Page 25 of When Monsters Fight
“Jilyana, can you summon your fire?” Gabriel asked.
“Not here. I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“We have to find shelter,” Kabiel said. “Build a fire and keep her warm. She won’t make it through the night otherwise.”
“And what if it doesn’t warm up in the morning?” Asbeel asked.
“We’ll worry about that when the time comes,” Gabriel snapped. “Rue, wrap your body around mine. Do it.” He lifted me up, gripping my thighs and urging me to wrap them around his waist.
Part of my rapidly freezing brain wondered if this was going to become our go-to position, but the rest was too busy trying to function.
My limbs were stiff from the cold, but I managed to get into position, tucking my head into the crook of his neck to keep my face warm.
The whoosh of wings flaring cut through the night, and the chill retreated a little.
He’d wrapped his wings around me, bringing them forward over his shoulders to shield me. I didn’t know that celestials could use their wings this way, but damn was I grateful for it right now.
“You’re okay,” Gabriel said. “You’ll be okay.” His heart beat so fast against me that I doubted his conviction.
The beat of wings told me that some of the watchers had taken to the skies, but my limbs were heavy, and it was getting harder to keep my eyes open.
“I see buildings,” Kabiel called out from above. “A settlement not too far from here.”
“Lead the way,” Gabriel replied, then to me, “Do not fall asleep, Rue. You must stay awake. Hold on to me. That’s right, hold tight.”
The next moment, we were in motion, his body tight around mine, his arms like bands of steel hugging me to him. How was he running so fast without his arms to balance him? My fingers ached, but that was good. That meant there was still circulation, right?
My eyelids drooped. No. I had to stay awake. Focus on the chill and the pain of it.
Do not fall asleep. But my eyelids fluttered closed anyway.
A low howl rose over the beat of wings, yanking me back to full consciousness.
“Gabriel, what was that?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
But his racing heart said differently.
Another howl. Then another.
“We have incoming!” Asbeel called.
Chapter 14
Danger raked its claws across my scalp as howls lit up the night. “What is it? What’s happening?”
“Rue, we must take to the air,” Gabriel said. “Hold tight. It won’t be for long. I promise.”
I pressed myself to his body and squeezed my eyes shut as his wings unfurled from around me. There was no time to adjust to the shock of the icy air shooting over my skin before we rocketed into the sky.
I wanted to look down and see what the threat was, but that meant removing my face from the warmth of Gabriel’s neck.
No way was I doing that. “What is it? What’s below us?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Gabriel said. “They won’t get us. We’re almost at the settlement.”
Snarls and growls echoed up into the night.
