Page 36 of Prince of Ruin
But she could see the effect of that single blow.
Entire buildings collapsed. Vampires screamed as they burned. Demons tried to drag Samael away, stamping out the flames that licked at his coat. He snarled and shoved them off, pushing to his feet as he glared at her.
His sword was broken.
Broken.
Jagged edges of shadow evaporating as she watched.
And hers lay unblemished, the light of its flame burning as hot as a welder’s torch.
“How did I…?” It hurt to speak. She clutched at Azazel’s sleeve as he shushed her, but the question was seared into her head.How did I break his sword? He’s a demon. A prince of Hell. It should never have happened.
“Love,” Uriel whispered, squatting by her side and reaching out to brush his fingers against her cheek. They glowed and then the cool glide of a healing swept through her. He looked up, meeting Azazel’s eyes. “Love unbroken. Love unquenched. A love that will never fade, no matter how many wounds it takes. There is no greater force.”
Azazel ground his teeth together.
But he held her.
Held her and rocked her.
The world was growing dark around the edges. Maybe she was still dying. Maybe sleep was beginning to suck her down.
“What will this cost me?” Azazel whispered.
Sera trailed her fingers down his sleeve. So hard to think….
“You know what it will cost you,” Uriel replied.
And then they both vanished.
9
Sera blinked back to consciousness, staring at a strange ceiling.
Luxurious silk draped her skin, and there was a bandage wrapped around her waist, but nothing else.
She had the hell of all headaches.What had happened? Where was she—?
It all came back in a rush of fire-tinged memories.
Stealing the shard. The confrontation in the alley. A sword of light rising to meet a blade of pure darkness—
Sera sat up with a gasp and the sheets tumbled around her waist, along with the ragged remains of her curls. The ends had been burned on the right side.
But then she began to recognize her surroundings.
The room. The bed. The red silk sheets.
Azazel—
Azazel stared at her from the doorway, his hands buried in his pockets as he leaned against the doorframe. A dark smoldering shadow that watched her with hungry eyes.
And Sera couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move.
She dragged the sheets up over her breasts. “I—"
“What thefuckwere you thinking?” The words were cold enough to flay like a whip. “I needed him to strike me. I needed him to break the treaty first. And you thought, what? That you were going tosaveme?”
