Konstantin’s cock, and it was all Mikhail could do not to roar out his frustration at them.
Sensing he was about to snap, they hurried out of the old church, leaving just Solo and Vearn behind.
Neither spoke. They just waited, like good angels.
“Well?” Mikhail snapped.
“The demon is refusing to speak,” Solo reported. “Soon she’ll be too weak to be of any use.”
Mikhail stared at the red-haired angel. Severn’s friend.
Konstantin had fooled them all. All but Vearn.
“Take her wings,” he said.
Solo glanced at Vearn, querying Mikhail’s order. They’d all been glancing at Vearn a lot more of late. Should he ever be removed, it would be Vearn who would lead them. She’d make a fine guardian. But it would be over his dead body.
“If I may suggest another way, Your Grace?” Vearn asked.
He nodded, teeth gritted to keep from unleashing his increasing ire.
“Send her back to them. With this.” She placed a small square on the table in front of her. Human technology, it had to be. Angels didn’t need human technology. It was beneath them. But humans surrounded themselves with it. They always had something shining and electronic on them. “Place it somewhere beneath her skin without her knowing. She’ll return to the demons, and probably to Severn, considering how… close they were. She’ll lead you and your forces straight to him.”
Human tech. It seemed so… crude. But, he was prepared to try anything. Another dead demon was no good to him, but one who unknowingly revealed Severn’s location was worth some meddling with technology.
He nodded again. “See it done.” If he went near that demon, he’d rip her wings off and tear out her heart while it still beat. By Haven, this anger was a force all its own, like a living thing on his back, growing and feeding and consuming him.
“Your Grace?”
“What?!”
Vearn lifted her chin. “I merely asked if you were well?”
“Well?” He stood, scraping the chair across the floor behind him. “No, I’m not well. Demons broke our city. They killed thousands. I won’t be well until Aerie is rebuilt and Konstantin is found so I can mount his head alongside the wings on my wall.” His own wings spread, set free by the great surge of emotion. “I won’t be well until London is free of the demon infestation. Until their kind is eradicated from my land and the rest of the world. They were Seraphim’s foul mistake, and it’s our duty to make it right.”
“I agree,” Vearn replied, withstanding his lashing voice without a single wince. “But perhaps, Your Grace, it would be wise for you to visit Haven, where they know how to deal with the kind of emotions you’re wrestling with.” She’d said the last few words in a breathless rush.
Solo visibly shrank into his chair.
The last time he’d been shipped off to Haven, he’d been forced to shatter his own wings to escape the cage, resulting in them turning all-black. He’d healed, but only because of Severn. But he wasn’t completely blind to his own out-of-control behavior. He knew he was falling apart. He saw it every time he witnessed the fury on the face of his own reflection.
Mikhail fixed his unblinking gaze on Vearn. “I’ll go when every last demon is dead.”
Vearn sighed. “Guardian Remiel is on his way. You should prepare for his judgment.”
“Guardian Remiel can go—” He stopped, hearing the finishing words in his head but not speaking them because they sounded too much like something Severn would say. “Remiel’s journey will be a wasted one.”
“Mikhail,” she pleaded. “None of us want to see you suffer.”
Remiel was well–known for his battle prowess. He’d remove Mikhail by force if he had to. But Remiel had never sprouted three pairs of wings. “I will thoroughly defend Aerie and my place within it. You might want to make sure he’s aware of that before he arrives.”
“Please, be reasonable.” The plea only went as deep as the word. She didn’t care. Not really. Because she wasn’t capable. Did any of them actually care?
“This is reasonable. The alternative is what you saw at Tower Bridge. You’re both dismissed. See to it the human technology finds its way onto the demon.” He watched them go and then dropped his gaze to the table, seeing the ghost of Severn. I want you… right here on this pretty table.
Enter me.
Like this?
He groaned into the silence and tore himself from the table before he could break the damn thing in two. If he didn’t find Severn soon, he’d lose