Unleashing Chaos

Chapter Forty-Three

The doors to the throne room fly open and bang against the wall. The two occisors chase Jace down the aisle, but he hauls ass and the bulky demons can't keep up. He charges past Cannon and me and grabs the ax hanging from my father's hip. The weapon breaks free of its restraints and Jace swings it in front of him at Cannon. The ax—specially made for my father—flies from his grip and somersaults toward the crowd as Cannon ducks, though unnecessary, as the axe comes nowhere near his head.

Screams echo off the vaulted ceilings and the demons flee the path of the weapon. Jace's gray eyes grow wide, his arms held out before him as if he still has control of the ax.

"I saw that going differently in my head," Jace mutters.

My father shoves Jace to the side and grunts, "No one can wield my ax but me." He holds out his hand and calls his weapon back to him. It levitates from the ground and spins top over bottom until it lands in his palm. "What is this all about?" my father asks, securing the handle to his belt again.

The guards rush forward. "We're sorry, Your Majesty. The human is stronger and faster than we thought. We will take care of him."

The occisors each take Jace's arms and pull him down from the dais.

Jace. Jace is here. Oh Hades, he shouldn't be here. What has he done? He made it clear that he wanted to remain in his realm. He can't leave. Does he understand what he's done?

"No!" I rush forward and attempt to pry the meaty fingers of the occisors off Jace. "He needs to go. He doesn't belong here." When they don't release him, my panic morphs into pure anger. "Let him go. Now!"

"It's all right, Desi."

I glance up at Jace, realizing he was talking to me the entire time.

He holds my stare and again says, "I know what I've done, and it's all right."

"Jace?"

He looks like he hasn't slept, his hair a mess and dark bags sit under his eyes, but as fucking beautiful as always. I've never been happier to see someone in my entire existence...but also, I've never been more confused. How can this be all right when it isn't what he wanted? Jace doesn't give me a chance to ponder the thought for long.

His features harden as he turns to our friend and repeats, "Cannon isn't who we thought. He's an angel."

Murmurs erupt and the crowd steps back, putting as much distance as possible between Cannon and them. Even my brothers lean back in their thrones. Saying an angel is in our realm is the equivalent to telling us the plague is sweeping through Infernis. If what Jace says is true, only hours remain before Cannon becomes tied to our realm and the energy flowing from him affects every demon and those who have chosen to remain in chaos for eternity.

"Leave it to Desi to choose a damn angel as an eternal partner," one of my brothers says with a snicker.

Cannon holds up both hands and moves away. "I'm not—I mean I am, but..."

"His chest. His angelic mark is on his right pec," Jace says.

"What?" I whisper, my eyes darting between Cannon and Jace. "How could I not have noticed..." We hadn't ever taken things that far. The one night I reached for his shirt, Jace was with us. Cannon stopped me from seeing his mark. My gaze hardens and I hiss, "How could I have been so—"

My father says, his voice weak, "You wouldn't know unless you saw his mark. Don't beat yourself up."

"Dad, you need to sit down," I say, turning to face my father. Grub and Mandis immediately jump from their seats and help my father to his throne next to my mother.