“No, I… of course not.” He sighed and raked a flustered hand through his hair.
“It’s none of your business, Michael.”
He set his jaw and dragged his gaze back to hers. “That is true, but you know the danger to you and Seth. You’re both growing weaker by the moment.”
Much as she hated to admit it, Michael was right. Several years had passed since the last time they had been intimate. Being with Seth roused too many emotions in her, and she’d found it best just to avoid that.
“Lily.” Michael’s voice lowered to a whisper. “I just lost Mara. You’ve become like a sister to me. I cannot lose you as well.”
His voice rang with sorrow and sincerity, and it melted away the last of her fury. He would never have brought this up if he wasn’t truly terrified of something happening to her.
“Oh, Michael.”
The grief that had choked her throughout the past week came raging to the surface, stealing her breath away.
Michael reached out and pulled her into his arms, giving her some of the comfort she so desperately needed. “It’s okay, Lily. I know how much you miss her too.”
She clutched Michael’s shoulders and let him hold her. Though she’d always prided herself on being strong, it was nice to have someone to lean on, even if just for a brief moment.
After several long seconds, Michael leaned down to whisper into her ear. “You know I love both you and Seth, but if you won’t accept him any longer, at the very least you should grow your strength, even through Adam if necessary. I couldn’t stand to lose you both.”
Leaving her reeling from that particular declaration, he turned and went inside just as Seth stepped through the threshold.
Seth took a look at her and paused. “Are you okay, Lily?”
She forced back the wellspring of confusion swirling within her. “Yes.”
But as she accompanied Seth on the flight to his contact, tense silence swelled between them, and she couldn’t help but think of what Michael had said.
You should grow your strength, even through Adam if necessary.
He was right. She had to make a decision, sooner rather than later. Even if she was willing to sacrifice her own safety, she couldn’t risk the others. They needed her to be strong. To stand and fight with them.
So only one question remained. Who would she choose: the nephilim who might very well be able to steal her heart, or the angel who’d once had it yet thoughtlessly crushed it?
Chapter Four
The next several days passed by in a blur of activity. After collecting the torches, Lily and Seth left Nate and Rick to create more of the weapons and flew their stash to the underground rebel base. There, the torches were distributed amongst the rebels. They’d then struck out in various directions to recruit more humans.
After much discussion, they’d decided the rebels would handle first contact with the human population. Some people were bound to be scared of the Fallen, and who could blame them? For over a dozen years it had been drilled into their heads that the Fallen were evil.
Since Michael was certain the Tribunal would seek to return to their main tower in Central Park, most of their recruiting efforts with the humans had been concentrated in the city. After all, over eight million people lived there. If even one hundredth of them decided to rise up against the angels, odds were in their favor. At least that was the case now, since the humans had access to weapons that could actually kill the angels.
Lily and Ruby had just returned from training some of the humans they’d recruited when a commotion sounded throughout the rebel base.
Exchanging a wary glance with Ruby, Lily followed the noise to the recreation room. Aaron and Ethan were inside, and they were in heated discussion with Michael, Seth, Jason, and the whole gang of rebels.
“What’s happened?” Lily asked, raising her voice to be heard.
Jason stopped in mid-speech and turned to face her. “Our surveillance cameras caught Ezekiel returning to the Central Park angel towers.”
All the breath rushed out of her lungs. She caught Michael’s gaze. “You were right.”
“I know Ezekiel,” he said grimly.
Yes, she supposed he did. The two were of similar age and had been rivals since before they could fly.
Adam pushed his way to the forefront of the rebel group. “We should attack before he leaves. We don’t know when, or if, we’ll get the opportunity again.”
“We should wait for the other Tribunal members,” Ruby countered. “What good is it bringing down just one of them? We need to get all three.”
Everyone broke out into speech at once, creating a din that made it impossible to follow what was going on.
“Enough.” Michael raised his hands, and the voices died down. He took a breath and turned to his mate, Eva. “What think you, beloved?”
“It’s too soon to attack,” she said softly.
He turned to Seth with a lift of his brow.
“I agree,” Seth said. “Though I don’t think we should wait long. The sooner we act, the more off guard the Tribunal will be. I very much doubt, if we act soon, that they’ll be expecting the humans, or for them to be carrying flame torches.”
When Michael turned his questing gaze to her, Lily said, “I agree.”
In this instance, time was not on their side.
After a moment of silence, Michael turned to rest. “We’ll monitor the tower, and if he leaves we’ll track him. For now we should prepare as if we’ll attack within the next few days. I won’t lie. It will certainly be difficult. But we have much on our side. The angels won’t be expecting a direct attack on their tower. I doubt the windows will be heavily guarded. It should be easy for us to get inside and open the main doors. Once that happens, it will be up to all of us to outnumber them, to overpower them with our weapons.”
Ruby gave a short nod. “We can do it, Michael. The rebels are ready.”
“I know.” He gave Ruby a long look. “It’s the remainder of the humans I’m concerned about. We need to do everything possible to prepare them for going up against angels.”
Ruby set her spine. “With that in mind, we need to up our training. Go back out there tonight and give the people an opportunity to test their mettle against real live angels.”
“I’ll go back out with you,” Lily said to her.
Ruby nodded, then murmured, “Give me a half hour, okay?”
Lily followed Ruby’s gaze to Jason, and understanding flooded through her. Ruby wanted some time alone with her mate before they left, and who could blame her.
A sudden flame of loneliness sparked deep in her stomach. She shoved it back, but when Ruby looked at her with sympathy in her eyes, she knew she hadn’t been quick enough.
Was it possible Seth had sensed it?
The shameful thought propelled her feet into motion. Leaving behind the rest of the group, she strode through the dark corridors and into the control room. Several long, rectangular tables were covered with monitors, and one of Ruby’s rebels sat at a chair, monitoring the views from the screens.
“Is the coast clear?” she asked him.
He grinned and nodded. “Looks good from here.”
“Then I’m stepping out for some air.”
She stalked to the iron door and yanked it open, stepping into the old abandoned tunnel that served as the entryway to the base. After securing the door shut, she made her way along the worn cobblestone floor, then up the ladder set into the shaft leading aboveground.
She often wondered what this space would have looked like over a century ago, when it had been used as a subway station. After it had been abandoned and bricked up, it had been forgotten with time. With the shaft partially cast in iron, which Ruby had discovered masked angelic essences, it was the perfect hideout for angel and human alike.
Lily worked her way through the abandoned warehouse and stepped outside. The snow had begun falling more heavily at some point, casting layer upon layer of pristine
white on the ground.
Snow crunched beneath Lily’s footsteps as she headed to the banks of the East River, stopping in front of the railing looking out over the river. Though the wind was frigid over the water and she wore nothing more than a black tank top and cargo pants, the cold didn’t bother her. She had her angel heritage to thank for that.
Tilting her head back to the sky, she allowed the snowflakes to gather on her cheeks.
She lost track of how much time she spent like that, but a thread of awareness alerted her to the presence of someone else. The tingle in her breasts told her who it was. Turning slowly, she pressed her back against the iron railing and warily watched Adam approach.
He’d taken the time to throw on a heavy jacket, which was good because nephilim weren’t immune to the cold in the way that angels were. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and his cheeks and nose were a shade of scarlet as he stalked toward her with determination.
In the way of angels, her body responded to him. Softened for him. He sensed it, too, because a whisper of desire drifted from him.
“You shouldn’t be out here,” she murmured when he stopped in front of her.
“But you’re here,” he said simply, his gaze direct on hers.
She sighed. If only things were that simple.
“You should be preparing for battle against the angels,” she persisted. In the short time she’d known him, he’d grown so much stronger and more skilled as a fighter, but he was still part human. Vulnerable. It worried her.
“What about you?” he whispered. When she narrowed her eyes at him, he said, “You should be preparing too.”
Desire unfurled in her body, and she tensed, prepared to stalk away.
Adam must have sensed her intent, because his hand slipped out of his pocket and closed over her arm. Tingles of electricity danced where their skin met: angel blood calling to angel blood. It made her nipples grow hard.
The years of self-imposed celibacy were starting to catch up with her.
She wanted him.
“Lily.” Adam took a deep, shaky breath. “I know the situation between you and Seth, but if you’re not going to be with him, you should—”
“No.” She shook her head. “Don’t say it.”
His lips pursed, but he soldiered on. “You know I want you. I know you’re going to say I have no choice. That it would be foolish for us to do anything. Maybe you’re right, but I don’t care. I still want you. And more than anything, I want you to be safe.”
“I will be,” she whispered.
“You don’t know that.” He pulled her into his arms, his dark gaze swirling with desire. “You’re weak right now, when you should be strong.”
“I…”
She couldn’t deny it, couldn’t bring herself to tear free from his grasp even though she knew that was what she should be doing.
“We could all be dead come tomorrow,” Adam whispered.
His words rang with truth.
“Be with me, Lily,” Adam murmured.
“I can’t—”
His lips swooped down to claim hers before she could finish her sentence. They were soft and firm and full of longing.
When his tongue slid out along her lips, she gave into temptation and allowed him entrance to her mouth.
Wave after wave of desire washed through her body as his mouth plundered hers, making her womb clench with lust, lust he could no doubt feel. After repressing her desires for all this time, it felt good to give in for a little while. If felt hot and wicked and delicious…
And wrong.
The knowledge rocked her to her core.
She tensed, preparing to break away, when she felt that familiar slide between her shoulder blades, the one that told her another angel was approaching and not just any angel.
Seth.
Gasping, she tore herself away, but the low growl that rent the air told her she’d done it too late.
Her heart in her throat, Lily turned to see Seth standing several feet away, his hands curled into fists, and his chest heaving with fury.
*****
When Seth had seen Lily slip out of the recreation room, only for Adam to follow her moments later, he’d tried his best to refrain from following. At the very least, he owed Lily that. But then his imagination had run away with him, thinking of all the things that could happen. So he’d given in to the temptation and gone after them.
Only to discover that his very fears had come true.
The growl that tore from his throat reverberated through the air, and Lily’s resultant stirring of panic would have made him feel shame had he not been so far gone with primitive fury.
Fear and determination wafted from Adam as he turned to face Seth. The latter emotion made Seth’s hands clench into fists. He didn’t want to harm the nephilim, but if Adam dared challenge him over Lily, he would tear him apart with his bare hands. He wouldn’t be able to stop himself.
“Stop,” Lily said, her face screwing up in anger.
“Get away from him,” he rumbled in response.
“You have no right to tell me that.”
Snarling, he stalked forward a step.
Adam squared his shoulders, grim resignation lining his features. “I’m not scared of you.”
Liar.
Lily stepped in front of the nephilim before Seth could take another step. “Don’t you dare touch him.”
“Then get away from him,” Seth growled.
Her face reddened and twin notes of anger and frustration floated from her. “You can do whatever you want, but Gods forbid I even think of moving on, and all of a sudden you turn into a Neanderthal.”
“Lily,” he warned.
A flustered gasp tore from her throat. Without warning, she tensed her shoulders and grew her wings, then shot into the sky.
For one loaded moment, Seth’s gaze collided with Adam’s, and he feared how he would react. The rational part of his mind recognized that Adam had only acted in accordance with his angel heritage… but the rest of him wanted to crush the man for daring to want what was his.
But then Adam’s head whipped toward the sky and he shouted, “Lily, wait.”
The primitive instinct that urged Seth to fight over his mate receded, leaving behind the undeniable need to chase her down. He gave into it, shooting his wings out and propelling up after her. At least that was something he could do that Adam couldn’t.
He was going to go after Lily, and this time, he wouldn’t give up until he’d had his say.
Chapter Five
The frigid wind whipped through Lily’s hair as she flew alongside the Brooklyn Bridge. Thanks to the curfew the Tribunal had set in place, the bridge was deserted at this hour. There was a serene sort of beauty to it, but she couldn’t admire that now, when she was so eager to escape Seth.
It was no use, of course. She could feel him at her back, closing in on her.
Damn that man. She would never escape him, never be free of him.
She was beginning to suspect she didn’t truly want to be.
He caught up to her as she zoomed toward one of the limestone and granite columns, his powerful wings creating a backdraft as they flapped beside hers. “Lily, wait.”
Oh, what was the point in running?
Her heart pounded with fury as she touched down on the bridge, only steps from the column. Absorbing her wings into her back, she turned to rake him with the full force of her anger. “What do you want, Seth?”
Answering rage flashed in his eyes as he landed on his feet and stalked toward her. He didn’t bother folding his wings in, and it only served to make him look bigger. Angrier.
Sexier, damn it.
Her back hit the column, and then he was there in front of her, lifting his arms to cage her in between his muscular body and the limestone.
“Why, Lily?” Pain radiated off him in harsh waves. “Why can’t you forgive me?”
Her body was racked with despair, tears choking her throat. “You t
ruly have to ask me that? Just the sight of Adam’s lips on mine had you ready to kill, and I’m supposed to forgive you for your betrayal?”
“I told you before, I never touched her, Lily.” He shook his head, hard. “Which is more than you can say for you and Adam.”
“But don’t you see? That’s even worse,” she railed, for the first time giving voice to the secret anguish that had followed her every moment since she’d learned the truth.
He stepped back, his forehead furrowing in confusion.
“If it had been physical, I could have told myself it was just sex.” She forced the words out because she couldn’t hold them back anymore.
His brows knitted. “But I didn’t—”
“But this, this is worse. You loved her.” When her hands fisted, she gave into the urge to pummel them into his bare chest. “You loved her when it was supposed to be me.”
“Oh, Lily.” His face buckled in pain, and he grabbed hold of her wrists, pinning them above her head. His lips touched hers, his breath kissing them when he whispered, “I do love you. I always have.”
“Then how could you fall for her? If you loved me, how could you let that happen?”
“I don’t know.” He straightened so that his eyes, clouded over with his agony, met hers. “I didn’t plan for it. Certainly didn’t expect it. It just happened.”
“Then…” Lily swallowed hard, as if that would lessen her anguish. But it didn’t, of course. “Then you never truly loved me.”
“No. That’s not true.”
His words rang with sincerity.
“I don’t know how or why, but I did care for her. But that doesn’t mean my feelings for you ever diminished.”
Yeah… right.
“I don’t believe it,” she whispered, willing her aching heart to stop beating so madly against her chest.
“Don’t you?” Darkness flashed in his gaze, and his fingers tightened on her wrists. “Can you honestly think of Adam and tell me you don’t believe it possible to have feelings for more than one person?”
She gasped and averted her eyes… because he was right. Much as she tried to deny it, she did have feelings for Adam. He was kind and sweet and innocent, everything she wished she could be.
Angel's Redemption Page 3
