Page 15 of Cry of Blood and Joy
But reality crashed back as quickly as it had left. “I was so worried about you,” I gasped against his mouth, my heart still hammering from both the kiss and hours of anxiety. “Did yousee Angelo? What happened with Keir?” I pulled back from him, my hands fisting in his shirt as anger replaced relief. “Don’t ever do that again. Don’t leave me wondering if you’re alive or dead.”
Something dark flickered across his features. He frowned as he looked over my head toward where my brother lay sleeping against the cracked wall. The spider web of damage spread across the plaster like a scar, chunks of debris still scattered on the floor around Steve’s motionless form. I could see the tension creeping back into his shoulders, the way his jaw tightened as he took in the destruction, the weight of whatever he’d learned at Keir’s settling on him like a heavy cloak.
His expression hardened like concrete setting. “What happened to the wall?”
Shame crashed over me in burning waves. I lowered my head, unable to meet his eyes as heat swelled over my cheeks, making my skin feel tight and flushed. The urge to disappear, to sink into the shadows themselves, was almost overwhelming. “I…I didn’t mean to,” I whispered, the words barely audible.
He placed his hands on my arms, fingers gentle but firm as he gripped me. “Tell me, Joy.” The command was soft but unyielding.
I forced myself to search his dark eyes, bracing for disappointment or anger, for the look that would confirm I was as dangerous as everyone said. But all I saw was concern—deep, unwavering concern that made my chest ache with a different kind of pain.
“Steve wouldn’t tell me where you went.” I talked superfast. “He said it was too dangerous for me to follow you, that I needed to stay here and wait.” My hands twisted in the fabric of his shirt, seeking comfort. “But when you left, I wanted to follow you and protect you with my shadows in case Angelo found you.”
He waited patiently, his thumbs stroking small circles on my arms, encouraging me to continue without words.
“I got angry and lost control of my shadows.” The confession tumbled out in a rush, and I felt like a little girl admitting to her father that she’d broken an expensive vase—except this vase was my brother’s body and the pieces couldn’t be glued back together. “They just…erupted. Steve tried to calm me down, and I threw him into the wall without even meaning to.”
He pulled me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me like a protective shield as he hugged me tightly. I could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against my cheek, a comforting counterpoint to my own erratic pulse. His lips found the sensitive spot where my neck met my shoulder, pressing a gentle kiss there that sent warmth cascading through my body despite the cold fear still clinging to my bones.
“We’ll get through this,” he murmured against my skin, his breath tickling the fine hairs at my nape. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
But something in his voice—a subtle tension, a carefully controlled edge—made my chest feel too tight for my lungs. I pulled back just enough to search his face, noting the tight lines around his eyes, the way his jaw was clenched despite his reassuring words.
“You found out something, didn’t you?” My voice cracked with fear.
His hands moved to frame my face, thumbs stroking across my cheekbones as he slowly untangled himself from our embrace. The loss of his warmth left me feeling exposed, vulnerable in the afternoon light streaming through the dusty windows.
“Yes.” The single word hung heavy between us. He took a measured breath, and I could see him choosing his words carefully, like walking through a minefield. “Keir said you need to learn how to manage your emotions, specifically your anger. He has someone on assignment—someone who has the samepowers as you do.” His voice grew softer, more gentle, as if he knew how much this would hurt. “When he returns, Keir will send him to teach you how to control the shadows. But in the meantime, you have to learn how to manage your anger so you don’t hurt anyone else.”
I winced as if he’d physically struck me. Don’t hurt anyone else. Like I’d already failed, already proven myself dangerous to the people I loved most. The shame burned in my throat like acid.
“Did he say anything about Angelo?” I managed to ask, though part of me didn’t want to know the answer.
“Angelo is still hunting us.” He took a deep shuddering breath that told me there was worse news coming. “There’s something else. Something you need to know about Serenity.”
Fear fluttered in my chest like a trapped moth, making it hard to breathe. My hands reached for him, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. “What? She’s okay, isn’t she?” I could see the answer written in the tight lines of his face.
“No, she’s not, Joy.” His words fell like stones into still water, each one sending ripples of horror through me. “She’s in a coma. Angelo will want blood for this. If the worst happens, there will be nowhere we can go that he won’t find us.”
The world tilted sideways. I clasped both hands over my mouth, but it couldn’t stop the sob that tore from my throat. My legs gave out completely, and Enzo had to catch me as I collapsed against him, shaking uncontrollably.
Serenity. My sister. The one person who’d never looked at me with fear, who’d accepted my chaotic nature without question. My uncontrolled shadows had put her in a coma. And now I’d dragged Enzo and Steve into this nightmare too, painted targets on their backs because of what I was.
Chapter Ten
Enzo
I gathered Joy into my arms and pulled her against my chest, feeling her entire body shake with the force of her sobs. Her tears soaked through my shirt, warm and desperate against my skin, each drop a reminder of the pain I’d just inflicted on her with the truth. My heart felt like it was cracking as I held her trembling form, one hand stroking her hair while the other pressed her closer to me.
Fuck.I wanted to take away her pain, to absorb it into myself where centuries of darkness had already carved out hollow spaces for suffering. The scent of her—vanilla and something uniquely hers—mixed with the salt of her tears, and I had to fight the urge to promise her things I couldn’t guarantee.
“Serenity will be okay,” I murmured against the top of her head. “She’s a celestial being, half archangel. Her father is Raphael—one of the most powerful healers in existence. She has divine blood running through her veins.”
Joy pulled back just enough to look up at me, her eyes red rimmed and swimming with fresh tears. The hope anddesperation warring in her expression was almost too much to bear. “Then why hasn’t she woken up?” Her voice cracked on the words, and something inside me cracked along with it.
My jaw tightened as I struggled for an answer I didn’t have. The truth was, I didn’t understand it either. Celestial beings were supposed to be nearly indestructible, their healing abilities legendary. For Serenity to remain unconscious suggested Joy’s power was something beyond anything we’d encountered.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. I cupped her face gently, my thumbs brushing away the tears that continued to fall. “Until then, we have to stay away from Angelo. We have to keep you safe while you learn to control this.”
