“She has to go alone, back to the angels?” Henry demands. I place my hand on his chest, and Madi looks away.
“It’s Ren. I need to go,” I whisper. “He went there for me.” Henry looks like he wants to fight the subject but eventually nods. Before I move my hand away, he tugs me to him and kisses me like he wants me to never ever let go of his lips. I moan into his mouth, completely forgetting we aren’t alone until Madi clears her throat, and Henry slowly lets me go.
I turn back to Madi, and she offers me the stone. “The stone needs force to open the portal. So just throw it down on the ground or at a wall or something. My mate will close the portal the second you are through, and we will fight anyone who gets through by accident if need be.”
“I owe you big time,” I say, taking the stone and slipping it into my hoodie pocket.
“Friends don’t owe each other. We support each other,” she says and slides a dagger out of her holder on her hip. Damn, she is a cool friend. I lay my hand out flat for her, and a small cry leaves my lips when she cuts a line across my palm. Henry picks the rock out of the box, and I turn to him, nodding once, and he drops the rock into my hand. The rock instantly shakes before the grey rock colour bleeds away into a dark red stone that shines with its own light. The rock shakes hard in my hands, which feel glued to it, and I can’t look away. I swear I hear Henry shouting my name, but everything is foggy as the rock shakes and glows, taking the world with it. My feet leave the ground as I can see nothing but red light, and I feel the power radiating down my arms, filling my soul. I once thought nothing could be as bad as the pain I felt when I was changed into an angel or when I was changed into a vampire.
I was wrong.
The pain that comes with this rock feels like tiny knives cut every bit of my skin before they suddenly stop, and I suck cold air into my sore lungs. Every inch of my body hurts as I drop the rock, and it smashes into tiny rocks all over the white-tiled floor.
“Kaitlyn?” Ren’s groggy voice drifts to me, and I snap back into the reality I’m in, the rock long forgotten as I see Ren lying on the tiles, covered in blood and his clothes ripped to pieces. Tiny cuts mark every inch of his body that I can see, and there is so much blood coating him. His face is so swollen I hardly can see his eyes, and a cry escapes my lips as I fall to my knees in front of him. He reaches up with a shaky hand, and I grab it, holding his hand to my chest.
Fury builds in me as I throw the stone at the wall behind Ren, a portal blasting to life. With all the strength I have, I roll Ren into the portal, and he falls through it before I stand up. Alarms blast to life, and I watch as Riley and two other angels run down the corridor in front of the bars. The blood on Riley’s white uniform makes me feel sick…he hurt Ren.
He is a monster.
“All angels who think they are gods will fall.” My words echo around the room, and I know they heard me as they stare in shock, stumbling to a halt. Riley’s eyes find mine last, and I vow this is the last time I will ever walk away from him. If Riley ever tries to hurt me or someone I love, I will end his life no matter how much it would kill me to do so. I step through the portal, and I know I won’t ever forget what the angels have done.
Chapter 59
My fingers dig into my jean-covered knees as I watch Knox Tale heal the last of the bad cuts that cover nearly every inch of Ren’s skin. The pain he must have been in when they did this makes me want to vomit, let alone the images of the burns and cuts that the angels did to him. A hand rests on my shoulder, and I look up at Madi, who watches her mate heal my own.
“Thank you to you both,” I say, my voice catching even as I try to stay strong. “Ren did not deserve this. No one ever could deserve this.”
“It’s barbaric,” Madi agrees with me, and I reach over, brushing some of his locks of hair from his sweat-covered forehead. Knox slowly puts Ren’s arm down and covers him up with the blanket before looking at me. When I first met the giant man that is Madi’s mate, I was a little terrified. This man created a whole dimension and can heal people, among other incredible powers. Overall, I might have stepped back if it weren’t for his kind eyes and how he looks at Madi. They are completely in love, the kind of love created in pain and fought for against all odds. Looking at Ren briefly, I understand it.
“Thank you so much,” I say, and he nods once, looking rather tired. “Will he wake up soon?”
“I have healed as much as I can, but I believe his vampire healing will do the rest,” Knox explains as Madi steps to his side and wraps her arms around his waist. “But he has a fever, and he must rest to heal that.”
“I understand,” I say, and he nods.
“We will leave you,” Madi suggests, and I watch them both go to the door and head outside the room, stepping past the two vampire guards who are determined to guard us even when it’s not really needed in this dimension. Anyone that is here is on our side, I’m sure of it. As I walk back to the bed, the door opens once more, and Henry walks in followed by a surprise: Myles. I practically fall out of my chair and run to him. Myles laughs as he catches me, holding me tightly to him as he swings me around once.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I did bring a present, though,” he tells me as I lean back, really taking him in. Myles has shaven the sides of his head, though his blond hair is thick at the top and locks still fall onto his forehead. He smells like the forest, which isn’t unusual for him, and I’ve grown to find his scent comforting. “And I haven’t showered yet. My wolf was easier to run in.”
“That’s what the smell is,” Henry jokes, and Myles grins at him as he lets me go. “Did the wolves agree to help?”
“The alpha is a good man, someone I would call a friend. He agreed to help us in the war as long as I swore not to ever challenge him for the alpha position,” he explains, and my eyes widen.
“What did you say?”
“That I’ve found my home, and she needs help to fight a war coming. I swore never to be alpha,” he tells me, and with everything I know about him, that couldn’t have been easy. He did it for me. Without giving a single thought to Henry or Ren, I lean up and kiss Myles. He pauses against my lips in shock, but that doesn’t last more than a second before he kisses me back, bending my back a little as his hands grab my waist.
“Now I regret saving your ass,” Henry grumbles, and I try not to laugh as Myles chuckles against my lips and lets me go. I rest my head under his chin as I smile at Henry.
“How is he?” Henry asks, nodding his head towards Ren. Myles lets me go so I can walk over with Henry to Ren’s side. I cross my arms, looking down at the man that usually dominates the room but currently looks weak and tired. I hate seeing him like this.
“He needs a lot of rest,” I say, which is all I can really say right now. “Are Thallon and Aala okay?”
“Yeah, Thallon has taken Aala to get some food. She needs to see you, darlin’,” he suggests. “Seems you are in short supply, and the demand for your time is high. I’m willing to share with the kid though.” He winks at me, and I laugh until it dies off when Masita comes into my mind. I hate that I couldn’t respect her by giving her a funeral. I couldn’t give Aala a good way to say goodbye.