I shivered.
Orion had chased me down the marble corridor.
My exhaustion ran bone-deep.
The room’s temperature became oppressive as Malum shifted so his forearm was pressed against mine.
It was an innocent touch, yet I burned alive.
“Listen up, everyone,” Malum said loudly, and his baritone voice reverberated through my bones. “We have a plan.”
Everyone in the room stopped talking.
Malum nodded down at me like he was letting me take charge.
I grimaced back, pressed my pipe between my lips, and inhaled greedily. I’d never loved being the center of attention; that was more Sadie’s thing. I’d rather fade into the background. Disappear.
Public speaking was onerous, and I was already tired enough.
“This is what you’re going to do,” Jinx said with authority, and I stopped paying attention to my surroundings.
No, I didn’t care that a child had more leadership skills than I did. I was too busy enjoying my smoke.
A few minutes later, alarms were blaring inside the buildings of the war camp. “Jinx, you stay at the camp, and Warren, you guard her,” Jax ordered as we left the room.
We reassembled in the cafeteria.
John and Luka were frantically patting over my body, pulling at my weapons and holsters to make sure I had everything.
I rolled my shoulders and tried to ignore the persistent ache beneath my skin where my unused wings lay.
I pretended the floor wasn’t growing icy beneath my feet.
As far as I could tell, none of the other angels radiated ice. They wielded it expertly in the controlled form of their swords.
Jinx was tight-lipped about the whole affair, but she’d revealed the Angel Consciousness had removed the blocks on my power because I’d proven myself selfless enough with control over my temper.
I bit down on my lower lip until I tasted blood.
My gut churned.
I had a feeling it wasn’t normal for an angel to radiate ice. I had a bad feeling that I wasn’t in control at all.
Good thing I was an expert at coping—I ignored my problems and pretended they didn’t exist.
“You need to be alert,” Orion mouthed as he shoved a cup full of cold liquid into my hands. “It’s—”
I threw the contents back and gulped it down before he could explain.
“Iced coffee.” He narrowed his eyes, long dark lashes fluttering, as he whispered angrily, “You shouldn’t consume any substance without knowing what’s in it. It’s not safe.”
John and Luka continued checking my holsters diligently, like they were terrified they’d missed something.
I rolled my eyes at Orion.
The coffee was strong, and already I could feel the caffeine waking me up. I took a long inhale from my pipe and let the combination of drugs revive my will to live.
Jitters replaced my exhaustion, and I bounced back and forth on the balls of my feet.
