Page 30 of Hazel’s Choice (A Monstrous World: Next Gen)
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Zephyr
T he pleading look on my face must do the job. Hazel sighs, siphoning back to her original location.
“Before you release time, I just want to say, we both know you would have kicked their asses,” Annex says like a total suck up. “Totally destroyed them in your rubber ducky pajamas.”
It’s difficult to tell, considering Hazel is in demon form, but I believe she rolls her eyes. She transforms back into human form, and I have so many questions. All of those will have to wait.
The time bubble pops, and I immediately focus on Nathaniel.
“You’ve wanted Oathkeeper since long before it was bound to me.
I was going to go before the council to formally release my angelic ties, and I still will if you choose to make this difficult.
” My eyes flick to Rowan. He holds his blade pointed at Annex’s heart.
“What are you offering?” Nathaniel asks, sounding more intrigued.
This is a shit show, but I got lucky with him being the one they sent to retrieve me.
Nathaniel had his eye on Oathkeeper long before the weapon chose me, but it’s bound to me for as long as I live…
Or until I fall.
“I assume they granted you approval to bring me in by any means necessary?” I ask.
Nathaniel nods.
“Make it clear that I declined.” I pull my shoulders back, summoning Oathkeeper. It appears in my left hand, and I rest it over my knees with the tip on my right hand. “I willingly sever my connection and return Oathkeeper to the collective.”
Hazel gasps, but I raise my hands, offering Oathkeeper to Nathaniel.
“And all we have to do is return to Heaven empty-handed?” The asshole chuckles. “You really care that much about saving a demon?”
“You won’t be empty-handed,” I grind out. “You’ll have the prize you’ve had your eyes on for centuries, and with me no longer standing in your way, you can have it.”
And my job, for that matter, but Nathaniel is guided by greed for the status symbol that is Oathkeeper. Before me, it belonged to the longest standing harvester in history.
“This is going to hurt,” Nathaniel says, unable to hide his excitement over that prospect. He snatches Oathkeeper, handing it off to Rowan.
Focusing back on me, he summons his own blade. The angel chains still hang around his wrists. The higher-ups must have been serious about wanting me brought back if they signed out a set to him.
“Release the demon first,” I growl. “Allow him to comfort his mate.”
It’s so very like my kind to completely ignore Hazel simply because she’s female. They truly believe she’s not a threat, and that gives me a modicum of comfort despite knowing the agony that’s headed my way.
Rowan releases Annex, shoving him in Hazel’s direction.
Nathaniel has the same ability all harvesters do. It allows us to see soul ties, tethers, and connections. It will also allow him to sever my connection to Oathkeeper.
Back when angels fought all-out wars on the battlefield of Earth, harvesters were the ones who released those soldiers who no longer wished to fight on Heaven’s side. So, I know for a fact it can be done outside of the council room.
Nathaniel and Rowan will simply return to Heaven and declare me dead. Oathkeeper will be proof that I refused to come willingly. It won’t be difficult for anyone to believe that they were unable to subdue me, and instead, were forced to take more extreme measures.
Before meeting Hazel, I never would have willingly handed over Oathkeeper.
“Do it,” I growl, bracing for impact.
The silvery, golden strand that connects my soul to Oathkeeper pulses as Nathaniel raises his blade and swipes it through the air.
Agony, unlike I’ve ever experienced, rips through every cell of my body simultaneously.