A mighty shove sends me tumbling into Zhang’s sturdy arms. I missed these arms. I don’t have time to enjoy them. Zhang latches his hand to mine as Merrick’s wings expand and he takes to the miserable skies. The lightning bolts don’t chase him like they are Daniel, and it’s comforting to think Merrick’s brother is on his side.
Sizzling blue energy threatens to take Merrick out of the sky. His sword flashes, deflecting the onslaught of light and sending it sailing into oblivion. The two sets of wings arc and glide over our heads, sending mighty gusts of wind that blow through our hair. Terror nearly seizes me. Daniel won’t kill his son, will he?
He will surely kill me. My legs burn, and my heart pounds.
The seraph barrels like a crater toward the ground, landing in a crouch; his fist slams into the hard ground, shaking all of us off our feet.
I catch a flash of steel from beside me and then it’s plunging into the angry seraph’s gut. Merrick just stabbed his father for me. Daniel steps back, yanking the sword from him. There’s a muted clang as it hits the hard dirt.
Zhang pounces, knocking me out of the seraph’s path, and a burst of blue light lands in the place I just vacated. Whew, close one. We roll and tumble down an embankment and Gem’s close behind us, rolling after us. “Gem! I don’t mean to?—”
“Doing my best.”
Fuck. His best isn’t gonna cut it right now.
The general pops up like an unwanted weed. Angel wings can be used as stargates, but it costs them. Clearly, he thinks it’s worth it. His hands grip me from under my armpits, and the wind stirs under his massive wings. They give off the strong scent of myrrh.
Other hands grip around the top of my shoulders, and the scent of gardenias competes with the myrrh—Merrick. But the general’s not letting go. Am I about to get torn apart?
Merrick’s new tattoo—the one that caused all this trouble—flashes. Searing heat lights my skin on fire under his hand on the tattoo side. I scream until my throat hurts. Daniel’s hands fall away from me, and he clutches the left one.
Massive black wings curl around me, protecting me from any fallout. I missed these wings. I used to fall asleep in them.
Another body sails down the embankment, his sword glinting as he tumbles. How he manages not to impale himself, I’ll never know. Blood drips from Erick’s nose, a nasty trail of bruises puff up his face, and his left arm is at an odd angle. Gods, that tumble must have sucked with all that damage from battling his mate. The warrior shines through, and he’s ready with a sword in his good hand.
Merrick stares from his hand to my still crackling arm. I have a handprint emblazoned into the skin—Merrick’s handprint. It’s clear on his face that he’s just as clueless as I am. How the fuck?
We don’t have time to wonder long, Daniel recovers. Merrick takes action, beating his wings, catching air to take him into the sky.
“Got it! I got it,” Gem shouts as a wide oval of swirling white light opens in midair.
“Fire in the hole,” Merrick shouts and a sea of flames ignite from his fists.
“He’s my fire child,” Erick says, eyes shining with pride. “Not too many people know about that, though, so if you could keep it to yourselves.”
“But … how?”
“You don’t know how Nephilim are made, do you? It’s a special event. Maybe I’ll get the chance to tell you about it sometime.”
“I kinda hope you don’t if I’m being honest.”
“Yeah, I get it. You probably don’t want to come back here, but you’ll have to someday, Treyu. Now, get the fuck out of here. That won’t hold him long.”
“You two gonna be okay?”
“He’ll be pissed, but we’ll survive … uh, when he calms down.”
Gem’s desperate voice cuts through the roar of the flames. “I can’t hold it much longer, Treyu.”
My sharp nod is all the thanks Erick gets and then I’m falling into a stargate.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Treyu
We land in a heap on a command deck I’m familiar with, as a pile of twisted limbs. Silk brushes against my face, and then battle-worn hands pry me from the tangle of Gemini’s robes. I’m tossed to the side like yesterday’s moldy vegetables while Atlanta brushes Gem’s clothes and checks him for damage.
“How the fuck did you get Father’s ship?” I ask.
