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“You sure?” Sean asked, checking his ammunition one last time.

Hawk nodded, exchanging a look with Sterling. “You and Cade with an angel at your back should be enough firepower. If not...” He let the sentence hang.

“We'll be your backup plan,” Sterling finished, already setting up monitoring equipment on the table. “If things go sideways, we need someone who knows what's happening ready to respond.”

Cassiel moved to the center of the room, his presence suddenly more imposing, more otherworldly. I caught the faintest glimpse of what looked like shadows of massive wings stretching from his back, though they disappeared when I blinked.

“I can transport us there,” he said, looking between Sean and me. “It will be... uncomfortable for those unused to it.”

“Great,” Sean muttered. “Heavenly Uber. Just what I always wanted.”

“Hold onto me,” Cassiel instructed. “And don't let go, no matter what you feel.”

Sean's hand found mine, squeezing briefly before we both gripped Cassiel's shoulders. The angel looked at each of us in turn, his expression solemn. “Ready?”

Sean clicked the safety off his gun, a grim smile crossing his face. “Let's go kick some demon ass.”

I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the increasing discomfort in my chest. The mark burned hotter, as if responding to the proximity of angelic power. Or perhaps to the thought of facing demons.

As Cassiel's power engulfed us, a strange sensation swept through me—not just the vertigo of angelic transport, but something deeper, more primal. For a brief, terrifying moment, it felt like something inside me was reaching out, trying to connect with the dark forces we were about to confront.

And then we were gone, vanishing into the night with nothing but the whisper of invisible wings.

21

FIRE AND REVELATIONS

CADE

We materialized in a narrow alley about a block from Purgatory. The angelic transport left me disoriented, my stomach lurching as my atoms reassembled themselves. Sean staggered against a brick wall, looking like he might be sick.

“A little warning next time, feathers,” Sean muttered, straightening up.

“My apologies,” Cassiel replied, though he didn't sound particularly sorry. “We needed to land far enough away that the demons wouldn't sense my presence immediately.”

The distant sounds of chaos reached us even here—glass breaking, screams, the unmistakable crack of gunfire. Whatever was happening at Purgatory, it wasn't good.

“We need to move,” I said, already drawing my blades. The silver caught the moonlight, gleaming coldly in the darkness.

As we started toward the street, Cassiel fell into step beside me. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes kept darting to my hip, where the Heavenly Lash hung coiled and ready.

“You still have the Heavenly Lash, don't you?” he asked suddenly, his voice cutting through the tension.

I stiffened at the question, glancing at him sharply. Sean, walking on my other side, narrowed his eyes.

“Why do you know about that?” Sean asked, suspicion coloring his tone.

Cassiel didn't answer right away. Instead, he studied me with an expression that was uncomfortably close to recognition.

“You don't know how much your parents mattered, do you?” he finally said.

My steps faltered for just a moment before I forced myself to keep walking. “My parents were hunters,” I replied, keeping my voice level despite the sudden tightness in my chest. “They mattered to me. That's enough.”

Cassiel exhaled, shaking his head slightly. “They mattered to more than just you. Your parents were spoken of among the angels. Not often, but enough that I knew their names.”

That landed heavier than I expected, a weight dropping into the pit of my stomach. Next to me, Sean frowned, moving closer as if to shield me.

“And what exactly were they saying?” Sean pressed, his protective instinct kicking in.