“I’m going to kill you,” I said, voice cold and steady. “I swear on my soul that I will kill you where you stand if you—”
“You’re not in a position to make threats, my sweet.” Bending down, Lucifer lapped at the blood welling around his thumb claw.
Gideon jerked his head away, only to wince as it drove the four other claws deeper into the other side of his throat. He tried to swallow, but it must have been agony. Our bond was being raked by razors.
Tears blurred my vision as I met his green eyes. They were wide and afraid, yet his jaw was set, his expression determined. He wasn’t afraid for himself. He was scared for me. His life hung by a thread, but he was afraid for me.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I promised him, and his smile was one of misery and resignation. “Gideon—”
“I am so lucky to have had you,” he said roughly, rasping around the claws descending further into his neck. “You gave me hope after too many lifetimes of despair.”
“Stop,” I said wetly. “It’s gonna be okay.”
Lucifer laughed, lifting his head to the dark sky. The rain had all but stopped, but his golden hair sent droplets trickling down his face, carving rivers through the gore.
“It’s not going to be okay,” he said, fangs flashing. “I’m going to rip out his throat. You won’t be fast enough to stop me. His lifeblood will soak into this earth as you watch. And then I’m going to take what is rightfully mine.
“This place, these people, my creations. You.” His smile was demented and crazed. “I will rape this realm. I will bring it to its knees. Even the Maker will bow before me. As your Guardian bows before me now.”
Lucifer’s free hand caressed Gideon’s hair, and I growled deep in my chest. He ignored me, tightening his grip around Gideon’s throat until my Committed began to choke, the claws inside his neck.
“Stop!” I cried as Gideon pawed at Lucifer’s arm, his other hand grabbing desperately at the shreds of Lucifer’s armored vest. “You’re killing him. Stop!”
“Beg me, pet,” Lucifer crooned. “Beg me for mercy.”
Oh, how I begged. “Please. I’ll come with you. I won’t ever leave you again. Just let him go. Please, please, please. Just let him go.”
“You think I want you?” His laugh was high and manic. “Why would I want you? You’re weak. Pathetic. You’re nothing but a disappointment.”
Somehow, those words managed to cut me. Even after all this time, a terrible part of me wanted to please him, and I hated myself for it. “I’ll do anything,” I pleaded shamelessly.
“Prove it. Turn around and kill the angels behind you. They’re destroying my army, and I want them dead. Do this for me, and I might consider sparing this useless bloodbag.”
My eyes met Gideon’s. He shook his head. It was minute, more of a twitch than anything, but his eyes were hard and steady. Even as he started to asphyxiate on his own blood, he shook his head.
“I—I—”
Bloody spittle dribbled down Gideon’s chin, and Lucifer wiped it away, smearing it across his face. “But you better hurry. He’s going to choke soon.”
“Let him go. Please, just let him go.” I couldn’t look away from Gideon. He was my rock, my safety. He loved me and protected me, and he was going to die for me. Right here on this bloody field, he was going to die. For me. And I couldn’t stop it. “God, please. Don’t do this.”
“I thought you loved him,” Lucifer mocked me. “Why won’t you save him?”
“I’ll kill you.” I glared at him through my tears, my hate for him so fierce and overwhelming I feared I’d ignite from it. “I will kill you!”
Lucifer was unimpressed. “I had such high hopes for you, pet. It’s unfortunate really.”
Sobbing unabashedly, I silently begged Gideon to tell me what to do. I tugged on the anguished bond between us, and his lips spread in a bloody smile. His grief burrowed into me, leaving me cold, but I felt his resolve. I swore I heard his voice in my head.
He said, “Forgive me, kapara.”
He said, “Take care of Jai and Noel. They’ll need you now more than ever.”
He said, “It will be fast. Don’t hesitate. End this now.”
And I shook my head. “No! Don’t you dare. Don’t you do this. I’ll never forgive you. I’ll never forgive you if you do this!”
And Gideon said, “Thank you for choosing me.”
Then he moved.
The tiny blade hidden in his boot reflected in the gray light as he drove it up and into Lucifer’s eye. Lucifer roared. Gideon said my name. He said my name. And I was running. I was running toward them as fast I could, but no matter how hard I ran, it was like I wasn’t moving at all. Like a nightmare, my feet charged forward, but it was as if the distance never closed.
I pulled on Gideon’s thread, desperation fueling me as I threw my sword with all the strength I had. It soared toward them, blade gleaming. But it wasn’t fast enough because Lucifer’s claws were sharp, and they were buried deep.
It was wet. The sound of Lucifer’s claws shredding flesh and tendon. It was moist and slick. Cartilage popped, and muscle tore. Gideon choked. It was quiet in comparison to the roaring in my ears, but I knew I would never forget that tiny, wet sound as he fell. I would never forget the pungent copper scent of death mixing with peppermint and damp earth.
Blood drip, drip, dripped from the tips of Lucifer’s claws into the mud. Gideon’s blood. It was Gideon’s blood that flooded the ground at Lucifer’s feet, and I screamed. I screamed because it couldn’t be real. This heart-wrenching agony in my chest as our bond spasmed and frayed.
Hold on! I told him. Because I was coming. I was coming for him, and I would save him. Because I loved him. I loved him, I loved him, I love you! Gideon, I love you, and I’m almost there. Just hold on a little longer. Please, God, don’t take him from me.
I was so close. To him. To Lucifer. To the blood soaking into the ground in waves. And my sword was inches away, the blade sharp and deadly.
But Lucifer ducked. He dodged the blade, the metal shearing a sliver off his body armor as it flew by him. I missed. Oh God, I missed.
Lucifer’s sword gleamed, his one good eye red and feral as it locked on me. I could have stopped. I could have dropped to my knees and slid beneath his weapon. I could have dived off to the side, catching the edge of the blade in my side. But those options all ended with Gideon’s body burning in a boat as he sailed to Elysium.
Hezekiah had told me there would come a time where I had to make a choice. He’d warned me. The time was now. So I made my choice. I chose Gideon. I chose Jai and Noel. I chose Uriel and Bel and Xavier. I chose the angels and Elysium.
The impact didn’t hurt like I thought it would. There was some resistance at first as the sword pierced through the tactical vest I wore. But at this speed and force, it couldn’t stop the inevitable. The blade impaled me smoothly, like sliding through butter. There was a cringe-worthy grind of metal on bone as it scraped my bottom rib. It was followed by a sick, suctioned squelch as it burst from my back.
As my chest smashed into Lucifer’s, my mouth flooded with a bloody mire, and I coughed, splattering his chest. The hilt of his sword pressed to my torso. My skin was cool and clammy, the misty rain adding to the layers of sweat and blood. I gasped.