I shivered. “How? How was it that we couldn’t sense you, even my father couldn’t see you?”
Eli’s chest rose with a deep breath against my back. “I am from the first generation of demons called Possessors, created by the original Elementa that cursed the child to have a heart of ice, forcing her parents to hide their daughter in the Alps in order to survive. The demon part of me awakened when I was eight years old, when Cyrus forced me to drink his blood, allowing me to turn into a mist. And now, after I bit you,” he hesitated saying those words, caressing the side of my neck he bit into. “So sweet … so delicious and divine.”
I twitched, recalling the pain and delicious sexual arousal that ignited in places only Eli had ever affected. No evidence of the bite remained since I healed quickly. But the way he stroked my neck and the low hiss vibrating through my ears had me quaking. Father had pulled Eli off me, stopping him from draining my blood.
He dropped his hand away. “I have evolved,” he continued. “Since my mother was one of the Elementum, I can turn into shadows, but I’m physically there, invisible and undetected. When in shadow form, no angels can see me, but I believe you can. I am bound by your blood.”
I’d had enough. This was ridiculous. “I’m turning around and you can’t stop
me.”
In the midst of my turning he warned, “You might not like what you see.”
I thought he would fly away or turn into a shadow, but his warning had me pinned so hard, I almost decided not to. But I had to see him, had to know what monstrous form he had taken. I took several steps away to give me distance, and slowly twisted on my heels.
Chapter 20
Lucia
Eli’s hair glistened a shade darker where the light caught the top of his hair, a bit longer I realized, but the same hair I’d laced my hands through before. Thick eyebrows framed his rich, deep chocolate eyes. High cheekbones and strong nose, all familiar, and his lips…those supple lips. I’d almost forgotten how they felt. His broad shoulders, still strong like the rest of his ripped muscles, bulged under the black leather warrior-like outfit, sword in the scabbard. Some parts of his chest showed under the breastplate, and my eyes might have lingered on his skin a bit longer than they should have. My body eased when everything about him was the same. He had not turned into a hideous monster, except…Oh my God! I cupped my hands over my mouth to stop the words bursting out and stared for an eternity.
“How?” I croaked out. I reached out to touch him with my trembling hand but stopped. “How? How? How?” I whispered.
He didn’t answer, and I hadn’t expected him to when I couldn’t stop hounding him. Dark as midnight wings spread out from his back, massive, beautiful, but deadly. Layer by layer, each feather overlapped the other, strong and tight. His wings were powerful, to be feared, and worse—damned. He would be marked as Fallen and his soul…there had to be a way to fix this. His wings reminded me of my father’s except they were black, more like…Oh God! I didn’t want to say his name. Cyrus must be his true father then.
“How?” I demanded an answer. I might have raised my voice louder than I should have.
Eli slowly raised his head to meet my eyes. He had dipped his chin lower when I asked him, as if he were ashamed. He cleared his throat and his eyebrows pinched at the center. “I … I died, Lucia.” His voice was smooth as silk, and calm as the summer sea.
I died, Lucia. His words took me back to the incident. I’d tried to block out the image of Cyrus slitting Eli’s throat that had been haunting me. Tears streamed down my face, and my knees buckled. “I know. I saw,” I said hoarsely, my throat dry like I’d swallowed a handful of sand. “I will never forget it, and I will never forgive myself. I’ve failed you. I couldn’t save you. I’m…I’m so sorry, Eli.” Every word shoved the dagger in my heart deeper. Every wave of guilt punched harder than the last. Every word the truth.
Eli shuddered, his biceps taut, and he dug his nails into the palm of his hands. “It’s not your fault. It was impossible to save me. Cyrus claimed and marked me when I was eight. It would have happened sooner or later.”
“No, that’s not true,” I snapped. I slammed my hand over my mouth, surprised at my lack of control, but I was mad. No—furious beyond anything I’ve felt before. Furious at myself. Furious at the world. Furious for him. Dropping my hand, I said, “Your mother was right. The girl with wings was your destruction. I should have stopped us … stopped myself. I’m so sorry.” I started to back away, stumbling back faster as agony took over my muscles. “I did that to you. I’ve damned your soul, Eli.”
“Stop!” he roared. Forming into a shadow, he vanished only to transport himself in front of me as I turned to run. I had no idea where I would run to. I hadn’t even seen the outside of the chapel and had no idea what lay ahead for me, but I needed air.
I collided into Eli’s chest, his arms enveloped me, and then the dark wings I feared, had been told to stay away from, run away from, never to trust, folded around me like a cocoon. I stiffened at first until I felt the warmth of Eli. My Eli. He was real. He was actually there. His breath came heavy and ragged, and his hand cuddled me tightly as if to let me know he was never going to let me go.
“Lucia.” His voice floated through me like a soft melody, as I took in the sadness, the tenderness, and yet at the same time, a fierce demand. “You are not to blame.”
“Eli.” I curled my head into his chest. Then my hands curved around the nape of his neck, and I pressed into his whole body to connect. My chest wobbled as I sobbed. Only when I remembered we were short on time did I stop and pull away slightly to look at him.
His hand caressed my cheeks and wiped the tears away as he pierced my eyes with his. “We don’t have much time. Cyrus is tracking me.”
I didn’t care if Cyrus found me. I had to know. “What happened? How did it happen?”
He clenched his jaw and let out a breath. Backing away to give me space he said, “As you already know, I am a combination of all the supernatural beings. Lamia, Elementa, Fallen, demon, and angel. And Cyrus is my uncle.”
I gasped inwardly. I had suspected Cyrus was his father, but I had been wrong.
“Cyrus is a Fallen who controls possessors that escaped the edelweiss trap from the Snow Queen,” he continued to explain and folded his wings closed. “When Cyrus killed me, and with angel blood—not just any angel blood, but your blood, the descendant of the original angel blood—I was reborn. But I’m tethered to a fine line between evil and good. Cyrus thought I would become evil like him. He thought the dark blood would consume me, but it hasn’t completely.”
“We won’t let it,” I cut in.
He attempted to give me a half a smile. “Cyrus failed to realize your blood is my anchor. Because of you, I haven’t fallen. Not yet anyway.” Eli took a step toward me. “He doesn’t know how much I care for you.” He took another step. “He doesn’t know how hard I would fight for you … for us. You’re the only reason why I fight myself every single second to retain control of my thoughts, my body. If I let go, Cyrus will control me, every part of me. I will become his shadow, one of his possessors, but the difference with me, I am his family, and I have your blood, so I will not turn into the hideous creatures they are.”
I hadn’t realized Eli stood inches from me. He had come at me with stealth, ease, and grace. He was all that before, but he had become something more powerful. He had a presence of great strength and maturity I couldn’t explain. Like my father, his presence commanded authority. A person to fear, or one to admire. My body, my heart ached for him and the past we shared that wasn’t too long ago and yet felt ages ago. I didn’t know the new Eli, but a part of me recognized something in him.
“Whatever you need, I’ll do it.” I swallowed from his lips being so close to mine.
He dismissed my words and drilled his eyes to mine. His stare alone pinned me to the pillar I leaned on. “I’ve missed you, Lucia. Every second I thought of you to keep me sane in the to
rture and pain. I imagined us close like this, to smell your scent ...” he twisted his neck to lower his head to the crook of my neck. Hot and cold breath bathed the thrumming pulse under his lips.
My breathing quickened as my heart pounded harder. God help me. Lust filled my mind, taking over my body. How I wanted so much to kiss him, but I had to remain calm and alert. Then his lips feather-lightly brushed mine while his hands greedily traveled up my back, to the curve of my waist, and … I sucked in air so hard, I felt the wind knock out of me when his hands came to my chest. My body roared with ecstasy and pulsated in pleasurable sensations as it pushed me over the edge. I had become delirious, drugged by his touch and his words.
“In my dreams, I’ve kissed you thousands of times,” he went on, his lips brushing mine as he spoke, as if to tease me, and his hands roamed all over me. “In my dreams I’ve made love to you thousands of times. And in my waking life …you came to me…you…” He gave me a sideways glance, a look of recognition. “When you came to me, you hurt me, Lucia.” His loving hands gripped my arms. He squeezed harder as his voice grew angrier and louder.
“Eli, you’re hurting me,” I managed to say. “It wasn’t me. I would never hurt you.”
His hands were still locked so tight I couldn’t pull away, and I couldn’t will any of my weapons. A low, deep growl vibrated, sounding more like a bomb in the quiet of the chapel.
“Eli,” I cooed, trying to calm the demon growing.
A louder growl thundered in my ear, sounding a lot more territorial.
“Eli!” I snapped.
Eli pulled back to meet my gaze, but he still held onto me. I froze. My heart stilled in pure fright. Eli’s eyes had turned bloody red and fangs jutted out. His wings spat out, towering over me, as if to consume me whole. Then his eyes lowered to my neck, and oh God! Deep, thick veins started to protrude under his eyes, changing his handsome face to a beast-like form.
Run! Run! Run!
I thought the words desperately echoing in my mind were my own, but they were not. It had come from Eli.
“Fight it!” I demanded and pushed away when his grip on me loosened.
Run! Run! Run!
“No. I’m not leaving you. You’re stronger than that.”
Eli dropped to his knees and threw his hands up to cover his ears. “Cyrus…so close…Run, Lucia.” He groaned, curling into a ball on the ground. One side of his wing tucked under him, the other flapped as if he could push me away.
“I can’t…” Eli’s body jerked upright, as if not by his will. His eyes homed in on me, darker, predatorial, and lethal. Then he closed his wings around himself, like hands pressing him to stop.
“Eli.” I couldn’t leave him, not after he’d found me. Worse, I had no idea how to help him.
But I had to.
Eli’s wings drooped, tired and broken. His eyes flickered from brown to rich crimson and crimson to brown, fighting himself. “Lucia, please. I don’t want you to see me this way. I don’t want to hurt you. Please, run. I’ll come find you. I swear it.”
I dared to take a step closer. “I have nowhere to run. There is no portal. You took that away from me when you pulled me out,” I said softly. “I can only leave if you take me.”
Eli jerked, crouching, moaning in pain. “Go.” He clapped his wings in one mighty push, causing me to tumble backward.
“Eli.”
He didn’t care. Eli flapped his wings again and again with great strength, pushing me away. Whoosh! Whoosh! I almost slammed into the front door, but I willed out my wings to block the wind in time.
“Go! Go! Go!” he kept shouting.
“Fight it,” I retorted in the bubble of my wings.
“Lucia, please,” he hissed. “Cyrus is not alone. You can’t stop him by yourself.” He dropped to his knees again, his beautiful deadly wings spread out like a giant rug on either side of him. How beautiful he was, but oh so deadly if he wanted to be.
“Please, Lucia.” He groaned again, his voice deeper.
I debated running out the door and flying away to a safer place to wait until my team found me, but it was too late. A dark shadow melted from the ceiling, like a black cloud looming over us. Lower and lower it rained down, and then like a belly giving birth, countless small, black, cloud-like spheres pelted out from all sides, surrounding us. They dropped and shape-shifted into Possessor demons.
Chapter 21
Lucia
Countless crimson, glowing eyes stared at me. The demons’ skeletal bodies were hidden behind their black capes, swords in their bony hands.
“Well, little dove. We meet again.”
My blood ran cold, so cold that my muscles betrayed me. Turn. Fight. Will your sword. Run. I couldn’t do any of what my mind commanded. But I managed to twist at the waist when Eli’s voice slithered in a low deep grumble I would never believe to be his. “Greet your master with a proper bow, or I shall teach you how.”
Cyrus rested one hand over Eli’s shoulder. He wore black leather armor, similar to Eli’s but more sophisticated, with crisscrossing straps in an intricate pattern, showing off his ranking as the master. He held a pleased smirk that was all too familiar.
Eli’s eyes pulsed dangerous red, confirming Cyrus had a hold on Eli’s mind. Not knowing how much control Cyrus held over Eli was the most frustrating situation. I didn’t know how to help him or how to snap him out of it.
I squared my shoulders and raised my chin. “I bow to no one, especially to one who has fallen.” Perhaps I should have left out the last half of the sentence.
Cyrus showed me his demon face, skeletal features and all, and growled so loudly I had to cover my ears. I’d thought for sure he would shatter the stained-glass windows. Then to my surprise, he let out a boisterous laugh. “Just like your father, so much pride. But I suppose all angels are arrogant.” He paused and gave me a sideway glance. “And just for your knowledge, little girl, you should know that I am a Fallen of my own free will. No one kicked me out. I chose to leave.”
“I don’t care about your reasons. You are a fool. And if you don’t release Eli, I will be the last face you see before you go back to Hell.” I willed my sword and bow, finding courage and regaining the strength of my muscles after seeing Eli used like a puppet.
Cyrus started to pace away from Eli to one of the pillars as his eyes followed me. I followed his footsteps and kept my eyes wide and alert to the demons, especially those behind me as I pointed my sword and my illuminating bow, ready to shoot at my command. But how fitting it was to see Cyrus standing under the carving called The Dance of Death in which the characters were each accompanied by a skeleton, pushing and pulling reluctant people off to meet their fate, a symbol of death’s inevitable triumph over life.
“Do you know your father was a Fallen?” Cyrus began, leaning his back against the pillar, one foot crossing the other, studying his fingernails. “So he and I have something in common.”
“He may once have been a Fallen, but he has been redeemed,” I said flatly. “He is a mighty angel with a pure soul. So you see, you two have nothing in common.”
“Oh, but we are the same. He’s killed many of your kind to protect and serve one of the Twelve that had fallen. What’s his name?” He clicked his fingers as if that would help him remember. “Aden. Oh, yes … that was his name. What horror it must have been to have such an elite angel go against your God. Aden caused chaos and disorder. They cared about him.” He lowered his hand and met my gaze. “Nobody cared about me, but they will now. I will do things to make sure everyone will remember me as they did Aden.”
My bow, feeling my rage, glowed brighter. “I don’t think you’ll live long enough to make a dent.”
Cyrus’s eyes dipped down to my weapon. “Careful, little one. You’re inviting the demons around you to strike. With one word from me, you will be consumed by all. You’ll have no chance by yourself. But don’t worry, I won’t let them harm you. I promised Eli he would be the one to kill you. And then
I’ll let him know what he has done. He’ll never want to return to his people then. What salvation will he receive when he has killed an angel, a Divine Elder’s precious child?”
“How could you give the same fate to your nephew? To the child of the woman you loved.”
He cocked his head, eyes narrowing. His wings fanned out, but not fully. “What are you talking about?” he hissed.
I gripped tighter on my sword. “I was there. I astral traveled with Eli. I saw you kill Ikelia, but I also saw the look in your eyes and the way you held her in your arms. You loved her, yet you still killed her. Why?”
He lowered his eyelashes, looking placid. “To do what must be done. Isn’t that we all do? Do what must be done for the outcome?”
“What is your outcome?” I dared to ask, even though I already knew the answer.
He spread his lips halfway. “If I told you, then you would know my secret. Let’s just say I’m tired of hiding. I wish to hide no more and take back what other Fallen masters have failed to do.”
I turned on my heels, carefully, slowly, and headed toward Eli. “What makes you think you will be the one?”
He flashed his eyes to Eli and then locked his eyes on me like a lion to a lamb. “When he wills all of himself to me, which he will in due time, he will become my greatest weapon. He will become stronger than any angel. Even stronger than me, I hate to admit, but he will be mine, mine alone to control.”
The demons hissed behind me, so I stopped edging to Eli. They’d created a protective barrier around him, summoned by Cyrus no doubt. Though Eli’s eyes were bloodshot and his body solid and still, he seemed distinct, as if he were somewhere else. He gazed at no one and at nothing.
“Does Eli know you killed his father?” I threw out that question to buy some time as I calculated the odds of my survival if I attacked first to get to Eli. But then how would I get us out of there? “Did you kill his father, your own flesh and blood brother, out of jealousy? Did your love for Ikelia drive you mad to do such an unforgivable thing? Just like Cain and Abel, but for a woman’s love and not God’s”.