Page 11 of Wings of Darkness (Daughter of the Seven Circles #2)
Chapter
Eight
RONEN
B onny, our floor maid, walked toward me carrying a basket of my dirty sheets.
She hid behind her messy orange hair, her eyes lowered.
She never lifted her gaze above my chest. Never had since she came here a few months ago.
I unnerved her. Angels unnerved most of the blood-banded humans that had to pay off their debt in Hell.
Not the human souls that were sent here, though.
But that had something to do with the fact that they were dead.
“Bonny.”
She halted in her tracks, keeping her gaze on the basket. “Yes, General Ronen?”
“Can you send a message to Moira that I’m looking for her?” It was time to tell her the news.
“Yes, General. Right away.” She bowed and scurried off .
I shook my head and walked into my rooms. She had a bad habit of bowing to me and any other angel she talked to, as if she owed us her deference.
I stripped out of my clothes and stepped into the shower. After rinsing off and drying, someone knocked on my door. I wiped myself down and put on loose pants, walking out of my bedroom just as Moira let herself in.
“Ronen.” She smiled, eyeing my chest. The heat in her eyes did little to arouse me, but she wasn’t here to satiate my needs.
“Moira.” I grabbed her arms before she wrapped them around me. “I have news you’re not going to like.”
She stepped back. “Oh? Does this have something to do with how you’ve barely touched me this last week, or how you’re always working now?”
Her whining grated against my patience. But she was right. I’d become distant. Not that I thought she’d ever voice her concerns.
“I’ve been under a lot of pressure from the king. But that’s not why I had you come here. You need to demote two of the weakest warriors in your squadron. The king intends to replace them with two recruits.”
She tensed, and the crystal on my coffee table vibrated.
“You can’t do this.”
“King’s orders, Moira.”
“Who? Who could possibly be better than Dusty and Matt?”
Those were her two weakest? Fuck.
“It’ll only be temporary.” I hoped. “We’ll put Dusty and Matt in the Devils as first and second.”
She snorted. “So, you’re going to demote Danny and Lou? ”
Demoting Danny would piss him off for sure, and Lou followed him like a shadow.
Did I care about their ranks or hurting their feelings?
No. Suffering was part of their daily punishment.
This was Hell, after all. But he held a grudge against me for replacing the last general who treated him like a spoiled prince.
Well, not replace—I killed him and took his spot during challenge week. So, I understood Danny’s grudge.
But I had no other options unless I wanted to go back and beg the king to reconsider. The higher-level squadrons were set at a number limit for management and training purposes.
“Yes. Maybe it’ll teach them a lesson.”
She rattled the swords on my walls, her temper seizing control of her Dominion powers. “Don’t do this, Ronen.”
“Go tell them now. Your two recruits start tomorrow.”
She stormed out of my room, slamming the door shut.
I released a sharp breath, changed into my uniform, and went out to find Danny and Lou.
After searching the enclosed arena and asking a few patrols, the sounds of yelling finally led me to their squadron.
They were at the edge of Verdant Forest, circling a small frozen pond.
Two warriors from their squadron faced off on the ice, pummeling each other.
Squadmates booed and cheered in equal measure as one sent the other to the ground and smashed in his face, while others shifted uncomfortably on their feet.
Danny and Lou stood with their backs to me, collecting Hellmarks from their booing members.
We didn’t have many rules in our military. But currently, they were breaking two .
I slid out from behind a tree and stalked toward the pond. They didn’t hear me coming, and I made sure to blend in with the shadows of the evergreens so they didn’t see me either.
A couple yards away, I unleashed my shadows, absorbing the blood from the warrior’s knuckles and immobilizing him before he murdered their unconscious squadmate. Danny and Lou whipped their heads around, searching for me, and everyone else stilled.
“Kneel,” I commanded, stepping into view.
Every single warrior sank to their knees—except Danny.
Oh, how I loved disrespect. Always enticed the bloodthirsty beast within.
I smiled, wrapping my shadows around his neck and forcing him down. He fought me the entire way until his knees slammed into the compact snow. Stepping forward, I forced his head to tilt back. His dark skin flushed, and his nostrils flared.
I tsked. “Gambling against your warriors? How long has that been going on?”
Danny pushed his tongue into his cheek and shrugged.
I crouched before him, then turned to his follower, Lou. “How long?”
Lou swallowed, his face leaching of color making his freckles stand out like tiny bull’s-eyes. “I—uh—” he stuttered.
“Yes?”
“About two—” His voice cut off on a gurgle, drowning in a mouthful of pressurized water.
“Oh, Danny.” I latched onto his neck, digging my fingers into his pulse point.
I could’ve easily used my shadows to strangle him, but I wanted to feel his struggle for air vibrate through my palm.
“I know I’m nothing like your last general.
I bet he let you say and do whatever you liked.
” I stood, bringing his face within inches of mine.
“I just figured you could’ve scraped two brain cells together to figure that out for yourself. ”
He gasped and clawed at my grip, making me bleed. For a moment, I eased up, giving him a second to suck in air and speak. Instead, he used his second to spit in my face—before surrounding it with his water.
Grinning through the blurry sphere trying to suffocate me, I lifted him higher, then threw him down on the pond, bashing his skull against the ice. Blood pooled across the frosty surface, and his water splashed to the ground, releasing me and Lou.
“Did you kill him?” Lou gasped after hacking up water.
“No.” Unsheathing a dagger at my hip, I ran it across Danny’s neck. Blood spurted in rhythmic bursts, coating my hands before slowing to a drizzle. “Now I did.”
Lou gaped at me as I stood.
Danny’s warriors stared at me with mixed expressions–wary respect, shock, and some even looked relieved.
“I’m going to give most of you a pass and assume this was all Danny’s doing. After all, he was your leader—he knew better than to gamble with your lives and pit you against your own. And he paid for it with his life.”
“Most?” Lou whispered.
“Dusty and Matt are taking your places, and you’ve been demoted to third. ”
Although I should demote him to the Bowels Squadron, Lou knew better too. But I had a feeling Danny threatened him, so I let it go.
This wasn’t the original way I planned to change their leadership, but it worked nonetheless.
“And you,” I said, pointing to the male immobilized at the pond’s center, “didn’t Danny tell you that murdering one of your squadmates is against our rules? Did you want to die?”
I released him, and he slumped next to the unconscious male sprawled on the ice. “No, General.”
“Didn’t think so.” I turned on my heel and yelled over my shoulder, “Someone burn your dead leader so he can cycle to the king to be judged.” I left them, not feeling an ounce of remorse, and hoping Danny’s soul descended to a lower circle.
I headed back toward the arena in search of Alexei. Once inside, I spotted him in the back, near the weights and several attractive souls.
“Alexei,” I called out.
He stood, widening his eyes, taking in my soaked hair. “Did they get your wings?”
“No, never materialized them.”
“Shame. I’ve been wanting to test my aim.” Alexei held out a pair of boxing gloves.
“If the Devils didn’t burn Danny’s body, he still may be back in the Verdant Forest for you to fry.” I shucked my bloody gloves for the ones Alexei handed me.
Alexei’s brows raised. “You sure he didn’t get your wings wet?”
“Only my face with his spit, then his power, after I found him gambling against his squad’s lives.”
Alexei groaned. “And you’re telling me I missed his beatdown and murder? Why do you always keep me away from the fun?”
Fun wasn’t the word I’d use. Danny’s death was a necessity—a reminder of what happened when they broke the rules or disrespected me. Moira may be furious I murdered her friend. But this was the way of Hell.
“Next time. Now let’s box, or tomorrow I’m making everyone sprint through Veil Forest.”
He smirked, putting in his mouth guard and gloving his hands.
Once ready, I came at him hard, throwing combinations and putting my weight behind my jabs.
He grunted with each hit but came back at me with just as much force.
We both relished the intensity of our fights.
Alexei liked to call them our therapy sessions, and I agreed.
My thoughts, worries, and anger all fell away—even the connection to Rune muted. Just me, Alexei, and our fists.
Pure bliss .