“Bossy,” I muttered.
He kissed me with lips wet with his own blood. A drop fell onto my tongue, jolting me awake like a shot of pure caffeine. I opened my eyes, and looked up into his eyes.
“I can see again,” I said.
“Can you walk too?”
I rose to my feet, swaying but not falling. “We have to get your father and the relics out without Colonel Fireswift seeing them?”
“His forces are outside the Gateway.”
“There’s a secret passage.”
I pressed my hand to the wall, one without even a symbol to adorn it. I led them down the passage that Sierra had taken many times before. I hoped it hadn’t collapsed since then.
The passage was clear. It brought us to the edge of the city. Later, as we rode Calli’s motorcycle across the Black Plains, I realized that was the one of the only things to go right all week.
Pressed between Nero and Damiel on the seat, I drifted in and out of consciousness. I vaguely recall entering my house, but I had no clue how we’d gotten past the soldiers on the wall.
I heard Calli shouting at Nero for getting me nearly killed. I wanted to tell her that it wasn’t his fault, but I couldn’t see to move my tongue. My eyes grew heavy, and I sank into dreamless sleep.
20
Revelation
Bella was sitting beside me, hanging my bandages, when I woke up in my own bed. My body felt a little better, but my mind and magic felt like they’d been put through the blender.
“He can’t stay here,” Calli’s voice streamed in through the partially open bedroom door. “He’s too dangerous.”
“I will be moving him,” Nero replied. “It’s just for now, until Leda can travel again.”
“We can take of our own.”
“I will not leave her side. The last two times we were separated, she almost died.”
“That won’t happen here,” Calli said.
“I’m staying. I take care of my own too.”
“She’s not your soldier anymore.”
“She is so much more than a soldier.”
Bella brushed a washcloth over my forehead. “Just rest. You’re safe,” she said in soothing tones.
I closed my eyes. The next time I woke up, it was Nero at my bedside. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
“How are you doing?”
“Fine.”
“She’s tough,” Damiel called out from another chair.
“I’m sorry he’s here,” Nero told me. “I have to keep an eye on him in case he tries anything.”
“What am I going to try with these restraints on blocking my magic and restricting my movements?” Daniel asked. “I have an itch I haven’t been able to scratch for over an hour.”
“You think this is funny?” Nero snarled. “She is in this state this because of you. She almost died.”
“I didn’t shoot her.” Damiel looked at Leda. “I’m glad you survived. You make my son actually feel something. He’s been so closed off for so long.”
“You don’t get to speak to her like that, like she’s come old friend. You tortured her, you sadistic swine.”
“You don’t talk to me like that. I am still your father.”
“No, you’re not. You’re nothing. You’re dead. You’ve been dead for two hundred years. I wish you’d just stayed dead.”
“I did what I had to do. Back then and now. And not everything is as simple as you think,” Damiel said. “Stop being melodramatic, Nero. What I did was not torture. I know you know what real torture looks like because I brought you along to witness it when you were five.”
Ew. Talk about take-your-son-to-work day, Legion of Angels style. That was twisted. No wonder the Legion brats had issues.
“What I did was unlock the memories in her,” Damiel continued. “That meant breaking her physically. You’ve done that to her, to countless initiates, over the years. You broke them so they could find something inside of themselves. A special power. This is no different.”
“This is completely different,” Nero countered. “Because you enjoyed it.”
“Stop trying to make me fit into that evil image you have of me in your head,” Damiel said. “It was a job that had to be done. Nothing more.” He looked at me, as though I could confirm that he hadn’t enjoyed hurting me.
“You were pretty convincing when you were kicking my ass,” I told him.
“I had to be convincing.” He was looking at Nero now. “I had to convince Valiant’s men.”
“You could have just killed them,” Nero said.
“I was saving them. I wasn’t sure if the door required a human sacrifice to open the way to the relics, or to unlock them. Some of the old magic does. And I didn’t think you wanted me using your girl for that.”
“So I should be thanking you now?”
“Yes, that would be appropriate. And while you’re at it, how about untying me?” He showed Nero his bound handa. “This is completely undignified.”
Nero gave him a look that said hell would freeze over before he untied him.
“Is it true what you said about human sacrifices? That they activate magic?” I asked Damiel.
“For some kinds of magic, usually objects of power. Magic always has a price, but it’s not always so picky about who pays it.” He paused. “But the relics made from a whole other kind of magic altogether. That crazy pilgrim stained his blade with angel blood, and it didn’t activate the magic. But you only had to look at them, and they obeyed your commands.”
I didn’t really want to think about it. Those weapons were too dangerous for anyone to wield. We had to hide them—or destroy them. Part of me protested the thought of destroying them. It was probably the same part that had made the weapons turn on Valiant and kill him.
The door creaked open and Calli peeked inside. “The First Angel is coming across the lawn.”
Nero rose. “Stay here and keep quiet,” Nero said to his father.
I slowly pushed myself up. Before I could get very far, Nero leaned down and swooped me up into his arms. The front door opened as he set me onto one of the sofas in the living room.
“Stay outside,” Nyx commanded her guards, then shut the door. She followed Calli into the living room.
“First Angel,” Nero said, bowing.
Nyx’s eyes flitted from him to me, bundled up in blankets on the sofa.
“I would bow, but I think I might open my wounds and pass out at your feet,” I said with a small smile.
“It’s quite all right, dear,” she replied. “Rise, Nero. We don’t have time for silly pleasantries.” She sat down on the sofa opposite mine, watching him take a seat next to me. “Have you forgotten how to heal people, Colonel?”
“No. She was shot by an immortal weapon. It’s not healing as fast as it should.”
“Immortal weapon, you say. Well, Colonel, that’s what we’re here to discuss.” She folded her hands together on her lap. “I got your report. And Colonel Fireswift’s report.” Her mouth thinned into a hard line. “They vary greatly.”
“With all due respect, Colonel Fireswift like to blow hot air.” He paused, dipping his head. “First Angel.”
Nyx took a cookie for the dish on the table, laughing. It was a genuine laugh. This was the side of Nyx that I liked.