~Ava~

“There is no way. Absolutely no way. I know that Adriel had her…disposed of after the Vatican.” Vincent was shaking his head, the air was tense at the mention of the priest's former alliance with the enemy.

Bea had called a meeting of the inner circle in one of the hotel’s private conference rooms at Ava's request. The Halo bearer had been attempting, so far unsuccessfully, to convince the group that Mary was out there and needed their help.

“Yes, but it's not like that prick never lied to you. Did you see proof of it? No right? I’m telling you I saw her, and she was alive.” Frustration was leaking into her tone now.

“But you were asleep, right?" Mother Superior was giving her that look, that skeptical look.

As a matter of fact, they all were, even Bea. Ava was getting a little sick of that look.

"I know it sounds like a dream, but it wasn't. It was different, it felt different…" The Halo bearer implored, they had to believe her.

"So, it was like a vision?" Camilla questioned with a thoughtful expression.

She had thought about that possibility and had tried to ask the Halo, but it turns out the ancient relic still had the pip with her after the whole wing argument at the van yesterday. Ava tried not to think about how absurd it was that she was receiving silent treatment from a talking metal ring.

Ava threw her hands up in the air, “I don’t know, but I’m telling you Mary’s alive and in trouble, we have to rescue her!”

“Do you know where she is being held?” Lilith pushed herself off the wall, finally saying something after watching the conversation stoically thus far.

“Ahhh…no…” Ava felt a wave of disappointment, she couldn’t remember seeing anything that told her where Mary was located.

Damn it.

“But we can’t let that stop us, it’s Mary. We have to try.”
“Can you stop fucking looking at each other like that? I’m not making this up!” Ava snapped at Camilla and Yasmine; the nuns had been sharing a pitying glance.

“Ava!” Mother Superior growled severely, the Halo bearer flinched but rounded on the older nun, refusing to back down.

“She’s alive and currently being tortured, yet you guys are just sitting here doing fuck all except arguing whether I dreamed it or not!”

Silence followed Ava’s outburst; everyone wore stunned expressions. She really didn’t care what they all thought of her, Ava just wanted to find Mary, to get her friend away from those men harming her, to make sure she was safe. She knew that what she had seen was real, Ava didn't know how she had seen it, but it was reality.

Mother Superior stood up suddenly, eyes never leaving Ava. She stiffened, preparing herself for a bollocking but the nun directed her ice cold words at a wide-eyed Bea instead, “Beatrice, please get the Halo bearer out of my sight.”

~Beatrice~

"Ava, you need to calm down."

Beatrice closed the door behind them as they entered the penthouse, the Halo bearer had stormed in ahead of her and was currently pacing the length of the lounge. The sister warrior could see the Halo glowing faintly through Ava's white tank top. Though the golden light didn't incite the same fear that it had before the events of the sinkhole, Beatrice was still worried about Ava losing control of the Halo's powers. The younger woman hadn't had any chance to train and discover the limits of her new relationship with the relic. The last thing they needed was Ava accidentally destroying the hotel with a halo blast or something.

"Ava?" Beatrice repeated more sharply, trying again to get her attention.

Nothing. The Halo bearer continued wearing a trail into the carpet, teeth clenched, eyebrows furrowed, staring into space as she walked.

Right.

Beatrice took several quick steps towards Ava, effectively blocking her path. When the younger woman reached where the sister warrior was standing, she finally stopped dead. Golden ringed irises rose slowly to meet her steady deep brown ones, Beatrice could clearly see the resentment and anguish behind them.

"Ava, you need to calm down." The taller woman whispered, watching Ava process her words.

For a moment, the younger woman looked as though she might argue, but eventually Ava broke her eye contact, biting at her lip.

"Hey…" Beatrice reached out to carefully tilt the younger woman’s chin so she was facing her once again, "...Ava, talk to me. What's going on in that beautiful head?"

She waited silently, a variety of emotions flickering over the Halo bearer’s face.

"It's my fault." Ava's voice was so quiet, Beatrice had to strain her ears to hear her.

"What's your fault?" She whispered, confused.

"Mary…if I had better control of the Halo at the Vatican then I could have…I could have saved her." The Halo bearer’s voice cracked.

Oh.

Beatrice had known of course how guilt-stricken Ava had been about Adriel’s release into the modern world. In the weeks that followed, she had stumbled across Ava sitting alone by the lake that had later become their training ground. The Halo bearer had been sobbing, devastated, the incident at the Vatican finally catching up with her. Beatrice had hugged her tightly in that moment, reassuring Ava that she wasn’t at fault for what had occurred, that Vincent and Adriel had manipulated them all. It had taken a long time for Ava to come to grips with the guilt, but eventually she accepted it.

Beatrice chastised herself for never thinking about how the loss of Mary might affect the Halo bearer in a similar way; there had just been too many other things to focus on at the time. But she understood now, no wonder Ava was so desperate to go after Mary, she blamed herself for their friend's demise.

"Ava, that's not your fault. None of what happened at the Vatican is."

The younger woman shrugged helplessly, "If I had trained harder, I could have done more…"

"No Ava, listen, you did everything you could. We all did. You are not at fault for what happened, and no one can change the past okay?" Beatrice reached up to frame the younger woman's face with her hands.
"I know you are shocked that Mary is still alive, and are determined to save her, but we can't just barrel into this headfirst. We have no idea who is holding her and why, or even where. We need more information. Which means you need to be patient, okay? And you can’t let your frustration get the better of you.”

Tears began to leak from the corners of Ava’s eyes, Beatrice pulled her into her chest, feeling the younger woman tremble slightly.

After a few moments, Ava murmured something into her shirt.

"What was that darling?" Beatrice tucked some of the Halo bearer’s hair behind her ear so that she could press a soft kiss to the younger woman’s temple.

Ava lifted her head so that she could look Beatrice in the eye, "You believe me...?" Ava paused, expression astonished, "...I'll try to be more patient."

The sister warrior offered her a gentle smile before leaning down to kiss her softly, she pulled away to whisper, "Of course I believe you; I'll always believe you."
"And that's all I want; remember you can talk to me if it gets too much...anytime." Her breath ghosted against the other woman's lips.

Ava hummed reconnecting them and wrapped her arms around the sister warrior's neck, deepening the kiss. Beatrice opened her mouth allowing Ava’s tongue access, her own hands drifting down the Halo bearer’s back to settle on her waist.

When they broke apart for air, Beatrice watched Ava open her lust darkened eyes, breathing raggedly. She could feel heat stoking in her gut at Ava's desire filled expression. The younger woman stared at her, mouth parted slightly, glancing at Beatrice's lips before walking the sister warrior back towards their bedroom.

"Are you sure, Ava?" She questioned softly, allowing herself to be maneuvered into their room, Beatrice didn't want to take advantage of the emotionally strung-out woman.

Ava paused at the foot of the bed, reaching up to cup her cheek, Beatrice turned to brush a kiss into the center of the Halo bearer’s palm.

"I'm sure...I want you, Beatrice." The taller woman sharply inhaled at the jolt of arousal that shot through her at Ava's words.

Ava grunted in surprise as Beatrice turned her suddenly, pushing her down onto the bed. Climbing on top of the younger woman, the sister warrior ran her hands up under the white tank top, splaying her fingers across the abdominal muscles in Ava's core before leaning down to suck at her pulse point. A moan rewarded her efforts, Beatrice would never get tired of drawing those noises out of her.

"Are you two seriously doing that right now!" A voice shouted from the other side of the wall.

Beatrice pulled away from Ava with a sigh, she hadn't heard the door open, so Lilith must've teleported straight into the penthouse.

"Fucking Lilith." Ava muttered, rubbing her hand over her face.

"Well, that's rude.  Here I was coming to offer my help in finding Mary and everything." The winged woman stood leaning against their door frame.

When an eyebrow was raised at the unmoving Beatrice, the sister warrior reluctantly climbed off Ava to sit beside her. The Halo bearer propped herself up on her elbows, face still flushed, and lips swollen.

So bloody attractive.

"I'm listening." Ava spoke clearly, which was surprising given her state.

"Well, firstly I need you to write down exactly what you remember, then I will go and speak to a few contacts of mine and see if I can find anything out." Lilith picked at her nails seemingly uninterested in the whole thing, but Beatrice had a feeling that the former sister warrior was more invested in this then she was letting on.

"Okay, but you have to let me know as soon as you find out anything." Lilith rolled her eyes but nodded.

"Fine. But you need to apologize to Mother Superior and the others. They didn't deserve that."

Wincing slightly at that comment, Ava nodded, satisfied with the agreement, the Halo bearer turned to Beatrice, "Chuck me that pen and pad Bea."