Page 36 of Heir of Broken Souls

Our survivors will find shelter in the Fire Court city, Ornx, amongst their bunkers and Aloriah’s most trusted and esteemed warriors. Although I don’t voice aloud that most of them are fighting along the front lines and the last time I was in the city, I ran into drunk fools. Truth be told, we have nowhere else to send our people.

After evacuating the city and going door to door, street by street, to count those we lost, there is a heaviness in the air as we climb the hill to Knox’s estate, where more loss awaits us. The grief that has been weighing upon our shoulders these past weeks has reached an all-time high, to the point I’m finding it hard to breathe. As if deep down, we know that the three thousand people we lost today are just the beginning.

Nobody flies, or teleports, or speaks. Not abouthowthe demonic army fell, or how they managed to get past Knox’s wards. Although I receive the occasional glance, mainly at my now faintly glowing golden skin. It’s not as predominant as before, the glow having settled into a quiet humming of power.

Upon entering the main gates of Knox’s estate, I groan at seeing the decaying demons burning in the pits of fire.The smell is going to linger for weeks to come.

Knox peers at me out of the corner of his eyes. Since the battle, he hasn’t stepped into my mind to hear what I’m thinking. I don’t think he’d ever admit it, but if I had to guess, I’d say there’s a part of him that’s afraid of what he might find within me. And I can’t say that I blame him. I haven’t looked at my well of power again, either.

Harlow, now in her Fae form, pauses within the garden, her eyes roaming the trodden yard and blood-spattered archangel statues. She places her hands on her hips and doesn’t deign to look my way as she declares, “You know the language of the archangels.”

Five sets of eyes turn my way.

My exhaustion is evident as I drawl, “What nonsense are you babbling on about now, Harlow?”

Her eyes narrow into thin slits. “You spoke in their language. How?” she demands.

The memory of the foreign words rolling off my tongue as my magic healed Axel springs to mind. I at least have the decency to wince but Harlow chooses to ignore it.

“How did you bring Axel back from the brink of death? We all have healing abilities but no one can stop death in its tracks.” Her eyes begin to glow with a red tinge. “And while we’re on the topic, why can you, the Fae that turned up on our doorstep, suddenlykilldemons?” She throws her hands in the air. “Why the fuck is no one talking about how you’re now suddenly glowing and shooting out golden power?—”

A blast of shadow knocks into Harlow, stunning her speechless. “Watch your fucking tone when talking to Delilah,” Knox growls, stepping between me and Harlow. More shadows leak off his shoulders, down his arms. “She just once again savedeverybody’slife!”

Harlow snorts. “Step aside, lover boy. Just because she’s your mate doesn’t mean she can’t be questioned.”

“I don’t think Delilah is the only one who should be questioned,” Lenox drawls, his mask held firmly in place once more.

“What’sthatsupposed to mean?” she snarls.

He doesn’t even glance her way as he says bluntly, “You know exactly what it means.”

Fire erupts along her arm, drawing a heavy sigh of exhaustion from Knox.

I look to Axel, shocked for a moment to see his eyes for once clear without the glazed look of substance wracking his body. They’re also widened, and it takes me a moment to realize that he hasn’t been here sober in weeks. He hasn’t had to experience Lenox and Harlow’s new dynamic.

“What questions do you need me to answer,second?” Harlow spits as if it’s a dirty word, and I can’t help but see out of the corner of my eyes the way Axel visibly flinches.

“Harlow!” Knox snaps. “Reign it in,now.”

Harlow has the wits to snap her mouth closed, but that only works for so long. “I think we all need to answer some questions, the drunk included.”

I gasp. No one has called him out on it so blatantly before, and if I allowed myself to look further into that then perhaps we would have to admit that we’re part of the problem. After all, Axel confessed to me just last night that he wanted to die, and at the first sign of battle he runs in screaming and falls within a few minutes. The once mighty, undefeatable warrior was suddenly dying. Perhaps he should be watched closely.

If Axel had died today, I would have been responsible once again for death because I keep tip-toeing around him and his sadness. Clearly, coddling him is getting nowhere.

An emotion finally flickers across Lenox’s eyes, but it’s not what anyone expects. Revulsion burns as bright as a star as he spits, “Shut your mouth, half-breed.”

Knox sucks in air through his teeth. I freeze entirely.

The blow hits its mark like a slice to her heart. For a moment, a split second, Harlow isn’t the stone-cold spy. Instead her face crumbles, fracturing before our eyes as she stumbles backwards a step and clutches her chest. I could have sworn I saw silver lining her depths before she blinks furiously.

Lenox heaves wildly, his chest rising and falling as if a volcano erupted within his chest but I don’t pay attention to him, not as Harlow stands there looking as broken as the city of Azalea.

Knox looks as ruined as Harlow as he softly says, “Lenox…”

His eyes snap closed, before he swallows thickly and turns toward me. “How did you stop Axel from dying?”

With his attention now firmly on me as he tries to brush that last passing moment under the rug, my heart seizes, taking in the horrified expressions of not only Harlow and Knox but Axel too, witnessing the new version of Lenox for the first time.