Envy (Dark Waters Book 1)

Chapter Sixteen:

My gaze snapped to him. He addressed me by my true name, and while I should be grateful, I was conflicted. This morning I woke up believing I wanted that name, my chair within the temple, but after the past few hours... it felt like it wasn't worth it. My life was expendable. Pride made that abundantly clear.

I politely smiled as Priscilla reached into a backpack and grabbed me another one of her gallery shirts. She shrugged as I pressed my arms into it to pull it over my head. "Sorry, it was the only extra stuff I had that could fit you."

Biting my lip, I sucked in a breath and pulled the shirt over my bandaged chest. This shirt wasn't as big as the other one, and I smirked because the print of her face was right above my heart. "It's fine, thank you," I told her before looking back at Gabriel. I cleared my throat. "Earlier, Wrath and Lust came after me."

Gabriel's brows lifted as he stepped out of the car. "Shit, that duo?"

Priscilla zipped up her bag and then stepped out of the car. I slowly followed, looking at her before looking at the building Gabriel stopped us next to. "Yeah, them two," I said.

As the car doors locked, Gabriel walked around the front of it and over to the building. Two large metal doors glowed as he approached. I knew spiritual energy could be used on inanimate objects, but a small warehouse? Angels were something else, huh? I'd never heard of it.

"That leaves who else? Sloth and Pride?" he asked as he passed his hand over the doors. The opened on impact.

I looked at him as Priscilla stepped into the building. She pressed a hand over Gabriel's arm, looking up at him with a small smile before looking back at me. The slight shimmer in her eyes silently told me everything would be okay, but I wasn't worried about what could happen. I mean, I was, but what Gabriel just said took priority.

He said the names of the remaining souls, not including mine, because I stood in front of him, but he didn't say anything about Gluttony. Was my old friend the demon in his plan?

So many secrets, so little time.

"If you're in here, they can't sense you," Gabriel said, motioning for me to walk inside his building. "Because with Greed dead, they'll be coming. And I need time to figure out how to deal with this."

Gabriel was right. Greed was dead, which meant the Seven needed to react. And needed to respond fast. How much time did we have? A day? A week? It couldn't be a month. When the Seven are threatened, they'd act fast; Wrath and Lust coming after me is only proof of it.

This made them the enemy.

Which meant... I was the enemy.

Gulping, I stepped toward the opened door, but before I could step inside, Gabriel reached out and touched my shoulder. "Just so you know, I don't think you're the enemy."

My eyes widened.

"I just need us to be ready. I haven't spent all these years watching over Priscilla, protecting her, and teaching her things normal people don't know for it all to crumble now." He slowly nodded. "So, I appreciate what you did," he sighed, then slapped my arm to get me inside. "Doesn't mean I have to like you."

Well, shit, that changed quickly. I knew he didn't have to like me, but he didn't have to say it. I had to be a hindrance in his plan, right? Not a part of it.

"Okay, relax." Pricilla stood in the middle of the building's ample open space. A clean scent filled my senses as I stepped close to her. With her hands on her hips, she shook her head, watching me as I approached, then scowled at Gabriel. "Not everyone needs to know how you feel."