Page 11 of Wings of Valor (Silver City University #4)

I t’s not often I work through the night like this. In fact, I used to enjoy doing so. But now, with so many threats against those I care about—and knowing the woman I love is tangled up in my sheets—I’m struggling to focus.

I still can’t believe she loves me. After everything I’ve done, the way I’ve acted. She deserves better, and yet she chooses me. Sure, she chose Raphael and Theo, too, but the fact that I’m included feels like a victory. Even with those assholes.

As much as I don’t want to admit it, sharing her with them wasn’t the worst experience of my life. They’d been willing to take it slow and give me time alone with her as to not upset the grumpy fuck that I am, but I knew she’d want us all together in a big heaping pile.

It’s what she deserves.

After checking the clock once more, my legs start to twitch. Azrael got a lead on a group of demons, and we’ve been chasing them all fucking night to no avail. We got back half an hour ago after we lost them again, and I’m getting tired of all this waiting.

It doesn’t help that today is Hayliel’s deadline with that asshole Auriel, and somehow, I’m supposed to make it through another hour here—waiting to chase demons, waiting to help Hayliel. Waiting. Waiting. Fucking waiting.

I’ve had enough.

With my slate and bag in tow, I stride down the hall to Azrael’s office, knocking once before entering through the partially opened door. “Any news?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing yet, but we’re working on it.” Noticing what I’m carrying, he says, “Do you have somewhere else to be?”

If I didn’t know Azrael, I might take his words as something they aren’t.

Rude. Condescending. But I know what he’s doing.

He’s keeping his emotions out of things at work and truly asking if I have somewhere else I need to be.

Now that he knows everything that’s going on with me and my friends—with the city—I have no issues telling him the truth.

“Sorry. Hayliel’s deadline is today, and all this waiting around is driving me insane.”

“Go. We’ll handle this from here. Make sure that slimy fuck doesn’t get your girl.” His eyes meet mine, and I read the sincerity in them. I’m one of the few angels he can trust at the guild, so for him to allow me to leave early is something I won’t brush off lightly.

“Keep me in the loop if anything turns up, and I’ll do the same,” I say, and then stride toward the door I just came through. I barely make it past the threshold when I notice Lieutenant Atlas heading toward the balcony we usually use for quick escapes.

Hmm. Now where is he off to?

I follow behind, keeping my distance while checking the schedule on my slate. His name isn’t on it until this evening, so why is he here?

No. Stop building conspiracies where there are none. Maybe he forgot something and just arrived to pick it up.

Opening my messages with Mira, I drop a casual question about her dad. She replies immediately.

Mira : Dad left for work. Something about overtime. Why?

So maybe my message wasn’t as casual as I thought, but her response makes me pause. I don’t see anything about overtime on the schedule. I suppose it could be classified and far above my rank. I should really just let it go.

I should. But I don’t.

Zeke : Oh. He’s not on the schedule until this evening. The overtime must be above my pay grade. Thanks for the tip.

There. That shouldn’t raise any suspicions, right? Mira’s typing a reply, but I put my slate away and focus on Atlas. He’s stopped at the balcony door, talking to someone who’s just arrived.

“Yo. Lieutenant Atlas. I didn’t think you were here today. Are you gearing up to join us or what?”

Atlas’s voice is low when he responds, but I’m pretty sure he said he’s off to a meeting and won’t be back until his scheduled shift later tonight.

The guy he’s talking to sounds disappointed, but moves on without spotting me, and Atlas slips through the door.

I count to five before following, and for a moment, I’m afraid I lost him.

Then the metal tips of his wings catch a shaft of pre-dawn light, and I find him again—flying away from the city.

Not wasting a second, I take off in the sky, following behind at a safe distance. I have less than an hour to figure out what he’s up to, and then I have to make it back for Hayliel.

Easy.

But the farther we go, the more unease grows in my stomach. There isn’t anything in this direction. No civilization. Nothing. Only the Godless Mountain.

But why would he go there?

The Godless Mountain was at the center of the battlegrounds in the fight that put the Archangels in power and left Silver City without a God.

Now, it’s less of a mountain and more of a tall formation of rock reminding us of what happened here.

The Archangels themselves banned the area ages ago, so what purpose could Atlas have to go there?

I hang back a little. This guy is a seasoned lieutenant of the guild and probably has senses far greater than mine. The last thing I need is for him to realize he’s being followed.

It’s not just for my safety, though, but curiosity as well. I want to know what’s so special about the Godless Mountain. Maybe there’s something here that can help us.

Atlas lowers his altitude until he lands near a pile of rubble. I watch on from the clouds as he spares a quick glance at his surroundings before continuing on foot.

Up ahead, the clouds disperse, so if I want to continue my tail, I’ll need to do so from the ground.

Shit. As curious as I am about this area, I was kind of hoping to watch from afar.

I pick a spot farther back and dive quickly, flaring my wings at the last second to lessen the impact. No sounds greet me from the ground. Birds don’t chirp in what’s left of the charred and broken trees. Nothing scurries about in the destruction that litters the ground.

With nothing to mask my noise, I’ll have to be even more careful.

What the hell is Atlas doing here?

Quietly, I walk by bones, worn-out fabric, rotten trees, and other debris. This place is eerie. No wonder they’ve made it off-limits. It’s nothing but a graveyard.

A sound from up ahead has me stopping dead in my tracks.

No. It can’t be.

A few more steps take me to the hollowed-out trunk of an old tree. I count my breaths, trying to steady my heartbeat into a normal rhythm. I manage—but it doesn’t last.

Not when I peer around the tree and catch sight of who Atlas is meeting.

Except it’s not so much a who as a what .

My mind races, slotting the connections into place as I watch Atlas and a fucking demon talk as if it’s normal. Like they aren’t warring species.

He’s the mole.

Lieutenant Atlas is the fucking mole.

Does Mira know what her father’s been up to? Did he plant her in our fucking ranks as a spy?

Oh, fuck . She used his keycard to help us steal amulets. She’s the one who supplied the goddamn rune that proved we could trust her. Was that even real?

I have to get back. Now. Before we execute any kind of plan to get Hayliel’s parents back.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

Mira was involved in every conversation. The talks of an ambush. Castiel reaching out to one of the other Archangels. She knows all of it.

She wanted Hayliel to meet him. Sure, she said it was to look at all options, but what if it was more than that?

Turning, I get as far away as possible before taking flight, not wanting Atlas or his demon friend to see me.

We can turn this around. Use it to our advantage somehow.

Maybe offering Mira—or even Atlas himself—as a trade will help us get Hayliel’s parents back.

Shit. Fuck! This is a mess.

The flight back passes in a blur. I’m constantly looking over my shoulder, worried I’ve been spotted, but I luckily land on my balcony with no one following.

There’s still time to figure this out before we act on any of our compromised plans.

Placing my wing against the sensor, I unlock the door and step inside the dark room. Theo and Raphael are asleep in my bed. The space between them is empty. Likely where Hayliel once was, snuggled between them. At first I think she’s in the bathroom, but when I look inside, it’s empty.

I check the rest of my dorm room, including the closet, but there’s no sign of Hayliel anywhere.

Where did you go, hummingbird?

Something churns in my gut—and I can’t shake it.

“Raphael. Theo. Wake up.”

Theo instantly sits up, but Raphael only mumbles something and rolls over.

“How was your shift?” Theo asks, his gaze darting around the room.

I ignore his question in favor of one of my own. “Where’s Hayliel?”

His brows furrow. “She fell asleep while we were watching a movie, and when Raph and I went to sleep, she was here. Maybe she’s in the—”

“She’s not. I checked.” Not bothering to change, I grab the dorm’s master key and stride toward the door. “Get him up. I’m going to see if she’s in her room.”

I don’t bother waiting for his response. Something isn’t right.

I race down the steps and slide the key into her door, but she’s not here either. Where could she be? It’s too early for her to have gone to class, and she knows well enough not to go anywhere on campus without an entourage.

Fuck!

I shut the door and pull out my slate, ignoring the unread message from Mira asking more questions about her father, and open the group chat.

Zeke : Has anyone seen Hayliel this morning? Zeke : Where are you, hummingbird?

The only ones who read the message are Theo and Raphael. I tuck it back into my bag and head upstairs. There must be somewhere else we can look. It just doesn’t make any fucking sense.

Where would she go without us? Did Uriel’s minions get to her?

“Any luck?” Raphael asks once I make it back to my room.

“No. How did she seem last night after I left?”

Theo shrugs. “Tired. She fell asleep pretty quickly. We didn’t think anything of it because of what went down. She was pretty worn out.”