same person with whom he fell in love. I’m not her anymore. I’ve done things that he can’t ever know about—things he could never forgive. I’d never be able to look him in the eyes again. I’m broken. I think of Xavier...my British officer. He’d needed me to stay here—to gain information to sabotage my enemy’s evacuation of weapons. In exchange, he said he’d help me escape when the time was right. Will he ever find out what happened to me?

“No,” I gasp. “There’s no one.” I’m cold. My lips tremble.

“There will be no pain where you’re going,” the angel murmurs. He strokes my hair.

“Where am I going?”

“Home.”

“You sound sad...” I cough again and taste more blood. “Why are you sad?”

“I wish I was going with you.”

“You want to go home?”

“More than anything.”

“Then come with me.”

“I’m not allowed back unless I’m called. After what I just did, I will never go home again.”

“You did something wrong?”

“I’ve broken the law.”

“How?”

“I hunt evil. This place has drawn my prey near to it. The one I sought to destroy was helping the human I ended down there.” He moves his chin in Emil’s direction. “I’d been waiting for the fallen one to return. Byzantyne is never far away from his charge.”

“Byzantyne…” I say the name that feels familiar to my tongue. With effort, I extend my cool fingers and rest them against the angel’s cheek. Startled by the contact, his head moves back from me. After a moment though, he leans into my palm, lifting his hand to cover mine and hold it in place. Our eyes connect.

“I’m never to interfere with humans,” he whispers, like a confession. “I saw what Byzantyne’s human was doing to you and I should have walked away. But I couldn’t! Not this time! He shouldn’t get to live after what he did to you. He needed to die. My only regret is that it hadn’t been more painful for him.”

“Emil was bad,” I whisper, trying to calm him.

“To his core,” the angel agrees. “The only angels coming for his soul will be from Sheol.”

“They’ll come for me, too?”

The angel shakes his head. “No. Not you.”

I feel a flood of relief at his absolute surety that I will be spared that fate. “What’s urr name...” I slur.

“Shh …” He tries to soothe me; his fingers thread through mine. My hand leaves his face as he holds it.

“Your name?” I insist in a raspy voice.

“Reed.”

“Reed.” The sound of his name is a benediction.

A tremendous rumble of thunder roars around us, shaking the carriage house. Dust falls from the rafters even after the angry sound fades.

“What’s happening?” I ask, fear bright in my eyes.

“I’ve made Paradise angry. They’ll be coming for me.”

“Why?”

“I killed a human.”

“He was killing me. You protected me.”

“And I’d do it again.”

“What’s going to happen to you?”

“I’ll be executed.”

“What? But, you’re good!”

“Am I? I really don’t know anymore. I think I’ve been here too long.”

“Why would you do this for me? Why would you try to save me?”

“I wanted it all to end…I wanted to go home to Paradise, but it never happened. And I saw you…and I watched you…and I knew—we’re the same, you and I. We’re both caught in the wheel and it just spins.”