Eternal Sin (Primal Sin #2) - Ariana Nash Page 0,77

of seeing his love threatened. Guardians had come for Aerius too. Guardians of Seraphim’s own creation had attempted to kill his Rayvern King. And Mikhail knew, with absolute certainty, that Seraphim had not meant for it to end that way.

It must not end like that again.

Mikhail landed behind the guard, grabbed his wing, and tore him from Severn, who lay sprawled on the ground, hand clutched at his side, covering a wound.

The angel wasn’t a guardian, so he didn’t have to die, but Mikhail lusted after his death with a passion capable of destroying worlds.

The pathetic guard scrabbled to his feet in the dirt and dared brandish his blade. “Seraphim?”

Mikhail flared his wings. Long ago, Seraphim had protected his demon against guardians. He’d prevailed, but at a terrible cost. This guard was no threat, but the past warned Mikhail of what was to come.

“The truth must be known,” Mikhail said, his voice doubled up, mirrored with another’s. “Do you understand, my child?”

The guard stumbled backward, tears spilling down his cheeks. He took to the air.

Angels dotted the broken skies above Haven. Glass and steel continued to rain in upon the crumbling institution, but it wasn’t enough.

Weariness tugged on Mikhail’s strength, unraveling the power and his control of it. Poison thumped at his mind, trying to pull him back to earth.

Severn lay on his back, propped on his elbows, in the dirt, his wings pinned beneath him at odd angles. Demon wings. Beautiful wings. Gods, Mikhail had been so wrong about him, about everything.

“M-Mikhail?” Severn stammered, eyes wide in disbelief.

Mikhail offered his hand.

Severn’s warm fingers wrapped around his. Mikhail pulled him into his arms. Severn’s wings folded closed, and Mikhail hugged him close as he spread his six wings and carried him into the sky.

Haven’s domes collapsed around them, but Mikhail tucked his demon safe against him. Lightning cut the dark, thunder growled, steel cried, and glass shattered, and Mikhail smiled into Severn’s soft golden hair, allowing himself the freedom to love without restraint or doubt or fear.

“My terrible angel,” Severn whispered, his blue eyes bright in the shadow of Mikhail’s wings.

“My impossible demon.”

He clutched Severn close and used the wings not wrapped around Severn to carry them beyond the shattered Haven, into the storm of Mikhail’s making.

The terrible power waned a few miles from Haven, and the drug Tien had infected him with reasserted itself, forcing Mikhail to land on a city rooftop. He wasn’t sure which city they’d found, but with Severn in his arms, he didn’t care. As soon as they touched down, Mikhail’s armor faded and his wings shuddered, the two extra pairs retracting, leaving him gasping and spent. Tien’s attempt at poisoning continued to numb his body. Hopefully, its numbing effect was temporary.

“Are you all right?” Severn reached for him.

Mikhail took his hand and plastered himself close, needing to feel the beat of Severn’s heart against his own. His hot and needful mouth found Mikhail’s, and Mikhail tumbled into the kiss, relishing the spark of passion he’d so long denied. The urge to fall into the pleasure of Severn’s touch almost overcame him, but a city rooftop was too open. Angels and demons would be looking for them.

Severn eased off, wincing, and Mikhail noticed the blood. Instinct drove him to slip his hand beneath Severn’s shirt and press his palm to the clean cut. Heat poured into the touch, making Severn gasp and lift his shirt, finding the wound sealed.

Healing him cost Mikhail the last of his power. A wave of weakness rippled through him, but then Severn’s touch trailed down Mikhail’s cheek and jaw, and the look on his face spoke of awe.

“There is much to be done,” Mikhail said, grateful his voice was his own again. Angels still remained in Haven—their minds manipulated—and that could not be allowed to continue. The war was a lie. Thousands were dying. “I do not know how to do it all,” he added, wishing he had the answers. Any answers.

Severn clutched Mikhail’s face. “We’ll do it together.”

He wanted to believe it, and he did, but love did not conquer all. Aerius and Seraphim were proof of that. The power inside—Seraphim’s power— had told him so. “It’s true. All of it, Aerius and Seraphim. The guardians killed Seraphim for protecting Aerius. The wrongness began then, so long ago. I have to make it right.”

“We will.” Severn kissed him softly, the taste of demon so right on Mikhail’s lips. “Trust me. Trust us. Destiny knows.”

He smelled of warmth and spice