Page 22

Chapter 22

M ari struggled to stay conscious as the noise continued pummeling her until the last of the angels touched down. When the sound level returned to normal, the silence felt oppressive, as if something huge was crushing her.

Ashdei recovered before anyone else, pushing to his knees and helping her to stand as he rose. “That was needlessly dramatic, even for you.”

Darveyn watched them with an impassive stare, not offering any sort of explanation as the people around them slowly managed to regain their feet amid groans and sobs.

“Guess you were serious about that timeline after all,” Mari said, tired of waiting for them to say something. “He left of his own accord. It was nothing I did.”

“We’re aware of what transpired,” Darveyn said in a voice that somehow harmonized with itself. “We are here to render judgment.”

“You can’t be serious, she’s done nothing wrong,” Ashdei said.

“Quite the contrary,” Dohal added. “She’s only done good.”

“Your defense of her is admirable, but a few selfless acts don’t excuse the greed that is in evidence,” Darveyn proclaimed. Several of the angels standing in judgment turned Mari’s way with dark expressions. “The glut of power she has acquired in so short a time is unprecedented and seems to be without limit. Considering her rearing, there are valid concerns that she will misuse it.”

They were going to judge her before she’d even done anything wrong just because of what she could do. Mari considered speaking up for herself to say she would never hoard power and use it to hurt people the way her father had, but it seemed unlikely they would take her word for anything right now.

They’re not going to listen to you , she said to all her men. She felt them lining up behind her, ready to jump to her defense if it was necessary, but there was no way any of them could stand against a host of angels. She might be able to, but that would just give them an excuse to proclaim her evil and obliterate them all. The idea that any of the people around her might suffer whatever judgment the angels planned for her made her cold to her bones. Please don’t give them a reason to hurt you or anyone else here.

She felt them all settle slightly, though none of them moved away. She could feel all of them behind her, each one an individual that she loved for a different reason and didn’t want to consider living without. There had to be some way out of this.

Behind her, a commotion started, but she didn’t turn around to see what it might be. She couldn’t. If she looked away, she might miss her one chance to do something, even if she had no idea what that might be at this point. Aggression didn’t seem like it stood a chance of working, but neither did reason.

“I will speak to her character.” Willow’s normally soft-spoken voice cut through the murmuring of the crowd. They stepped up to draw even with Mari. “At every turn, Mariana has sought to make up for the cruelty of her father. No one would have blamed her for just leaving once she got free of him, but she stayed and has improved the lives of everyone in her orbit—hundreds of people.”

“We respect your wisdom, honored chronicler,” Darveyn said with a bow of her head. “But we have concerns that your judgment may have been impaired by your extended time in this realm.”

Willow crossed their arms. “That stubborn refusal to consider anyone who disagrees with you as an equal has always been your weakness.”

Darveyn looked at her companions before nodding. “Nothing you have said has convinced us that the danger posed by the abomination should be risked.”

Dohal growled loud enough to make those closest to them cringe away. “Call my mate that again, and I will rip your head from your neck, decorum be damned.”

Mari reached for his arm.

The disdain the angel felt was clear in her expression as she regarded the dragon in front of her. “And to think, some among us wondered if we’d done the right thing when we purged your kind from this realm.”

Shining golden light blazed through the night around them as Willow transformed. People moved away as they took on their natural guise: the body of a winged giant lion, twelve feet at the haunches, with a familiar human head towering above. They shook the ground when they roared.

“The obliteration of the dragons was a crime,” their voice echoed through the night like undistilled wrath. “And the fact that you still won’t admit that you were led by the nose by a handful of incubi shames every one of you and all of your ancestors.”

A few of the angels gasped, but none of them broke formation behind Darveyn. “None of this is germane to the judgment that stands before us,” Darveyn said haughtily.

“No? You are naive to think so. Perhaps there is someone here who can convince you?” Willow looked over their shoulder and bowed with their front paws, face lowering nearly to the ground. “My liege, I beg you to come forward and enlighten your wayward flock.”

Mari looked around, confused who Willow might mean. A murmur passed through the surrounding crowd, and then a path opened up to Mari’s left.

Luis came forward through the space, his gait slow and his expression shuttered. Several of the angels exclaimed at the sight of him, though it was impossible to tell if they were surprised or terrified. “I had not intended to ever reveal myself to you, but since you are determined to make monsters of yourselves once again, it has become necessary.”

Luis spread his arms. Scintillating silver light glowed from every inch of skin. His sorrow and regret propagated through the crowd like waves. When it crashed into the angels assembled before them, several of them burst into tears. Darveyn clenched her jaw, but even she seemed moved.

Mari embraced the emotions, letting them fill her until she ached with the sadness that Luis felt.

“You allowed yourselves to be manipulated into destroying the dragons without ever questioning why the Forest Lord had been removed from his place,” Luis began after a long pause. “Not a single one of you ever asked where I had gone or why.”

He looked over them, his disappointment plain. “I was trapped here by the same ritual that expelled him. Bound to this realm and this place by treachery for hundreds of years, and none of you ever came to look for me. Instead, you claimed my power as your own, murdered an entire species in my name, and called it judgment. I am beyond disgusted.”

Mari stared. Luis was a leader among them? And Willow had known the entire time? She glanced at Dohal, who nodded briefly. That’s what he had meant when he had talked about Luis being a powerful ally to their cause.

“How were we to know, my liege?” Darveyn asked, her voice shaking. All the angels had begun to look uncertain as to who they should defer to.

“Vincent entered into a bargain with them to yoke me, then kept it a secret for all this time.” Luis shook his head slowly. “This woman, who you wish to punish for the sin of acquiring power you disapprove of, freed me by destroying him. She healed me when it shouldn’t have been possible. She lent me her strength when I despaired.” He let out a long and pained sigh. “She showed more compassion for me than any of you. And you would judge her .”

The silver light intensified until it was nearly blinding, and Luis took his true and magnificent form, a coiled silver snake dozens of feet long with feathered wings in blue and green. The chorus of angels cowered from him in all his glory.

“Fear not, my vassals. My judgement will not be as careless as yours. I will not rend your bodies and shed your blood. I am not the monsters you are. You are cast out.” Luis glared at them as they shrieked and wailed. “You are never to come to this realm or attempt to pursue justice here, or anywhere, again.”

The light of his power flared, and the angels cried out as it swept over them, banishing first their shadows and then their bodies.

Silence settled over the assembled crowd as they stared in shock.

Luis lowered his head so that his immense eyes were even with hers. “Sweet goddess, I cannot make the wrongs of the past right, no one can, but I can safeguard your future and the future of those you carry. You have my solemn promise that none from the other realms will trouble you and yours while I live. This is your place and yours alone.”

“Thank you.” Mari reached to touch his scaly cheek. “Will you go back to the Heavens?”

“There is nothing for me among them now. The bonds I have here mean more to me than any there.” He paused to consider her with a lingering glance. “Unless you object, I would like to remain here with you.”

Mari hugged as much of his head as she could get her arms around. “I would enjoy that very much.”

Dohal stepped up beside her. “As would I.” He lifted a hand and placed it next to Mari’s. “I look forward to flying through the mountains at your side. And thank you, for providing what justice could be served for my people.”

Luis bobbed his head. “It was the very least that I could do, my friend. I hope you know what they did in my name was not my will.”

“I do. You and I have suffered together, and there should be no animosity between us. We both deserve a chance to heal.”

“I still have a question, if you don’t mind?” Mari asked.

“Of course.”

“If you’re some kind of big shot in the Heavens, how come, when you met the goddess, you made it seem like she was your goddess? I have her memories from while we shared this body, but nothing before that. I don’t understand how you were connected.”

“Ahh. She and I were mates in her last incarnation.”

“Oh,” Mari gasped, mortified that she’d opened that wound without knowing any better. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“There was no way you could know.” He tilted his head. “Her disillusionment was a long, slow process that allowed me to make contingency plans. The shard of her that became you was one that I shepherded before giving it to a human woman for safekeeping. When I saw it in you, I recognized her immediately.”

“I…I don’t know what to say. I feel awful.”

“You should not. We had a long and glorious life together. She made a choice not unlike the Old One made, to move on after many, many eons. The shard I kept of her was for selfish reasons, but the act of caring for it was what I needed at the time.” He smiled. “I’m glad she found such a worthy home. It is fitting that it was you who rescued me.”

“Okay.” She rested her forehead against his scaly skin. “Thank you. For safeguarding our future.”

Luis huffed with satisfaction. “You are most welcome.”