Page 39 of When Monsters Fight
A ball of pain pulsed in place of my heart. Shem was lost to me. Completely. Utterly. I took a shuddering breath riding the sharp wave of pain that rocked through me. Shem was gone but…but there was hope for Gabriel.
I needed to bring him back. “I fixed Gabriel’s body though. So, hecancome back. Why isn’t he coming back?”
“He can’t simply enter the vacated vessel,” Asbeel said softly. “It doesn’t work that way.”
“We should have brought Erelim. He could have put him back.”
“A reaper can’t do that for a celestial,” Asbeel said. “In the days of war, the celestials would share their name with a confidant, to be uttered only if their bodies fell because a true name can guide a celestial essence back to its body.”
What did he mean? “His name is Gabriel.”
“No. Gabriel is a word. A celestial’s name is a melody. Every celestial has one unique to it,” Asbeel said wistfully. “Watchers do not.”
A melody…Wait…When we’d bonded, he’d kissed me, and I’d heard a melody. Could it be? Could that be his name? Hope ballooned inside me, shoving away the darkness that crowded my heart.
I squeezed my eyes shut and dragged the memory of that kiss, of that melody, to the surface of my mind. Its sweet notes filled my head and formed in my throat before springing to my lips.
Holding a tune wasn’t a skill of mine, but it was as if this melody had been programmed into my vocal chords. It spilled free, rising in the air like a delicate scent.
My heart beat harder as the promise of somethingunnamed bloomed inside me. Hope and yearning and forever more.
The melody rose and ebbed, coming to an end, but Gabriel remained unmoving and cold in my arms.
I needed to sing it again. But when I tried to summon the notes, they eluded me. Lost now. Used up. “No…” My voice cracked on a sob and then rage bubbled inside me, eating away at the sorrow because how dare he? How dare he break his word.
I tipped my head up to the sky, eyes burning with indignation. “You get your fucking ass back in this body right now, you hear me? You promised! You fucking promised you’d stay!” He lay still, unmoved by my plea, taunting me with this silence. “Damn you!” I slammed a fist onto his chest. “Damn you, you lying bastard!” I hit him again.
His body jerked on a gasp, eyes snapping open and gaze training in on my face. “What…what happened.”
A manic laugh bubbled up my throat and I blinked back tears. “You fucking died, you ass. You died on me.” I gathered him to me and squeezed. “But you came back.”
He turned his head toward me, his breath warm against my collarbones. “I promised you that I’d stay, didn’t I?”
I exhaled on a shaky laugh. “Yes, you did. You bloody did, so don’t you dare try to check out again.”
“Never.” His voice was a reassuring rumble kissing my skin.
I closed my eyes and swallowed past the pinch in my throat, because almost losing him had made me realize that it was more than need that I felt for Gabriel. It was want.
Iwantedhim to stay.
I wanted him, and in this moment of pure relief and joy, there was no room for guilt.
Chapter 21
The angry skies were behind us, but we were still beneath thick gray clouds, as if this circle abhorred the sun. How was this circle so lush and green with such little sunlight? But then, I was assuming that the flora of this world needed the same sustenance as the flora of ours.
Kabiel walked ahead of us with Jilyana while Asbeel flew above us, scouting the terrain. The others fell behind a little, making up the rear. But I made sure to stay close to Gabriel. I’d almost lost him. I wasn’t letting him out of my sight.
The chasm was a few minutes away, and then we’d be on the bridge and into the fifth circle.
We’d find the relic, and once we were in the fourth circle, Lucifer would find us.
I stole another glance at Gabriel. Did he look pale? Were those dark smudges under his eyes? Was he still hurt?
“I’m fine, Rue,” Gabriel said. “You don’t have to worry. Our bond allowed you to heal me fully.”
Mention of the bond left me feeling strangely empty. “It’s gone now, isn’t it? The bond?”
