by Cate Corvin
Hell Hath No Fury
Razing Hell Book 3
Cate Corvin
Hell Hath No Fury
CATE CORVIN
All Rights Reserved © 2020 Cate Corvin. First Printing: 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means with the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Author's Note: All characters in this story are 18 years of age and older, and all sexual acts are consensual. This book is a work of fiction and liberties may be taken with people, places, and historical events.
Cover by Luminescence Cover Design
Contents
1. Melisande
2. Melisande
3. Melisande
4. Melisande
5. Lucifer
6. Melisande
7. Melisande
8. Melisande
9. Melisande
10. Tascius
11. Melisande
12. Melisande
13. Melisande
14. Melisande
15. Melisande
16. Melisande
17. Azazel
18. Melisande
19. Melisande
20. Melisande
21. Melisande
22. Melisande
23. Melisande
24. Belial
25. Melisande
26. Melisande
27. Melisande
28. Melisande
29. Melisande
30. Melisande
31. Melisande
About the Author
1
Melisande
In the wake of Gabriel's confession there was total silence.
Tascius's eyes darkened with Nephilim rage as he gazed down at his chained father.
My throat worked around a knot, but nothing came out. Gabriel, my mentor, the archangel I would've given everything for... he was the one who'd created my lover.
Sickness rose under the shock.
How could someone like Tascius come from someone like... him?
"You knew." Tascius's voice was a low growl tinged with madness.
Gabriel let out a wheezing breath. Despite the blood and bruises coating him from head to toe, despite the chain wrapped around his neck, he still shone with Heaven's light.
"I knew," he grated out. "Yes, I knew."
Tascius clenched his fists at his sides and took a step forward, his movements wooden. I made a small move to be near him, but Belial gripped the back of my dress and tugged me against him. Sneaking a peek from the corner of my eye, I saw his frowning gaze fixed on Tascius.
Whatever was about to happen, it was likely to get even bloodier than it already was in here, which was saying something.
"Tascius," I said softly. No sudden movements, no shouting... he was on a ledge, about to tip into an abyss, one I didn't know if I could pull him out of again.
Gabriel's golden eyes swung my way again, like his son, his hypocritical crime, was of no importance to him at all. "Of course you would be drawn to him."
A lick of fiery anger washed away the cold chill of the shock. "What do you mean by that?" It took every drop of effort to keep my tone even.
The archangel managed to grin despite the deep cut in his lower lip. "You know exactly what I mean, Melisande."
Just the thought of it made me sick. He'd raised me, and now that I was a free angel, one who could think for myself, I knew that I'd never wanted Gabriel. All I'd ever felt for him was gratitude for raising me from the bleakness of death and the desire to make him proud.
Nothing more than that, no matter how much he had pushed for it.
"This isn't about me, Gabriel," I said quietly. "This is about you, and it looks like you have a lot more to answer for than I thought. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised."
Tascius's shadow fell across him, and the wounded archangel finally looked up at the real threat.
Somehow, despite his life being in imminent danger of being cut abruptly short, Gabriel managed a sneer that contorted his pretty face. "And what do you want me to say now, son? An apology?"
Belial gripped me even tighter as Tascius's clenched fists began trembling.
"Your apologies would be worthless," the Nephilim breathed. "Was she willing?"
Gabriel stared up at him, his sneer slowly fading. Maybe he finally understood that he no longer held ultimate power.
Here in the Seventh Circle, wingless and broken, he was subject to true wrath.
"She was willing." He spat blood as he spoke. "I didn't rape your mother."
"No, you just left her to be rounded up in a hellhole of a city to die."
"She wasn't my responsibility." Gabriel's eyes narrowed. The violet tone of his bruised sockets made the gold of his irises even more prominent. "She was the spoils of war."
Tascius took a deep breath, and exhaled. I silently begged him to hold back. Of all the people here, I understood the desire for revenge, but Tascius was better than that. I wanted him to kill Gabriel while the archangel was standing up and able to fight back.
Not while he was tied down like an animal. There was no satisfaction in killing him that way.
"She was a person," Tascius said with an air of forced calm. He was barely managing to hold his darkness at bay.
Gabriel's eyes glittered feverishly. "She was Nephilim. Should I have brought her to Heaven and allowed her to pollute our streets with her demonic taint?"
Every word that spilled out of Gabriel's mouth was nothing but pure poison. For the longest time, I'd closed my eyes to what he really was out of a sense of misplaced loyalty.
Now it was impossible to deny. He was no true archangel, no child of God. He was a sickness infecting Heaven's light with his lies and carelessness.
"Yes." I paused, startled to hear my own voice cut through the tension. Gabriel flicked his gaze my way, his mouth tightening with displeasure. "You should have brought her to Heaven. You defied your own strictures- you should've taken responsibility for her and your child's life."
Gabriel shifted on the stairs, the chains clanking as he moved. His breath became a ragged hiss as the chain around his neck dug in tighter from his jerky movements. "She didn't have the purity required to live there."
"Neither did I, and you raised me with your own essence," I snapped, surging out of Belial's grasp. "Or is that why you raised me? Because you were already trash yourself, and wanted to keep a reminder around?"
I'd stormed forward without thinking, glaring down at him. This close, all of the memories of my life in Heaven assailed me: his light on the battlefield of Fort Omega as he leaned over and breathed his own life into my dead mouth, the way he'd watched me practice with the rest of the Choir, the way he ran his fingers over me when I wasn't looking... he'd always stalked me from the shadowy corners of Heaven.
I wasn't just an angel raised for his Choir. I'd been a sin waiting to happen.
Gabriel's lips twisted into a sly grin. "Are we sharing all our secrets now?" He shook his bound hands, making the chains dance. "You've taken my wings, my freedom, my secrets... what else is there to hide? Your soul wasn't pure, Melisande, and I raised you to the light despite that. It was only a matter of time before you fell, and before you did, well..."
He laughed, the sound filling the arena and bouncing off the obsidian walls.
"I'm not surprised you found the only one of my bloodline here in Hell. You always led me on, why not whore yourself out for my son?"
Without thinking, I bent down and gripped h
is jaw hard. My fingers tried to slide over his blood-slick skin, but I dug my nails in, forcing Gabriel to look at me.
"I never would've touched you," I whispered fiercely. "Maybe my soul wasn't pure, but it was no blacker than yours. I'm not the one who left a woman and her baby to die, and I never led you on. All I wanted was to make you proud, and all you did was twist those good intentions into something sick. Tascius is a better man- a better angel- than you could ever hope to be."
Gabriel blinked slowly. His words came out garbled when he spoke, and I restrained myself from squeezing harder and trying to crack his bones.
"I don't think you understand, little one," he said, and the sound of his old nickname for me sent a disgusted shiver down my spine. "I don't give a single goddamn fuck about any Nephilim. I don't give a damn how she died. She was never worthy to sit the throne of Heaven."
My breath was coming short and shallow, a tinge of red creeping over my sight. "She had a life and you walked in and fucked it up, Gabriel. All you do is destroy the things you touch."
"What about your life?" He shifted again, his leg brushing my ankle. “I gave you a new start.”
I forced a smile, mostly to hide how much he unnerved me. "I'm grateful that you pushed me. My life here is far better than it ever was in Heaven."
"You wouldn't be here if not for me," he snarled.
I shook my head. "No. I should thank you for that, too. But there is one thing I want you to know..."
When he'd raised me from death, he'd told me what he would be to me.
I am your commander, your savior, your first and your last. I am everything to you.
The words that felt like they’d been uttered a thousand years ago echoed in my head.
I leaned in close to whisper in his ear, breathing in the copper scent of blood overlaying the smell of cedarwood that had always made me sick to my stomach.
"You are nothing to me."
It was the worst thing I could've said to him. He'd spent years twisting my mind, wrapping me around his finger, tormenting and rewarding and training me like a dog at his command.
Now that my eyes were clear, I could see that him pushing me into Hell was the kindest thing he could've done for me. He'd released me from the torment of always trying to please him.
Gabriel licked his bloody lips, his eyes roaming over my face. "You're alive because of me."
I released his face with disgust, not wanting the feeling of his skin on my hands anymore. "And that was the only kind thing you ever did for anyone," I said viciously, and his head snapped forward.
It should've been impossible for him to move that fast with the chain around his neck, but his teeth snapped together where my hand had been only moments ago. I jerked back, my heart pounding in my throat, and a pair of strong hands jerked me away.
He'd tried to bite me. In front of my men.
I felt the slightest twinge of pity and immediately crushed it out. He deserved no sympathy after the things he'd done. Every drop of blood they spilled from him should be celebrated.
"You destroyed my mother," Tascius said, his voice growing thick with rage. "You're not touching her, too."
Gabriel raised his chin, regaining his smug smirk. "I already have."
I didn't even get to snap my protest. Tascius surged forward, gripping the chain around Gabriel's neck and pulling it tight. The archangel's face turned plum as his own son strangled him, but a creature of pure shadows burst into life, pulling Tascius away as Lucifer dug into the chain and pried it out of Gabriel's neck. Azazel surrounded the raging Nephilim, holding him captive against his own fury.
But the bastard was still breathing. I hadn't realized how badly I wanted to see Gabriel die until I heard the ragged gasp of air filling his lungs.
"We need him alive for now," Lucifer said, his voice taut. "If he's committed one sin, he's committed more."
Belial was the one holding me back. He wrapped his arms around me, his spicy scent washing away the reek of Gabriel left in my nose.
But Tascius was still fighting. Azazel became solid and Lucifer released Gabriel's chains, helping him hold down the Nephilim's wings. Tascius's snarled curses echoed in my ears, the darkness fighting to take over.
As much as I wanted Gabriel dead, I had a few more questions for him before anyone exacted their revenge.
"Tascius, please, just stop." I wanted to go to him, but Belial wasn't allowing me to go anywhere.
"He's not in his right mind, and neither is our guest," he said. "Let them do this."
My chin jutted out, and Belial tapped it. "Put that away. You'll have all the time in the world to play with your new toy when you're not in danger of being torn apart."
"I won't let Tascius remain like this," I said. "Gabriel doesn't deserve the satisfaction of knowing he caused it."
I was sure the archangel was tucking all of this away in his memory for later. It was the last thing he needed to gloat over.
"Then let's give him something else to worry about." Belial's grin was infectious.
He turned away from me and snapped to catch Lucifer's attention. "Get Tascius out of here."
Lucifer was already panting from the effort of holding down the roaring Nephilim, even with Azazel's help. "And what are you planning to do with him?" He nodded to the captive archangel.
Gabriel lost his satisfied smirk as Belial cast a thoughtful glance at him.
"We're going to take him to a nice, cozy cell and give him some time to ponder how enormously he's fucked up."
2
Melisande
Azazel and Lucifer pulled Tascius to his feet. Shadowy cords spilled out of the Watcher, wrapping around Tascius's new wings and keeping him motionless. Tascius's face was twisted with rage, his teeth flashing as he sneered at Gabriel.
"Leave it for another time," Lucifer muttered, and my heart tripped over a few beats as his silver gaze looked my way.
Maybe I should follow, but I couldn't apologize for what I'd done... not when it was something that had made Tascius so happy.
I steeled myself as they pulled the Nephilim out of the arena. They might be furious at me, but I knew they would treat him exactly the way I would. The Nightside arena was the best place for him to cool down from his rage.
Gabriel let out a wet laugh. "Don't think this is over. You've already taken everything from me. If anyone gets the last word here, it'll be me."
I cast him a dark look over my shoulder. "You think that now, but you've never received the Prince of Wrath's hospitality, have you?" He might be willing to bite, but I wouldn't hesitate to bite back. I strode closer, leaving the warmth and safety of Belial's arms to lean over him. "You have so much left to lose, Gabriel, and if Tascius really wants your head, I won't hold him back next time."
He had a tic in his jaw as he returned my glare. "Is this really how you want to end our relationship? I saved you. If not for me, you'd be wandering out in the wastelands as a mindless shade. I gave you life. I gave you protection."
Belial unpinned the chains and looped them around his powerful arms before jerking them, hauling Gabriel upright. The archangel rose to his full height, looming over me, but without his wings he was a pale shadow of his former self.
"You gave me life, that's true," I conceded. "But you never protected me. I had to protect myself from you."
Gabriel opened his mouth to answer, but Belial strode towards the gates that led to his quarters, dragging the archangel behind him. I followed quickly, keeping an arm’s length distance between Gabriel and myself.
Belial wasn't really going to keep him in his chambers, was he? My gut twisted at the thought. I had good memories of that chamber, and I didn't want them tainted by association with Gabriel's presence.
The sound of footsteps and clanking chains filled the dark hall, but Belial passed his hand over the blank wall with a hand motion I'd never seen before. When the wall slid open, it revealed a new chamber.
It was a cell, reminiscent of the cells my
Choir had tormented its recruits in: pitch black, empty of everything but a single drain in the floor.
Belial pushed Gabriel inside, sending the wounded archangel to his knees. With easy movements that spoke of long practice, he fastened the chains to anchors set in the walls. Gabriel stood up slowly, his nostrils flaring with pain he didn't otherwise show, and took several steps forward, but he had hardly any leeway.
I stepped inside the cell and crossed my arms over my chest, hoping my wings weren't trembling and betraying my nervousness. It was a small comfort that Gabriel was so tightly bound that he couldn't reach me, even though I was close enough to reach out and touch him.
He pulled against the chains, stretching them to their maximum length, and still ended a foot short of my face. His arms were pulled back, and despite the lines of pain clearly limning his features, he smiled.
"Everything I did for you, and this is the way you repay me?" He watched Belial anchor the last chain and step back. The Prince of Wrath thought nothing about draping his arm around my shoulders, of course.
I sank into his warmth even as Gabriel hissed. Belial released me to check one of the anchors, smiling happily now that he’d gotten a rise out of his captive.
"I should've left you on that field to rot." In the pervasive shadows of the cell, his eyes gleamed like molten gold. An image of Wayland’s cauldron of gold popped into my mind, along with the feathers Gabriel’s disembodied wings had shed. "I'd rather see you dead than betraying me."
I didn't need him to tack on what he'd left unsaid as his hateful gaze moved to Belial: with him.
