“I love you,” she whispered.
Lash turned to face his best friend. The one person he thought of as his brother, the one person he thought would never let him down and would always be by his side. He was ready to fight him.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” Jeremy warned.
Lash crouched in front of Naomi protectively. “You wanted her once and I gave in. I won’t do that again.”
“How can you believe Lucifer’s lies?”
“How can I not? I trusted you, and you knew all along this would happen, yet you told me nothing … friend.” He sneered the word.
Jeremy opened his mouth, about to say something, and then slammed it shut, clenching his jaw. “So be it.” He raised a hand high above his head, and a flash of light streaked down from the sky and into his hand. Before Lash could take a step toward him, Jeremy threw the bolt of lightning and sent Lash crashing to the ground next to Naomi.
Chapter 23
Lash jolted up gasping for breath. “Naomi!”
His eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room. Sunlight streamed through the wall-length windows in the Room of Offerings. He was home.
Everything around him was the same—the marble floors, the circle of white furniture in the center of the room, the rich tapestries, and the walls lined with sculptures and paintings. It was perfect, it was beautiful—he hated it.
He dropped his head into his hands as raw pain surged through his chest. She was gone. The one person who had believed in him, had faith in him, had been torn away from his arms. His reward had become his punishment, and he’d been left to wander until the end of time without Naomi, half-alive—broken. Would he ever find a way to heal his soul?
He trudged to one of the glass cases and stared at the statuettes: Raphael, Gabrielle, Jeremy, all of them. They’d all betrayed him. He boiled with rage at the sight of them. He punched his fist through the case and swiped his arms over the shelves, smashing the figures to the ground. One after the other, he went along the walls, dumping over the cases, shattering them until there was nothing left, and he fell to his knees sobbing.
He couldn’t live like this. Naomi was somewhere close. He could feel it. He could hear her voice in the wind—her touch still lingered on his skin. He couldn’t live in Heaven, knowing she was near and never being able to see her again. Heaven, home: neither could exist without her.
Footsteps echoed in the distance and stopped outside the door. Lash held his breath, hoping whoever it was would leave him alone. The door opened and closed, and he felt a presence in the room. “Lahash, we need to talk.”
Raphael. Lash curled his hands into fists. “Go away.”
“I know you are angry with me, and there is much I need to explain.”
“What’s there to explain?” He jumped to his feet. “You tell me to keep Naomi safe and then you have Jeremy kill her. If this assignment was meant to make sure that I was miserable for the rest of my existence, well, bravo”—he clapped—“mission accomplished.”
Raphael’s eyes grew sad. “The assignment wasn’t to hurt you. It was meant to test your faith.”
“It was meant to see what kind of fool I am. When Gabrielle handed it to me, I should’ve—” he froze. She did want him to do it. She knew it would end like this and she acted like she didn’t want him to take the assignment, knowing that he would.
“Gabrielle knew Naomi would die. Damn her to Hell!” Lash punched his hand against the stone wall and a loud crack reverberated through the room. He clutched his hand to his chest and winced. Even in his angel form, it still hurt, but it didn’t compare to the pain in his chest.
“It is not what you think,” Raphael said calmly. “Come with me. There is something I need to show you.”
“No. I’ve had enough of you. From now on, I’ll take my assignments directly from Michael.” He walked past him and threw the door open to find Jeremy standing in the hallway.
There was a beat of silence. Before Jeremy could say a word, Lash lunged at him, sending them sailing down the hall.
In one move, Jeremy threw him off and leapt to his feet. “Stop it, Lash. I will not fight you.”
“Fine by me, asshole!” He punched him.
The echo of his fists contacting Jeremy’s jaw sent a flurry of angels into the corridors. Rachel ran down the hall, her dark eyes widened as she watched his fist connect with Jeremy’s nose, splattering blood against the white walls. She gasped and turned back down the hall.
Jeremy’s eyes glowed with rage as he wiped blood off his face with the back of his hand. He tried to push Lash away, only to be punched again by his right hook. As Jeremy hit the ground, Lash threw himself on top of him. Lash was about to punch him again when Jeremy grasped his hands together and hit him on the chest so hard that he flew back, smashing into the wall.