Page 99 of Judge of Saints and Sinners

“Oh.”

Lucia’s cheeks pinked a little. “I know this is a lot. Nephesh will be able to explain more, when he’s…uh…able to.”

“He’s still in creature form, isn’t he?”

Lucia nodded. “Arafel said that it has happened before. He lost control when his soul bound died. He tore apart his home, wrecked the pier…and then was trapped. And that was without the other part of his soul. Now that he is whole again, we aren’t sure…”

“What he will do?” I stared at her then at the others. “Oh my God, is he chained up again? Did you see what his arms look like?”

Lucia looked worried, especially as my temper flared again, the bond in my chest warming my skin as I pivoted to glare at Kadmiel. “Were you there? When they chained him up, held him down, told him he was a monster?”

Kadmiel’s face was impassive for a long moment, and then the mask cracked, revealing an expression of regret. Slowly, he nodded.

“Take me to him. Right now.”

Kadmiel breathed out, one of his hands rising up as he moved to one of the stained-glass windows. At first I barely looked up at them, so focused on sending every bit of my hatred and fury into Kadmiel’s head. But then we stopped in front of the second one. In the middle on one side, a rushing river was full of soft blues and vibrant greens as the tiles tumbled over each other across the glass. At the top, there was a building with a tall bell tower perched at the river’s edge.

Kadmiel raised a hand. Soft white plumes of smoke slipped from his palm, swirling through the air until they brushed up against the stained glass. In an instant and as I watched, the river slowly awakened, the angular lines of the tiles becoming more and more fluid until I was staring at a real river, surrounded by tumbled stones. That immense building gained details as the vision sharpened, and I was sure that I was simply looking straight out a window into that very river. I swallowed, knowing damn well there was no way that's true.

“This is a portal,” Paran said from behind me, but I couldn't turn my eyes away from the view in front of me. “We’re going to step through, and we will be in Nephesh’s realm. Are you ready?”

Biting my lip, I nodded. “To see him? Yes.” I had been hoping for some kind of vehicle that would take us there. Walking through a massive stained-glass window hadn’t been first on my wish list. But I had seen so much these past weeks.

Kadmiel moved aside. “Lucia will go first,” he said. “Arafel is waiting.”

Lucia stepped up, gripping his hand with a delicate hold, putting one foot up on the benches that lined each of the walls, and then standing up completely on it. It made the perfect step up to the edge of the stained-glass window. With her booted foot sitting on the edge of the glass, she turned back to me.

“Just close your eyes,” she said, her eyes flickering shut as she turned back, her foot to push up through the glass as if it was nothing but air. I could see her there, on either edge of the portal as she began to walk along the river, her figure a little pixelated almost but still visible. Even as I watched, I could see a dark shadow circling above her.

Arafel. I remembered him. The dark-winged brother of Nephesh. He was the one who was talking to Nephesh. Urgency filled me, and I climbed awkwardly onto the bench, the wooden base wobbling slightly as I braced myself on the frame of the stained glass before focusing my eyes on Lucia as she waited alongside that strange, vibrant blue river.

I can do this, I told myself, forcing the thought through my ice-cold veins. Then, following Lucia’s example, I forced my quivering muscles to obey and stepped up onto the edge of the window. And without giving myself a moment to think twice, I stepped into the glass. Just as my knee should’ve broken the thin glass, I was simply tumbling, forced onto my knees, into the tall grasses that tickled and waved against my face as I kneeled there.

It had worked. I looked behind me and saw no evidence of the stone castle I’d been in a second ago.

“Easy there. I’ve got you,” a deep, rough voice said, just before big, strong hands landed on my upper arms and easily picked me up, dropping me back on wobbly legs.

I looked up, straight into the soft gray features of…I didn’t know what he was. But I knew who he was. This had to be Arafel. His bright-blue eyes were nearly electric colored this close, and while his features were more bold, more pronounced than his brother’s, I could see some elements of Nephesh hidden there, in the shared genetics.

“You’re Arafel.”

“I am,” he said, smiling and showing off white fangs as Lucia walked back towards us. “And you are Justine, my brother’s mate.”

Remembering what had happened right before I dragged us here, my throat felt tight. “If he’ll have me.”

Arafel tilted his head, but before he could speak again, there was a soft whoosh of hair at the nape of my neck and I knew that more were coming through. I let Arafel guide me forward, steadying me as I looked around the wide, sloping hills, my eyes catching on the vastness of the river, the soft sandy beaches that were only a few dozen feet away from us.

The water appeared like some rivers I’d seen before, but there was something odd about the color. It was so blue, so brilliantly blue, that I could barely stand to look at it for more than a few seconds. I broke away, staring at Lucia as she came to stand beside her winged mate.

“How is he?” she asked.

Arafel’s eyes snapped to me and then back to his mate. “Father is with him.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, chin jutting up to stare into his face. “That doesn't answer my question, Arafel.”

“Healing. His wounds are nearly closed now. But as for the…situation, there's been no change.”

“The situation?” I stepped up to the demon male. “What situation?”