Page 14 of Wings of Valor (Silver City University #4)

I have no idea if he knows that’s what I’m doing, but I hope he doesn’t catch on.

“With you out of the way, your parents and the rest of the Fallen scum won’t stand a fucking chance against us. And to think others thought you were so tough. Look how your blood coats my blade. Isn’t it glorious?”

At this point, he isn’t even trying to incapacitate me with the needle. The bastard is having too much fun with the blade. He manages another slice, this time to my leg, but I don’t care. I can’t. Not when he’s threatening the ones I love.

Anger boils inside me with the heat of an erupting volcano.

It builds and builds and builds until I can’t focus on anything but Uriel.

I move like a missile that’s locked onto its target, dodging his blade and landing a solid kick to his gut that has him flying across the sand.

He smacks into the nearby dune, and it’s only the sound of his body thwacking against it that has me breaking free of whatever fucking trance just had me in its grasp.

What the fucking hell was that?

I don’t get the chance to consider my own strength, because the three demons at Auriel’s side snarl and approach.

As if by some instinct I shouldn’t have, I reach for the twin daggers sheathed at my side and prepare for the fight of my life. I smirk when the asshole beasts look surprised to see my little blades glowing, but it’s not enough to halt their advance.

To my surprise, though, they don’t all rush me at once. They send in the thin one first, which almost seems like a gift. Damn. I don’t know what this fucker did to piss them off, but the other two must hate him if they’re sending him to fight me first.

We stalk each other in a slow circle, each of us waiting for the other to make the first move.

They watched me fight with Uriel, and if they’re half as smart as they think they are, they’d have paid enough attention to learn something about my fighting style while I know jack shit about theirs.

All I know is that demons are vicious, brutal creatures who savor inflicting pain.

Up close like this, I can’t help but study the way the creature looks.

His leathery wings are tucked in at his back, and his horns are misshapen little stumps on the top of his head.

I want to check out the other demons to see if their horns look the same or if this guy had someone hack them off, but I don’t get the chance.

As if hearing my thoughts, the demon lunges for me with a wicked snarl. I move out of his way easily, but he spreads his wings open, and I have to duck before the curved spikes at the end cut into my face.

Holy shit, that was close.

He manages to dig his claws into my shoulder. A scream of pain threatens to tear from my throat, but the rage inside of me takes over. I use his glee to my advantage, letting him haul me forward so his own force helps plunge my dagger directly into his heart.

And poof . Just like that, the creature is nothing but a pile of dust in the wind.

In a move that surprises even me, I grab the blade before it hits the ground. Mira would be proud as fuck.

Before the others can attack me, there’s a shift inside my body as three tethers pull taut.

What the fuck are they doing here?

Without needing to look around, I know Raphael, Theo, and Zeke are close.

The brutish demon, and the scarred one, look pissed that I killed their friend—but they don’t move to attack. They’re waiting for something.

But what?

Fuck. Can they sense my backup?

A few heartbeats later, Raphael and Theo are standing on either side of me, but Zeke doesn’t join them. Instead, I catch the slightest movement up ahead.

What the hell is he thinking?

My grumpy fucking boyfriend is trying to sneak up on an Archangel.

I don’t know if the look on my face gives him away, or if they knew what he was doing all along, but suddenly, the demons move to attack.

Except it’s not me they’re after anymore.

No.

They turn to Zeke, who grunts as he’s grabbed by an angel with metal-tipped wings.

The lieutenant moves too fast for me to get a good look at his face, but the tinkling of metal is unmistakable.

“No!” I shout as the guild lieutenant covers Zeke’s mouth with his hand. Zeke tries to fight him off, but something is wrong. His movements are too slow. Too weak.

I blink, and suddenly the demons and the lieutenant—who’s holding Zeke’s ever-weakening form—are beside Auriel. I meet his eyes for the briefest moment, catch his smirk, and then they’re just gone. Vanished, as if they were never there at all.

“Zeke!” I yell, racing forward to the spot where he just was, hoping for something . A rift in time and space. A portal. Fucking anything. But all I do is walk through sand and air.

I crumble to the ground, defeated.

This can’t be fucking happening.

I look up at the sky and scream.

“Hayliel.”

I hear my name and turn to find Theo and Raph.

“This is why I didn’t want you here. This is why I told Mira not to share the location. Fuck!” I bury my head in my hands, a sob ripping from my throat.

How did things get so bad? And why can’t anyone fucking listen to me? I throw my hands out on either side of me, and a stream of golden heat arcs across the sand, burning all of the vegetation in its wake.

“We’ll get him back, sunshine,” Raphael says, but I ignore him. We said the same thing about my parents, yet here I sit, covered in blood and sand and despair while they’re held captive who knows where. Now Zeke is gone, too.

Theo clears his throat. “It’s not safe here. We have to leave and tell the others what happened. About the mole and about Zeke.”

I don’t move. I can’t move. My fingers sift through the sand, cupping a handful and letting it slip between my fingers. If only I could stop time. Turn it back. I could save them all. I could protect them all.

The flapping of wings has our heads turning and hope fluttering in my chest. Did Zeke escape somehow? Is he coming back to me?

But it’s not Zeke.

The sight before me turns my stomach as I catch sight of four white wings spread wide.

Castiel lands beside the Archangel, face set in a grim line. It’s not Auriel, yet I can’t help the unease that settles over me.

An Archangel stole my parents and just took one of my boyfriends.

What the hell will this one do?