Wrath of the Fallen by Eve Archer

Chapter Ten

Dominick

Staring at the ancient stones beneath the basilica hadn’t given me the clarity I needed. It had only stirred up more confusion, the familiar relics a reminder of my never-ending presence on earth.

Rami and I didn’t speak as we trudged back upstairs, both of us more affected by the reminder of the past than we cared to admit. Usually, it was easy to forget how old we were and just how much we’d seen—and I preferred some reminders of our history—but coming back to the cradle of religion was too stark of a reminder of our immortality. When we’d last walked the well-worn stones of the Roman streets of Jerusalem, angels still appeared to humans, and the wrath of God was something that made people tremble in fear. Much might have changed since then, but we hadn’t.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Dom,” Rami finally said, when we reached our room. “But I do know that Gabriel isn’t the answer.”

I nodded. Of course, Rami was right. He’d been my steady advisor since we’d forged the pact that had gotten us cast from heaven, and I trusted him with my life. More importantly, I trusted him with Ella’s life.

“You!”

Rami froze, his hand on the knob to our door, swiveling as Sara advanced on us, her eyes flashing with menace. Not surprisingly, her ire wasn’t directed at Rami, whom she sidestepped. It was focused entirely on me, her arm outstretched and her finger jabbing into my chest.

I didn’t flinch from her pointy finger poking my chest muscle or shrink as she glared at me.

“I knew you’d fuck it up.”

“Fuck what up?” I’d gotten somewhat accustomed to Sara’s dramatic outbursts and her fondness for colorful language and vivid threats, but what was the woman talking about?

She threw her hands in the air with an exasperated sigh. “Ella, that’s what.”

Nervousness fluttered in my chest. “What are you talking about? I haven’t seen Ella since you two went into your room.” My gaze went to the room Sara had left. “Isn’t she there?”

Sara cocked her head at me. “No, she’s not.”

I scowled at her. “I don’t understand. Where did she go? She knows we’re trying to evade notice.”

“Don’t ask me. She stormed into our room from God knows where, raging about you and Gabriel and neither of you getting to say what she did with her life.” Sara eyed me. “I assumed you two had a fight.”

I shook my head, the flutter of nerves growing in intensity. “We didn’t. I wasn’t with Ella. Rami and I were downstairs in the Lithostrotos.”

Ella’s friend narrowed her upturned eyes until they were slits. “And she wasn’t with you?”

“She wasn’t,” Rami said, stepping close to Sara and putting a hand on her arm. “You said she came back into your room? When did she leave?”

Sara’s ran a hand through her black hair, focusing on Rami. “I’m not exactly sure. I fell asleep. I thought we both did. We were going to take naps since we got up so early. Ella said you were probably going to come get her, but she still lay down on the bed. I assumed she fell asleep.” She shook her head. “I guess not, because she went somewhere. I woke up when she stormed back inside our room.”

Rami exchanged a glance with me, and a knot of regret began to fester in my gut. Ella had left their room and then returned in a fury. Was it possible she’d overheard me talking to Rami down below? I scoured my memory. We hadn’t seen her, but we had heard other people walking around the excavated site. Could she have been one of the people we’d heard outside the chamber when I was telling Rami my doubts?

“What did she say when she returned to your room?” I asked.

Sara swung her head back to me, shooting me another disdainful look. “I already told you. She was on a tear, talking about how you were trying to make decisions for her. She also said something about not being anyone’s property to give.”

I closed my eyes and rubbed a hand over them.

“She must have…” Rami said, his voice solemn.

I nodded without finishing his sentence for him. We both knew what she’d heard me saying. Regret churned in my gut. What must she have thought, as she’d listened to me give voice to my darkest doubts and fears?

I grabbed Sara by the arms. “You said she ran out again. Where did she go?”

Sara shrugged me off. “How would I know? I only woke up because she was making so much noise, and I was only half conscious as she was raging around the room, talking about being a badass demi-angel. Then she stomped out again.” She pursed her lips. “I’d hoped she came here to kick your ass.”

I wished she’d found me and tried to kick my ass, too. At least I could have explained that I hadn’t meant what I’d said. I’d only been voicing my darkest thoughts to my friend for counsel. I’d never give her to Gabriel. No matter how painful it would be for me, I knew deep down that I could never give her up, no matter how much it tortured me.

“How long ago was this?” Rami asked.

Sara glanced at her wrist, even though she wore no watch. “Not long. After she left, it took me a few minutes to figure out what had happened. Like I told you, I was only half awake, and I’m not the kind of person who wakes up easily or in a good mood.”

“What a surprise,” I said under my breath.

She cut her eyes to me, but Rami took her hands in his, drawing her gaze back to him. “Did she take anything with her? Her bag?”

Sara bit the corner of her bottom lip before shaking her head. “No. That was still sitting on the floor. She did have her purse with her, but she had that over her shoulder while she was stomping around the room. She didn’t grab it to leave.”

“Maybe she’s still in the building somewhere,” Rami said, looking at me. “It doesn’t sound like she took her things to leave for good.”

“She would never just run off and ditch me,” Sara added with a forceful shake of her head and a glower to me. “She might ditch you, but she wouldn’t ditch me.”

I didn’t respond. Sara was right. I did deserve to be ditched after what I’d said, after what I’d even considered. Shame sizzled across my skin, and a molten growl bubbled up from my throat. “I have to find her.”

“We all need to find her,” Sara said, the edge to her voice softer. “This place isn’t that big, and she can’t have gone far. As mad as she was, Ella isn’t stupid. She wouldn’t be wandering around an unfamiliar city alone.”

“Then we split up and search every floor,” Rami said.

Before we could divide up, the building trembled so hard we all stumbled to the side. Rami clutched Sara to keep her from toppling, and I braced a hand against one of the walls.

“Does Jerusalem have earthquakes?” Sara asked once the shaking had stopped.

“That wasn’t an earthquake.” The knot in my stomach went as cold as ice. “That came from above.”

Then I took off running for the roof.