“I don’t know where they took him, Gideon. And I didn’t betray him. He is and always has been my friend.” Beau strained against the shackles, begging the broken male to believe him. “There are spies within Utopia, but I am not one of them.”
With a hiss, Gideon sneered. “Bullshit! You were in the house with him, but you never came out. You left him bleeding, dying, and alone.”
“Not by choice.”
“Then where were you?”
Beau’s mouth closed with a clack. The truth teased the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t speak it. Riley wasn’t the only person he was protecting.
“I can’t tell you.”
Gideon climbed to his feet, his face a mask of fury. “Then you have turned your back on your Maker and your people.”
“My people?” Beau scoffed, allowing his legs to fall open, his tunic parting to reveal the bloody truth between his thighs. “Tell me, Gideon. How shall I thank my people for this?”
As if he was only now seeing him, Gideon’s eyes widened in horror. For a moment, he looked like he would be ill all over the dungeon floor. “Who—”
“It doesn’t matter.” Beau curled into himself, closing his legs. “I have not betrayed my Maker, nor have I betrayed my people. I’m far from fucking perfect. I have made more mistakes than I care to admit.” He raised his head, glaring defiantly. “But I did not hand Riley over. I did not leave him willingly. I did not do what they claim I did.”
Gideon scrutinized him for several long minutes, the gears behind his eyes churning. “If you are innocent, then help us. Who is your contact? What do you know?”
Beau chuckled mirthlessly, the cold of the wall seeping into his bones. “Would you give Riley up? If the Council locked you away, threatened to take your wings. If the Seven captured you and tortured you. If they raped and violated you. Would you give him up to save yourself?”
For a brief moment, Gideon’s eyes glossed over, welling with moisture he would never allow to fall. “No. There is nothing in this realm or any other that would force his name from my lips.”
With a sigh, Beau relaxed against the stone at his back. “Then we understand each other.” He wiped the grime from his sweaty forehead with his equally dirty shoulder. “I don’t know where Riley is or where they plan to take him, but I would check Purgatory first. It has the greatest time lag, so they will have more time with him before he is found. If he is found.”
“I will find him.” It was not a promise but a statement of fact.
“I surely hope so. He won’t last long, not with the Seven.” Beau knocked his head against the wall, his skull rattling. “They’ll destroy him.”
Gideon shook his head, his fists tightening. “He’s stronger than you think he is.”
“For his sake, I hope you’re right.”
With a tug of his ear, Gideon glanced at the door. “I can’t stay long. I will be missed soon enough, and I was told not to come. I had to bribe Lazarus to let me in.”
A sardonic laugh rattled wetly in Beau’s chest. “Yes, Lazarus is very good at accepting bribes.”
At this, Gideon inspected Beau’s injuries again, raking a hand through his messy hair. “I will report your mistreatment. I can’t promise… I’ll do what I can.”
“Why? I’m a prisoner charged with treason. I refuse to give up what I know to protect the very beings my brethren hunt. Why would you help me?”
Sorrow carved into Gideon’s strong features. “Because no one deserves to be treated this way, regardless of their sins. If we allow such atrocious abuse, then we are no better than the monsters we fight.”
The smallest spark of hope ignited in Beau’s chest as Gideon heaved a shuddering breath. “You are a male of worth. Riley is lucky to have you.”
At the sound of the hybrid’s name, Gideon’s stoic mask slipped back into place as a fury ignited in his eyes. “Do not mistake my mercy for weakness, Beauregard. If I find you have lied to me, that you betrayed my boy, I will rip out your wings myself.”
Instead of showing the fear rattling his bones, Beau smirked. “Oh, the things we do for love.” He swallowed, ignoring the shards of glass scraping his throat raw. “Go, Gideon. Find Riley and bring him home. And tell him I’m sorry for everything.”
After a moment of assessment, Gideon jerked his head in a nod, knocked on the door, then left without another word. Beau prayed he would be able to explain it all to Riley one day. If he somehow got himself out of this mess, he would find a way to make it up to the kid.
In all honesty, he didn’t believe he’d get the chance. There was no way to gain leniency in the eyes of the Council, not without betraying the only male Beau had ever loved. And as flawed and twisted as their love was, he could never turn his back on it. He couldn’t quit, couldn’t walk away. Like a heroin addict, he craved it, needed it. And like all junkies, his addiction would kill him in the end. One way or another.
Hours passed. The sunlight waned. He closed his eyes, hoping to dream.
As familiar voices sounded in the hall, Beau straightened as best he could in his shackles and gathered what little courage he retained. He tried to find a place in his head where he could remain safe, but the cruel hands pulled him out. They pushed him to the floor and held him down. Laughter rang in his ears as they tore him apart anew.
All the while, the Archangel grinned, his mossy eyes shining with malice as his loyal friends cackled like hyenas. He enjoyed inflicting pain, reveled in the degradation of others. He always had.
So Beau sealed his lips shut, refusing to make a sound. He couldn’t fight back. He couldn’t stop it. But he would deny them the sounds of his pain. They would gain no noise from him. It was his own type of victory.
Closing his eyes, Beau imagined his lover’s smile, the feel of soft fingers dancing along his tattooed shoulder. Like thistle and thorns, they prickled and burned, but it was the perfect type of agony. It had always been that way, a push and pull, a beautiful battle. But they relished the fight and the inferno.
For a moment, Beau smelled the salty ocean breeze, warm sand, and cotton sheets. And there, in that memory, in the gentle arms of the monster he loved, he was home.
Part I
~Angels~
Chapter One
In the beginning, there was darkness. A never-ending void. Then a mighty whoosh. Breath—hot, sustaining, life-giving. Sensation followed. Prickling through artery and vein, it spread, giving substance to muscle and tissue. Bones hardened, and nerves flared. Limbs grew heavy as senses heightened.
Touch registered against skin. Fresh air teased the tip of a tongue, buds encountering their first experience of taste—bland oxygen. Subtle scents infiltrated the brain and were then interpreted. Clean fabric, polished surfaces, and something inexplicably sweet... floral.
And then there was light.
So much light.
Too much light.
The angel blinked rapidly as his virgin eyes adjusted to the overwhelming brightness. They protested, blinded by the first encounter of sight.
Slowly, the blurred images focused, and the rays of light softened. Or perhaps his eyes merely grew accustomed to the stimulation.