Page 35 of Prince of Ruin
But there was nothing but cool steel in her hand.
Only the whisper of Heaven’s power brushing back against her, searching for the truth in her heart.
An angel’s blade was a dangerous weapon. It needed belief to fuel it, and she was so fucking wrung out and tired that her quotient was low.
“It looks like you’re outmatched,” Samael mocked Azazel.
“You’re a fucking coward.” Azazel sneered, and then glanced back toward his demons. “You can’t even meet me one-on-one.”
Sera was close enough to see rage flicker in the Prince of Wrath’s eyes. And just that easily, it was gone, blighted by a smile.
Shadows swept around him. Samael conjured a sword of pure darkness. Demonsteel. Tainted and forged in blood. As he lifted it, it whined through the air, the shriek of it like a thousand souls screaming, driving it directly toward Azazel’s unprotected back—
“No!” Sera screamed, lunging forward with her own blade lifted. There was no hope she could prevail—her steel could never match his—but it was the only way to protect Azazel.
The flames finally ignited. Every inch of her lit up in pure radiance, driving the shadows back.
Love.
The sword of darkness swung down, cutting through that light and then their steel met with a clash of thunder.
BOOM.
Time froze. Light pulsed like a strobe, waging war against darkness, and the weight of Samael’s fury rose over her like a tide prepared to sweep her out of his way—
And then the detonation blew them apart.
She slammed backward, her head cracking against the wall of a building. Heat and pain and fury….
She collapsed forward onto her knees, and from there, to the asphalt.
The world blinked in and out.
“Sera!” Uriel screamed, but the word sounded like there was a glass pane between her and his voice.
“Sera!” There were hands turning her over, slapping at her cheeks.
She couldn’t move. Her ears still rung. All she could see was fire. Every inch of her felt burnt.
“Sera! Sera, look at me.” Azazel grabbed her chin. “Look at me.” His voice slid through her. “See me. Come back.”
It was so calm here.
Peaceful.
She floated on a tide of darkness, slowly sinking below those depths.
“No.” A furious growl chased her through the waters. “You don’t get to escape me. Not like this.No. Come back, Sera.”
A spark appeared in the darkness.
She didn’t know how she knew, but it was him.
Reaching out, she captured that spark and light bloomed in her chest, her lungs suddenly heaving in air. Sera jerked her eyes open as pain speared through her.Life. She came to, back in the alley.
Azazel hauled her into his arms, and she flopped there, broken in some ways.
It hurt to breathe.
