Page 49 of Fear the Fall

“Unfair?” I screech. “You have no idea what I’ve been through. You can’t even fathom the kind of game that was played on me.” I let the anger fester, unwilling to go easy on her. Not after she turned her back on me. “I didn’t stand a chance.” I choke on the words, desperately needing air.

Leeanna used to be one of my closest confidantes, but now, the sight of her makes me sick. She turned her back on me the first opportunity she had, never once asking why or trying to understand my point of view. She’s the worst kind of backstabber.

“I get it. I was struggling with my own emotions being back on Earth. I was harsh. Too harsh.” She blows out a breath. “I’m not asking you to forgive me, but I came with an olive branch.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“You probably shouldn’t.” Leeanna’s head falls, resigned. “But I came nonetheless, with a warning and a potential solution.”

“Go on.” It’s all I can muster. I don’t trust her, but I won’t squander the opportunity for information if for some reason she is actually here to deliver relevant information.

“There’s a coup going down in the underground, and it’ll take all of God’s legions to stop it from coming to fruition. The humans that Zeke has aligned himself with are not mere humans.”

My ears perk up at this news. What can that possibly mean?

“They’re Nephilim.”

I gasp. “Nephilim? They’re real?”

She nods. “Yes, and we need them to come into their full power. It’s imperative to this battle being won by Heaven.”

“But they’re forbidden celestial beings. God himself is said to have snuffed them out of existence when he learned of their existence. How is this possible?”

Leeanna’s head swivels as though she’s searching the area for eavesdroppers. “That’s what angels are told to prevent us from acting on the human instincts that assault us when we come to Earth. Kind of like the whole Bible thing. It’s more of a tale to keep us in line as opposed to absolute truth.”

“So he doesn’t exterminate Nephilim? What about the angels that created them? Are they roaming Earth too?”

Her hands shoot up to stop my assault of questions. “I don’t know everything. You know Heaven’s rules. We only know what we need to know where Earth is concerned.”

I roll my eyes. Such antiquated ideals. If we’re to protect humans and Heaven, isn’t it vital to have all of the information? Is it smart to allow one entity to hold so much power? Not once has a single angel questioned God’s motives behind these blatant censorships.

Lucifer did.

“They need to be trained differently, Victoria. They’re celestial, and they are capable of so much more than what you’ve seen. Knowing this, you need to lead their training. You’re the only one here on Earth worthy of such a task.”

“What about Zeke? Shouldn’t you be confiding in your former almost-lover?”

Leeanna grunt. “You and I both know Ezekiel was never as strong as you. You’re the best to lead this earthly legion.” She pulls her bottom lip into her mouth and seems to consider her next words. “For the record, we weren’t lovers. Almost or otherwise. You got a distorted version of things. Why he’s lying to you, I have no idea, but he isn’t telling you the truth.”

I search Leeanna’s face for some tell that she’s the one lying, but I find nothing but honesty in what she’s saying. If nothing else, she certainly believes things went down differently.

“Your Zeke is hiding things, Victoria. You don’t have to believe me, but you shouldn’t blindly trust him either. If we’re to defeat Hell’s army, we need to all put our differences aside and be honest with each other. God might not want you to have all the answers, but truly, I think you deserve to know everything.”

“Which is?” I press, wanting to end the riddles and get to the deception she’s alluding to.

“That’s a conversation that needs to be had with Ezekiel.”

She might not be lying about the secrets, but I know Leeanna has ulterior motives. She always does. I just need to uncover what her intentions are.

“What conversation is that, Lee?” Zeke’s deep timbre has me spinning to see him walking with purpose toward us. His eyes are trained on her, fire burning behind his irises. He’s pissed, and all his anger is directed at her.

Maybe there is hope that he’ll get over her after all.

“I’m only trying to clear up some misunderstandings that you seem to have created between Victoria and me. She seems to be under the impression that I jilted you. Why is that, Ezekiel?”

“I’m not speaking about the conversations I have with Tori to you. You aren’t part of our relationship.”

“Seems you’re building said relationship on lies, or at the least half-truths.”

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