Chapter 31 The Sister's Betrayal
AZRAETH'S POV
Celeste stands in the doorway with fifty Celestial Guards, and I move faster than thought.
I grab Mireya and shadow-walk us across the hall, putting distance between us and the angels. The refugees scatter, screaming. Children cry. Nyx draws her blade.
"Stand down," I command my people. "You can't fight this many."
"Listen to him," Celeste says, stepping inside. Her star-metal blade gleams. "Please. I don't want anyone else to get hurt."
"Too late for that," Mireya says beside me, her voice cold as death. Through the bond, I feel her heart shattering. "You already hurt everyone here by betraying us."
"I didn't have a choice!" Celeste's tears are real, but that doesn't make them forgivable. "They have Mom. Seraphina said she'd torture her unless I brought them to you."
"And you believed her?" Mireya laughs, bitter and broken. "Mom sold me before I was born. She's been lying to you our whole lives. You think the angels will actually let her go?"
Celeste's face crumples. "She's still our mother."
"She's YOUR mother. She stopped being mine the day she chose you over me every single time." Mireya's shadows coil around her like living armor. "But fine. You made your choice. Now live with it."
Seraphina enters, her wings blazing with divine light. "How touching. The broken family reunited." Her smile is cruel. "Celeste, you've done well. Your mother will be released as promised."
"Liar," I say flatly. "Helena Ashcroft is already dead. You killed her an hour ago."
Celeste goes white. "What?"
"She was a loose end. A witch who knew too much about angel operations." I watch Celeste's world collapse. "You traded your sister for a corpse."
"No." Celeste stumbles backward. "No, you're lying. Seraphina promised—"
"I promised nothing." Seraphina's voice is ice. "I said we'd release her. I didn't specify in what condition."
Celeste drops the blade. "You... you killed her?"
"I killed a traitor who dealt with demons." Seraphina gestures, and two guards grab Celeste. "And now I'm arresting you for the same crime. Conspiring with the enemy. Aiding a demon king. Your execution will be public."
"Wait!" Celeste struggles. "You said if I helped you—"
"You believed an angel's promise? How delightfully naive." Seraphina's attention shifts to me. "Now then. The demon king and his bonded witch. Surrender peacefully, and I'll make your deaths quick. Resist, and I'll kill every refugee in this cathedral. Starting with the children."
Through the bond, I feel Mireya's rage and desperation colliding. The poison is killing her. The refugees are trapped. Celeste—despite everything—is her sister.
"Don't," I tell Mireya through the bond. "Don't sacrifice yourself."
"I have to," she sends back. "They're my people."
"Our people. And we protect them together or not at all."
Seraphina raises her blade. "Five seconds. Surrender or everyone dies. Five... four..."
"Wait." Mireya steps forward. "I'll come willingly. Just let everyone else go."
"No deal," Seraphina says. "I want both of you."
"Three... two..."
"STOP!" A voice echoes through the cathedral—old and powerful and wrong.
The temperature drops thirty degrees. The angels' divine light flickers and dies.
And from the shadows behind Seraphina, Morwenna's corrupted form materializes.
But she's changed. Her void-black eyes now glow with crimson light. Her body is more solid, more real. And the power radiating from her makes even Seraphina step back.
"Oh good," Morwenna says cheerfully. "Everyone's here. That makes this easier."
"Who are you?" Seraphina demands.
"I'm the witch you killed five hundred years ago. The one who's been plotting revenge from beyond death." Morwenna's smile is madness. "And I'm here to collect."
She waves her hand. The Celestial Guards collapse, screaming as something dark invades their minds. Their wings burn black. Their eyes turn crimson.
"What are you doing?" I shout.
"Upgrading them." Morwenna laughs. "Seraphina wanted to summon the Old Gods? Well, I beat her to it. I've been channeling their power for weeks. And now..." She gestures at the corrupted angels rising with twisted grins. "Now I have an army."
The corrupted guards turn on their commander. Seraphina fights desperately, but she's outnumbered.
"Run," I tell the refugees. "NOW!"
They flee toward the escape tunnels. Mireya grabs Celeste, dragging her sister despite the betrayal.
"Let me go!" Celeste sobs. "I don't deserve—"
"Shut up and move," Mireya snaps.
Morwenna appears in front of us, blocking our escape. "Where are you going, my love? We have so much to discuss."
"You're not Morwenna," I say. "Not anymore."
"No," she agrees. "I'm better. Stronger. And ready to give you everything you ever wanted—revenge on the angels, power beyond measure, a world where demons rule again." She extends her hand. "All you have to do is leave the placeholder behind and join me."
Through the bond, I feel Mireya's terror. She thinks I'll choose the offer. Choose power over her.
"I already told you," I say. "I chose Mireya."
Morwenna's expression darkens. "Wrong answer."
She moves faster than possible. Her hand pierces Mireya's chest—not physically, but magically, reaching for the soul mark.
"Then I'll just take what's mine," Morwenna hisses. "The bond. The power. Everything that should have been ours."
Mireya screams. The poison in her veins ignites as Morwenna tries to rip the bond away. Through our connection, I feel her agony.
"STOP!" I grab Morwenna, trying to break her hold.
She laughs. "Too late. I'm already inside the bond. In three seconds, I'll tear her soul out and take her place. Then you and I can finally be together properly."
"Az—" Mireya gasps, her eyes fading. "I love—"
The bond shatters.
Mireya collapses, her eyes rolling back. The soul mark on her chest turns black and starts crumbling like ash.
And Morwenna screams in triumph as golden light floods into her, stolen from our breaking bond.
"NO!" I catch Mireya as she falls. Through the bond—the dying, fracturing bond—I feel nothing. Just emptiness where she should be.
"Finally," Morwenna breathes, power radiating from her. "Finally, I have what I need."
She looks at me with eyes that glow crimson-gold. "Did you really think you could replace me with a broken copy? Now watch as I become what we should have been together—unstoppable."
The cathedral trembles. The Old Gods' power pours through Morwenna, transforming her into something divine and terrible.
And in my arms, Mireya's heart stops beating.