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VERITY My heart stopped beating as I watched Kokabiel thrust his sword again into Cain’s chest, the blood arcing through the air. I felt something deep inside me snap painfully as Cain’s body stilled. My chest grew tight and something bubbled up from deep inside me, forcing its way out of my mouth in the form of an ear piercing scream that wouldn’t end. As I watched Cain’s mark light up, his body coming back to life before me I couldn’t stop myself, the noise continuing to spill from my lips. Finally I could clamp my mouth shut as I watched Cain rip Kokabiel’s wing off, throwing it to the ground and then spitting on it; the blood in his saliva staining it red as it landed and splattered on the feathers. My body refused to move as I watched him brutalize the angel. Kokabiel laughing the whole time, as if he were enjoying this, the sick fuck.
SHAMSHIEL The son of Baraqiel had Verity in his arms, and he looked like he had quite literally been to Hell and back. His clothes were tattered and wings bloodied, he had been out here prior to our arrival then I gathered. I wanted to trust him, but he was Baraqiel’s son; and to be honest I wasn’t sure. Yes, he had gone up against me when I had taken Verity but that wasn’t enough for me to trust his intentions were good. Yet I had no time to stop him, my opponent greater than me in strength. I was holding my own, but it wouldn’t last much longer. I scanned the battlefield and was horrified to notice humans fighting humans, which meant The Officials had sent their army. The ground was covered in blood as the battle raged on, Nephilim on Nephilim, brothers and sisters divided. My own children divided. It had come to this. We had always known it would, and the thought upset me; and most of us on this side. The others, well, if Kokabiel was any indication, they probably didn’t care. I
VERITY Shamshiel flew off, his beautiful wings stained with blood and beating hard. His sword was drawn and in his hand as he headed toward the large archangel. Cain stood a little ways in front of me, his back to me; as he faced off with Kokabiel. Blood was running in fast rivers down his back, his sides, and arms, his hands clenched in fists as he circled the angel. Kokabiel looked a lot worse for wear, his shoulder slumping where his wing had been torn off, the stark white of his bones showing there, his mouth pulled back in a feral snarl showing pointed teeth. His nails were long, and I immediately knew they were the reason for the scratches all over Cain. Kokabiel’s beautiful face was marred in blood and grit, and I noticed he had one less eyeball than previously, no doubt a result of Cain’s anger. The two were evenly matched, but I wasn’t sure how damaged Cain would be when all was said and done. As I studied them, a shout rose up from our tired ranks and I saw the sky begin to
TRIGGER: GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, FETAL DEMISE, STRANGULATION, AND GENERAL BRUTALITY. AS IN HOLD THE HELL ON, THIS CHAPTER ISN’T NICE. REMEMBER THIS ISN’T A HAPPILY EVER AFTER BOOK. CAIN A feral roar pierced the air, like no sound I had ever heard. It took a moment to realize that sound was coming from me, my throat burning and my chest rapidly rising and falling with exertion, my feet hitting the solid Earth again while Verity was rapidly born away, as I watched unable to do anything. My chest heaved wildly as I looked around, Kokabiel still a threat I hadn’t negated yet the fucker. Penemue had taken Verity but I saw Baraqiel closing in fast on them, where the hell was Shamshiel? Then my eyes found him. He was slumped over, his head hanging down, hair covering his face. His wings were pinned to a tree with several swords, his light whip was stuttering at his side; a clear indication of his waning strength. The ground around him was stained red, with what I instinctively knew was angel blo
SHAMSHIEL Cain slumped over, his body falling forward, arm outstretched to where Verity’s body lay. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing it to be a nightmare, but I knew that wasn’t the case. Angelic tears leaked around my lashes as I forced my eyes open. Cain’s eyes were closed, his mouth pressed into a thin line, the rise and fall of his chest steady. For a fleeting moment I was jealous of him, that he was missing some of this hell on Earth. A scream simmered in my chest, bubbling up and up before forcing its way out of my mouth unbidden. Throwing my head back it burst forth, a scream like none I had ever heard before. It thundered across the barren battlefield and those remaining froze in place at my cry. I was powerless to stop it, this vocal manifestation of my pain as my heart broke into shards and stabbed at my very soul. “Any last words, Shamshiel?” Baraqiel asked, the sword in his hand dripping blood. Verity’s blood. The crimson color trickling down the light metal in slowly r
CAINI let my rage wash over me as I roared my fury to the sky, hoping that God himself would hear it. Verity’s dead body lay not too far from me, and when I came to, her glassed over eyes had been the first thing I had seen. As I stared into their depths I felt my heart break all over again, my teeth grinding in rage. I sprang up and searched for the first enemy I could find. It just happened to be Penemue, Shamshiel currently busy with Baraqiel. With a shout I rammed into the asshole, taking him to the ground easily. He kicked me off him, the blunt force to my gut causing my breath to burst from my lungs. I rolled onto my side before struggling up, I knew I was in bad shape, but my adrenaline was pumping and my anger simmering just below the surface; so I kept going. The monster in me was out for blood. Like a wraith my dark soul shrouded me as I sized the angel up. Penemue was no weakling, but he wasn’t me. I was physically stronger than most, and had a huge advantage. After all, t
CAIN The fucking angel was heavier than I had anticipated. Or maybe it was that I was just that weakened. Whatever it was hauling his feathered ass across the desolate landscape to the nest was a bigger undertaking than I had imagined. I could feel his life beating out of him in time to his heart, the bond between us slowly growing fainter. Castor would be our only hope, but I had to get him there first. Shamshiel was trying to hide the extent of his injuries from me, and he was succeeding; at least outwardly. If it weren’t for the bond I wouldn’t know how bad they were, but I did. I also knew he had no interest in living anymore, something I felt as well. At least he could die. Jealousy tore through me at the thought. Never before had I hated my curse from God as much as at this moment, wishing that I could die. With Verity, for the first time in my ridiculously long life I hadn’t viewed my immortality as a curse. Instead I was happy to be able to spend all of Verity’s days with h
CAIN Never in my stupid long life had I anticipated feeling so many emotions at once. Sadness, panic, fear, anger; it was all boiling inside of me in a cacophony of emotions that was about to erupt. Yet it couldn’t, as I felt Shamshiel’s life end Liam and Cassie attacked, yelling at me to run. So I did. I ran until I thought my chest would explode, as fast as my battered legs could move, while hauling the newly dead body of an angel. I remember back then, back then before my world ended. Before Verity was in my life, when I thought I had nothing more to lose. When the worst thing that had happened was that God had cursed me, how naive to think that things wouldn’t get worse. It would have been funny if it hadn’t been true. While Shamshiel and I didn’t see eye to eye a lot, and were opposites down to our bones, he had been the first one to give me a home to go to. As my chest tightened I remembered my time wandering the Earth, what I had endured for centuries. Always on the fringes o
SEVERAL CENTURIES LATER CAIN “Come on Dad,” Vita taunted, flicking her long dark hair behind her shoulder. Her stance was low, feet planted firmly on the ground. I grinned at her, showing my teeth in a feral grin. My middle child was a feisty little spitfire of a Nephilim. She was so much like her mother, in looks and attitude; which is exactly why she and Yona fought constantly. Both of them headstrong, wildly intelligent and with tongues so sharp they could flay skin from bone. I glanced up briefly before lunging forward, quickly flipping her onto her back, not to be out maneuvered she landed a kick to my stomach that had me shuffling backward with the force. Beating her onyx wings she lifted herself up, a smile on her face. “Would you two stop dicking around?” My eldest son, Sabrael drawled, walking into the training ring. A small blonde human tucked up against him, her smile bright as she looked up at him. Sabrael too was a warrior like his sister, but where Vita was all bark
YONA His pain was cleaving my heart in two. This tortured, beautiful man across from me deserved so much more than he was allowing himself to have. His eyes shimmered with the pain of his loss, and the knowledge tore at my soul. He was mourning, and had been for centuries; but also couldn’t move on without feeling guilty. The struggle was written all over his face and I couldn’t hesitate lest it cost me. Leaning forward I cupped his cheek, my hand brushing over the rough stubble there, before I met his chapped lips with mine. He groaned at the contact, his hands fisting at his sides as he fought his urges. I knew, I could feel, he wanted this; me. Yet he thought himself unworthy, and he had to reach his breaking point before he gave in, a point I planned to push him to. My fingers gently traced a path down his arm, resting at his wrist, my tongue flicking at the seam of his mouth, begging for entrance. In a moment I was under him, Cain having lunged forward, his arms wrapped around
CAIN (Listen to HUSHH by AViVA for the vibe) Yona soared higher and higher, weaving in fluid motions through the sky. She was breathtaking, her dark hair fanning out behind her as her wings flexed and contracted; the appendages catching the light and revealing their true colors. She had come for me, I hadn’t thought she would; a broken man like me had nothing to offer her. The soul tie thrummed in my chest, demanding I go to her but I fought it; I knew it was useless and that it was dooming both of us. As time went on I became weaker, sicker and I knew she was suffering the same fate. It was selfish of me, but I couldn’t seem to help it, everytime I even thought of the tie, Verity's face swam in my mind and I was lost to my eternal grief. God's ultimate joke on me. Curse me, exile me, then give me a family only to rip them away before saddling my pathetic soul to some poor Nephilim. Not just that, one of Shamshiel’s descendants; so I could never truly escape nor be at peace. Wasn’
YONA The days blurred into weeks, and weeks blurred into months. Cain had left, nowhere to be found, not that I had really tried. He didn’t want me, not that I blamed him. From what I knew of Verity she had been exceptional. A strong, sassy woman, who was not afraid to put him in his place while rejoicing in all that he was. I wasn’t stupid, a connection like that would never be forgotten, replaced, or broken; even in death. He would fight this until the last breath I was certain, and in the meantime we both got to feel like shit. Castor was pumping me full of tonics and supplements, keeping my strength and nutrients up but it was only delaying the inevitable. I sighed and leaned forward on the table, needing a minute to collect my thoughts through the brain fog that had been getting thicker and thicker the longer this went on. “Yona,” my fathers voice cut through the room, kind and gentle. I hadn’t heard him even come in, but then again he had a tendency to sneak up on people. “D
YONA His eyes pierced through mine, becoming hard specks of ice as he drank me in. My feathers were ruffling in response to his scrutiny, as though trying to reassure him that it was ok. I slowly turned to fully face him, our eyes never leaving each other. Both of our hands moved to our chests, and I knew before I felt it, a soul tie, with Cain. I saw the rejection in his eyes, and felt my heart splinter at the same moment. Of course he wouldn’t be interested in fulfilling this, he had his one true love; a woman I could never compare to nor take the place of. Did I truly expect him to be happy? To fling himself into my arms and whisper sweet nothings in my ear? No. Cain was a man born of violence and bloodshed. A creature of all things dark and deadly. He wasn’t soft or gentle, he was wild and untameable; a man who only yielded to those who deserved it. As she had. Yet we both knew the consequences if we didn’t allow this bond to happen. Would he be so cruel as to force me to suff
YONATWO CENTURIES LATER “ You know that’s the wrong color for that don’t you?” Castor asked me as I furiously ground the herbs in the mortar. I looked up, grinning at the old Nephilim who sat on a stool beside me. “Oh I know, but I added in some extras for an experiment,” I said around a smile. He laughed, his low chuckle warming my heart. Castor was ancient at this point, he had been old when I was born and it didn’t take a genius to know he didn’t have another century in him. He had been young when he knew Shamshiel, my fathers father, and had begun to age quicker once both of his wings were lost to him. Angels didn’t age, but Nephilim did, being that we were half human. Despite that our life spans were quite long, most Nephilim lived until 600 years or so. Castor would tell me stories of my father from when he was growing up, and quite the pain in the ass. He spoke of the war torn society of that time, of Shamshiel and his many children. Of a time when an angel or Nephilims goal
LIAM THREE YEARS LATER I looked out the office window, drinking in the mostly barren landscape but pleased to note several small looking saplings, their greenery a welcome sight. The attack on us three years ago had turned out to be widespread, from the Officials and fallen that were aligned with them. Their goal had been to wipe out the things in their way. Mainly us and the “friendly” angels. Of course women were to be taken captive, with the goal of procreating. As in all wars the humans were divided, many defected, choosing to join the side they thought was winning. Our base had gone down significantly in number, but now that the Officials were no more and the fallen aligned with them were mostly gone we could focus on repair. The remaining opposing forces had fled, and once we had regrouped we hunted them down like the dogs they were. Eliminating the angels and Nephilim, and jailing the humans who came willingly. As the years passed we dealt with them on a case by case situation
CAIN No one at the nest had been happy about my appearance, again their instincts warned them to stay away, that I was dangerous. They skirted me warily, all except the infuriating angel. I didn’t require much, a place to lay my head and the basics, as such I had been given a room close to the training area. It worked out well, I was able to unleash my violent tendencies there without harming anyone. My room was plain, cavern like, a pallet and not much else. Shamshiel had recognized my inherent need to wander as well, and made use of that. Sending me on longer missions either by myself or with a small group of Nephilim. Over the centuries his offspring got used to me, to my curt personality and rough ways. Eventually they would come to spar with me, and Shamshiel would sometimes watch, a smug smile on his face like he’d done me a favor. In a sense he had, the gaping hole that had been eating away at my soul was slowly closing. It wasn’t exactly a friendship, but whatever it was it w
CAINI felt the bond sever the moment Shamshiel took his last breath. It felt like my heart had a bitch of a cramp, not like the searing pain when Verity’s was snuffed out. This was quieter, subtle, just like the man himself. Leave it to the damn angel to try to sneak out of this life without me. Anger and rage poured out from my throat, my head angled back at the sky, the spines of Kokabiel’s wings slipping from my hands and slamming onto the ground. It just wasn’t fair, why did he have to die? Why wasn’t it me? I wanted to die, why, why was he taken instead? Hearing my raw screams the angels Shamshiel had left to guard the nest came flying quickly. After all, I was maybe a half mile away at this point and this asshole had the audacity to die on me. The sound of wings ripping through the air assaulted me right before I took a forearm to the throat. A croaking noise came from me and the breath was forced from my throat, the angel glanced down before realizing who I was and promptly dr