decorations, but for the most part the house was unharmed by the fire. Thankfully no one else had been hurt in the altercation.
Night had fully fallen by then, and it was nearly nine. The police and the report filing hadn’t taken nearly as long as Jade had thought it should’ve, and he ached to leave out the back door and track the
psycho down himself. Crazy or not, there was a cruelty in the former angel that made Jade sick to his stomach. Levi had been surprisingly calm as they’d taken his statement and his relationship to the psycho. He wasn’t crumbling into a trembling pile of nephilim as Jade had expected him to do. There was fear in him, but there was also a sort of determination that Jade hadn’t seen in his nephilim before.
Brax clenched his fists at his side rhythmically as they listened to Axis reinstate the guard schedule and talk about the new routine they were going to enact in an effort to keep Levi as out of the public eye as possible. Erik had declared himself safe because the former hunter had only wanted Levi, and Axis had allowed it for the moment. That made Jade nervous, but he wasn’t the commander of the band of
Elites.
He glanced over at Keer, who had said little during Axis’s lecture. Miss Kitty, the tiny white cat that Levi claimed, sat curled in his lap, kneading his thigh as she slept. Jade envied the kitten. She lived a carefree life.
Levi looked up suddenly and tilted his head to the side as if listening to something. “Madigan is calling with news.” Almost on cue, Axis’s cell rang. “Bad news,” Levi said with a sigh.
“You are scary, angel,” Jade murmured as Axis answered the phone.
Levi looked at him and frowned. “I’m sorry?”
“Don’t be. It’s hot.” Jade winked. “I’m turned on by the badass thing.” Levi’s face broke into a grin, and Jade felt something in his chest relax. He liked Levi happy.
“If you haven’t called Scepta yet, you should. He will want to know what happened,” Erik said as Axis walked toward the hallway talking in a low voice. He must’ve wanted some privacy for whatever the conversation was.
Jade nodded. “That is sound advice. We’ll let him know in the
morning.” He looked over at Levi. “Are you okay, angel?”
Levi shrugged. “I don’t know really. I’m scared, but I think I’m all right. This is just a lot to deal with. You know?” He walked up to Jade where he was sitting on the sectional and crawled into his lap.
Jade stroked his back in slow circles. “I know.” Levi wasn’t the
only one going through an adjustment period. To find out his lover was some kind of mystical divining rod for the heavens, facing the man who’d tortured said lover, and then being questioned by the cops about how the fight had started was insanity. Jade still wasn’t a hundred percent sure what was going on. At least we know why the seraphim sent us to these nephilim . They hadn’t really questioned their good fortune when it came to the pursuit of their mates, but now it seemed like fate had arranged things rather artfully.
Axis walked back into the room. The expression on his face was pinched, and Jade immediately tensed. “Azrael is going to attack the city in one week. The hunters are taking sanctuaries down all over the country.”
Jade’s eyes widened. “The rules—”
“Are no longer being obeyed,” Axis said. “Azrael has declared open war on all earthbound nephilim and any who oppose their slaughter. The only rule they’re upholding is the age limitation on kills, but they’re sterilizing the children.”
Jade gasped. “No.”
“I’m afraid so.” Axis raked a hand through his hair. “Madigan’s guardians just called to let us know in case we wanted to run.”
“Are we?” Erik asked. Jade’s grip tightened on Levi. Running would be so
Night had fully fallen by then, and it was nearly nine. The police and the report filing hadn’t taken nearly as long as Jade had thought it should’ve, and he ached to leave out the back door and track the
psycho down himself. Crazy or not, there was a cruelty in the former angel that made Jade sick to his stomach. Levi had been surprisingly calm as they’d taken his statement and his relationship to the psycho. He wasn’t crumbling into a trembling pile of nephilim as Jade had expected him to do. There was fear in him, but there was also a sort of determination that Jade hadn’t seen in his nephilim before.
Brax clenched his fists at his side rhythmically as they listened to Axis reinstate the guard schedule and talk about the new routine they were going to enact in an effort to keep Levi as out of the public eye as possible. Erik had declared himself safe because the former hunter had only wanted Levi, and Axis had allowed it for the moment. That made Jade nervous, but he wasn’t the commander of the band of
Elites.
He glanced over at Keer, who had said little during Axis’s lecture. Miss Kitty, the tiny white cat that Levi claimed, sat curled in his lap, kneading his thigh as she slept. Jade envied the kitten. She lived a carefree life.
Levi looked up suddenly and tilted his head to the side as if listening to something. “Madigan is calling with news.” Almost on cue, Axis’s cell rang. “Bad news,” Levi said with a sigh.
“You are scary, angel,” Jade murmured as Axis answered the phone.
Levi looked at him and frowned. “I’m sorry?”
“Don’t be. It’s hot.” Jade winked. “I’m turned on by the badass thing.” Levi’s face broke into a grin, and Jade felt something in his chest relax. He liked Levi happy.
“If you haven’t called Scepta yet, you should. He will want to know what happened,” Erik said as Axis walked toward the hallway talking in a low voice. He must’ve wanted some privacy for whatever the conversation was.
Jade nodded. “That is sound advice. We’ll let him know in the
morning.” He looked over at Levi. “Are you okay, angel?”
Levi shrugged. “I don’t know really. I’m scared, but I think I’m all right. This is just a lot to deal with. You know?” He walked up to Jade where he was sitting on the sectional and crawled into his lap.
Jade stroked his back in slow circles. “I know.” Levi wasn’t the
only one going through an adjustment period. To find out his lover was some kind of mystical divining rod for the heavens, facing the man who’d tortured said lover, and then being questioned by the cops about how the fight had started was insanity. Jade still wasn’t a hundred percent sure what was going on. At least we know why the seraphim sent us to these nephilim . They hadn’t really questioned their good fortune when it came to the pursuit of their mates, but now it seemed like fate had arranged things rather artfully.
Axis walked back into the room. The expression on his face was pinched, and Jade immediately tensed. “Azrael is going to attack the city in one week. The hunters are taking sanctuaries down all over the country.”
Jade’s eyes widened. “The rules—”
“Are no longer being obeyed,” Axis said. “Azrael has declared open war on all earthbound nephilim and any who oppose their slaughter. The only rule they’re upholding is the age limitation on kills, but they’re sterilizing the children.”
Jade gasped. “No.”
“I’m afraid so.” Axis raked a hand through his hair. “Madigan’s guardians just called to let us know in case we wanted to run.”
“Are we?” Erik asked. Jade’s grip tightened on Levi. Running would be so
Similar Books
