Page 54 of Guarded (Hopeless Blessed #3)

Jeremiah

I was torn between defending myself against Lucifer and watching my mate go toe to toe with Lyle.

The banks on the other side of the river were alight as Noah and Lyle battled. My stomach hollowed out as I saw the level of power Lyle was wielding. This wasn’t the broken angel we’d seen in Italy.

This was an arch back at full strength.

He was still no match for Noah. At least, he wouldn’t be if Noah weren’t also having to hold his shield. It wrapped around his body like a second skin now, absorbing hits from all angles. The injury to his wing was healing rapidly, but that would be draining him too.

He wasn’t showing any signs of fatigue, but it wouldn’t be long. No arch could hold out against so much. It was awe-inspiring that Noah had lasted this long.

I had to get to him. I had to fight alongside him.

But first I had to survive this.

With Noah distracted, there was nothing stopping Lucifer from advancing. “It’s just the two of us now your little boyfriend is occupied. The way it’s meant to be. ”

My blood chilled as he raised his hand and hordes of demons took to the air, heading straight for Noah. He smirked at me as he did so. “We both know you’re not the threat here.”

Lucifer meant that as an insult, but it had pride roaring through me. “You’re damned right I’m not. You’ve got no idea who you’re dealing with.”

Lucifer smirked. “It’s almost a shame that he’s going to die today. Such a waste of power and talent.”

I grabbed a discarded sword and encouraged my power into it until it was flaming. “Over my dead body.”

“Oh, don’t worry, you’ll be alive to watch his execution. I wouldn’t want you to miss out.”

Then, he attacked.

Lucifer didn’t bother with a weapon. Why would he, when he was one? He simply launched himself at me, flying through the air at the same time as his fire did.

His power reached me first. I gritted my teeth as my shield took the brunt of his hit, my skin sizzling in the flames that made it through. Jumping to the side, I swung the sword up as Lucifer twisted in the air. The blade missed his neck but sliced a cut along his stomach.

Lucifer hit the ground with a crash, and I didn’t give him a chance to recover, bringing my flaming sword down with a roar. He rolled at the last second and the steel landed on nothing but the bones littering the river.

“Come on, Jeremiah.” Lucifer jumped to his feet. “You can do better than this.”

He was right. I could. And for Noah, I would.

Lifting my weapon, I pulled out every trick I had.

Every step Nox, Darius, Dahlia, Quill, and I had worked on in secret.

Each manoeuvre they’d taught me, and the ones I’d seen the Seraphim using when I’d visited the practice room over the past couple of weeks.

Being unable to be parted from Noah, even when he had to train, was turning out to be a blessing in disguise.

At least, it would’ve been if Lucifer hadn’t been evading all of them. But it kept him on the defensive, which was exactly where I wanted him.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t under any illusions that I could best him. All I wanted was to knock him down long enough to get to Noah.

He lunged at me again, launching us into another frenzied dance. Frustration built in me, but I shoved it down. I wasn’t letting anything get inside my head. Not with Noah at risk.

Just then, I spotted it. A weakness in Lucifer’s stance. Each time he sidestepped, he left a gap at his right side.

I feinted left with a jab of flame and Lucifer spun out of range…

Right into my waiting sword.

Triumph flared in me as Lucifer hissed. He fell to one knee. I yanked my sword out and raised it above my head. This was my chance. I was going to do it. I was going to best him and save my mate.

Everything was going to be okay.

But then, a shout.

A choked cry.

My name skidding across the river of flames.

“ Jem! ”

My head snapped around to see Noah in Lyle’s grip. At first you might mistake it for a lover’s embrace. Lyle’s arms were wrapped around Noah, his hand around his neck.

But there was nothing sweet or tender about it. Not with how Lyle was crushing his throat. Not with how Noah’s legs were kicking desperately as he tried to break free. Or how his powers were rising and falling, too spent to do anything.

Even from here, I could feel Lyle’s own powers rising. The amount he was drawing up wasn’t to injure or even kill.

It was to execute.

My horrified scream was lost on the wind.

All of this passed in less than two seconds.

Those two seconds cost me any chance of saving him.

A hand wrapped around my neck as well now. Not to choke me, but to grab my chin. To force me to watch the horrors that were unfolding.

“You’re going to watch Noah leave this plane,” Lucifer said roughly. “You’re going to stand here, knowing you failed him. That you couldn’t save him. And once it’s done? I’m dragging you back into the ninth circle, where I’ll make you relive this moment over and over again.”

I wish I could say everything went numb, but it didn’t.

I was aware of the terror I was feeling.

The anguish. The fear etched into every line of Noah’s face.

The cruel triumph twisting Lyle’s lips. The hordes of demons baying for the blood of my mate.

The angels and demons in the distance, flying hard and fast.

What the ? —

My brain kicked into overdrive. I couldn’t save Noah, but that didn’t mean I was going to let him die.

I just needed to buy us a few seconds.

Setting myself aflame, I wriggled in Lucifer’s grip to distract him. As I did so, I bellowed a message. Something that would only make sense to Noah. “The sunrise. The sunrise is here!”

Hope. Hope is here. Things will get better.

Noah’s eyes widened for a second, and then he was thrashing. His power rose again, weak but there. He released it all into his shield, making Lyle’s hold on him more tenuous.

With everyone distracted, none of them noticed the winged figures approaching until it was too late.

Nobody except me.

The supes split into two groups. Those with black wings made a beeline straight for me, while those with white landed on Noah’s side of the river. Blasts of lightning lit up the sky as the Seraphim unleashed themselves on the demons and Lyle.

Micah roared commands as Ezekiel blasted whole sections of the attacking force with just his power.

Grace and Breann fought back to back, neither giving any quarter.

The twins were moving in sync, cutting their way through the crowd with wicked blades, cackling as they did so.

Benji was on the fringes, eliminating targets with simple flicks of his wrists.

Rami had forgone weapons entirely, simply ripping demons in two as he fought his way towards Noah.

They’d all come. All of them. For Noah.

Not just the Seraphim, I realised belatedly. Those attacking Lyle himself, those hauling Noah out of his reach…

Dash.

Atlas.

Rowan.

Juniper had come to fight for Noah too.

Shadows swooped overhead. Lucifer released me with a cry, pulling up his shields, but it was too late.

Eight winged figures dropped from the sky. The four sons of Lucifer, along with Dimitri, plus Nox, Darius, and Dahlia. That wasn’t all either, as Mori had a man cradled in his arms. A water mage, if I was reading him correctly .

“Hello, Father,” Cal drawled, calmly pulling a sword from its sheath along his spine. “I see we need to have another discussion about boundaries and expectations.”

Harlow tutted. “I’d have thought my visit last month would’ve inspired better behaviour than this, but clearly I was mistaken.”

The four sons and Mori’s mate circled Lucifer, while my friends came to surround me. Without saying a word, they’d put two layers of protection between myself and Lucifer.

There was an odd scratchy sensation in my throat as I blinked at my friends. Dahlia glanced back at me over her shoulder and her hand shot backwards. She squeezed my fingers, just once.

It was enough. Enough to convey that she understood.

We’d all survived this place together, praying we’d never be brought back.

Yet the three of them had willingly come here today.

For me. Because they knew being here again would break me in ways that could never be repaired.

They’d risked it all, along with Noah and all the angels on the other bank.

I had so many people in my corner, and I’d never even realised. I’d been tied to that table, ready to give everything up. Resigned to that being my ending.

But it hadn’t been. None of them would let it.

This feeling…it was something I’d only experienced with Noah. I hadn’t honestly expected it to extend to anyone else.

It was love. A platonic, familial bond.

I’d treasure it always, never taking it for granted again.

“I thought we’d made it plain that Jeremiah was under our protection,” Dagon said mildly. There was nothing mild about the withering glare he was giving his father. “ Holding him hostage in Hell to torture him doesn’t seem conducive to honouring that.”

At my name, Lucifer’s head snapped around to face me. He snarled in fury, and I saw him note how many stood between us.

I saw the moment he decided it didn’t matter. This was Lucifer. He’d been wronged again. Humiliated for all of Hell to see.

It was evident who he believed was to blame.

He took a step towards me, his power rising like a tsunami. Horror filled me as I realised he didn’t care who was between us. He’d execute them all if it meant getting to me.

His power rose and rose. I couldn’t do anything other than snap my shield over those in front of me. My friends.

My family.

Across the river, there was a horrified scream, an echo of the one I’d let out a few moments ago. Noah’s realisation that he wouldn’t reach me in time.

I met his gaze across the river. I wanted my mate to be the final thing I saw.

I’m sorry, I tried to say with my eyes. We were so close.

But the wave never crested.