Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Yeah, see, the Upper Realm wasn’t all love, peace, and divine light. Nor were the beings who ruled over it. In fact, they enjoyed tempting the innate darkness that brewed inside humans, and they’d once used Viper to do it.
He had spent most of his life executing their will at any cost. His life hadn’t really been his own. That was the rub when it came to being so high-ranked. Your life was about serving, not having or owning. No one had ever belonged to him until Ella
He’d seen the worst that man had to offer. Too many times he’d easily tempted someone off a righteous path. It had left him jaded and cynical and in need of something good.
His woman was good.
Well … to an extent. She was a demon, after all.
“You had to have anticipated that they wouldn’t let you be,” Ophaniel added. “The Seven are considered sacred and heroic. You have tainted that image.”
Snorting, Viper crossed his legs at the ankles. “The Uppers will have tainted that image by spreading a bullshit story about how I fell to escape punishment for some kind of betrayal.” When Ophaniel didn’t deny the charge, Viper added, “They could have just told people the truth, that I fell willingly.”
“You know why they didn’t. It would have emboldened any celestials who might be considering falling—they all regard the Seven through awe-filled eyes. If you deem it acceptable to fall, then surely such a thing isn’t quite so bad. That would be the line of thinking some would have. The Uppers can’t allow that. And they can’t allow you to stay on Earth. They insist on you returning.”
“I don’t answer to them anymore. They really should have noticed that.”
“They’ll undo the curse if you return,” Ophaniel threw out. “They’ll even restore you to who, what, you once were.”
Like hell they would. The Uppers weren’t that merciful. And they liked to ‘make examples’ of those who demonstrated any form of rebellion.
The process of falling wasn’t as dramatic as humans would assume. It wasn’t a physical fall. It was a simple decision to leave the upper realm.
There was no dropping from the sky, no crashing to the Earth, no having stumps where their wings used to be. Not all angels actually had wings. But … leaving the realm did have consequences.
Angels and demons were similar in that they had a dualism to the soul. The entities within demons were cruel and psychopathic, totally at contrast to the pure and innocent beings within angels. But that purity and innocence became warped and twisted from the fall—they were then dark and unfeeling, lost any grace they had, and only one thing made them feel alive. A thing they were cursed to forever need. Crave. Feed on.
Blood.
It was their punishment for ‘abandoning’ their people and home. And if you were one of the Seven archangels, your punishment would be so much worse.
Even if the higher-ups were to undo the curse, they’d still make an example of him so that no other archangels thought to repeat Viper’s actions. “There’s nothing they could offer me that would make me return. I would’ve thought they’d have clued in to that by now.”
“You cannot say that you’re enjoying life on Earth. Not when one or all of you have become so bored that you’re recklessly snatching humans, despite knowing that their disappearances will eventually attract attention.”
Viper felt his brows almost lift in surprise. For Ophaniel to know about the disappearances of the local humans, the Uppers must still be having Viper and his brothers watched. A disconcerting notion, considering they hadn’t sensed that they were being closely monitored. They usually did. “That has nothing to do with us.”
Ophaniel cast him a doubtful look. “Two of the missing women frequent your nightclub. One of the missing men is a regular here at the pool hall.”
“I’m aware of that.” He and his club were investigating the disappearances, since these humans were practically being plucked from the Black Saints’ metaphorical doorstep. “We don’t yet know who’s responsible, but we’ll find out.”
“You expect me to believe that it is a coincidence? That none of your brothers, caught up in bloodlust, have—”
“You can believe whatever you want. I don’t give a fuck. Fact is we have nothing to do with the disappearances.”
Ophaniel’s brow pinched. “You are saying that someone is counting on you taking the blame?”
Viper was more of the opinion that they were taunting him and his club, but he wasn’t yet sure. He didn’t really care why they were doing it, he just wanted it stopped. No one got to use his territory as their personal hunting ground.
“As I said, we’re looking into it. We’ll have our answers soon enough.” Viper pushed away from his desk. “Now … to be blunt … it’s time for you to fuck off.”