Thank you so much to JoVersify for sharing this story! Welcome to the new readers, I hope you enjoy the story :) I have a late shift tomorrow so I'm updating a day early.

Poison, I

The laughter faded away together with the feathers and Issa could finally look down at herself properly. The golden flames on her skin seemed too tame to be angelfire if it was anything like hellfire.

"What is that?" she asked, confused.

"Glorified fire." Edvardiel ran a finger down her clavicle, making her shiver. The fire danced on the tip of his finger and he gave her a lazy smile before he lowered his lips to the side of her neck, drawing the sensitive flesh into his mouth.

A helpless noise escaped the back of her throat.

Edvardiel kissed down her shoulders, his desire magnifying hers. He pulled her flush to him, the glory in his eyes burning like twin flames. There was something else there, something she could feel as clearly as she could see it. Tenderness pulsed through their bond, and she realised that with him, the unnatural, coercive strings hooked around her heart didn't feel sinister or heavy.

Her body felt inflamed, and her soul felt as though it had been coaxed open and laid bare. She should've been terrified but she'd never felt safer.

"I..." She buried her face in his hair, suddenly overcome. "I think I'm burning a hole through the floor," she mumbled.

He chuckled. "I think you're burning a hole through my clothes."

She looked down and realised she had indeed burned through his new shirt and part of his pants. His body peeked out from the ruined shirt, glowing faintly, and she pressed a hand against his chest. His skin was as heated as hers and his heart thundered beneath his rib cage. He covered her hand with his. The softness grew in their bond, so sweet that it hurt.

"Issa," he said. "I—"

"It's getting late," she said. "Let's get back before I burn all your clothes off."

Before he could say another word, she rose, backing away so quickly she nearly stumbled into the dresser. He gazed at her and then stood, his face breaking into an unexpectedly roguish grin. "Then we'll share the angel robe."

"This is mine," she said, clutching the dress possessively.

His gaze trailed down the dress before he closed the distance between them, planting a brief kiss on her forehead. "Yours," he agreed. She had the distinct feeling he was talking about more than the dress.

He brushed back her hair and smirked. "You're shining like the sun. Do you like your present that much?"

He didn't give her a chance to answer as he swung his legs over the window sill and landed lightly outside.

"Come on," he called out.

Issa narrowed her eyes after him. Her innocent angel was becoming less innocent by the day. Disgruntled, she leapt onto the sill and let herself drop. She landed on the balls of her feet, the movement silent and habitual. The night was dark and, reflexively, her hands reached to her sides. Her fingers closed around thin air.

There were no daggers, no enemies, and no assassination target.

She forced her confused body to relax and straighten as Edvardiel smiled and took her hand.

As she gazed at him, she remembered dropping down the side of a graffiti-covered building when she'd first come to fetch him. Bring him back to me whole. Unease jolted through her and she pulled her hand away, pretending to brush the dust from her dress. Rosalie's thigh sheath jutted out from underneath the silken material.

Edenium. The little weapon seemed laughable in comparison to Lilith's might. There had to be something else. Something like…

"Edvardiel," she said. "Do you think angelfire can destroy Lilith?"

Disquiet flitted through their bond.

"I don't know," he said. "But it's not something I can summon at will."

"How did you summon it the last time?"

He hesitated. "You know how angels aren't allowed to feel emotions? It's not always true. To summon the purest form of their glory, a seraph needs to feel intensely. It's a different emotion for every one of us. For me, it's rage. A lot of it."

Glory glowed in his eyes, lighting up his face in the dark. Issa tried to imagine him enraged and failed. "But you managed it?"

"It just came out," he said.

"In Heaven?" She hoped he'd managed to burn some of Michael's feathers off. It would serve that asshole right.

He was quiet. "On Earth." Turmoil stormed through their bond.

Her eyes widened. "Was it when you—"

"I didn't find Lucifer," he said. "He found me. I wasn't even looking for him. I was looking for my human parent. He ran into me and he started to mock me. He was saying all kinds of things about Heaven that didn't make any sense." Edvardiel drew an unsteady breath. "I don't think I was angry with him. I think I was angry about… I was angry about…"

"The way those arch-assholes were treating you?" Issa supplied.

Edvardiel exhaled and shook his head. "I don't know. I was just angry." He ran a hand through his hair. "We were fighting near some cliffs. I lost control and my angelfire started burning everything. I tried to stop it but it was coming after me too. I don't know what happened. I woke up and there was nothing left. Just miles and miles of ashes."

That sounded like her first memories of waking up. There had been no cliffs but the eerie silence and the endless rubble was something she could imagine.

"And Lucifer?" she dared to ask.

"Like I said, there were only ashes." His voice was rough. "The three offerings I brought to the archangels were the only things left of him."

That made her straighten. "So you don't know if he's actually dead?"

Having an angel—a full, powerful angel with the knowledge of Heaven and Hell—on their side could be a game-changer. If Lucifer was still wandering around on Earth, she was going to find him.

"Didn't you see what I brought to the archangels?" Edvardiel demanded. "An angel heart. Angel eyes. Bones."

He was right. That had to be fatal, even for an archangel. For the second time today, Issa felt a wave of disappointment. Still, it meant Edvardiel's glory was powerful. "If your angelfire killed Lucifer, it could kill Lilith," she said. "You could use that to stop the Apocalypse."

Edvardiel pressed his lips together. "Or I could speed it up. Did you miss the part about me having no control? The part about the miles and miles of ashes?" His eyes were tormented. "I don't know if Lucifer was the only one I killed that day."

Issa didn't know what to say but Edvardiel wasn't done.

"Besides, I didn't need angelfire to kill Lucifer," he said. "He was nothing like the angel in the legends. He must've grown weak from all those years on Earth. I don't think he had any glory left. It only took so long because I'd never hurt anyone before that, let alone take a life. I wasn't really trying to kill him." His hands curled into fists. "We're not that different, Issa. I lost count of how many times I threw up while picking through his remains for those damn offerings."

She didn't like hearing him curse. "You're nothing like me," she said. "You're kind and patient and heavenly and I'm—"

"Brave and decisive and selfless," he finished. "You're better than me."

"I think you mean evil," she said.

"Lilith is evil," Edvardiel said softly. "You are not."

"Stop deluding yourself, seraph. I've done terrible things."

"You had no choice."

"I doubt I'd have chosen differently," Issa said. "I'm selfish and I'm only interested in saving my own skin. That's why I survived this long. No empath survives this long."

Edvardiel frowned. "You would have. You already are choosing differently. You survived because you're strong, not because of anything else."

"Stop." Issa threw up her hands. "If I were that selfless, I'd have abandoned you at Eden's gates!"

It was the wrong thing to say.

Edvardiel was looking at her as though he were seeing her clearly for the first time, and worry bordering on terror tore through their bond. She braced herself for another order. Another fight. But he only took a deep breath. Soothing calm surged through the bond, so overpowering and deliberate that she felt her own agitation fade away, leaving behind a stillness that made her all too aware of her tiredness. She suppressed a yawn, feeling almost drugged.

Edvardiel held out a hand, the gesture tentative and reconciliatory. "Let's just get some sleep, all right?"

She looked at his outstretched hand and contemplated turning away. If she were a better person, she would have. But one look at his imploring gaze, and she was putty.

"It's not fair," she grumbled, sliding her hand into his wonderfully warm one.

"What isn't fair?"

"You can't look at me like that and expect me not to give in."

Edvardiel brushed his lips lightly against her knuckles, sending tingles through her arm. "I don't know what you mean."

This time, Issa was sure that her angel was only pretending to be innocent.

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