Page 47 of Wings of Darkness (Daughter of the Seven Circles #2)

“We can’t get to wherever we’re going a different way?” I protested, my palms slick in my gloves.

“This is your first lesson on delegation. We could lusceler, but that’d burn too much energy. We could walk, but that’d take too long. So we’ll fly.”

We hovered high above the roof. His magnificent black wings flapped as my stomach flipped.

Loose strands of my hair whipped in the wind created by his wings, and my feet dangled over open air.

The tops of the snowy evergreens were hundreds of feet away.

Souls and blood-banded stood as dark specks against the white snow.

I pressed close to the general’s body as I continued to stare at the ground, wondering why I was doing this to myself.

He chuckled, and I whipped around, thinking he was mocking me.

“Yo—”

The retort died in my mouth. He wasn’t laughing at me.

He wasn’t even looking at me. He was staring down at where I presumed Alexei and Oliver were.

But I didn’t follow his line of sight. My curiosity vanished the moment I saw the creases near his eyes and the joy lining his mouth.

In the healers’ wing, watching him sleep had done strange things to my heart, but here, seeing his laughter transform the planes of his face, stopped my heart.

I had never seen him smile. And damn me to Hell, but I loved the sight—and I shouldn’t.

I turned away, feeling a heaviness overtake the fluttering, and finally looked at what caught the general’s attention.

Alexei held Oliver as they launched into the sky next to us, keeping as much space between them as he could, like he was a bag of stinky garbage. Oliver, on the other hand, beamed up at Alexei, completely ignoring the open air beneath him.

“Nephilim, wipe that smile off your face,” Alexei said, scowling.

Oliver didn’t.

“Ronen, tell him to stop looking at me like that.”

The general’s chest vibrated, but he pursed his lips, keeping the smile off his face but not out of his eyes. “Why would I, when it clearly annoys you so much?”

Alexei turned to eye the general, his expression screaming you’ll pay for this later . “Where are we going?”

“Follow me and find out.”

The general beat his wings and pushed us through the air.

At first, it was alright, until he dove.

I screamed. My Glory surged, stabbing at my skin, and I tightened my arms around his neck, practically strangling him.

He laughed, that stunning, playful smile of his returning and distracting me for a second.

Suddenly, we banked hard upward, missing the tree tops by feet, and leveled out.

“That wasn’t funny!” I gasped.

He shrugged. “I thought it was. I quite liked your scream. ”

Just like that, my Glory quieted, and my Infernus whispered in my ear. I coated my finger in purple flames and poked his cheek, hoping to frost a little bit of it. But my purple flames did nothing to him.

He seemed just as surprised as I was.

“Are you in my mind? Are you controlling my power?” He better not be, but nothing else could explain why my powers weren’t working. Lucifer said I’d have enough energy for the day.

“Second lesson—only use your powers when necessary, especially in the state you’re in.”

I opened my mouth.

“Retaliating for scaring you is not necessary , Hellion. Save your energy.”

“Fine. But stay out of my mind, please.” See, I even said please . I could be nice even when he was being an irritating menace.

A few minutes later, the general landed, spraying up snow. It tinked against large, clear icicles jutting two feet from the ground. They spread across a large clearing in various widths, their sharp points reflecting the low sunlight—a crystal sea of deadly weapons.

The general let me down, and Alexei landed with Oliver. Rune ran out of the dark forest behind them a second later, her fur whipping around as her tongue lolled out happily.

I smiled, and she dashed over to me and the general, her shadow tail curling as she weaved around us before sitting down right in the center.

I scratched behind her ear, then looked up just as Alexei unceremoniously dumped Oliver on the ground and strode over to us. I stifled a laugh at the open-mouthed outrage on Oliver’s face .

“A simple no would’ve sufficed,” he called out.

Alexei ignored him and beelined for the general, his wings disappearing like they were never there. “The Shard Field, Ronen?” He looked to either side of him, then back at the forest of black, spindly trees. “I don’t see the king anywhere, so should I expect to become pulverized male-meat soon?”

The general crossed his arms. “We don’t need the king.”

“Right, because you can scare off Veil Forest’s wind and prevent a Shard Storm from taking us out. Sorry, I must’ve missed your coronation,” Alexei remarked, exaggerating a bow.

“We don’t need the king because we have Lucille.”

My brows shot up. “Me?”

“Her? The innocent Nephilim who can’t handle her alcohol, let alone a ten-mile run?” He flashed me an apologetic smile. “No offense, beautiful.”

I glared back at him. “Offense taken.”

Oliver snorted, brushing off his bottom and joining our circle.

“Don’t get me wrong. You’re improving. But that doesn’t change the fact that only the King of Hell can prevent Shard Storms. He holds the power over the Glaciation Circle.”

“So does his daughter.” He gestured toward me. “Lucille.”

I shot the general a look that said, What the hell?

“Bullshit.” Alexei glanced between me, the general, and Oliver, acting like he was waiting for the punchline.

The general side-eyed me and nodded toward Alexei. “Show him. ”

“Lucifer—”

“Wants you to have extra protection. Alexei’s my second and trustworthy.”

“Yeah, Luce, show him what you got. Encase him in ice,” Oliver urged, rubbing his ass.

I shook my head but sank into my Infernus, plucking the cord of ice. The whisper came, then the itches, and a second later, purple flame swallowed my hand. Slowly, an icicle the size of a carrot formed in the center of the flames. It took little effort.

“Happy?” I asked them, showing off the icicle.

“No,” Oliver grumbled.

Alexei’s eyes sparkled, his grin widening while he gazed at my hand. “I’m more than intrigued, beautiful.”

Oliver crossed his arms and shook his head to the sky.

“Stop being salty, Nephilim. I’m sure there are plenty of other males who’d want you to join in on their playtime . I’m sorry I don’t like dick.” Alexei plucked the icicle from my hand and tossed it at Oliver. “But if you’re so lonely…”

Oliver glared at Alexei as it hit his chest and plopped onto the snowy ground.

“It’s the size, isn’t it? Maybe our beautiful princess can make you a bigger one.”

The general and I shared a confused glance, clearly missing some conversation they’d had earlier.

“Or maybe you could get over the performance issues you talked about and try it out. You know what they say—it’s not the size of the dagger, it’s the way you wield it,” Oliver said with furrowed brows and a slight frown, nodding toward Alexei’s groin.

The general snorted .

Alexei’s face flushed. “Trust me, Nephilim. There is no issue with its size or my performance.” He returned his attention to me, a flirty smile dancing on his lips. “Lucille, beautiful, would you give me the honor of proving the Nephilim wrong tonight?”

I quirked a brow. “Oh, so now you know I’m the Princess of Hell, you want me in your bed?”

Alexei tilted his head. “No. I wanted you in my bed the moment I saw you. I’m just going to try harder now, is all.”

Rune growled and forced herself between us, pushing Alexei back. He lost his flirty smile and analyzed the general with a shrewdness I didn’t understand.

The general stared back, leveling a severe gaze at his second.

“So this is why you involved yourself with Theon and their fight?” Alexei asked, but he made it sound like he’d already made the assumption.

I peered up at the general. His eyes flashed black before settling, his expression hard and unreadable.

“The king wants her trained, not dead.”

“Of course not,” Alexei agreed, but suspicion lurked beneath the depths of his sharp smile. “Well, if we don’t have to worry about a Shard Storm, then let’s get to training. I call dibs on being Lucy’s partner.”

“Sorry, but Lucy has already been dibbed, heartthrob hustler,” Oliver said, slinging his arm over my shoulder.

Alexei groaned. “Please never call me that again.”

“It’s nicer than what I call you,” the general offered.

“Yes, but you’re not after this.” Alexei gestured to himself. “I’d rather the Nephilim insult me. ”

Oliver shrugged. “If that’s your kink, I can do that too.”

Alexei threw his hands up. I caught Oliver attempting to hold back his smile and was glad he found a way to brush off Alexei’s taunting refusals.

“We’re training as a group,” the general said, bringing us back to why we were here. “But first, we all need to understand what each of us is capable of. Alexei, you start.”

Alexei grinned, his blue irises flashing with blue and silver flame as he held up his hand, tiny bolts of light zinging between his fingers.

Then he tilted his head to the sky, and a cool breeze ruffled his golden hair before dancing in my waves.

Oliver and the general didn’t receive the gentle wind.

Instead, rain drizzled onto their heads. Both of them glowered.

“You’re a Sky Power.” I laughed.

He nodded with a grin, ceasing the rain and wind. “One of three.”

“There’s only three Sky Powers?” Oliver asked.

“Yep. Would’ve been two, but the Ethereal Military banished me before I could kill my superior.”

“So you didn’t end up here because of a debt with Lucifer?” I questioned.

Alexei shrugged. “I ended up here for multiple reasons. But that’s a story for another time.”

“Nephilim?” the general inquired, putting us back on track.

“You know, you can just call me Oliver. I’m assuming these training sessions aren’t going to be a one-time deal, and I really don’t want you to call me Nephilim every other second. ”

“Fine, Oliver. What can you do?” Both he and Alexei leaned in closer.

Oliver ran a hand through his hair. “I sense and control fear. It’s always there, and I can sense the signature from a distance.”

That was how he knew Marcus was in those woods when he first found me, and how he knew those Powers were gaining on us. It was like a tracking beacon.

“That’s the easy part of my power,” Oliver continued.

“That, and shadowing. It’s like an invisibility cloak.

The worst part of my power, and the one that takes the most energy, is my ability to make you relive your worst fears by the touch of my hand.

If I’m not touching you, I can still make you witness lesser fears. But I have to witness them with you.”

Alexei whistled, and Ronen raised his brows, both impressed and both taking a step back.

Two high-ranking military warriors were afraid of Oliver’s touch. I smiled and hip-bumped him, proud of my friend.

“That’s a high-level power for a Nephilim,” the general said.

Oliver nodded. “Yeah, my father is an Archangel.”

“Really? Which one?” Alexei asked.

“Gabriel.”

The general’s face paled, and Alexei shot him a concerned glance.

“Do you two know him?” I asked, feeling a strange urge to comfort the general.

“We did. Once. But that was a long time ago. I hardly remember him anymore,” Alexei said nonchalantly, then changed the subject.

“What about you? Miss Princess of Hell.”

I glanced at the three of them .

Alexei eagerly waited for my response. Oliver pursed his lips in a frown, looking half-distracted as he stared at the side of the general’s face. And the general… His gaze was distant, and his hands were fisted so tightly they were shaking.

He’d known Oliver’s father.

But Oliver didn’t press the general for answers. I remember him saying something about his deadbeat dad, with whom he had no relationship, so maybe he didn’t care to know. If he didn’t press, then neither would I.

However, I couldn’t stand to see the general so caught up in his mind.

“General,” I said.

He didn’t respond.

I grabbed his gloved fist. “Ronen.”

He jerked to face me, his throat bobbing. I wanted to ask him if he was okay, but I wasn’t sure how he’d respond to that. Instead, I squeezed his fist a second time, staring at him as I said, “I have the powers of the Seven Circles of Hell, and the Glory of an Archangel.”

It had the desired effect of distracting him—distracting them all.

“No, you don’t,” Alexei said, shaking his head at the same time Oliver chimed in, “You never told me that!”

I released the general’s fist, but after I did, something shifted in his gaze, and he nodded at me. I gave him a small smile and turned to the others.

“When Lucifer was created as the King of Hell, lords were created with him.” Although I wasn’t sure how.

The books never stated the ceremony Lucifer went through, or where the lords came from, or what they were.

“He had to give away his power to the lords so they could reign efficiently in their circles. But he was able to keep the power of the two he had the largest affinity for, having enough for both him and the other two lords. I haven’t given away any of my powers and have already developed affinities for four out of the seven circles.

It’s safe to say, eventually, I’ll develop them all. ”

“Holy fucking shit.” Alexei gaped.

“I second that.” Oliver nodded.

“She’s almost as scary as you, Ronen.”

“Is that so?”