Page 30 of Wings of Valor (Silver City University #4)

T heo.

I don’t know why he stopped. Is it a panic attack? Another flashback? I can’t check on him until we defeat these fucking assholes.

What we thought was one demon turned out to be two. The first was easy to dispatch. All it took was Kirach’s quick reflexes and one strike to turn him to dust. But this fucker? He won’t go down.

I barely avoid the swipe of his claw and manage to graze him with my imbued blade. He screeches as he backs up a step, his eyes darting between the two of us. Then he just leaves.

My gaze swivels to Kirach, who looks just as confused as I am. Why the hell would he run away? The asshole could have easily taken us both on.

“Come on,” he says. “We don’t know if they ran off for reinforcements, and I don’t particularly want to be here to find out.”

And we’re running out of time on the damn fucking explosives.

I turn to check on Theo, but he’s already at my side. Is everything okay?

I’m certain I saw Serah’s killer just now and almost went after him, but that’s not what we’re here for.

From the emotion pouring through our connection, I know it took a lot for him to make that choice. We’ll make him pay, Theo. I promise you. Thank you for coming back to me.

He presses a quick kiss to my forehead, and then we enter the room behind Kirach. The only light comes from a hole in the ceiling. It illuminates the doors of two cells, but doesn’t reach any farther.

“Hayliel!” Mom calls out, and I rush to the farthest cell.

Thank the gods she’s alright. “We’re here to get you out,” I say in a rush, trying to open the door, but of course it’s locked. It’s a damn cell, for fuck’s sake.

“That demon you dusted didn’t happen to drop a set of keys, did he?”

Kirach shakes his head.

“You should have enough heat to melt through the bars,” Theo says, eying the keyhole.

Right. The powers my parents don’t know I have. Well, this should be interesting.

“Are you both alright?” I ask, gripping the bars near the keyhole.

“We’re fine, but … Zeke … Honey, he’s not doing too good.” They look in the direction of the other cell. I follow their gaze, but all I can make out is a lumpy figure beneath a threadbare sheet.

“We’ll get him to a healer right away,” I reassure them, not willing to let any negative thoughts enter. I can’t. If I did, I’d crumble, and we don’t fucking have time for that.

“We’ve got less than ten minutes before those explosives go off, and while I don’t want to rush you, we’ve gotta get moving,” Kirach says, spreading a sticky substance over the section of the cells where the door meets the bars.

When he’s done, he turns his anguished expression toward the prone figure.

Toward his son.

Without another thought, I move toward Zeke’s cell and grip the bars.

“Right. Mom, Dad, what you’re about to see might be shocking, but I promise I’ll explain it all once we’re out of here.

” I find the pool of power inside me and direct it toward the bars.

The metal heats beneath my skin, but I don’t let up, not until I smell smoke.

“Stand back!” Kirach shouts, and I jump away just in time for a small explosion.

“You used a combustible agent to help speed up the process,” Theo says in amazement as the door cracks open.

“You two check on Zeke while I get this door open,” I say, but Kirach is already striding into Zeke’s cell before I even get the words out.

I shift my attention back to the door of my parents’ cell, ignoring the heat of their stares.

“Keep away until after, please,” I tell them, then bring forth more sunfire.

As soon as it’s safe, I stride in and hug them both. “I’m so fucking glad you’re alright.”

Kirach makes a sound that has my head whipping toward him.

“My boy,” he rasps out as agony spills from him.

“What is it?” I ask, rushing into the other cell.

“Firefly,” Theo says, stopping me from getting too close.

“Stop it, Theo. Let me—”

The words get stuck in my throat as I finally see him.

Zeke. He’s pale, and his usually soft, dark hair is matted and patchy, like they’ve cut his scalp and took bits of hair in the process.

His wings are out, but they look nothing like they used to.

The one closest to me has had so many feathers removed it’s bald in some places, and as my eyes trace the line of his wings, I notice what must have Kirach in such a state.

Zeke’s other wing is just … gone. Cut clean off the bone.

Nothing remains but a stump.

“Zeke,” I whisper, my eyes pricking with pain and anger so fucking hot, I swear I could burn the entire city to the ground. “But how? Why?” I ask, turning to my parents for answers.

“We have a lot to talk about, but not here. We need to get him to safety before they come back and do worse.”

A single tear tracks down my cheek, scalding me.

“I’m going to tear them to the ground for this,” Kirach promises, and I nod in agreement.

Auriel. The demons. They won’t get away with this.

I place my hand on Zeke’s remaining wing while Theo gives my parents water and food from his pack.

Zeke. I’m so fucking sorry, I say through our connection, but even though he’s right here and I’m touching him, something blocks our pathway.

I feel a tingle from deep inside my well of power, and even though I don’t know what it means, somehow I know it’s nothing to fear.

It builds until suddenly the power converges at my fingertips and flows into him.

Before my very eyes, the open wounds where feathers were plucked from his wing close up, and new ones sprout in their place, shimmering softly—as if coated in glitter.

“By all that is holy,” Kirach says, watching in awe.

I’ve healed him? But how? All I felt in that moment was anger for what they’d done to him and pain . Was it his pain … or mine?

“Will it work on his wing?” Kirach asks, his voice pleading.

“I’m not sure, but I’ll try.”

He unstraps the wing from his back and holds the severed edges together. Bile rises in my throat at the sight, but I hold it back. Zeke needs me. Until a few minutes ago, I didn’t even know I could heal . And if I can heal his feathers without conscious thought, surely I can heal this, too.

My hope bleeds into desperation.

“They removed it with an angel blade,” Mom says softly from somewhere behind us. “Nothing can cure a wound like that.”

I want to argue with her, to tell her I survived that very blade, except she doesn’t know that, so I stay silent.

Digging deep into my power, I put my entire focus on raising those tingles, feeling the heat of my internal core, then push it toward the two ends of his wing.

Nothing happens right away, but I don’t give up, pushing and pressing despite the heat searing my insides, until suddenly, the cartilage shimmers, then glows a bright golden light that damn near blinds me.

Zeke screams, but still I don’t stop.

When he goes silent again, I hold my breath. But it’s there. Attached. Kirach isn’t holding it anymore. Can it really be that easy?

“But how?” Dad asks, confused.

Ignoring him, I turn to Kirach. “How did you know to grab the wing?”

He shrugs. “Just a hunch—”

An explosion echoes off in the distance, signaling our time is up. Fuck! Another boom rings clear, shaking the foundation.

“Uh, guys?” Mira says from the hole in the ceiling, startling all of us. “Change of plans. We’ll have to leave from here. The explosions blocked our other route.”

Another blast, this time closer. Louder. We’re running out of time.

With Zeke unconscious and the hole too small to fly out of, it’ll be tricky to get out. But we’ve gotten through worse, right?

Well, maybe not worse, but still …

Stay positive. I have to keep positive.

Kirach acts quickly, directing us to carry Zeke over to the hole while he jumps up with practiced movements and pulls himself out. Mira jumps down, and we all help to lift Zeke up enough so Raphael, Castiel, and Kirach can pull him through.

It takes more time than we have, but we finally get him out. Darok must have been wrong about his timing, because these explosives aren’t going off at the same time. Just another reason to hate the fucker.

Mom goes next, even though she argues. And when Raphael and Theo demand I go next, I realize … maybe my stubborn streak comes from my mother. But just as I ignored her arguments, Theo and Raphael do the same with mine.

Once I’m out, they pull Theo up next, leaving only Mira and my father down at the bottom. Another explosion goes off, halting our progress, but I take the time to talk to Kirach, sensing what he wants. “Take whoever you need and get Zeke to the sanctuary. Mom, go with him.”

For the first time in my entire life, she rolls her eyes. “I’m not leaving Cam.”

“Mom, don’t—”

“You wouldn’t leave us, sunshine,” Raphael says, interrupting me. Fuck. He’s right, even though I hate it.

“Castiel and I will manage while the rest of you pull the others to safety. We’ll see you there. Be safe.” Then, without another word, Kirach and Castiel lift Zeke and fly away.

A sound from below has fear rising in my gut. It’s the door, banging against the wall. But who …

Then I see it. A demon.

“You wanted an explosion?” The big brutish fucker from earlier calls out, flipping something in his hand. “Here you go!”

Time seems to slow as he hauls his arm back and tosses an object into the room before disappearing as quickly as he came.

“No!” I shout at the same time as my mother, ready to jump down the hole and stop it from happening, but Raphael and Theo haul us both away just in time to avoid getting caught in the blast. Debris and chunks of sandstone rain down on the area where we just stood. Where my father and Mira were.

“Oh, gods,” Mom wails, covering her mouth with her hand.

I move to her side, holding her tight in my arms and try to stay strong. We’re angels, right? Bombs might hurt, but we won’t die. So why is my mom so scared?

“They’ll be okay, Mom. Dad will survive this,” I reassure her.

“No, no, no,” she cries. “They made special bombs loaded with angel blades. If they—” but she breaks out into another sob before she can continue.

Holy shit. If that’s true, we’re fucked, and my Dad … Mira …

“Stay with them,” I hear Raphael say to Theo, but I don’t look where he’s going. I can’t, not with Mom falling apart in my arms.

I don’t know how long he’s gone for. It could be seconds. Minutes. Hours. My entire focus is on the woman whose heart is currently shattering into a million tiny pieces at losing the love of her life.

“They’re alive!” Raphael calls to us. He has to say it twice before the words sink in.

I stumble to my feet, hauling Mom along with me until we’re staring down into the open pit that was once a room. Where the door was is nothing but rubble. A silver lining, I suppose. With that blocked, the demon can’t come back with more force.

A strange, icy-blue mixture covers Dad and Mira from head to toe. Actually, it covers more than just them. It’s on the nearest chunks of sandstone, too. What the hell is it?

Mira helps Dad to his feet. They’re talking, but I can’t make out the words. Then, Dad does the strangest thing. He hugs her. A complete stranger. Before I can do anything, the pair unleash their wings and fly out of the crumbling room.

“Cam!” Mom cries, rushing toward where my dad lands and jumping into his arms. As much as I want to run toward him and make sure he’s alright, I know she needs a private moment with him, so I head toward Mira instead.

Raphael takes a quick scan of Dad while Theo does the same with Mira.

“How the hell are you two alive right now?” I ask. The pair of them are shivering uncontrollably despite the humid temperature. Adrenaline, maybe? They must both be in shock.

“Y-your friend doused us in something that m-made us cold enough to protect us,” Dad says, walking toward us with Mom practically glued to his side.

“N-not fully,” Mira adds, her teeth chattering. She’s holding her arm to her chest. Broken, I suspect. Dad has a pretty nasty gash on his head, too.

I don’t think that bomb had any angel blades in it, at least. For now, we’re safe, but when they let that bomb explode, it will kill far too many angels.

Pulling out my slate, I send a message to Castiel to let him know we’re heading to the sanctuary.

I ask him to notify Team A so they can fall back, and to warn them about a possible shrapnel bomb.

I glance around, not trusting our momentary peace. We need to get out of here.

“Are you well enough to fly?” I ask the group. Everyone nods, but then I realize we’re down an angel. “Fuck. What happened to Darok?”

“He woke up and bailed. That asshole is probably back in the sanctuary, lounging in his council chair and pretending like he actually fucking did something.” Mira kicks her foot toward a bag sitting a few yards away. “I don’t think I can carry that. Not with this arm.”

“I can take it for you,” Raph says, rushing to pick it up. “As for Darok, I say fuck him. I’m glad he’s not here.”

“Agreed. What’s inside?” Theo asks, nodding to the pack on Raphael’s back curiously.

A triumphant smile grows on Mira’s face. “We may have found a stash of weapons. I took as much as I could fit.”

“Fuck, yes!” Raphael whoops. “Let’s hope the rest get destroyed.”

“Thank you,” I mouth to her, hoping she knows just how grateful I am for everything she’s done. I’m not sure I would have survived losing Dad, and I know for certain that Mom wouldn’t have.

She bumps into me with her good arm, and then we take off, racing back toward the man I pray is awake.