laughed weakly. “And Nero is my son. I need to know what you know about him.”
“All right,” he agreed. “Your mother had many magical gifts, one of which was the power of foresight, of seeing into the future. She sometimes spoke of a prophecy around our grandchild.”
Nero.
“What about Nero?” I asked.
“She wouldn’t say much,” replied my father. “She told me the future was too dangerous to risk manipulating. She merely said that our grandchild must remain on Earth, that he must become an angel in the Legion. That someday, the fate of everything will depend on the role he’ll play.”
“He’s only ten years old!” Panic bubbled in my heart, setting off an explosion of adrenaline. I had to protect Nero. “You can’t dump the ‘fate of everything’ on him.”
“I’m not dumping anything on him,” my father replied calmly. “I’m trying to keep him alive. I’m trying to keep all of you alive, even Dragonsire. In order to succeed, we must all play our parts.”
“And what is my part?”
“The Legion is suspicious of you. There is only one way to regain their trust—and to ensure Nero’s future.”
“Which is?”
“Nyx won’t arrest you. At least not right away,” my father told me. “Holyfire can’t prove that you’ve done anything wrong. But Nyx will test your loyalty, and you must prove it to her, Cadence. It’s the only way. I’ve already discussed this with Dragonsire, and he agrees.”
Well, that marked the first time the two of them had ever agreed on anything.
“Agreed to what?”
“The Legion will order you to hunt down Dragonsire. You must appear to do this.”
I frowned. “To what end?”
“Your deaths,” he told me. “Only by dying as a hero in the line of duty, while hunting down a traitor to the gods, can you clear the path for Nero to join the Legion. Only by dying can you help him claim his destiny and become an angel, as he was always meant to be.”
11
The Gods’ Justice
I walked into my chamber and dumped my jacket onto the kitchen counter, finally back at Storm Castle after a long day of fruitless searching.
“It’s about time you returned.”
Colonel Holyfire was waiting in my living room, sitting in a chair by the fire, reading one of my books.
He was always here. Ever since Damiel’s escape from New York three days ago, from right under his nose. Ever since the First Angel had ordered me to hunt down Damiel to ‘prove my loyalty’, exactly as my father had predicted.
Colonel Holyfire stood, shaking my book at me. “You have such bizarre taste in books. How can you read this drivel?”
I was tired and in no mood to defend my reading preferences. “What are you doing here? How dare you invade an angel’s private space,” I said in a low, menacing growl.
“I can do as I please.” He tossed my book onto the sofa. “I do whatever is necessary to do my job. Nothing is private, not from the Legion. And not from me, the Master Interrogator.”
His ego had swollen to at least twice the size it had been a few days ago. And he’d never been modest by any measure.
He took a step toward me. “You know why I’m here, Lightbringer.”
“Is it the same reason you’ve been blowing up my phone with messages? Sorry, but I’m not interested.”
He looked my body up and down, as though he were considering me for the first time. “You are the most attractive female angel in the Legion. Almost as beautiful as I am.”
I nearly gagged on his unchecked narcissism. Even for an angel, this was overboard.
“Once you’ve killed the traitor Dragonsire and proven your loyalty to the Legion, I might take you to my bed.” He said it like he’d be doing me a favor.
I shot him a frosty smile. “You’re not my type.”
I would never sleep with Eryx Holyfire. I didn’t need to see into his soul to know it was pure black. I’d been right beside him when he’d interrogated Eva. I knew exactly what kind of person he was.
“I’m the Legion’s Master Interrogator,” he declared.
“And?”
“And Dragonsire was the Master Interrogator.”
So he thought the title turned me on. He didn’t get it at all.
“Damiel wasn’t the Master Interrogator to me,” I told him.
“I don’t understand you, Lightbringer.”
“Which is exactly as it should be, Holyfire.”
He frowned in confusion. He didn’t look like he appreciated the unfamiliar feeling. So he switched tracks.
“Have you made any progress in finding Dragonsire?” he asked me gruffly.
“Not as of yet.”
“You’ve been searching for three days.”
“He’s