by Alexia Purdy
“You should’ve told me about the stupid key, about the barons who could be my real parents. I don’t belong here, and even if I did choose to stay, I’d never be your mate. I need to return to where I belong, and you should’ve told me all of this from the get-go, but you’re like all the other archangels. Selfish to the bone. Eternal in your cruelty. I will never be your mate. You will never get what you want from me.”
“You need to think this through.”
“I don’t need to think about anything, anymore.”
Ereziel’s complexion flushed, his eyebrows cinching as her words dug into his soul. She knew they would, for she knew he angered when accused. He was probably about to blow up on her and begin spewing threats. She could see them flash through his eyes.
Maybe he’d threaten her with the death of Matt or anyone else she knew, anyone who’d supported her at any time. But in that macabre mind of his, he was also examining every possible scenario to see how he could gain an advantage.
He was going to make sure she never made it to the Skein Realm. Going through the gate was the one sure way to break their bond, and he probably knew this. What he failed to realize was that she was going to go there today, right after this, and there would be nothing he could do to stop her.
Thalia turned to walk out of the forge. Ereziel said nothing until she was at the door, opening it by the handle. His voice echoed loudly behind her, digging into her soul like a dagger as he moved to catch up to her.
“You will not find what you’re seeking on the other side. Go ahead and break the bond. If you think I’m going to stop you, you’re sorely mistaken. Tell me… would any of your lovers let you go so easily? Because if you love someone, you let them go, right? Just don’t come crawling back to me when you realize everything you have found isn’t what you wanted. Because what you seek isn’t there.”
Thalia pulled out her angel-killer sword and held it at arm’s length.
“That’s not true. I’ve already discovered more than I ever wanted to know. You’re just afraid that I might find out how much I don’t need you. Well, don’t fret about that. I’ve already lived without you.”
She swung, but the blade slid through air as Ereziel moved with inhuman speed, blurring as he zigzagged around the room just ahead of her sword. A moment later, her sword clanged to the floor, and her wrist screamed in agony as he twisted it while clasping onto her waist from behind and pulling her arm in across her chest.
She struggled to no avail. Wisps of her violet-magenta hair dangled in her vision, but the archangel did not let up, squeezing until her breath ran out and she wheezed with shallow intakes.
“Let me go.”
“Not until you know and understand where I’m coming from.”
“You’re a liar and a user. I was never getting into Heaven through Purgatory. You knew that and didn’t tell me.”
She gasped, unable to inhale any more air. Stars danced in her vision, but she continued to buck even through Ereziel’s hushing.
“I didn’t want to lie. I promised your parents you’d be safe with me when they died. They made me swear and bound me with an unbreakable curse if I told you about your past. I couldn’t do that. Not when it would have detrimental consequences not only for me, but for you as well.”
“What curse?”
“I’d become mortal… and so would you.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Thalia’s voice creaked in a harsh whisper. “I can’t breathe.”
“Shh. Just sleep for now. I have you. I’d never let anyone harm you.”
“Don’t—” Her eyelids fluttered, the room darkening as she felt Ereziel’s heart beating against her back. His scent wafted about her, like a dream filled with memories. He had risked his immortality for her? Why? Why would an archangel bow to the whims of her parents, two selfish humans who’d fled slavery and stolen a child from another realm? Maybe he’d agree it wasn’t worth it after all this time. Not for a mere foundling like Thalia.
“Please,” she whispered. She was about to succumb to the darkness when Ereziel’s grip suddenly loosened. He gently slid her to the floor and bent his face over hers, tears glistening in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Thalia. I never meant to hurt you. You must see that. I want to whisk you away, but there’s a part of me that fights it. I want you to come to me of your own free will, to tell me you love me and want me. Not by force. I let you go, and it hurt more than anything I’d ever lived through. I can see why the Fallen sacrifice their wings for love.”
Thalia sucked in a breath, closing her eyes and gasping as she struggled to sit up. She peered around to where Ereziel had been only to find the forge empty. The air hadn’t even moved to signal he had left, but he was gone as though he’d never even existed in the same realm as her. She forgot how quickly archangels could disappear. They were so powerful here on Earth, a place where they didn’t belong.
She continued to inhale deep, centering breaths, her heart slowing. Swallowing down the dry knot in her throat, she struggled to her feet. She picked up her fallen sword, slid it into its sheath, and turned to head out.
Evening out her breathing, she cursed Ereziel. The bastard had tried to kill her. What had stopped him from going all the way? She couldn’t die, but she didn’t want to relive the experience of waking up sore and nauseated, the way she did every time she suffered injuries that would kill a mortal.
She made her way down the alley, tucking her hair into the hoodie. She turned toward Central Park, where Isao would be meeting her. Still dizzy and lightheaded, she reached out to grasp the dirty alley walls, scraping her delicate fingertips on the masonry. Blood smeared across the bricks as she pulled her hand away to reach out to catch herself on an industrial-sized trash dumpster. She tripped over debris strewn across the alley but finally made it to the main road, cursing under her breath and exhausted.
So Ereziel had said he wasn’t going to stop her from entering the Skein Realm. That didn’t prove he had loved her or that he’d keep his word. It only confirmed he’d say anything in anger and probably rescind it later. She had to keep her eyes open and be ready for anything. Even archangels lied, and he could show up in Central Park right before they crossed through the gate, jeopardizing everything she and Isao had planned.
There was no way she’d let him screw this up. The bond between them would break the moment she crossed the barrier, and she’d be free. Of course, she’d then have to deal with the situation on the other side. No matter where she went, she’d be in danger. Who knew if her immortality would keep her from permanently dying on the other side? Maybe it only worked as long as she was on Earth. It was something she’d have to keep in mind.
As she made her way toward the park, she paused to catch her breath on one of the benches lining the sidewalk. It was the weekend, and despite the light rain, the streets near the park were filled with couples walking around, buying popcorn and hotdogs from vendors, children squealing for ice cream, and people going about their errands. Such a conventional life she would never lead.
The thought left a bittersweet taste in her mouth. Human life had been denied her as well as the afterlife. She was stuck in a limbo, cursed to live forever without reprieve, without knowledge of her fate. Paradise was out of reach. Only this labyrinth world she sought could bring answers to every question she’d ever had and secure her future. Not even Ereziel’s love could do that.
Hearing his pronouncement of love had opened old wounds, and tears slid down her cheeks. She had loved him once too, but this life had a way of severing her from all she held dear, even Ereziel’s love. She’d run so far and so fast from love, afraid she would regret giving herself to such a powerful entity. When he’d offered her a chance to leave, she took it. It hadn’t helped that she was riddled with guilt for surviving after her parents’ deaths. Survivor’s guilt, he had called it, but it didn’t explain her reluctance when it came to anything permanent, and that included love.
No. She�
��d used it as an excuse to cut ties to anything and anyone who cared for her. She was not a good person and probably never would be. She didn’t deserve to find peace and harmony, love and family. Not after all this time, killing in the hope of redemption. It’d stolen her humanity.
She stood and moved through the undulating crowd, flitting past the faceless bodies and into the park. The Skein would return whatever she’d lost here so many years before. Of that, she was sure.
Chapter Thirty
A misty sheen of rain dusted the park, humidifying the air just enough to make it feel heavier. Thalia tread though the walkways keeping her head down and hoping none of Ichiro’s men were lurking in the vicinity. Her thoughts were erratic and distant as she proceeded, pummeling against her like the raindrops hitting her face.
She had met Ereziel when she was seventeen years old, fresh from losing her parents in a horrific car crash. They’d been run off the road by some massive, shadowy figure in the darkness, but Thalia had never gotten a good look at the creature. She’d been in the car with her parents. She shouldn’t have survived, but she’d found herself in Purgatory, surrounded by thousands of people, her parents right in front of her. Following the crowd, she’d watched her parents check in with a person at a kiosk, who scanned through a large book of names. When it was her turn, the attendant had frowned, scanned the book with a glance, and shaken his head.
“You’re not welcome here. Away with you.”
With a snap of his fingers, he’d banished her. She’d awoken in a field, her skin red and blistered, her lips dry and cracked. She had wandered for a while, not entirely sure of how she’d managed to survive, until Ereziel found her and whisked her away to his estate in New York City. It’d been the first time she’d laid eyes on him. He’d explained she was immortal, and her kind was not welcome in Heaven.
“What?” she had asked.
“You’re immortal now. You need to accept that.”
And she had. Without much questioning, except for what had become of her parents. When told they were at peace in Heaven, she’d been left utterly silent with despair. When she’d finally come around out of her depressed state, desperate to find closure, she’d found nothing but strict rules and training. She finished her schooling, but Ereziel had given her an offer she couldn’t refuse. Stay and train as a mercenary. Collect the souls of the damned. There was one way into Heaven, and that was it.
At least, it had been. If Isao’s stories were true, she was on her way to find another way in.
She shivered as the cool breeze caressed her skin. Spotting Isao waiting for her with their bags on a bench marking the area near the entrance to the Skein Realm, she shook her memories away. Yes, she was an immortal, but unlike any others that existed on Earth… as far as she knew. She was from an entire other realm. The immortals she killed in this realm could die and never return. Nothing had yet been able to kill her. Injuries that would finish off a human would take her out of commission for a while, but after healing, she’d come right back. It was a curse, this life. She didn’t know if she could bear it much longer. If the gate to Heaven from the Skein didn’t open for her, then her mission would be pointless, and she’d have to find something else to fill her time or seek peace in the Skein. Until then, this journey was all she cared about.
Her heart fluttered as Isao joined her and led her into the foliage near a pair of mighty oak trees. He pointed, indicating the gate to the Skein Realm. The air vibrated with power. It flowed over her skin, feeling oddly familiar and inducing a nostalgic ache she’d not known for many years. She was about to enter her home realm. For the first time in her life, there was a spark of hope. From her reading, she knew that the magic humming around them would only open the gate when she presented the key to the trees. Only then would they reveal the doorway.
Thalia reached up to her neck and tugged her shirt down to pull out the key. Before it touched the air, she paused, feeling the environment shift. The hair on her neck stood on end, but nothing happened.
“Why isn’t it working?” she asked, swinging her eyes toward Isao, questioning him.
He stared at the key and frowned. “I’m afraid it needs more than just your presence. It needs your blood to activate the key’s magic.”
She stared at him, trying not to laugh. Of course it wouldn’t be a simple key. Anyone who tried to cross through the gate needed blood from a native of the Skein. Luckily, Thalia had all she could ever want.
She drew a dagger and was about to prick her finger when she heard a rustling behind them. Someone was there to interrupt their entrance.
“Ereziel!” Thalia stopped in her tracks, stunned to find the archangel suddenly standing between them and the gate. With his ethereal speed, it’d taken him only a second to cut them off from it. Her surprise quickly morphed into anger as she realized he was there for one thing and one thing only.
“Get out of the way. You’re not going to stop us.”
“You can’t go through the gate. I thought I could let you go, but I can’t. You don’t belong there.”
“And where do I belong?” Thalia snapped, her anger boiling up in her throat as she bit back more acidic words.
Ereziel didn’t answer. Instead, he eyed her with a despair and determination she wanted to slap from his face. How dare he?
“Who are you to tell me that?” she demanded. “You don’t know anything about anyone, especially not me. You’ve kept so many things from me. How am I to ever trust you again? You’re nothing but a liar, a cheat, a corrupt thing. Selfish to the bone.”
His eyes darkened as they skipped over to Isao, who held out two curved blades. He was still wearing his backpack but ready to pounce in case Ereziel decided to try and use force. The slender ninja didn’t appear to concern him as he turned his gaze back to Thalia.
“There are things you need to know, Thalia. Your parents told me that if anything were to happen to them, to come and get you and make sure you would be okay. I took you in, trained you, and gave you a life worth living when all you craved was death. Isn’t that enough?”
Thalia scoffed. “A life worth living? Killing others is not living. It’s dying one soul at a time, slowly, like a festering sore. I’m dead inside because of it. This is no way to live. You withheld my heritage, and I’m going to find out what it’s about, and nothing you do will stop me.”
“I withheld it for good reason.”
“Yeah, I know the reason. I leave for the Skein and this twisted bond you chained me with becomes null and void. I get it. But this isn’t up to you. I’m going.”
Ereziel’s face fell, darkening even more, and Thalia discarded any hope that she could reason with him. There was no bargaining here. She could see that there was no way she was passing through the gate with Ereziel’s blessing. Isao shrugged off his backpack, ready to fight. She had to prepare to do so too, even though taking down Ereziel would take them both to the extreme edge of their abilities.
Archangels didn’t die. They could be maimed, knocked unconscious, tortured, starved, or held prisoner. But killed? Never. They were truly damned to live forever. Outside of Heaven, it was the worst kind of punishment. Here, they were unnatural abominations. They were creatures of another dimension, never meant to walk among the humans. But so was Thalia.
“You’re making a big mistake, Thalia. Just take my hand, and we can go home. Together. I’ve missed you. You are my mate, and I know I should’ve told you this years ago. I wish I’d never let you walk out the door, but things can be righted. I swear I’ll never keep the truth from you ever again. There is no one else I want, and you know this. You know my heart is yours. It was you and me against this world. Always. Please don’t do this.”
Thalia felt her palms dampen, her heart in her throat. Her hands were curled into fists, and she had to concentrate to make her fingers relax. She flexed them. She couldn’t let them go stiff if she was to grab her angel-killer sword and hurt Ereziel, but did she really want to hurt her former
lover? Inside, her heart was ripping in two. She didn’t want to harm him, but there was no other way out of this. The Skein Realm called to her across the grassy patch to the oak trees, a beacon beyond time and space, thrumming in her skin, bones, and blood. It knew her as though she’d been there before. There was something out there wanting her closer, wanting to embrace her and never let go.
She closed her eyes, her soul warring within. Did she still have feelings for Ereziel? It couldn’t be possible after so many years, could it? But then why did she hesitate to take the first step toward her destiny? Why was she contemplating damnation here on Earth for the rest of her immortal life? And for what? The love of an archangel?
Not just any archangel. He was Ereziel, the one person who’d seen the raw side of her, locked inside so deeply that she’d shown it to no one else. He knew every one of her quirks and habits. No one else had ever been privy to her life. Not Matt. Not Isao. No one. So what had torn them apart when their bond should have kept them together for all eternity?
Lies, betrayal, and manipulation. He was a corrupt man, twisted in ways she could barely comprehend. Every angel had their mind games. Being locked out of Heaven had made them these unbearable yet beautiful creatures. They belonged in the presence of divinity. A pure and utter love. Without it, cut off from their source of reverence and power, they’d been left to fend for themselves among lowly humans. Still, blessed with unearthly powers and charms, they were like gods on Earth. It was easy to forget they weren’t the rulers of all things, and that their own ruler had forgotten them.
“Get out of our way, Ereziel. I don’t want to hurt you,” Thalia snarled, afraid she’d lose her determination if she waited one moment longer. This time, his eyes narrowed and filled with hatred. There was a primordial pain lingering in them, and Thalia felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She’d seen him angry before, but she’d never been the object of it. She could see how anyone would cower before an archangel. Even Ichiro’s wrath was nothing compared to Ereziel’s bitterness.
