Page 14

The warehouse had become a familiar second home over the past few days. Levi and I had settled into a rhythm, training every morning, pushing each other to our limits, making sure we were ready for whatever waited for us in Elysium.

I had just finished a particularly grueling session with my Celestial sword when the warehouse door creaked open, letting in a thin stream of sunlight. I lowered my blade, sweat trickling down my temple, and watched as Almae and Keeran stepped inside.

“Don't stop on our account,” Almae said, a small smile playing at her lips. “It's been a while since I've seen an angel wield a sword like that.”

I sheathed the blade, wiping my forehead with the back of my hand. “Just trying to stay sharp. We don’t have much time until we infiltrate Elysium.”

“Speaking of which …” Almae frowned. “Any news on the elixir?”

Levi expression was grim. “It's complicated. Abbie and Lacey are working around the clock, but the lilies are proving more intricate than anticipated. The magic is ancient, layered. It's not something they can rush.”

It had been a lot more complex than we had hoped for. Lacey and Abbie had recruited Hazel, Anna, and Brita to come help, and they also had called Lavinia and Thea at the DuMoir Castle, asking for any ideas.

So far, nothing was working.

“That’s not my area of expertise, but if you want, I can come take a look,” Almae suggested.

Keeran nodded. “Same.”

“That would be great, actually,” I said, a sliver of hope twisting itself around my chest.

“But we’re not here for that,” Keeran said.

I tensed. “What happened?”

“One of my scouts found something interesting,” he said, shifting his weight. As the Warlock Lord, Keeran had scouts and spies working around the country, around the whole world. “Something we stumbled upon while searching for information on Rhodes.”

“And on Sarki,” Almae added.

My interest piqued. “What did you find?”

Keeran gestured to the makeshift seating area we'd set up for when I was staying in the warehouse. “Mind if we sit? It's a bit of a story.”

We settled onto the chaise lounges, and Keeran passed a hand over the crates that had served as tables between us.

A shimmering map appeared, hovering in the air—a detailed projection of what looked like a rural area, with small clusters of buildings surrounded by vast stretches of forest and farmland.

“What are we looking at?” I asked, leaning forward to study the map.

“Pinewood Valley,” Keeran said. “A small town about three hours north of here. Population barely four hundred, mostly human. But it's known in certain circles as a sanctuary for hidden supernaturals.”

Levi's brow furrowed. “What kind of hidden supernaturals?”

“The usual mix,” Almae said. “A handful of witches who prefer isolation, a couple of shifters, a few vampires who've settled down to live quiet lives away from the politics of the covens.” She paused, her eyes meeting mine. “And, apparently, angels.”

My head snapped up. “Angels? On Earth? Not just visitors, but living here?”

Keeran nodded. “A group calling themselves the Lost Legion. Led by an exiled archangel, from what our sources could gather. Very secretive. When one of my scouts tried to make contact, they were warned—rather forcefully—to stay away.”

My mind raced with possibilities. Angels who lived on Earth, separate from Elysium. Angels who might know alternative ways in and out of the realm. Angels who might be willing to fight against Rhodes, if they had already been exiled.

“How did you find them?” Levi asked, a note of skepticism in his voice.

“Pure chance,” Keeran admitted. “We've had scouts all over, looking for traces of Sarki and gathering any information on angelic activity. Two of them spotted a pair of angels in Pinewood Valley, running what looked like errands. They tried to approach them, but the angels vanished before they could make contact.”

“Later,” Almae continued, “one of them overheard a conversation at a local diner.

A witch mentioned the 'winged ones' who occasionally come to town for supplies.

According to her, they keep to themselves, living somewhere deep in the surrounding forest, but they're known to help the town's supernatural residents when needed.”

I stood, unable to contain my restless energy. “We need to find them. They could be valuable allies, especially now that we're short on the elixir. They wouldn't need it to enter Elysium—they could just cross the gates like any other angel.”

“Assuming they want to help,” Levi pointed out. “If they've been exiled, they might have their own reasons to stay away from Elysium.”

“Or their own reasons to want to bring Rhodes down,” I countered. “We won't know until we talk to them.”

Keeran nodded slowly. “That's why we came to you. My scouts have been watching the town for days, but there's been no sign of the angels returning. We thought maybe you, as an angel yourself, might have better luck finding them or convincing them to help.”

I exchanged a glance with Levi, and saw the resignation already settling on his face. He knew as well as I did that this was too good an opportunity to pass up.

“When do we leave?” I asked, turning back to Keeran.

“As soon as you're ready,” he said. “I can open a portal for you right now.”

Levi stood, stretching his tall frame with a casual grace that belied the tension I could feel radiating from him. “I'll get some supplies.”

As he moved toward the adjacent office, I turned to Almae. “Any other details we should know about these angels? Anything that might help us find them or convince them to join us?”

The old witch's eyes clouded with uncertainty.

“Very little, I'm afraid. The people of Pinewood Valley are protective of their secrets. All we know is that the Lost Legion has been there for years, possibly decades. They rarely interact with outsiders, and they seem to have some kind of arrangement with the town.”

“What kind of arrangement?”

“Protection,” Keeran said. “The town has remarkably few supernatural incidents for a place with so many hidden residents. The locals attribute this to the 'guardian spirits' who watch over them.”

“Angels acting as guardians,” I murmured, a wistful smile tugging at my lips. “Just like it used to be, before everything got so complicated.”

Almae reached out, her weathered hand covering mine. “Be careful, Ariella. Exiled supernaturals can be unpredictable. Whatever drove them from Elysium might have left scars. Don't expect them to welcome you with open arms.”

“I won't,” I promised, though hope still fluttered in my chest like a trapped bird. “But I have to try. If they can help us stop Rhodes, it's worth the risk.”

Levi returned, a sleek black duffel bag slung over his shoulder. “Ready, sweetheart?”

I nodded, drawing strength from his steady presence. “Let's go find some angels.”

Keeran opened a portal that would take us to the outskirts of Pinewood Valley.

Before stepping through, I turned to Almae. “Thank you for offering to help Abbie and Lacey. Even if we find these angels and convince them to help us, we'll still need the elixir as a backup plan.”

“Of course,” she said. “And Ariella? Trust your instincts. If something feels wrong…”

“We'll get out,” I assured her. “I'm not looking to add more problems to our list.”

The portal shimmered before us, a window into a world of muted greens and browns.

I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of responsibility settle on my shoulders once more.

Three days until Rhodes made his move. Three days to find these exiled angels, convince them to join our cause, and somehow formulate a plan to stop a war before it began.

Levi reached over and clasped his hand around mine. Together, we stepped through the portal, leaving behind the safety of the warehouse and venturing into the unknown once more.

The air on the other side was crisp, heavy with the scent of pine and damp earth. Birds called to each other in the canopy overhead, and somewhere in the distance, a stream gurgled over rocks.

“Quaint,” Levi remarked, surveying the dense forest surrounding us. “You think the angels have the good sense to stay somewhere with actual civilization?”

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help the small smile that tugged at my lips. “They're angels, not party animals. The isolation probably appeals to them.”

We set off down a narrow dirt path that wound through the trees, heading in the direction of Pinewood Valley. According to Keeran's map, the town was about half a mile east of our position.

“So, what's the plan?” Levi asked as we walked. “Wander into town and ask the locals where we can find the secret angel hideout?”

“I was thinking we'd be a bit more subtle than that,” I said. “We start at the diner where the witch mentioned the 'winged ones.' See if we can get any more information.”

“And if that doesn't work? Can I torture some witches?”

The teasing was heavy on his tone, but I still gave him a reprimanding look. “I thought you had left your evil days behind.”

He shrugged. “Bad habits die hard, sweetheart.”

I glanced up at the sky, visible in patches through the dense canopy of trees. “If that doesn’t work,” I said, going back to his question, “then we do what we can. We fly, we look, we find.”

“So no torturing. Got it.”

A smile tugged at my lips. Leave it to Levi to be joking at a time like this.

A few minutes later, the trees thinned ahead of us, revealing the first outlying buildings of Pinewood Valley. The town was exactly as I'd imagined it—small, picturesque, with wooden buildings lining a main street that couldn't have been more than a quarter mile long.

“Looks like something out of a postcard,” I murmured. “Hard to believe there are supernaturals hiding here.”

“That's the point,” Levi said. “The best place to hide is somewhere no one would think to look.”

As we approached the town, I felt a strange prickling along my skin—a subtle shift in the air that wasn't quite natural. I slowed my steps, scanning our surroundings with new awareness.

“Do you feel that?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

Levi nodded, his expression suddenly alert. “Wards. Strong ones. We're being watched.”

I reached out with my senses. I didn’t have the gift of sixth sense or magical detection, but if this was done by an angel, perhaps I could tell the difference?

I felt a faint but complex weave of magic that surrounded the town.

It wasn't hostile, exactly, but definitely protective—a barrier designed to alert rather than repel.

“They already know we're coming,” I realized.

Levi's hand moved to rest on the small of my back. “Good. Saves us the trouble of introducing ourselves.”

Together, we continued toward Pinewood Valley, our steps more cautious now. Somewhere in this unassuming town, angels were hiding—angels who might hold the key to saving Elysium, if only we could find them and convince them to help.

The hunt for the Lost Legion had begun.