“Shit! This is…” She couldn’t think of a word bad enough to encompass this disaster.
“Catastrophic,” Chris said.
Sophia sensed Shade approaching moments before he entered the greenroom. “They’re awake.” He shoved his hands through his caramel hair. “Pestilence is awake.”
Eddie had followed Shade in, and she glanced at the faces around her. “What happens now?”
“None of us has ever seen this. According to lore, now they ride.” Wrapping an arm around her waist, Shade drew her closer to him.
Sophia wished she had someone to comfort her. She forced words past her tight throat. “Pestilence will bring the end closer as they ride.”
“Waking the others,” Chris finished for her. “It’s a knock-on effect.”
“Pestilence?” Eddie’s gaze darted to Shade. “Does that mean what I think it does?”
Shade nodded. “Yup, people are going to get very fucking sick and die.”
Eddie went even paler. “How do we stop them?”
“We don’t.” Chris took Sophia’s hand and held it. “The horsemen will get stronger and stronger in a power spiral that will end everything.”
“I don’t accept that,” Eddie whispered. She looked at Shade, silently begging him for reassurance. “There has to be a way to stop them.”
“We’re sure as fuck going to try.” Shade tightened his hold on Eddie. He looked at Sophia over her head. “How close are the archangels to finding answers to repairing the seals?”
“Why the seals?” Eddie stared at her too.
“The deterioration of the seals is signaling the end of days.” Sophia had come into being with this knowledge, but she’d never thought it would become a reality. “If we can repair the seals, maybe the horsemen will return to rest.”
“It’s a long shot.” Chris grimaced. “From all I’ve read, once the horsemen wake, they won’t rest again until they’ve fulfilled their purpose.”
“Which is the end of all of us?” Eddie’s face reflected the fear they all felt.
“Long shot or not, it’s all we’ve got,” Shade said. “Sophia? Any progress on the seal repairs?”
“Michael has something.” Sophia drew comfort from Chris’s clasp on her hand.
Shade’s mouth tightened in a stern line. “Repairing those seals is our best hope.”
“Right.” Sophia gathered her scattered thoughts. “I’ll contact him.”
Shade stroked Eddie’s spine as he spoke to her. “Can you get hold of Wrath?”
Eddie nodded.
“He’ll have felt it already,” Shade said. “As will the other hell princes, but we need everyone on this. Now.”
“What has Michael found out?” Eddie looked at her.
“He was looking for any mention of the seals.” Sophia needed to pull herself together. Panicking wouldn’t help. “He found a passage that spoke about how they could be repaired.”
“Fuck.” Shade glared at her. “And you’re only telling us about this now?”
“Don’t speak to her like that.” Chris stood and faced Shade. “None of this is her fault. In fact, if we’re looking to cast blame, then Ramiel needs to take responsibility for sending Haziel to the horsemen’s resting place. The power they drained from her could very well have sped up their waking.”
“It’s fine.” Sophia rose and put her hand on his arm. “I understand Shade’s frustration. None of us are very good at working together.”
Taking a deep breath, Eddie squared her shoulders. “We’re going to have to learn how to be, and quickly.”
“Quite right.” Chris gave Eddie an approving nod. He turned back to Sophia, eyes kind. “Do you know anything more about what Michael found?”
“He’s being very cagey about it.” And wasn’t that part of the problem with them all learning to work together. “He needs to verify his findings, but Nephilim are the key.”
Eddie scoffed. “Oh, so now we’re useful.”
She raised an excellent point, as archangels and hell princes had been systematically destroying any and all Nephilim they discovered. “Michael says he’s found references to angelically sired Nephilim.” She ignored the incredulous look on Shade’s face. He wouldn’t stay quiet long with the bomb she’d dropped. “When Eddie repaired Wrath’s seal, you said the missing element was heaven. Michael believes that angelic Nephilim are the missing piece to repair the seals.”
“Angelic Nephilim.” Shade raised a brow. “As far as we’ve been led to believe, they don’t exist.”
Sophia tried to play it cool. “That may not be entirely true, but Michael is still verifying.”
“May not?” Shade’s stare could have stripped paint from the walls.
“As in probably isn’t the truth.” She’d come this far, she may as well finish her bomb drop. “There is evidence that there are, indeed, angelic Nephilim.”
“Meaning?” Eddie glanced between them.
“Meaning.” Shade gloated. “Archangels have been getting freaky with humans and covering it up.” He took Eddie’s hand and led her out of the greenroom. “Let’s contact Wrath.”
