Tilly jumped to her feet and ran to my side. “Okay, dude, time to stop.”
“I thought I did!” The room tremored beneath my feet, yet the tower continued to rise. I grabbed Tilly’s hand and yanked her as far away as I could. “You need to get out of here!”
“No, you stay, I stay.”
The point of the tower pierced the ceiling and shot straight through to the roof. I shoved Tilly to the ground and threw myself over her. Pieces of the ceiling dropped to the floor like meteors. The white tile exploded up around each one.
The beams above us bowed down. I grabbed Tilly and yanked her back to her feet. “Move!”
We ran toward the door only to have a big chunk of sheet rock fall in front of it, blocking us in. Tilly turned and backed up against it, her eyes wide and her mouth dropped open. “You have to stop this.”
“I thought I did.” The river rose up over the ruined floor. It dipped and flowed over everything, rising so fast I didn’t know what to do. I held my hand out, trying to envision it stopping, but all that came out was a small puff of smoke then nothing.
I shook my hands, trying to get my magic to work, but I was too panicked. My heart raced as the water rose up to my knees. I grabbed ahold of Tilly and dragged her behind me as I trudged through it toward the stairs leading up to the second floor. One step, then two, then five and only the bottoms of my shoes were in it.
“Um, Astrid? What is that sound?” Tilly turned to face the destroyed apartment.
Over the sound of falling water, cracking walls, and plunges of pieces of the apartment came a noise I didn’t want to hear. The cracking of glass. On the far side of the apartment those floor-to-ceiling widows barely held on. Fissures forked out across them like spider webs. Streams of water poured out of them into the night sky.
“Please hold, oh God, please hold.” My eyes locked on them and I willed them to hold the water in.
“Astrid.” Tilly tugged at my arm. “Move up.”
“No, no, no.” I hunched over, staring at the windows. A piece of the roof flew over the side of the building down toward the street below. Screams sounded and the sound of a boulder hitting the ground shook the entire building. The windows exploded outward, shards of glass raining down on the street. Horns blared, screams filled my ears, and the cars crashed together. The water rushed from the apartment and it too fell toward the street. The ceiling was nearly gone and what was left of it was on the floor. Puddles of water remained in the dented tiles. The sound of chaos from below echoed in all directions.
I fell back on the stairs and wrapped my arms around my knees. Tears threatened to spill over and I bit the inside of my cheek to stop them. “Till, I messed up . . . bad.”
The wind kicked up around me and my hair flew back from my face. Tilly scrambled back, pointing toward the sky. “What the hell is that?”
Wings, hulking big black wings filled my vision. My blood froze in my veins and my sopping wet pants only deepened the chill in my bones. I shook from head to toe as I rose to my feet. “Stay behind me.”
Like a shot he dropped down in front of me, a tower of an angel I’d never seen before. His hair was cut short and fanned back from his chiseled face. He was only an inch bigger than Aidenuli, but I felt the power rolling off of him and smacking into me. His sapphire eyes glowed with fury and the muscle in his jaw ticked. If I thought Aidenuli was scary, this guy had him beat by miles. Sword handles poked out from the holsters on his back and weapons dripped from his hips. He wore a tight black tank top that matched his black combat pants and boots perfectly. He put his hands on his hips and glared at me.
Then one by one other black winged angels dropped down to flank his sides in a perfect V shape. Aidenuli was the last to land at his side. His long midnight hair fell into his face, covering his hypnotic eyes and that scar in his eyebrow. He pulled one of his earbuds out and let it fall down across his chest. I was screwed . . . so screwed.
Each of the angels was beautiful in their own way. There were eight of them, all with big black wings, all dripping in weapons, all looking thoroughly pissed off at me. Fu—
Aidenuli arched his eyebrow at me and suddenly I was hit with the fact he could hear every damn word I thought. Heat licked at my face and I gazed at the sky once more only to be blinded by flaming wings. Zinnia’s wild hair flew around her face and Tucker dropped her down next to the head angel. Her crown was firmly perched on her head. Those sharp points gleamed in what was left of the lights in my apartment. She wore black leather leggings and combat boots that matched her black ripped up sweater perfectly. Silver sparks of magic lingered down her arms and in her hair.
I froze. I might die. They’re going to strip my magic and kill me. Probably throw me into a jail for the criminally magically insane. Where I’d grow old without ever getting past second base with Beckett. Damn it! Aidenuli snapped his fingers to get my attention. Heat flooded my cheeks and I knew he heard every word.
Tucker pulled his wings in behind him and glanced around the apartment. He let a low whistle go as he shook his head. The lead angel stepped toward Zinnia without ever breaking eye contact with me. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear and she nodded up at him.
Zinnia stepped toward me and a wave of magic smacked into me, knocking me back a step. She threw her arms up. “What the hell is this, Astrid?”
“I—”
She rushed forward and jabbed her finger in my face. “You’ve exposed magic for all the world to see.”
“I didn’t mean to.” A ball formed in my throat and I wanted to cry. I was wrong and I knew it. This was a huge mistake and deep in my bones I knew it was going to cost me.
“You didn’t mean to? You destroyed the building and the street below.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Hey, it wasn’t her fault.” Tilly snapped.
I glanced over my shoulder. “Yeah, it was.” I turned back to Zinnia. “I can fix it.”
“Fix it? This should’ve never happened in the first place!” Fury rolled off of her. Her magic wound down her arms and legs. “Oh no, you’ve done enough.”
I glanced down at the floor and blinked away the tears gathering in my eyes. I wrapped my arms around my midsection. I knew better and things just got out of hand. “I’m so sorry.”
“You were supposed to be at school where crap like this can happen because there are people there to help you. But no, instead you took it upon yourself to redecorate the city.” Zinnia marched toward the door and stopped in front of the boulder blocking it.
The lead angel held his hand up and it crumbled to dust on the floor at Zinnia’s feet. My eyes widened and I leaned away from him. If he could do that to a boulder, what could he do to my bones? Zinnia yanked the door open then turned to look back at me. “Now I have to go clean up your mess.”
She marched out of sight. Tilly leaned into me and whispered, “Man, she is a bitch.”
“No, Till. She’s right.” I wanted to cry and throw up all at once.
Tucker pulled his phone from his pocket and pressed it to his ear. “Hey, man, got your girl. You better get here . . . fast.”
Ugh, not Beckett. I didn’t know if I could stand to see the disappointment in his eyes. But there was no way it’d be worse than the disappointment I felt in myself. I dropped down onto the stairs and sat there with all their eyes locked on me. The angels began to walk around the apartment, examining all the damage I’d done, yet none of them spoke a word to me. A blue light glowed in the corner of the room and I wanted to crawl under a piece of the roof and die. At first his form was a shadow walking toward us. As he came closer, he became clearer, his broad shoulders, narrow hips, and tousled blond hair. When he stepped through the portal, his eyes flared wide.
He narrowed is eyes at me. “What have you done?”
I let my head slump forward into my hands. “I don’t know.”
Cross walked through the portal behind Beckett. A chuckle burst from his lips. “Holy shit.” H
e spun in a small circle. “This is pretty impressive.”
Beckett grabbed Cross and shoved him behind him. “Shut up.”
Logan strolled through next and pushed Cross to the side. “Crap, are we in New York?”
“Yeaaa.” Every time someone spoke it just made things worse.
Beckett bowed his head slightly toward the lead angel. “Matteaus.”
Matteaus? Shit, the Matteaus? The leader of the fallen, the guy everyone revered and answered to. He ruled Evermore with an iron fist and I’d just thoroughly pissed him off. Crap, crap, crap. Maze walked through the portal and trudged across the room toward Tilly and me. He didn’t look at me or anyone else, only at her.
He extended his hand out for her. “Come on, let’s go.”
“What, no? I’m not leaving Astrid.” Tilly placed her hand on my shoulder.
I slid out from under her touch and turned to face her. “He’s right, you should go. I have to take care of this.”
“O-oh okay.” She glanced at the ground then back up toward me. “If you say so.”
I threw my arms around her and pulled her close for a quick hug. Everything was so wrong. I was scared for my own fate and I didn’t want her to be here to witness this. “It’s going to be okay. Just go with him. He’ll keep you safe until I get back.”
She nodded and took Maze’s hand. There was something off about him. He didn’t smile, crack a joke, or even have a snack in his hand. He simply dragged her toward the portal, with her trailing behind him. Her clothes were sopping wet, her hair was a mess, and yet she tried to stand by me. None of this was her fault. We were just going to have some fun. Fun, I hadn’t had fun in weeks. And the first chance I got at it I screwed it up, royally.
Matteaus crooked his finger at Beckett and moved to the other side of the room, out of earshot. Beckett glared at me over his shoulder then turned toward Matteaus. Matteaus jabbed a finger into his chest and Beckett bowed his head. Even if I couldn’t hear the words, I knew Matteaus was tearing into Beckett. His motions were sharp, his eyes were like piercing lasers, and every muscle in his body shot tight with tension.
Logan strolled over to me. “This is something else.”
“Ugh, I know. I didn’t mean to.” I shook my head and motioned to the falling ceiling.
“Whether or not you meant to, Astrid, isn’t relevant at this point.” He stepped in closer and lowered his voice. “You did all this. You exposed magic to the human world. It’s bad enough that you have Tilly here but now this. Don’t you think it’s time you take a good hard look at things and decide if you’re in or out?”
The fallen walked around the room, kicking pieces of the roof out of the way. Cross stood beside Aidenuli, chatting him up. And I’d never felt so alone, never felt so out of place like I did right this second.
I met Logan’s gaze. “What do you mean?”
“I mean you’ve been fighting Beckett every step of the way since you’ve been here. Don’t you think it’s time to choose to stay and fall in line or leave and be what you want to be?”
I sucked in a sharp breath and flinched away from him. I didn’t think I’d fought him so much. I went to the school he told me to, took the classes he told me to, did the missions he told me to. Was I really that bad?
“Logan,” Aidenuli called out to get his attention. “I think you need to go downstairs and help Zinnia do some crowd control. Perhaps convince them it was a gas explosion or something?”
“I’m on it.” Logan leaned in. “Think about it.”
He turned for the door and walked away from me. I sank back onto the steps and plopped down there. A single tear streaked down my cheek. I swiped it away before anyone could see. Water seeped into my jeans, soaking me through to my skin, but I didn’t care. I’d ruined my father’s home, exposed magic, and messed things up with the others. Tucker shook his head and chuckled as he dropped down beside me.
I sniffled. “You think this is funny?”
“Well, it sure as shit isn’t sad.” He bumped me with his arm. “Astrid, we all mess up. It’s just a matter of how you bounce back from this. Are you going to let it weaken you or are you going to face what you did?”
Stay or go? Cry or fight? “I honestly don’t know.”
Tucker patted my knee and embers sparked in his eyes. “I think you’ll make the right decision. Whatever that might be.”
I hung my head. “Yeah, I don’t think this could get any worse.”
“Well, well, well.” The door creaked open and there stood Damiel Edwards. I shot to my feet. He looked more pristine than ever, with his hair pulled back with his leather strap. His clothing was pressed so much that the collar of his shirt stood stiff against his neck. He stepped into the room with his cane leading the way. Tap, step, step, tap, step, step.
His yellow eyes danced as he took in the destruction. “Ms. Lockwood, if this isn’t grounds for expulsion, I don’t know what is.” A wide smile spread across his face and he held his hands out to his sides. “Impressive.”
Beckett cleared his throat. “What the hell are you doing here, Damiel?”
“A show of this amount of warlock power, how could I not be here?” He used his cane to shove a piece of the roof out of his way as he walked into the middle of the room. “It was a ripple that any practiced warlock could feel. And I’m sure Ridge will be so pleased to know what you’ve been up to. Especially after I gave him strict orders to have you restricted to the school.”
Aidenuli titled his head, studying him. “This is Fallen business and we will handle it as we see fit.”
Damiel let out a deep, hearty laugh like this was the funniest thing he’d heard in years. “But in such a limited capacity. Isn’t that right, angel?”
Aidenuli pursed his lips together but didn’t say anything else. The others started to gather around him in a circle, each of them having their hands resting on a weapon of some sort. Even Aidenuli had his hand on the hilt of a knife at his hip. Tuck’s flaming wings popped from his back and he held a ball of fire in the palm of his hand, tossing it up and catching it.
Beckett moved from the other side of the room to stand in front of me. He held his hand up and those blue orbs danced between his fingers. “You can’t do anything if they can’t find you.”
“Are you threating me, boy?” The smile dropped from Damiel’s face and he turned to face him fully.
Beckett shrugged. “Take it how you will.”
“Beck, don’t.” I placed my hand on his back and he stiffened at my touch. I cleared my throat. “Don’t do this for me.”
He glanced at me over his shoulder. “Stay out of this, Astrid. You’ve done enough.”
I dropped my hand and took a step back from him. He was right, I’d done more than enough already. All I wanted to do was go home, wherever that was, and stay there.
“I didn’t think you had the guts, Dustwick. You’d do your father proud.” Damiel gave Beckett a mock bow and his lips turned up in that snide smile.
Smoke erupted from Beckett’s hands and his body shook from head to toe. “I hope you rot in hell beside him. Where you both belong.”
Dead silence fell over the room and I didn’t know what to say or do. Tension hung heavy in the air. Beckett’s body quaked with power. His shoulders were stiff. He opened his stance like he was about to attack Damiel. What the hell happened between them? Between Beckett and his father? And what did Damiel have to do with it? Matteaus stomped into the middle of the circle and faced Damiel. Power rolled off of him and my heart sped at the feel of it.
He seethed from head to toe. Drops of water rose up from the ground like it was raining backward. Particles of dust rose in streams up toward the ceiling in slow motion. His eyes blazed bright blue and I stood frozen, unable to turn away from his power.
The muscles in his body thrummed and he came nose to nose with Damiel. “Get”—his voice was a threating growl like a dog about to attack—“out.”
Damiel took a step back, and an
other. “You forget yourself, angel. This isn’t your fight and stepping in is against the rules.”
Another angel, the one with piercing green hazel eyes and dirty blond hair, shook his head and gave a humorless chuckle. “Fallen for a reason, you idiot. We don’t play by the rules.”
“Not surprised to hear that from you, Mika. You always were obstinate.” Damiel turned on his heels and headed for the door. He paused for a moment and pointed his finger in my direction. “This isn’t over.”
I wanted to say something cutting, to stand up to him the way the rest of them did, but fear and exhaustion held me silent. Beckett moved to the side.
He tossed his orb up and caught it. “Oh, I think it’s over.”
Without another word, Damiel stormed from the room, leaving the rest of them to stare at me.
Shit, this was bad, sooooo bad. How could I mess up like this?
Zinnia marched back into the room and stopped dead in her tracks to stare at the water and rising dirt. “What happened?”
Tucker sighed. “Damiel Edwards was here and he’s decided to try and expel Astrid from the school for good.”
Matteaus locked gazes with me and marched in my direction. I shrank away from him and my heart raced. Black dots swarmed my vision and I fought how dizzy I was. I’m gonna pass out and pee. Pee and pass out all at the same time. This was the head of the freaking Fallen and he was coming for me.
He stopped only a few feet from me and held his hand up. Power gathered in his palm, at first just a faint glow. My eyes widened as the ball of swirling golden and silver magic formed in his hand. The orb! My orb! The one filled with my magic hovered just over the palm of his hand. He glanced at it then back at me. What was he going to do? Please don’t destroy it. It was a part of me and I needed it.
Wicked Wish (The Royals: Warlock Court Book 2) Page 18
