The clash between former brothers erupted with the force of a contained star going supernova. Azrael's silver-black flame met Uriel's divine radiance in an explosion that reduced the cathedral's remaining stained glass to glittering powder. Stone that had stood for centuries cracked and flowed like water under the assault of competing energies that belonged in no earthly realm.Uriel moved with the fluid precision of eons spent in perfect service, its spear of crystallized sunfire carving arcs of light that left molten furrows in the ancient walls. But Azrael was no longer the wild, uncontrolled exile the Seraph had faced in their previous encounters. The ritual at Elena's sanctuary had given him focus, and the armor shard resonated with his essence in ways that pushed back against the divine curse weakening his system."You fight well for a broken thing," Uriel acknowledged as it pressed its attack, spear and flame dancing in patterns that would have overwhelmed most supernatural bei