Page 166 of Wrath

“Oh…shit,” Bash breathed.

My mates immediately encircled me, and for the first time in my life, I let them. If I was truly… God, I couldn’t even think the word. But if I was, then I couldn’t risk any harm befalling me. Not when an innocent relied on me to survive.

Peter narrowed his eyes at the demoness, all traces of humor and levity stripped away. For a brief moment, I swore I saw shadowy wings unfurl behind him, but when I blinked, they vanished.

“There’s a reason you heavenly beings haven’t been allowed on earth.” Lilith took another step closer. “And it’s not because your ruler decreed it so.”

“And why is that?” Peter struggled to maintain his cocky arrogance, but I could see a tiny bit of fear in his eyes.

And that fear grew when Lilith lifted her hands, and all the dust mounds flew towards her.

One by one, monsters began to form—the same beasts we’d just fought and defeated. Gorgons. Gargoyles. Faeries. Banshees. Ghouls. Goblins. Skeletons. Dragons.

“Because hell is in charge now, darling,” Lilith said, extending her hands out.

As one, the monsters charged at Peter, their roars filling the air.

A blazing sword materialized in Peter’s hand, and he sliced at each creature as it came.

He moved like liquid. I’d never seen a fighter quite like him before. He expertly wove between the monsters without so much as breaking a sweat. A stab here. A swipe there.

Something roared above me, and I glanced up, surprised to see a black creature fly through the air, diving towards Peter.

A wyvern.

A very familiar wyvern.

I remembered when I had freed the creature back at Aaliyah’s palace. A part of me had wondered if I would ever see it again.

Yet there it was, fighting the angel, its talons scratching at Peter’s back as he attempted to roll out of the way.

Lilith continued to move forward, the grass beneath her turning brown and brittle. Power saturated the air, coiling around my neck like a noose.

“I can’t kill you,” Lilith said in a singsong voice. “But I can destroy this body and send you back where you belong. This time, you won’t be able to find any demon willing to make a portal for you.”

Blood seeped out of the various wounds on Peter’s body. One of his eyes bulged precariously, looking seconds away from popping.

“Do you think this is over?” He smiled, blood smeared across his teeth. “This is only the beginning. You can’t keep me away forever.”

“We’ll see.” Lilith lifted her hand again, and another wave of pulsating magic blasted Peter straight in the chest.

His back bowed, and a scream left his swollen lips. He continued to scream and scream and scream as a radiant light engulfed his skin, resembling white flames, and webs of silver exploded beneath his skin. A dark shadow clawed its way out of his body and hovered over it, wings extended. Then the shadow evaporated, and the body fell over, his chest unmoving and his eyes scorched.

I couldn’t peel my gaze away.

“What the fuck just happened?” I asked, shivers wracking up and down my spine.

All around me, the monsters were reduced to nothing but ash once more.

Lilith slowly turned around, and I startled at the sight of her blood-red eyes—so eerily similar to Jax’s, yet somehow different. Jax’s were warm and curious and kind; hers were cold and inquisitive. Fear simmered in my heart.

“Don’t stare at me like I’m a monster.” Lilith cocked her head to the side. “Not after all I’ve done to protect you, daughter.”

I swallowed. “What the hell is going on?”

Lilith’s gaze briefly dropped to Aaliyah, and sadness descended over her features. The sight confused me. I’d seen Aaliyah’s memories and knew firsthand how much Lilith despised the two of us. Or at least, that was what I’d always assumed.

But Lilith wasn’t staring at Aaliyah as if she hated her.

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