Page 106 of Burn of Obsidian

“Twenty-four hours,” Gideon continued, reaching down and forcing Jax up until they were the same height. “Bring me the document, or I’ll make sure your mate suffers for all of eternity.”

Chapter 40

Thea

Thea grunted as the slices along her palms tugged. They’d been cleaned up and bandaged, as had the rest of her.

“You sure about this?” Riley asked, his grey eyes as dark as any storm. Fitting considering the rage that dominated his expression. “You can wait outside.”

“Try, and see what happens.” Riley’s lip twitched at her words, and Lucy chuckled darkly, an ominous presence at her back. He was the one to find her only seconds after Gideon had taken Jax, and hadn’t left her side since.

‘Jax is my brother,’ he’d explained when she’d told him to back off, as if that was any reason to become her shadow.

Time ticked away in her head. It had already been eight hours, the pressure beneath her ribs growing with every second that passed. She needed to figure out what to do, which was hard when she was surrounded. She wasn’t used to working with others. Roach was the exception, and look how well that turned out.

“You have someone watching my family?” she asked Riley for what must be the tenth time, knowing he was the leader. It was the way in which he held himself, which was impressive considering every Guardian she’d met had the ‘danger, don’t fuck with me’ vibes.

Riley didn’t bother with an answer, his attention on the red-head who stood to the side. Kace, not that he’d introduced himself, or even looked over in her direction. She only knew his name because someone else had called him.

Thea knew her family was safe, having called to talk to her mum only a few minutes ago. But she still couldn’t help but ask, just so she could hear the words.

“It’s rude to talk to someone else mid-conversation,” she growled, forcing Riley’s attention back on her.

“You already know the answer,” Xander replied instead, his eyes so pale she would have sworn he could see into her soul. They were creepy as fuck, but somehow suited him.

Titus completed the group. His irises were the same shade as Lucy’s, and his expression wasn’t exactly unfriendly, but also not open as he caught her staring a few times. There was a tension beneath his skin that was more prominent than the others.

“He’s not that impressive,” Lucifer whispered, humour in his tone. Thea turned to find him smirking over her shoulder at Titus. “He only has one wing.”

Titus flipped him the finger. “We ready to go? Our boy has been gone too long.”

Riley nodded, knocking his knuckles against the large wooden door before using his heavy boot to force it open. Thea hadn’t asked where they were going when she invited herself, Lucy advocating for her spot in the car. They’d pulled up outside a large, white building in the centre of the city. Wings had been carved into the stone, intricate designs that matched the finials along the metal fence.

It wasn’t hard to figure out it was the home of a celestrial. Or maybe someone with a wing fetish.

They stepped into the white foyer, the building grand as several guards swept down with their wings held tight to their backs. Feathers were a spectrum of colour, ranging from white to pale blues and yellows. Copper wings appeared, a flash of irritation on the man’s face before he quickly covered it with a neutral mask.

“Mr Storm,” he said in his deep drawl. “I didn’t realise we had a meeting.” His eyes swept over the Guardians before returning to Riley.

Thea had watched the news enough to know it was Cassiel, the Councilman.

Lucifer shifted from behind her, a blur as he drifted until he was toe to toe with the archangel. With a snarl, he gripped Cassiel’s throat, shoving the large man against the wall hard enough a portrait fell to the floor with a crash.

“Where is he?” Lucifer growled, the earlier humour replaced by an almost feral energy.

The winged guards pointed their weapons, ready to intervene, but with a barely discernible nod from their archangel, they all backed away.

“You can’t kill me without causing a ripple in the power,” Cassiel managed to push out. He made no effort to free himself, his wings spread impressively wide behind him.

Lucifer chuckled, the sound manic. “Like I give a flying fuck.”

“Our brother’s been taken,” Riley said, so calm it frosted the air. “Where’s Gideon?”

Cassiel met Riley’s gaze, silencing his reply.

“He has two pages, not one,” Riley continued. “Which means you betrayed us.”

“You see, you really didn’t want to betray us.” Lucifer reached over with his spare hand and plucked a feather. “We’re the monsters that hunt other monsters.”

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