Page 124 of Bellamy

“That wasn’t a compliment, you fuck.” Baxter’s wings sprang from his back, the feathers all black. Regular Nephilim didn’t have colors in their feathers. Only those of us cursed did. The blade of his sword gleamed beneath the moonlight as he unsheathed it.

Sirena and her warriors readied their spears. Each of them had several weapons—a spear, a sword, and smaller blades tucked away in the straps along their thighs.

Kyo, Warrin, and the rest of the dragons shifted into their hybrid forms. Scales spread along their skin, horns sprouted from their hair, and their nails grew to sharp points, like claws. Their eyes glowed a bit too and appeared more reptilian.

“You want to know Belphegor’s plan?” I pulled both my swords free, one in each hand, and looked at Asa. “To release your father from his cage. Light Bringer led you here because it followed Lucifer’s life force.”

“Impossible,” Asa said.

“Remember what I told you in Hoia Baciu?” Daman said. “Envy sensed your insecurity and doubts. He sensed the inferiority you feel toward Lucifer. You’re afraid you’ll never live up to the Morningstar name. You’re afraid that others look at you and see nothing but a spoiled child sitting on his daddy’s throne.” Daman swished the curved blade of his falx sword, cutting through the air. “Belphegor believes it too. You’re nothing but a pawn in his game.”

“Fuck you!” Asa’s eyes burned a brighter crimson before Daman cried out, his body twisting in pain.

“Release him!” Warrin yelled, pulling Daman into his arms.

“No. I don’t think I will.” Asa walked closer, Light Bringer firmly in his grasp. Daman writhed in pain, unable to stand. Asa’s powers were too strong. “Belphegor is many things, but he’s not foolish enough to betray me. How dare you speak your lies, Envy. Maybe I’ll cut your tongue out to prevent you from doing so again. Or perhaps I’ll tear you apart from the inside. Like this.” His eyes blazed bright red again.

Daman spit up blood and shook uncontrollably in Warrin’s arms.

I felt an echo of his pain, like his organs were being yanked and twisted. When Belphegor tortured me in the underworld, he had made me see Daman die countless times. Blown apart, decapitated, all his limbs torn off. My hands shook.

“I’m f-fine,” Daman said, blood speckled on his lips. “Kill that b-bastard.”

“You can’t kill me.” A smile spread across Asa’s face. “But you aren’t as lucky.”

With a flick of his hand, he sent a dagger through the air, aimed right at Daman’s chest. The blade buzzed with celestial energy. My heart dropped into my stomach. Warrin rolled out of the way to dodge it, covering Daman’s body with his.

Talking had come to an end. We had told Asa the truth, but the fraction of Pride in his soul blinded him to that truth. There was no reasoning with him.

And he’d just made the first move.

Alastair sprung forward, sword drawn and wings free. It broke Asa’s concentration, releasing Daman from whatever fucked up thing he had been doing to his insides.

My brother stilled in Warrin’s arms.

I still felt his life force. He wasn’t dead. But his life thread—one all seven of us had that presented itself as the color of our sins—flickered to a dimmer green. His powers would heal him since he hadn’t been injured by a celestial blade, but the attack had weakened him.

Warrin roared in anger before his body trembled and exploded outward. A full-sized dragon with soft white-and-blue scales then stood in his place, so large he was able to knock aside several of the fallen angels with a flicking of his massive tail.

Daman crawled onto his back—with Warrin’s gentle nudge of his head to help.

“You okay, D?”I asked.

“Yeah.”Daman balanced himself on Warrin’s back as the dragon sent more of the fallen angels flying, this time hitting them with his wing. He didn’t just sound weak. He looked it too.“Worry about yourself. War’s got me.”

Lev and the twins rushed to Warrin’s side to help as he became an obvious target. Viktor fought beside Daichi, ice and earth powers merging as they attacked the enemy.

The battle had officially begun.

Lazarus sent his whip through the air. It wrapped around a fallen angel’s foot and yanked him back to the ground, where Castor then stabbed him in the chest. A crack of thunder pierced the air—the sound of the soul leaving his body.

The tat-tat of bullets rang out as Mason fired his gun. One bullet lodged into a fallen angel’s chest. She screamed before there was another loud crack in the air.

Three of the Fallen dropped down beside me, Raziel being one of them. I had faced him twice now. The coward always fled before I dealt the final blow.

“If we keep meeting like this, I’ll think you have a thing for me,” I told him, getting a firmer grip on my dual blades. I kept the other angels in my peripherals.

Raziel smirked. “If you’re anything like your father, I may need to have a taste of you before I kill you.”