Sorry for disappearing. A lot of unexpected things happened. I had minor surgery (among other things), and then my very sweet partner spontaneously took me to his home country (Greece) to wind down. It was a bit of a roller coaster but everything turned out fine. We also managed to find an affordable place to live! It's smaller than what we hoped but I'm glad we found a place at all. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter, I'm really looking forward to finishing this story.


All Acolytes were Nephilim.

They were Lilith's soldiers of the Apocalypse—not the demons.

There wouldn't just be one or two awakenings in Eden. There would be enough Acolytes here to start another Apocalypse.

If they didn't stop Lilith from claiming Eden, there might not be a world left to save even if they did manage to close Hell's gates.

Issa tried to think through her fatigue. She hadn't felt well since ingesting the Edenium and her poisoned body was at the end of its limits—something she forced to the back of her mind.

Lilith usually claimed her new Acolytes at nightfall. The sun had set—would she come tonight or tomorrow night? Would they need to fight through another demon invasion?

A sharp rustle caught her attention as Edvardiel tied his torn shirt shut.

His powerful muscles rippled, his remaining wing majestic as it caught the last rays of the sun.

Her angel was a beautiful distraction.

Issa couldn't look away even when he caught her staring.

He tilted his head, the same inscrutable expression on his face, before he gave her a slow, unexpected smile. "Yes?"

Issa's heartbeat grew erratic but she only crossed her arms. "I preferred you without it."

Edvardiel closed the small distance between them to take her hand. Without breaking their gaze, he raised it to his lips and kissed her knuckles one by one, his lips dragging against her skin.

This time, she couldn't stop the heat creeping up her face.

Humour glimmered in his eyes. "I guess you'll have to do a better job of shredding it next time."

A breeze shifted the trees above them, and the shifting shade and light cascaded over his exposed wing. It glittered, a gorgeous riot of unearthly colours. But near his shoulders, the deep blue of Hell's poison stained the brightness of Heaven—jolting her back to their unpleasant reality.

She cleared her throat. "Did you find the truck?"

He must've seen something on her face because the wing fluttered shut, curling to his back more tightly than usual.

She opened her mouth to say something but the ground disappeared beneath her. Her angel adjusted his hold and began to wade into the hot spring.

"Edvardiel—"

"Shortcut." He winked. "I didn't find the truck, but I found something else."

He climbed out of the other side of the water and put her down, his warm hands gentle around her waist. His face was so close to hers, his lashes lowered, his lips still damp from their lovemaking. Her breath hitched, but he'd already turned away.

"This way."

He stepped off the beaten path and she followed him through the thicket of dandelions and daisies. He moved swiftly, climbing up and up, and soon she was panting, her muscles screaming as she struggled to keep up.

She clenched her fists.

With the Edenium in her veins sealing away her angelic side, her body was painfully human.

Her glory was gone. Her strength was gone. Dread curled in the pit of her stomach. How was she supposed to stop the Apocalypse like this?

As she paused to catch her breath, a golden butterfly fluttered past her ear, landing on an outstretched palm.

She looked up to see Edvardiel holding out a hand as the butterfly flew off it and over his hair.

"Are you all right?"

The reds in his hair seemed to flame in the light of the shimmering butterfly, and his skin glowed. With an angel father and half-angel mother, he'd always been more angel than human, and the single drop of Lucifer's Essence had brought him even closer to Heaven.

Issa took his hand, letting him help her up the slippery, uneven path. "It's the Edenium." She tried to catch her breath. "I don't… I can't…" She couldn't bring herself to say it. Her weakness was terrifying considering their odds.

He tilted his head.

And then he swept her up into his arms once more. "We all need help, Issa." His voice was gentle and he was walking again, far more quickly now that she wasn't slowing him down. "I need your help with the next part."

He pressed a large fern out of the way and gestured to something before them. The clearing was so breathtaking that Issa was awestruck. A few dozen shining golden butterflies fluttered amidst the grass like fireflies, lighting up flowers with petals so vibrant that they seemed luminescent in the twilight.

"There." Edvardiel put her down and she blinked several times.

He pointed.

Leaning sheltered underneath two large trees was a motorbike.

"What do you think?"

Issa made her way through the flowers and butterflies, kneeling down to examine the motorbike. Apart from a fine layer of dirt, it seemed pretty new. She fiddled with the exposed wires, crossing and connecting. The engine gave an encouraging rattle. Miraculously, it was also filled with enough oil to take them at least halfway to Koprivnica.

"And you found this here, like this?" she marvelled.

Edvardiel rubbed his neck. "To be honest, I stole it the first day we arrived."

She started.

His lips twitched. "I thought we might need an escape plan. I wasn't counting on you regrowing my wings."

Or losing one of them.

She stared at her angel. "Didn't realise you were such a planner."

Then again, she should've known after the way he'd meticulously planned their engagement ceremony.

Edvardiel nodded at the bike. "So?"

Issa gave the bike another once-over. The brakes seemed fucked but the tyres were sturdy enough.

"It'll do."

Edvardiel brightened. "You know how to use it?"

How many vehicles had she hijacked during her missions?

She gave him a wry smile. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

They zoomed through the trees, the bike humming loudly and jerking as Issa steered down the bumpy, earthy path, Edvardiel's arms around her.

"So where are we going first?" she asked. "The gates, or back to the others?" Thinking of Rosalie and Jacob brought a surge of guilt. Though not much time had passed, feeling happy at all while their friends were fighting for their lives felt wrong.

On top of that, Issa had no idea how they were going to re-seal the gates considering that she had no glory and Lilith had Edvardiel's blood.

Her angel didn't answer, and his hold around her waist slackened.

"Edvardiel? Hello?"

Still, nothing.

Issa turned to see him staring at something, wide-eyed. She followed his gaze then her jaw dropped too.

She managed to stop the motorbike just before they hit a tree.

Behind them, what looked like an army of hundreds of golden butterflies lit up the night sky.

"What the hell?"

"They've… They've been following you," Edvardiel said.

"Me?"

Edvardiel didn't seem to be in any condition to think, so Issa decided for them both. Since they had no idea what to do with the gates, they might as well go back to check up on Rosalie and the others.

The butterflies continued to trail after them. More and more joined as they zoomed through Eden's ruined Garden, the scorched earth and skeletal trees turning into lush grass and fresh saplings as they passed.

At first the sight was awe-inspiring. They were golden glitter, endless like stars in the universe, magical as they brought Life wherever they landed.

And then after a while, they became unnerving and downright annoying.

After one nearly flew into her eye, Issa had enough.

"Good god," she muttered, waving a hand in an attempt to disperse the ones flying around her head.

Edvardiel, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind them landing all over him, genuinely delighted as several golden daisies sprouted from his torn shirt.

Issa shook her head in disbelief as more of them nestled into her hair, which still hadn't recovered from her angel's most recent bout of electricity.

As they reached their cottage, the butterflies flooded in before anyone could stop them, making a beeline for their unconscious friends. Paul's eyes bugged.

Issa was about to chase them away but Edvardiel's arms came around her waist, his expression filled with wonder.

"They're healing our friends," he said in a hushed voice. "Look."

Sure enough, her butterflies were landing on Jacob's bloody eyes, melting onto them in a flash of gold. They encircled Rosalie, Jessica and Mike, their glow bursting like fireworks.

Within minutes, everyone was stirring, blinking at the glowing butterflies and the weeds and flowers sprouting in every odd corner of the house.

"Did I actually end up in Heaven?" Rosalie seemed comically confused. Her confusion seemed to clear when she caught a sight of Jacob stirring next to her. "Nah, I knew I couldn't have."

Mike jumped to his feet, reaching for weapons that weren't there, his face going from horror to confusion to awe and then back to confusion as he saw the butterflies and then everyone else.

"Where are the demons?" he asked.

"You're a little late to the party, buddy," Rosalie said, as she bent over Jessica, who was clutching her head and groaning.

Issa didn't realise how much she'd missed her friend's long-suffering quips.

Before Issa knew it, she threw her arms around Rosalie, who gave her a rare smile and a hug that was so warm and motherly that Issa wondered how she'd ever thought the woman could eat a child. She hugged Rosalie and Paul and Jacob and Jessica and stupid tears were streaming down her face and she didn't even care.

Mike still stood in the middle of the room, scratching his head as he frowned at the golden butterflies.

Edvardiel clapped him on the back. "The demons are gone for now."

"They're coming back," Issa said, sniffing and wiping her face and starting to feel self-conscious.

Rosalie stiffened.

"We have a few hours," Jacob said, rubbing his eyes—which were now glowing entirely gold—and looking dazed.

Suddenly, Rosalie whipped towards Issa, her face white. "You mean you haven't closed Hell's gates? Did you find Alice?"

Issa's heart stilled as a fresh wave of guilt crashed through her. Her relief faded, replaced by a chill that coiled tight in her chest. She shook her head, unable to meet Rosalie's gaze.

Rosalie's face crumpled.

"I'll help you find her," Jessica said hoarsely, pushing herself up. She looked dizzy and confused but determined. "There are seven of us. We can split up."

Issa looked to Jacob, who was hugging a blubbering Paul. "I swear I thought you got yourself killed for sure, you fucking idiot."

It was the first time Issa heard the other man swear.

"Yeah, me too," Jacob looked bone-weary. "I should've never left the gates. I'm glad you're okay, man."

Paul rubbed his eyes and stood, his ears red. "I'm going to the kitchen. Find something to eat. All you angel weirdos never get hungry."

As he walked off, Jacob lifted his face towards Issa. Gold swirled where his eyes once were, an unnatural shade that had neither pupils nor whites. His voice was quiet—meant only for her ears. "If there's a way for us to seal Eden's gates, it requires knowledge from Earth or Hell." He gestured at the seven of them. "Lilith has all of our blood. I can only access Heavenly knowledge and none of that can help us here."

Then he dropped his voice even lower. "I also need you to help me get some Edenium poison. The more I use my Watcher powers, the faster Edvardiel's going to turn into a demon. Watchers don't work the same way as seraphs. I can't not use my powers." The swirling gold of his eyes seemed to flicker to Edvardiel, who was filling in Mike on the recent events, and then back.

Issa's blood ran cold. "Where?"

"Eden's old home," Jacob said. "Remember I brought you tea when you woke up? The one you never drank. There's poison in it too."

Issa nodded once.

"What about Hell's gates?" she asked. "Is there a way to close those?"

Jacob's eyes swirled once more. "Lucifer is working on that one. There is a way—yes."

Before she stood, Jacob caught her hand between both of his. "I'm so… I'm so sorry." He hung his head.

She understood his feelings only too well. "Don't be sorry." She gave his hand a fierce squeeze. "Be angry. We're going to take down that bitch empress. I'm going to toss her back into Hell if it's the last thing I do."