Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
He heard coughs. Curses. An enraged hiss. Then a swirl of molecules zoomed through the broken roof and rushed at Viper, reshaping themselves fast. The queen snarled and lunged at him. He reared back to avoid a swipe of razor-sharp nails and slipped on loose gravel.
She took advantage, pouncing on him. He hit the ground hard, her atop him. He snapped his hand around her wrist when she went to dig her long nails right into his throat.
She bared her teeth. “I will kill—”
Viper wacked her temple with a telekinetic punch, dazing her, just before a vine snagged her by the neck and dragged her away from him.
He fluidly rose to his feet, watching as the long, thick vine curled around her like an anaconda, pinning her limbs to her sides. It bashed her against the gravel road again and again and again.
Working alongside Ella’s magick, he hit the queen’s head with one orb of unholy fire after another, until her face was a mass of blisters, burns, black patches, and broken teeth.
A defeated rage blotting her gaze, the queen curled back her split upper lip as she glared at him, her breathing labored, her eyes bloodshot.
Viper gave her a reprimanding look. “You would have been better off not challenging my club.”
She flashed him one chipped fang. “You would have hunted us anyway.”
“True. But your death wouldn’t have been half so painful if you hadn’t turned your attention to my mate.” He picked up a piece of an old metal antenna and used it to slice his palm.
She frowned. “What are you doing?”
Viper looked at Dice, who waited on his left. “Pry her jaw open.”
The VP obliged, ignoring her efforts to avoid his hands.
Viper smiled at her. “Enjoy.” He hung his injured palm above her mouth and let a few drops of his blood hit her tongue. Then he and Dice stood back and watched as her eyes widened, her mouth fell open in a silent scream, and she died in a sheer and delightful agony that made his entity feel all warm and fuzzy.
Uriel’s psyche bumped his. So it’s true, he telepathically said to Viper. When one of the Seven falls, they become a deadly sin and their blood turns acidic.
Viper looked over to see that all six archangels stood off to the side. Yeah, it’s true.
And yet, you have no regrets?
Not one. “If you’ve come here for her—”
“We have not,” Raphael assured him. “I still wish you had made a different choice, but I understand why you did not.”
Raguel nodded. “We shouldn’t have interfered.”
“She is really pregnant?” asked Gabriel, tilting his head to the side.
Viper tensed. “Yes.”
Azrael’s lips thinned. “You know the Uppers will never allow the child to live.”
“It’s half demon,” Viper pointed out. “So unless they want a war on their hands, they’ll have to just let it go. The demon world will already be tremendously pissed when they hear that celestials targeted their own. If the Uppers want to make that worse, they can go ahead and do so. But then whether or not my child lives will be the least of their worries.”
The six archangels exchanged looks.
“If I were them, I’d pull all Earth-bound angels back to the upper realm. You wouldn’t want them getting hurt in lieu of the celestials who can’t be reached so easily.”
Jester sidled up to Viper, his gaze on the archangels. “Why did you fight at our side?”
Michael sighed. “We owed Samael. And whether he still considers us family or not, we still consider him family.” He looked at Viper. “We will leave now. I would advise you to keep a close watch on the woman you claimed. You make a good point that the Uppers will hesitate in going after a child who is half demon, but the key word is ‘hesitate’.”
“Perhaps they will leave it be, but likely not forever,” said Raphael. “It could be years from now, even decades, but I would imagine they will eventually come for it.”
“They’ll die if they do—as will anyone else who thinks to harm my child.”
“I believe you,” said Michael. “Take care, Samael.”
Viper gave a curt nod. “Same to all of you.” His entity only stared at them blankly, still considering them the worst kind of traitors—their roundabout apologies meant nothing to it.
After they’d teleported away, he scanned his surroundings. His brothers had gathered around. They looked a little fatigued, but mostly amped up. The vines still writhed around in search of strix—reminding him that he’d need to bring Ella here in a moment.
The hellhorses had shifted back to their normal form and were pulling on jeans, their hounds at their sides; their ravens lazily circling their heads. Among the clan stood Larkin, who—no, scratch that. It wasn’t Larkin behind the wheel. Her eyes were pure black, signaling that her inner demon had taken over.