Hours tick by, but I refuse to look away from him, refuse to move, afraid everything will be gone the instant I do.
Finally, after an eternity, he drops the brush and steps back.
I prop up on my elbows. “Are you done?”
He nods, rubbing his eyes, blinking dazedly.
“Can I see?” I ask tentatively as I climb off the bed.
“Of course.” He moves back as I wind around the easel.
My jaw drops in awe at the sight of the dark and vibrant colors contrasting across the canvas. Somehow, Asher has painted me in way that makes me feel as though I’m the essence of good. My wings are out, black feathers dusted with red, my hair is a halo around my head, my skin is flawless, and my lips are as red as a rose.
“You left the veins off from the eyes.”
“I haven’t seen them in a few days,” he says, moving right behind me. “I thought it was more fitting this way.”
“Is this how you see me now?” My voice wobbles as an abundance of emotion overpowers me. “I look too perfect.”
He places his hands on my shoulders and rests his chin on my head. “You look exactly how you look.”
The corners of my mouth tip upward, but the movement makes my mouth ache. As my heart constricts in my chest, I spin around and fuse our lips together, wishing I never had to come up for air.
We leisurely kiss for hours, taking our time, even as we peel each other’s clothes off. Then Asher lays me down on the bed and aligns his body over me. Staring into my eyes, he slips inside me, moving much slower than we normally do. Yet, somehow, the moment is way more intense. Somewhere, in the midst of kissing and feeling him rock inside me, I start to cry.
He starts to pull away, but I grasp onto him, refusing to let go. He rocks into me harder, pushing me further from reality. I fight to hold on yet beg to let go, desperate to hold on longer yet desperate to let go of everything. Eventually, I come undone and fall apart in his arms.
A rapid heartbeat later, he joins me, giving one finally thrust inside me as he buries his face into my neck.
After we catch our breaths, Asher slips out of me and holds me in his arms.
“It’s going to be okay,” he whispers.
I stare out the window at the stars and the moon, pleading with them to give me a wish.
Just one wish.
It won’t be for me,
But for everyone else.
Take me away, into the sky.
Let the wings I was given take me high
Into the stars and far away
Where I can fade and always stay,
Knowing that everyone else is okay.
I know the moment my wish won’t come true, because Asher grows tense beside me.
“It’s time, isn’t it?” My voice cracks, and my body begins to shake.
“I’m sorry.” He sits up and brings me with him.
We climb off the bed and start to put our clothes on. He hands me one of his leather jackets from the closet, and I slip it on and breathe in the scent.
“It looks good on you,” he says as he digs a knife from the pocket of his jeans and places it in my hand. “You’re going to need this.” His voice shakes almost as much as my hand.
I fold my fingers around the knife so tightly the blade slices open my palm.
“Be careful,” he warns as he slips on a jacket he grabs from the closet. “That knife was only meant to cut me.”
I open my hand and stare at the blood in my palm. “I wish it was me that was dying,” I admit aloud.
“I don’t.” Asher zips up the jacket and whisks across the room toward me. “You barely lived a life, Ember. You deserve what lies ahead.”
I shake my head and shut my eyes. “No, I don’t. Please, Asher … I can’t do this.”
Silence is my only answer, and when I open my eyes, I see why.
I’m no longer in the cottage, but standing on the hill from Asher’s memory.
The hill where the battle took place.
Chapter 17
Ember
Even though the hills aren’t drenched with blood like they were in Asher’s memory, the air still smells of rust and salt like death haunts the air. The sky is cloudy, and thunder and lightning boom and snap in the distance. The echo of my own heart sends a chill across my body.
“Asher!” I call out, spinning in a circle with the knife still clutched in my hand. Confusion swarms my mind. “I don’t understand. I thought he was supposed to be here with me.”
“That was the plan, wasn’t it?”
The icy voice behind me sends my pulse racing. I spin on my heels with the knife aimed at the man standing in front of me. Only it’s not a man, but a Reaper. The worst Reaper of his kind.
Altarius, while entirely evil at heart, carries translucent beauty. Underneath the hood of his cloak, his beautiful eyes are the color of sea glass, and his blonde hair runs to his shoulders. His features angle his face flawlessly like he was carved out of stone, and his lips are as red as blood.
Now that I know he’s Cameron and Asher’s father, I can pick up on the slightest family resemblance. But the hollowness in his eyes in no way matches Asher’s or even Cameron’s.
“Don’t look so shocked to see me.” His velvet voice rolls over me like a glowing river. “That was the plan, right? For me to be tricked into coming here so you can end the curse.” He rubs his jawline thoughtfully. “The problem is that I hate to be tricked nor do I really want the curse to end.”
“Well, it’s going to end now.” I lift my shoulders in confidence, despite the uneven beat of my heart and the bottomless pit forming in my stomach.
“You think so?” He gives a mocking glance around at the bare hills surrounding us. “Because I don’t see anyone here but you and I.”
I open my mouth to protest then realize he’s right. “Where is everyone?”
He taps his finger against lip. “Well, as for Michael, I have no idea. Although, he does have tendency to rely too much on everything playing out exactly the way he plans it.” He inches closer to me. “At first, I was going to come here for you. In case you didn’t know already, your soul has a lot of power.” He sniffs the air, reminding me a lot of Cameron. “However, I spotted something I wanted even more—a soul who could give me enough power to stop this curse completely and allow me to rein over all the souls in the world.”
A thought clicks in my head and fury blazes through my veins. “Where’s Asher?” I growl, balling my hands into fists.
“If you’re talking about my son, then I assure you, he’s very safe right now.” His eyes darken. “That, of course, will only last until I kill you.”
Without warning, he charges for me with his head down and his arms out. His fingers wrap around my neck, his strength unbearable. I can feel my bones being crushed under my skin, the energy draining from my body, and the oxygen is ripped from my lungs as I start to die.
Instinctually, I jerk my head forward, slam my lips to his, and suck as hard as I can. A deathly cold sensation spills down my throat and freezes me from the inside out. He tastes foul, bitter, and rotting, not like life at all. Yet, I can feel my bones healing, mending the cracks, and air fills my chest again.
Altarius gasps in rage then jerks back as he releases me and staggers away. Blinking several times, he fights through the life I stole from him. “I forgot about your little gift,” he says between breaths, his pupils dilated and his eyes wide.
He recovers within seconds and barrels at me again. I spin on my heels and run for my life, my boots thudding against the grass as I rush down the hill.
“You can run all you want, Ember Rose Edwards,” his voice echoes around the land. “But we both know how this is going to turn out. You can’t escape death.”
I quicken my pace and let my wings snap out from my back. As I reach the top of the hill, I span my feathers wide, preparing to fly, but I slam to a grinding halt.
At the end of a seemingly endless amount of rolling
hills lies a small cemetery nestled between neighborhoods and a bridge that covers a river. Covering almost every inch of the land are hundreds and hundreds of people.
“Hollows Grove.” I remember something Altarius said to me once, back when Cameron possessed my body and forced me to go into a bowling alley full of the Anamotti.
The battle happened at Hollows Grove, which is why there were so many Reapers born there. The curse has to end in the same place, which means not only am I near my hometown, but I’m near my hometown that’s under the possession of Altarius. The people looming on the hills are more than likely going to try to help Altarius steal my soul.
“Shit.” Springing on my toes, I dive forward and flap my wings.
When I catch air, I power forward, unsure where to go. The plan was to meet here and end the curse, make my decision, and sacrifice the one I love, putting an end to the madness. But with no Angels in sight, and Asher—
Fingers fold around my ankles and jerk me down hard. My face smacks against the ground, and my ears ring as my head hums. A flash of lighting zaps across the sky, and the thunder rumbles as rain showers to the ground.
“Let me go!” I shout, repeatedly slamming my boot into Altarius’s face.
He laughs, unaffected by my attempt, and drags me through the mud toward him. I dig my nails into the ground and try to claw away from him, but he wrenches me down the hill then forces me to turn on my back. Climbing over me, he straddles my lap and pins my arms beside my head.
“You think you can win?” He laughs as rain drenches down on us. “Do you know how many people have tried to kill me, but to no avail? Do you know how many people I’ve killed?”
“Including your own daughter!” I spit in his face, jerking beneath him.
“You mean Mackenzie?” He shakes his head, his smile all evil. “She wasn’t my daughter, Ember. Wake up and realize that nothing you’ve seen over the entire course of your life is real. Everyone was a pawn in my game.”
My body stiffens. His words closely resemble something my father once said to me when he was losing his mind.
“Did you kill my dad?” I ask as he pushes me farther into the muddy ground.
His wicked smile glints in the silvery reflection of the lightning crackling across the sky. “He went almost as willingly as your mother.”
Rage roars through me, and I wiggle my body, managing to get a leg free. I bring my knee up and bash him hard right between his legs. He howls out in pain but doesn’t release me, only clutches tighter to my wrists.
He dips his head toward me and breathes into my ear, “It’s time for you to die so I can drink your soul.” He drags a finger down my cheekbone as he moves his face above mine.
I fight with every ounce of strength I have, kicking and writhing my body below him, but the effort is useless. He’s too strong and he knows it.
An evil laugh bellows from his mouth then his lips touch down on mine. A rush of cold whooshes up my lungs, and I gasp, my eyelids closing.
Death, so cold;
Chains around my wrist,
Snapped in two;
Feathers on my back,
Bent and broken;
Limbs of lead;
Heart of ash;
Spark of life,
Fading.
No….
My eyes snap open as I feel Altarius’s body fly from mine. Flipping over onto my stomach, I push to my feet and whirl around. Through the veil of rain, two figures wrestle on the ground.
“Cameron,” I whisper in shock. “What are you doing here?”
“Go,” Cameron growls, flickering in and out of his human form.
Altarius springs to his feet, wipes the rain from his face, and glares at his son. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Cameron gives a nonchalant shrug, swishing his cloak back as he moves toward his father. “What I was taught to do.” He takes another step toward him and then another. “I mean, that’s what Reapers are supposed to do, right? Steal souls?”
Altarius’s sharp laugh echoes across the hills but then gets swallowed up in the thunder. “You think you can steal my soul? You’re nothing but an orphan, the child no one wanted, not even your whore of a mother.”
Cameron rolls his eyes and fakes a yawn. “Are you done trying to insult me yet?”
“Pretend all you want.” Altarius’s grin darkens as the sky grows greyer. “But, deep down, I know it’s bothered you for years. Knowing no one actually wants you, never has. Yet your brother”—his grin expands—“even his soul is more valuable to me.”
Cameron ignites with rage as he rushes toward his father with his hands out, ready to kill. The two of them collide, shaking the ground below us. In fact, the entire area is trembling like a violent earthquake.
When I peer around the hillside, my eyes widen in horror. Marching toward me from every direction are countless people, all marked with an X. Leading the pack are hundreds of skeletal figures, wearing cloaks.
I start to back away then realize I have nowhere to go.
One by one, they stomp toward me as rain hammers against the ground, flooding the grass and turning everything into a muddy mess. My boots sink deep and make it harder to move as I turn in circles, trying to figure out what to do. If they fly, they can chase me. If I run, I run right into them.
“Ember, get the hell out of here!” Cameron shouts from beside me. He’s on top of his father with his hand clamped around his throat. His eyes are glowing through the storm, and his face is skeletal, hardly recognizable. “You need to—”
Altarius head butts Cameron, sending him toppling to the side. He scrambles on top of Cameron and pins him down, strangling him around the neck. His flesh melts away, revealing his Reaper form as he flexes his fingers, tightening his hold.
“Get. Asher,” Cameron chokes as he presses his hands against his father’s face. “And end this.”
“I don’t know where he is!” I cry out, hurrying toward him.
I need to help him somehow, get Altarius off him and kill him so all the people around me will be free of their possession.
My hair sticks to my face as I blink through the rain for something hard to hit Altarius with. I spot a thick tree branch, scoop it up, and bash Altarius in the side of the head as hard as I can.
A howl rings from his lips as he falls to the side.
Cameron scrambles from the ground and snatches the stick from me. Mud soaks his cloak and hair, and scratches cover his face.
“Asher’s in the Shadow Realm,” he says, pointing to the thundering sky. “Get into it and get him out, then come back and end this.”
“What about you?” I glance over at Altarius as he rises to his feet.
Cameron grips the branch and growls, “I’ll be fine.”
“I know, but you’re going to save them, right?” My gaze skims the people enclosing around us. They’re so close now I can see the vacancy and the lust to kill in their eyes. “You have to save them.”
His hand slides to his neck, and he wraps his fingers around the maroon pendant he took from me at the hotel. “I said I would, and I will.”
I don’t know why I trust him. He has lied so much to me that trusting him should be impossible. But something in his eyes tells me he has every intention of going through with the plan.
“How do I get into the Shadow Realm?” I yell over the sound of the rain crashing down.
He looks up in the sky, and I track his gaze. Above us, a tunnel of mist has formed through the storm.
My eyes return to Cameron one last time. “Thank you,” I say then push off the ground with my wings flapping.
I fly high in the sky and enter the tunnel, casting a final glance over my shoulder. I instantly wish I could take back the move. Never look down. That was the rule. It’s not the height that scares me, but the sight of hundreds of Reapers shifting into mist and chasing after me.
I turn my head back around, focus on moving my wings faster, and stretch my body out. As I soar higher
, the tunnel swallows me up, and fog swirls around me. I immediately search for Asher, hidden in the tunnel somewhere. It doesn’t make sense, though, that Altarius would hide him here, unless either he has been seriously injured, or he’s like my father, and only his soul is thriving.