Free Dark Union (The Descent Series) by SM Reine Page A

“That is all she does now. I have forced her into hibernation, because when she wakes… Well. It’s better if she doesn’t wake.” He appraised her. “You shouldn’t be here.”
    “You’re telling me.”
    “No. You shouldn’t be here .” His pale hands swept toward the expanse of desert. Elise wasn’t sure if he meant that she shouldn’t still be in Nevada, where the ethereal city and its dark gates were hidden, or if she shouldn’t be on Earth. She never knew, where angels were concerned.
    “We have to resolve the issue of the quarantine,” Elise said.
    Nukha’il’s face registered surprise. “There is no issue. They’re ethereal, and in our jurisdiction.”
    “I’m not letting anyone else approach those gates.”
    “This is why we’re having meetings,” Zettel interrupted. “It’s not an issue for anyone here to decide alone. The Union—”
    She rounded on him. “The Union has nothing to do with my territory.”
    “Your territory? Northern Nevada is owned by demons.”
    Nukha’il inclined his head. “ Her territory. Even so—no mortal is capable of maintaining quarantine.”
    Elise held up the hand that wasn’t broken. She didn’t have to bare her palm to make the message clear. “I’m not just any mortal.”
    They shared a long, understanding silence. He knew, as all angels knew, that Elise was different. He had seen it firsthand in the angelic city.
    He was the first to speak.
    “Very well,” Nukha’il said. “The ethereal party will send a representative to negotiate after all. But only if Elise Kavanagh mediates.” Zettel opened his mouth, but the angel’s glare silenced him. “Those are my terms.”
    She didn’t want to negotiate. She just wanted everyone to leave her, and her city, completely alone. But it was better than nothing. Elise nodded. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    The angel kneeled and reached his hands toward her.
    She hesitated. Elise knew what he wanted, but her palms burned being so close to him. It was a gesture of supplication. He wanted to signify his obedience to her.
    A dangerous gesture. She didn’t want to have anything to do with it.
    But the Union was watching.
    After a moment, she rested her good hand in both of his, and he bowed his head to her knuckles. Pain scythed from her palm to her elbow. “She who is above us all,” he murmured in that resonant voice, and her skin crawled.
    He unfurled his wings and leaped into the air. There was no breeze, but they snapped wide and lifted him as though blown away on a hurricane. For an instant, his body was silhouetted against the sun.
    Elise shielded her eyes to search for him, but he was already gone.
    Something trickled down her wrist, and her hand suddenly felt like it was being sliced open. With a ragged shout, she ripped a glove off with her teeth and flung it to the dirt.
    A gash had opened over her sigil. Her fingers spasmed.
    Allyson stared at her as though she had grown horns, and so did Anthony. It was the reaction she had hoped for. But Zettel was no more impressed by the angel’s supplication than he was by anything else, and he strode over to shake a fist at her.
    “This is our operation! We have control!”
    “You have nothing,” she spat. “Nothing except my friend.”
    “A murderer.”
    “It’s a mistake. Take me to the Union compound—I’ll talk to him.”
    Zettel’s jaw clenched. A vein bulged on his forehead. “Fine. Get in the SUV.”

IX
    R iding out to the Union compound was a different experience without a black bag over Elise’s head, but they were still escorted by men with guns. Zettel took them directly to the trailer they had been confined in before, giving them no opportunity to explore their surroundings. “Five minutes,” he said. “Boyd, stay at the door.”
    The Union locked them inside.
    McIntyre was in his underwear—which were boxers covered in the Bat Signal—with his wrists zip-tied and a black bag over his head. Sweat covered his chest.