Page 41 of Blood and War
“Gods above, you have no idea what you’re doing.” Her groan had been loud, exaggerated for effect as she rolled her eyes at him.
He ignored her. Knowing that if he gave in, his temper would only soar. “She is not who the council portrayed her to be. I do not understand the order to eliminate her.” There was no skirting around the truth with them. They could not lie to one another.
“So, you’re saying that you had her and didn’t finish the job when you had the chance?” Eire’s voice rose an octave higher,anger swirling through her gray eyes as she threw her hands in the air. “When did you find her?” Her gaze narrowed in on him. Kellan braced for a moment, readying for her reaction.
“The day we got here.”
“You had one fucking job, Kellan. One job, and you fucked it up.” Eire pointed at him, and he could feel the power within the gesture. “Multiple chances to end her life and send us home, and you couldn’t even do that!” She raged; her brows knit together as her lips curled inward. “You’d forgone a different choice every gods damned time. I could care less that you felt the council was wrong. It is not our job to make these decisions. Our job is to obey!”
Kellan could feel his own features mirror hers, his eyes narrowed as the muscles in his jaw went taut. “A human simply cannot cause this much damage. We are sent to restore the balance. Killing her did not seem like the solution.” He rebutted. “There are other things at play here.” Reining in the anger swirling through him, he ran a hand down his face.
“Like what?” With a hand in the air, Gabriel silenced anything that Eire might have said.
“They sent an Archangel.” Kellan sighed, tearing his eyes from his sister to meet the forest green of Gabriels. “Noel.”
His siblings exchanged confused glances. “Why did they dispatch us, only to send out one of the Angels of Death?” Gabriel questioned, and Kellan could see the calculating look on his face.
“It just doesn’t make sense.” Kane was the first to break.
“We were ambushed shortly after the girl and I crossed paths.” He explained what happened then. The words the angel had spoken. The threat. How he’d come after not just her, but him as well. He’d been willing to kill off one of the councils prized Horseman over a human. “It doesn’t add up. Killing her would not bring balance.”
Gabriel gave him a knowing look. At least he agreed with his decision, despite going against a direct order. The one task they had been sent there to complete. He may have completely fucked it up, but he’d had good reason to.
“The girl mentioned a run in with a demon before we crossed paths. It threatened her home, saying someone was after them. After her. It knew who she was, by name.” One by one, each of his siblings faces hardened into stone. A look he knew all too well. “They aren’t telling us something.”
“Are we really supposed to believe the word of a human?” Eire asks, her eyes narrowing in on Kellan once more. She’d fight him with everything in her. It was how they’d always been. Especially since the council had gotten hold of each one of them, stripping away pieces of their soul in punishment.
“After the events I’ve been through these last few weeks, yes. Everything I’ve witnessed has led me to believe none of it has been a lie. I was there when a demon came for her. Knew her by name, and threatened her.” He challenged. Waiting for her to fight him on it. She didn’t, and the relief flooded him. “The council refused my summons, and I don’t know why.”
“They have never refused a summons before.” Eire countered. “They don’t ever refuse.”
Kellan met her with a hard stare, eyes narrowing as his sister fought him again. “You seem to forget your place, sister.” The growl rumbled through him deep within his chest. “You dare to call me a liar? They ignored every single one of my calls, and there were several. Now tell me, why the fuck would they do something like th?—”
Thundering hooves pulled them from the conversation and they all turned in that direction. A dark blur on the horizon quickly came into view, each step pounding along the ground as dust kicked up behind its heels. The creature was spooked, Kellan realized, galloping as hard as it could, driven by fear.Kellan recognized the jagged silver scar along his body, knowing an identical one was on the other side hidden from view.
Kellan’s body tensed. “Atlas.” Demitria would have never left him alone. Not in a millennium. “Something isn’t right.”
“Is that a—” Eire went quiet as Kellan dismounted from his horse, stepping into the path of the terrified beast. Atlas let out a knowing snort at the sight of him before sliding to a stop meters away, his breathing heavy, like he’d been running for hours, and had nearly exhausted himself. He pranced, unable to keep himself still as if deciding whether or not he still needed to flee.
“Shh.” Kellan soothed, hand outstretched toward him. Atlas skirted away from his touch, eyes ablaze in panic.
What in the world hashim so spooked?
It was unlike him. From what Kellan had seen, he’d never balked at anything, which was expected of a beast with his blood. Prized for their unflappable demeanor on the battlefield. He tried again, slower this time.
The beast’s chest heaved with each breath, but he stood on still legs. Shaking his head, Kellan was able to touch the soft velvety skin of his muzzle. “It’s okay,” he whispered, running a hand down the slick fur of his sweat coated neck. Atlas heaved another heavy sigh. Safe. He was safe. Grabbing hold of the reins that hung dangerously low to the ground, he led the horse back toward his siblings.
“Why is a pterippus grounded?” Gabriel asked. Kellan was almost certain of the beast’s heritage, despite the many questions surrounding him, but Gabriel had confirmed his suspicions.
“He belongs to the girl.” Kellan explained. “Something is wrong. She would never let him loose beyond the walls.”
“Why does a human have a pterippus?” Eire roared, feeling the surge of power in her words as it all but begged to release. They shared a homeland. Or rather, they had before this one wasgrounded. Yet another question that he didn’t have an answer to, and that frustrated him.
“That’s beside the point.” He growled back. “Him being out here means that she’s in danger.”
“Leave her be!” Eire challenged, pinning him with a stare. “Let whatever is out there finish the job for you.” Her gray eyes as dark and cold as a swirling storm. “Balance, brother! It’s why we’re here!”
“I’ve already made my thoughts on the matter clear. I am leaving, whether you like it or not.” Kellan didn’t know what he was thinking as he swung his body into Atlas’s saddle. Any other time, he would have been thrilled to be on the back of one of these beasts. He would never care to admit it, especially to his current company, but it had been a dream of his to soar through the sky on one of them. Even just once in his lifetime. But the beasts were usually reserved for the higher-ranking Archangels working for the council, and for obvious reasons, they did not get along due to theimpurityrunning through his blood. Hehatedthe Archangels.
