The dawn after Saint Brigid's felt heavy, as though the city itself bore the bruises of the battle. The cathedral still stood, but its bells were silent again, lifeless after their profane tolling.
Inside the safehouse, Maxwell sat at the altar with his head bowed, his sword lying across his knees. His storm-gray eyes burned faintly with crimson threads, betraying the shard's lingering hold.
Anthony paced behind him, the Codex open in his hands. The text writhed, shifting violently as though it resisted being read. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he forced the words into place.
"Maxwell," Anthony said, his voice rough, "there's something the Codex reveals. Something I should have told you sooner."
Maxwell didn't look up. "If this is another sermon about resisting temptation, I've heard it already."
Anthony slammed the Codex shut, his voice sharper now. "It's about your father."
Maxwell froze. His grip on the sword tightened. Slowly, he raised his head, eyes narrowing. "What about him?"
Gabby stepped forward, her wings half-unfurled, her expression troubled. "He was not merely an angel, Maxwell. He was a seraph—one of the highest order."
Maxwell blinked. His throat tightened. "That's impossible. My mother… she said he loved her. Seraphim don't… they can't…"
"They can," Gabby said softly, "but it is forbidden. A covenant older than the world forbade their mingling with humankind. When one broke that law, the punishment was severe."
Anthony swallowed hard. "Your father was not slain, Maxwell. He was cast into the Abyss."
The room went silent.
Maxwell's pulse thundered in his ears. "You're saying he's in Hell."
Gabby's golden eyes softened. "Not Hell as mortals understand it. A prison beyond time. But Samael knows this. He whispers not only to you, but to him. If Samael breaks free, your father's chains may break as well."
Maxwell shot to his feet, his chair clattering to the floor. His voice cracked like thunder. "You knew! All this time—you knew and said nothing!"
Anthony stepped forward, guilt heavy in his eyes. "We feared the truth would crush you before you were ready. But now, Samael has made his move. He taunts you because he knows the blood you carry is more than Nephilim—it is seraphic. That is why the shards call to you. Why they bind to you."
Maxwell's storm-gray eyes flashed crimson, his hands trembling. "So what—you're saying I'm just a vessel for Samael's damn shards? That I was doomed the second I was born?"
Gabby seized his shoulders, forcing him to meet her gaze. "No. Listen to me. You are not your father's fall, nor Samael's pawn. You are the choice your mother made. You are proof that light can live even in shadow. That is what terrifies him most."
Maxwell searched her face, breathing hard. "And if I fail?"
Gabby's voice dropped to a whisper, fierce and unshaken. "Then Heaven falls with you. But if you rise…" She pressed her forehead to his. "If you rise, Maxwell, you will be more than seraph or human. You will be the sword that ends Samael's reign."
The whispers in his head surged, furious, hateful. You are mine. You will fall.
Maxwell clenched his jaw, gripping his sword until his knuckles bled. "No. Not today."
Anthony opened the Codex again, the pages trembling in his hands. "The next shard lies not in ruins, but in blood. A monastery in the mountains of Peru, where monks once kept vigil over sacred relics. It was overrun a decade ago. Reports of miracles turned to whispers of curses. I think… I think the shard is there."
Gabby released Maxwell, stepping back with solemn resolve. "Then that is where we go. Samael will not wait, and neither will we."
Maxwell lifted his blade, the glow of its runes flickering between silver and crimson. He took a slow breath, steadying himself.
"Then let's find out how deep this goes."
Far below, in caverns where light had never walked, Samael's voice rumbled like a storm. He whispered to chains bound in fire, and from the darkness, something vast and broken stirred.
The seraph who had fallen for a mortal woman… Maxwell's father.