God damn it, Finn. I knew he was just worried about me, but he’d chosen the worst possible time to express it.
Focus, Lila.
I took a step back, trying to consider my options. But he only stepped closer, driving the blade in more, pushing me toward that crumbling edge. The blade pierced the skin on my throat.
The cold wind rushed over me, whipping at my hair. If I took another step, I’d end up shattered to pieces in the river.
“Lila!” Finn screamed again.
Shut the fuck up, Finn.
I couldn't move an inch without the soldier pushing the blade in further, without him slitting my throat right there.
“What do you want?” I asked.
His lip curled. “Your death.”
“Why?”
“Because you are filth. For what you did. For what you are. For your betrayal.”
My heart was thundering in my chest, my nerves crackling with fear. Moments ago, I'd felt so strong, like I was dominating. But losing focus in a fight was lethal.
"You killed my compatriots," he said. “I want to hear you scream as you die." He jabbed again, and I found myself taking another step back, my heel now dipping off the edge of the bridge. I held out my arms, steadying myself.
I had to take my chance with throwing the knife. I reared back my arm—but just then he thrust the sword, digging in deeper.
I lost my balance, and slipped backward over the ledge. As I fell, I just barely managed to grab on to the edge, fingers desperately gripping the stone.
Dangling, I dropped the dagger. I looked down, watching as it spun through the air until I could no longer see it. It disappeared into the darkness, and my stomach plummeted with it. The idea of falling into that river filled me with such wild terror that I could hardly think clearly.
Pure panic was now roiling in my mind, and Samael’s true face flashed in the depths of my skull. Death was coming for me. I’d known it as soon as I’d seen his true face.
I realized now the Clovian soldier had been talking to me, a grin on his face, but I hadn’t been listening.
He smiled down at me. “This will be a better death than you deserve.”
He lifted his foot, and stomped hard on my fingers. Pain shot through them, and I lost my grip. The wind tore at me as I fell.
And now there was nothing in my mind but the face of death itself. The icy air rushed over me. I waited to feel the slam of water on my body, shattering me.
This was it—the last moments of my life, and I hadn’t yet achieved my destiny.
34
Lila
Time seemed to slow down, and there was nothing but darkness—and a light in the darkness like a distant star.
As I fell, a dim voice in the back of my mind told me it wasn’t my time yet, that the night winds would carry me.
“Vengeance will be yours, Lila,” it whispered.
I didn’t know how it was happening, but for just a moment, I felt like I could harness the wind, that I could float along with it, drifting through the air.
“Lila!” Finn screaming my name again snapped me out of my trance, and time sped up once more.
I slammed into something, the air knocked out of me.
But it wasn’t the river.
Powerful arms wrapped around me—like pure steel. Samael had caught me, but the force of my fall brought us down into the water—the river splashing all around us—just for a moment. Then, his enormous wings carried us back up into the air. The cold wind whipped over my drenched dress.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and looked up into Samael’s face, clinging to him. I felt his heart beating strong against me. The faintest hint of flames danced back and forth in his eyes, but the gold tattoos weren’t there. I let out a long, slow breath. I’d nearly died—but just for a moment there, I’d felt like I could float on the wind. Like I could fly myself.
I’d absolutely lost my mind.
I held on tight to Samael. Then, my breath caught as I took in the full glory of his wings spread out against the night sky. The feathers were dark as jet at the base, but faded to midnight blue at the ends. Golden letters illuminated some of them, and thin veins of gold. The letters were from an alphabet I didn’t recognize—the language of the angels, probably. His wings beat the air like a slow pounding of a heart, beaming with divine light.
I sucked in a long breath. Entranced, I nearly reached out to touch one of them before I stopped myself.
Once again, I had the sense that God himself had carved this terrifying perfection wrapped around me.
I felt the muscles in his chest flexing a little under his clothes as he flew with me in his arms. “What the fuck happened?” His voice was low, cold.
“Your soldiers tried to kill me.”
“You almost died.” His voice cut through the air.
“So I take it you didn’t send them to kill me? They seemed very angry at me.”
“If I wanted you dead, I’d kill you myself.”
I nodded. “Well that’s certainly reassuring to hear from my future husband.”
He was swooping up now, rising toward the tower. Was Finn watching this? He’d be horrified.
As I looked down at the river growing smaller beneath us, my pulse raced. The thrill of it lit up my entire body. Only moments ago, I’d been near death, and now this.
“What I want to know,” he said, his tone smooth and menacing, “is how you got all the way to the Tower of Bones without anyone noticing.”
No way in hell was I answering that, and giving up my one path to freedom in this castle. I needed to distract him. And I had done a good job of distracting him on that ship.
Just a little bit of distraction though. We didn’t need another massacre. I crossed my legs, hoping my dress would ride up a bit, except it was long and soaked in the river water, so it just stuck to my thighs.
Damn.
Buy some more time.
I swallowed. “What did you say?”
“How did you get out to the Tower of Bones?”
I ran my hand over his chest, feeling his soaked shirt clinging to his muscles. Think of something vague. “I told you. I’m good at going unnoticed.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible,” he whispered, almost to himself. His eyes were shifting, dark flames wavering. His fingers tightened around my damp thighs where he held me.
My gaze flicked to those beautiful wings once more, and instinct had me reaching out, stroking his feathers, slowly down along the top of his wing. I thought I heard him take a shuddering breath. I felt two things immediately: one was his body tensing, fingers flexing on my thighs. And the other was a rush of a pure erotic thrill that moved from my fingertips, up my wrist and arm, and into my chest. Like molten gold flowing into me, filling me with a deep need. My thighs clenched.
Honestly. Who said saving the country had to be unpleasant? There was no reason I couldn’t enjoy my patriotic duty a little.
I met his gaze, the flames growing dangerously bright in his irises. For a moment, I nearly forgot how high we were in the air.
He swept over the parapet, and we landed on the top of a castle walk. Here, the walls rose high on either side, but the wide sky twinkled above us.
I slowly slid down his body. He looked perplexed again. In fact, he was staring at me like I was a book he was trying to read, in a language he couldn’t decipher.