My pulse spikes. ‘All of it?’
Jude nods and points at Mya. ‘You’re still not off the hook.’
She doesn’t react. I catch Rafa watching me. He raises his eyebrows in a silent question.
‘Wait for it,’ I tell him.
Jude drags fingers through his hair again. ‘Last year—’ He pauses, scratches the corner of his eye, swallows. Starts again. ‘Last year when Bel and Leon attacked us, we were trying to free the Fallen.’
Someone hisses; someone else swears. Everyone stares. Of course they do: we just admitted we did exactly what they’ve all been accusing us of for the past year.
‘You were what?’ Daisy demands. ‘How? Why?’
I force myself to look around the gathering. At Daisy, Micah, Malachi and Taya. Jones, Seth, Zak and Ez. Mya. I feel their disbelief. Shock. I clear my throat. ‘We found out Semyaza’s our father.’
A long pause. ‘Fuck,’ Rafa says. And then he frowns. ‘Who told you?’
‘Dani.’
‘Ah.’
‘She had a vision about Jude and me and wanted to tell us. Only us. Jason was against it, but she convinced him to reach out.’ I shift position so I’m talking to Ez. Her face is the least accusing. ‘That’s what brought Jude and me together last year. And then we met Dani and found out what she’d seen. Not just about Semyaza, but about a ritual using our blood that could open the portal. So we tried—but we failed because we didn’t know the rest of the prophecy, about all of us having to agree to it.’
‘Why didn’t you tell anyone at the Sanctuary what you were doing?’ Rafa asks me, and then to Jude: ‘Why didn’t you tell us? Why’d you go it alone?’ He’s frustrated. Stung. ‘What the hell were you going to do if you released them?’
Jude doesn’t flinch. ‘We were both done with the bullshit. All of it: the lies at the Sanctuary, our crews despising each other, not knowing why we exist. Being apart. We figured that even if we died releasing the Fallen, the Garrison would at least show up. That there might be some resolution for the rest of you.’ A grim smile. ‘Of course that plan backfired big-time.’
Rafa’s eyes flick from Jude to me and back again. ‘So who stopped Bel? Who changed your memories?’
‘Seriously, man, we don’t know. But it has to have been an archangel, right? I have no idea who but I know why—he didn’t want us trying to get to the Fallen again. I still don’t get the point, given we only had half the prophecy. We were never going to be able to release them on our own.’
Rafa shifts his attention back to me, as if everything will make sense if he stares at me long enough. I feel exposed, scraped raw.
In the distance, a siren starts up. Sounds like Mick’s burning ute’s been found.
I take a moment to check the mood of the camp. Rephaim stare at me. Stare past me. Stare at their boots. Expressions caught somewhere between shock and bewilderment. Except Daisy. She’s pissed off and makes no attempt to hide it when our eyes lock.
‘So Daniel was right?’
I bristle. ‘No, he wasn’t.’
‘You just admitted you tried to free the Fallen.’
‘But we didn’t betray everyone.’
‘Then what do you call it, Gabriella?’ A new voice, behind me.
Rifles are cocked as I turn to see Daniel step out of the forest.
‘Why the fuck do we even bother with a sentry?’ Rafa snaps at Mick.
Mick glares over his barrel. ‘There’s a lot of shit going down here at the moment. It’s distracting.’
Daniel is wearing jeans, hiking boots and a t-shirt and his hair is damp around his forehead. He shifted in far enough away that we wouldn’t feel him and hiked in. It’s not like he doesn’t know the way now.
‘You and Jude were going to loose Semyaza and the Two Hundred. You were prepared to die and leave them for us to deal with, without warning. What do you call that if not betrayal?’
Memories of Daniel rush over me. Our friendship, our brief intimacy; his varying degrees of disappointment in me. And then I remember my visit to the Sanctuary in search of Maggie.
He’s standing there calmly pointing out my mistakes, after everything he’s done this past week?
I don’t think. I shift. When I materialise, I give him a half-second’s warning before I lash out. It should’ve been enough time for him to defend himself, but he wasn’t expecting an attack. Not from me—the old me or the new one.
I kick him hard in the solar plexus before he starts to counter, and then collect him with an uppercut to his chin. The punch reverberates up my arm and into my shoulder. He staggers sideways, grunts.
‘That’s for the cage,’ I say between gritted teeth as Daisy skids to a stop next to me.
‘What are you doing?’ she says, but doesn’t attempt to interfere.
I ignore her, watch Daniel steady himself and turn delicately to spit blood behind him.
‘I didn’t remember how to fight and you fed me to a fucking hell-beast. Did you really believe I’d understand that act of betrayal once I remembered who I was?’
He straightens and rubs his chin. ‘Do you want to take another swing, then, for the other hellion?’
‘What other hellion?’ Daisy asks. Behind me, I hear everyone else moving closer.
‘How do you think Bel found Jude and me in Idaho? Remember the hell-beast we brought back from Iceland? Daniel fed it my blood when he knew I’d gone to meet Jude and then Nathaniel used it to try to track me. Daniel didn’t only lose his hellion in that little experiment, he delivered it straight to Bel. A hellion with my scent fresh in its filthy nostrils.’
‘Oh shit,’ Micah mutters.
‘Do you want to take another swing at him?’ Jude asks.
Do I? It would be so gratifying to make him bleed a little more. But it’s not going to change what either of us have done, so what’s the point? I shake my head.
‘Pity,’ Jude says. ‘Okay, Daniel, what are you doing here?’
Daniel finally acknowledges Jude. ‘I took an educated guess you would be reckless enough to come back to this camp.’
‘That wasn’t the question.’
A pause. ‘I wanted to see if you had a plan for Zarael.’ Daniel’s gaze slips back to me. ‘When did your memories return?’
‘A few hours ago.’
‘Are you here officially?’ Daisy asks.
‘No.’ Daniel dabs at the corner of his mouth, checks his fingertip for blood.
‘Are you joining us?’
Daniel gives her a flat look. ‘No, Daisy. But I am curious about the timing of Gabriella and Jude’s memory recall.’
‘Get over it,’ Jude says, losing patience.
‘As usual, you miss the forest for the trees.’
‘As usual you’re a patronising dickhead.’
‘Did it occur to you there’s a reason your memories have been returned to you right now?’
‘And what would that be?’ Jude asks.
‘If you’re right, and an archangel took your memories only to give them back a year later, it might be because Zarael’s retaliation for the farmhouse attack is more significant than you believe. If he leads his horde here, it might be the trigger for the final war between heaven and hell.’
‘Wow,’ Jude says, bitter. ‘You’re laying that on us? Bloody hell, Daniel, you’re on fire.’
I stare at Daniel. Is it possible he’s right? My stomach twists at the thought.
Then I realise what he’s not saying.
‘You didn’t know I had my memories back before you decided to come here,’ I say. ‘You came to see if we had a plan. Why?’
He studies me for a moment, seems to be about to respond. And then his gaze flicks to Rafa. To the mark on his jaw.
‘Gabriella has her memories back and that’s the extent of your injuries?’ He doesn’t hide his disappointment.
Rafa eyeballs him, dark and dangerous. ‘You worry about your fuck-ups, Pretty Boy, and I’ll worry about mine.’
Daniel’s lips twitch in a bitter smile. ‘So you, Jude and Rafa…you’ve sorted your differences?’
‘It’s a work in progress,’ I say.
‘And this is where you want to be right now, with this group?’
‘Yes.’
He studies me for a long moment, and I can see him readjusting his thinking. ‘Then this group is in good hands.’ He disappears.
Leaves swirl where he was standing. I watch them settle back to the ground and try to get a grip on my frustration. But my insides churn with anger and guilt.
And a creeping certainty that everything’s about to turn to shit.