Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 29328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Horus sighs. “I can’t. I used my one-way ticket.”
Alex gulps and raises his hand. “Actually, mine was refundable.” Nobody laughs, but Ethan and Mason moan out loud like he’s the most annoying person in the world, which he is. “Okay, no jokes. Sorry, I thought we were Vikings. Anyway, since I have the blood of Ra…” Nobody says anything. “Wow, still no applause? Okay, right then. I can try, but that won’t help our current situation.”
I hang my head. “We should at least retrieve his body. We owe him that.”
Mason’s quiet.
All of us wait for someone to say something, but then he walks over to Genesis and grabs her by the shoulders. “You’re the beginning. So was Lilith. Your name means beginning. Therefore, I’m going to ask you for a favor.”
“Anything,” Genesis says.
Ethan starts to move, but I grab him by the arm and hold him back. “Let her.”
“She could die.”
“We all could.” I turn to him. “But as one of my oldest friends, I need you to listen. I need you to stay calm. We all need your help. We’ve fought wars. We’ve razed cities. We’ve protected humans for this long. Let this one do what we can’t.”
Ethan turns away from me, his green eyes blazing. “If I lose what I love, I lose it all.”
“Losing”—I put a hand on his shoulder—“is part of life. No immortal can escape it. And even if you could, escaping pain is like ignoring what teaches us to stand back up and fight. Look at it differently. Losing us, all of us in this room, to save the world.” My past comes back to haunt me. “You have to ask yourself, how many could you save? How many? One? Two? Three? How many is enough? If we all sacrifice ourselves, would it be worth it to save ten?”
“Yes,” he chokes out.
“How about nine?”
“Yes.” He starts crying silently next to me.
“Ethan, what if we sacrificed all to save one?”
He leans against my shoulder and looks up, green eyes clear. “Yes, Cassius. Yes.”
“And that”—I nod—”is why we were put here as the Immortal Council. That is why we exist. Because if we can save just one, we have done the job given to us.”
“Okay.” His nostrils flare, and I know he’s annoyed, upset, and frustrated with me. But the rest fall silent, watching our interaction, knowing I’m not wrong.
When my father gave me his power and sacrificed his ability to be an Archangel, when the Creator gave us all the gifts we have and created races within the world…
I realized it would come to this one day.
Will you sacrifice the few to save the many?
Will you sacrifice everything you know and love?
Will you fall on your own sword?
Humans tend to be selfish. Immortals are no different.
I walk toward Genesis and hold out my hand. “Show me what you saw and tell me how I can help.”
Mason relaxes next to me and touches my shoulder. “How we can all help.”
Genesis grips my hand tightly. “Watch, son of the Watchers.” Her eyes blaze green before a vision appears.
I see blood.
Danu.
Lilith.
A star falling.
Tarek taking his last breath. “Wait.” I gasp. “Wait.”
I keep watching as Lilith reaches over to him and pours her blood into his mouth while the star dies and then Danu stabs her.
And then I see.
“Angels.”
Chapter Fifteen
Lilith
“You’re both idiots.” Danu laughs and starts dragging me across the dirt. I see a body next to me that I assume is either the star or Tarek.
“Where are we?” I ask.
She rolls her eyes. “Where else? I’m going to feed on you, then feed you to the Fallen Angels in the Euphrates. They get quite hungry. Heard a rumor that even Medusa is down there, just sucking a Fallen Angel dry. Must be Hell for him, over and over again.”
I can’t move.
I’m strong but weak. By the looks of the blood on her lips, she’s probably already fed. I feel half-dead and can’t even save Tarek.
“What did you do with him?” I plead. “Is he okay?”
Danu laughs. “He’s currently enjoying time on the dirt, looking up at the stupid star he called, probably wondering in his death if he did the right thing. But, spoiler alert, all that did was make it so you got superhyped on star blood, which in turn just gave me more power. Some people are just idiots, and you slept with one. I hope you make a better choice the next time I wake you up for two days. Because, wow.”
It doesn’t make sense. The star should have given me unlimited power for at least a few hours. Did she already drain it?
Frowning, I touch my forehead. Why is it wet?
Wait. Her blood.
My skin’s hot to the touch. Danu isn’t paying attention since she’s busy dragging me through dirt and water.
I touch it again, and my fingertip burns.