Fucking bastard. He got away with hurting me for far too long.
He resurfaced a second later, gasping and howling in pain.
Asmodeus and Luseyar appeared out of nowhere. “What in all hells is happening over here?”
“He attacked me,” I explained, heart pounding. “I had to protect myself.” Foronce, I wasn’t going to let him hurt me.
Wolf shook with anger as he rushed forward. The river pushed Lord a few feet down the riverbank before he caught the edge and hoisted himself up.
“You ungrateful swine!” Lord spat through gritted teeth. “I told you what would happen if you were caught talking to her!”
Lord hoisted himself to his feet and looked at Rummy, but Jessiah quickly sidestepped, putting himself between the two of them.
You won’t fucking touch her.
“I’m growing tired of these antics,” Asmodeus said. The smell of Lord’s blood wafted through the air, but it was neither appetizing nor pleasant. It was sour, disturbing. I wasn’t sure if it was because I hated him so much or because he was truly such a vile, evil being that even his blood wasn’t any good in this world.
Wolf’s hand fell to my back. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I glanced over my shoulder at Rummy, who stared at me with a set jaw and glittering eyes.
Even just a few seconds of speaking to her settled my heart. Dirty clothes, a bruised body, exhausted spirit, but she was still a fighter, still the badass, unstoppable Rummy I knew in Midgrave.
Maybe we would survive this shit after all.
“Water break is over,” Luseyar announced. He waved his hand toward the other side of the river. “Let’s keep moving.”
Of our group, Asmodeus, Luseyar, and Jessiah had wings.
And me, but Asmodeus was waiting on me to display more of my magic, and I wasn’t about to summon my wings with him watching. I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.
Asmodeus was already expanding his white-feathered wings, ready to launch himself across the flowing water. Luseyar, however, eyed our group.
“I’ll take care of them,” Jessiah announced before Luseyar could take a single step in my direction. “You worry about that one.” He nodded his head to Lord, who busied himself with the wounds on his body.
They could have been worse. I could have pushed that blade in a lot deeper.
“Fine,” Luseyar said. “But do it quickly.”
Rummy was first. She hesitantly put an arm around Jessiah’s neck as he pumped his wings once, twice, then launched them across the river. She let out a shaking squeal as they landed.
Just like everyone in Midgrave, she had never seen an angel. Not before Jessiah. There was no magic in Midgrave, no reason for angels or even powerful fae to stick around in those slums. Hells, they didn’t even know angels still existed.
Luseyar and Lord went next, and damn, it was satisfying as all hells to see the two men struggling to grasp each other well enough to fly.
“Promise me you’re okay,” Wolf whispered now that we were alone on this side of the riverbank. His hands fell to the smallof my back as his breath hit my ear from behind. “Promise me we’re going to make it through this.”
I leaned back into him, reveling in his touch. “I promise.”
My fuckinghusband.My life. My other half. The wedding may have been for Asmodeus’s plans, but something felt different between us now. Something changed. And it wasn’t just the wedding ceremony—it wasn’t just the words Wolf had chanted to bind us together for eternity.
Jessiah landed back on our side of the river with a thud. “Ready?” he asked, holding a hand out to me.
“Not just yet,” Wolf answered for me. He spun me around by my hips, fast enough that I caught myself on his shoulders to steady my feet.
Then he kissed me. Harsh and fierce, his mouth pressed against mine with a million promises he could never say out loud. It was a promise for the future, a promise that we would survive. A promise that he would fix all of this.
And dammit, I kissed him back.
