“Say it and get it over with.”
“I wish you would make peace with Michael.”
“We will make peace, when I defeat him.”
“The mortals won’t survive your war.”
“A Marked girl has access to his most private thoughts and his body. He imprisoned me for months because I stood for what we agreed on. All who remember must die. Why is he exempt from the rules?”
“The Marked girl is his mate, my lord. Surely you understand why he took your wings.”
“I do. He should’ve stopped there and allowed me to heal. Instead, he imprisoned me, starved me, and left my Court to Lucifer. The Court of Sunder will not bow to another angel, and neither shall I.”
“Michael is stubborn, but he will come around. Invite him for a chat, my lord.”
“Don’t make excuses for him. Dismissed.” I pocketed my brush before I flung it and then had to wait for Richard to make me another one.
He left about his business, and I stared at the bodies of the mortals. Fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, all the people I’d selected last night based on how likely they were to succumb to Lucifer’s marking. Therefore, I made choices and chose this life for them. It could not be undone, and I did not regret it when I collected them and placed them in my house.
The silence in my home unsettled me. Once booming with people, mostly civilians who had come here for the benefits of our healing waters, my residence now stood empty of many heartbeats.
Exiting my home, I walked toward Cayen and the two angels, pleased all three had made it back alive and well.
I patted Cayen’s shoulder. “It’s good to see you, my friend. It’s good to see all of you.”
Cayen nodded. “Same to you, my lord.”
I proceeded toward the Highland Majesty, the garden tower by the gate named after the rare flower found inside it. Cayen joined me, the other two angels, behind us, surely keeping their eyes and ears open for signs of Michael’s scouts watching us from the skies. Pretty certain one of his spies roamed freely in my Court, perhaps even stirring up the trouble that had clearly happened here in my absence, I intentionally spoke with Cayen in the open so that anyone interested could listen.
“Brief me now.”
He gave me a side-eye, and I nodded, reassuring him I was aware spies could be listening.
“For the first few months of your absence, the Command Fleet took over the Court.”
I ground my teeth and broke two molars. Using my tongue, I found them in my mouth, then swallowed, growing new ones in their place. “Continue.”
“As you may guess, this didn’t go well with Ariel and Samael.” Ariel and Samael headed up two of my regiments. They’d stayed behind to guard the Court when we left for the Court of Command.
I paused and plucked a sagging petal. My rose garden withered. The longer I walked, the more death I felt, and the angrier I became. Plants were living things, and I felt them soak up the light, the water, the attention. Now they withered, and most of them had died. By the time we reached the Highland Majesty, I wished for Michael to land so I could break his wings bone by tiny bone.
Cayen struggled to breathe as I projected my power toward the gardens, but he continued, “The two banded together to defeat the fleet unit that occupied the House grounds.”
“Excellent. Where are they now?”
“Since Ariel and Samael were equals, they engaged in a battle for the Court. Neither could win. They decided to split the land.”
I paused. Power pulsed, reviving the garden. Cayen choked on his breath until I reined in my anger. “They parceled out the land in my Court?”
Cayen nodded, a grave expression on his face. “They split up your territory, my lord, thinking it was for the best. They knew if they fought, Lucifer would sweep into the mayhem and create his own Court. To save themselves, they divided the territory.”
“Division never worked for anyone, and smaller territories with weak allies always fall prey to Lucifer. Idiots. And Sunder City? Who claimed it?”
“Nobody. They abandoned it.”
“How long ago?”
“Recently, from what we can tell. Likely as soon as word of your escape reached them.”
Instead of flying to the top, this time I elected to climb the steep steps that wound about the tower and reached the open gate to the Highland Majesty. The gate here had been locked and should’ve stayed locked. The fact that the gate was