But it doesn’t change how I feel towards Luca, about what he did and why he brought me here. ‘To get a wife you planned her abduction for a hundred years, you had an infant killed to make human parents loyal to your plan and you maimed and killed countless soldiers, both your own and your enemy’s. You used dark magic, bribery, blackmail, had my memories eradicated and used a trick to slink around the universal code of Free Will. And once you got me, you imprisoned me in your world with no way out for a hundred years. And this, King Luca, is the kicker: after all that, you expect me to fall in love with you. I’m not afraid of you. I pity you.’
The crowd can see the doors are open, the curtains pulled aside, and can probably see us standing in the doorway not moving. The cheering drops to a low murmur.
Beside me, Prince Luca breathes deeply, his chest hissing like a rattlesnake. We both know, no matter how much he wants to punish me right now, neither of us can escape this very public appearance. And in this moment I have the power. I’m going to pay for it later. His anger sears into my bones. But right now I take comfort in knowing I’m not the only one who’s going to be doing something they don’t feel like and have to smile and wave with false cheer on their face.
Without saying a word, his arm still hooked in mine, he moves the few paces forward to the balcony rail. The crowd goes ballistic. I look out at an ocean of faces. There’s a certain look in their expressions that I try to identify. After all, that’s my strength – seeing the true soul of people through their eyes.
Luca waves while I still try to comprehend the feeling of the citizens of Skade. It’s strange because both dark angels and human souls are carrying the same look, as if they’re united for a common cause, and for a moment I wish I were standing down on ground level so I could peer directly into their eyes.
Luca lifts his hands and silences the crowd. ‘Citizens one and all, listen carefully, for today on this balcony stands a young angel who will soon become my wife.’
More cheering erupts, but Luca settles it quickly. ‘And when that day arrives, history will be made and Skade’s future assured as we work towards becoming the strongest of all the realms.’
He turns to face me, holds out both arms to present me. ‘Citizens, I give you Princess Ebony, your future queen.’
Clapping and cheering follows.
Luca watches the crowd. He’s working out the best moment to make his move, to give them what they want. In the meantime he waves, casting me glances meant to nudge me into doing the same. As soon as he hears the cheering begin to taper off, he reaches for my hands and moves closer. The crowd’s expectations shoot to the sky. Their energy is so palpable it makes the air sizzle.
Luca peers down at me, letting me know that he finally has me where he wants me.
The flutters and spasms gripping my stomach intensify with the first touch of his hand at the small of my back, pulling me in close. He lifts my face with his thumb under my chin and with agonisingly slow movements his head lowers down, down, down, until his mouth touches mine.
The first thing I feel is heat, the heat that always seems to radiate from inside him. Fractionally after this, it’s the pressure of his lips, strangely, unexpectedly soft. They brush mine with the unobtrusive feel of lush silk pillows.
But now the heat from his face is like an inferno, smothering me. It takes all my self-control not to shove him away and splash cold water over my head. He increases the pressure and his lips grow firmer and more demanding against my closed mouth.
If Luca deepens this kiss, I will gag. If he pushes my lips apart, I’ll … I’ll … I’m not sure exactly, but biting his lip comes to mind. So it’s just as well for his sake that he doesn’t, but his mouth stays on mine for what feels like a very long time, growing firmer and hotter. So hot that blisters form, quickly heal and form again.
It’s not that he’s a bad kisser. There’s gentleness, and that surprises me. He’s definitely skilled in the art of seduction, there’s no doubting that, and that scares me more than a little.
But he’s not Nathaneal. When Nathaneal kisses me, his tender warmth spreads through my whole body and I want nothing more than to melt into him.
Nathaneal’s lips are the only ones I want on mine, certainly not his archenemy’s.
When Luca finally lifts his mouth off mine, he does it slowly while watching me like a hawk, as if he’s seeking the precise moment to pounce. My mouth is tinder dry, and without thinking of consequences, only my basic need, I whip my tongue tip out and moisten my lips.
But this is what Luca is watching for. He swoops back down, his tongue poised between his lips, catching me unawares. The intimacy shocks me and I gasp, shooting my breath around his tongue and into his mouth. Without giving me a chance to inhale much-needed air, he fastens his mouth over mine again, this time taking full advantage of his surprise tactic. He scalds the inside of my mouth with his tongue as he pushes into sensitive areas. I try to pull away, but his hand snakes into my hair, locking my face to his like a prisoner inside a jail cell.
The crowd goes insane, hooting and whistling and cheering wildly, while my stomach rolls over on itself and my head spins with oxygen withdrawal. I try to draw air in through my nose but the state of my nerves doesn’t allow me nearly enough.
I’m almost out of air, but I would rather pass out in front of billions of people than draw from his lungs. I smack my palms against his shoulders repeatedly, until he finally gets it and lifts his head.
I gulp in air as if I’ve been drowning. Luca watches me, his chest rising and falling with his own deep breaths, an unreadable expression on his face.
Meanwhile, the tumultuous applause of the massive crowd seeps into my head. Dazed by the lack of oxygen, I allow Luca to turn me towards them. I grip the balustrade in front of me with both hands.
Slowly the faces below become clearer, and that look in their eyes I’ve been trying to decipher finally dawns on me. The knowledge of what it is makes me go weak at the knees.
Thinking I might faint, Luca swings his arm around my waist and pulls me against him.
The crowd’s cheers incredibly grow louder, and that look in their eyes intensifies, which only makes me feel sicker in the stomach.
I hate Luca for putting me in this position, even more than I did already. What am I supposed to do now? But this … this shouldn’t make any difference. I don’t have any obligation to these people. It won’t change my plans. I won’t let it.
I raise my hand, wave and even offer a small smile, something I never dreamed I would do.
But how can I ignore that look in their eyes?
That poignant, pitiful expression of hope.
11
Jordan
It’s just as well I don’t have far to drive. In my mood I’d probably take a sharp bend too fast, hit a few trees before soaring into open air to crash head first into rocks on the valley floor.
Probably explode.
Nothing left to bury.
Shit! I gotta get myself outta this dark space my head is in.
‘Jordy, are you OK?’
For a moment it’s Ebony I’m hearing and my heart flips over. She’s the only one who knows how to pull me outta this hole. She has the right words, the perfect touch. Her warm hand on my shoulder always calms me. Those violet eyes hold so much compassion for me. And the way she says my name, shortened like a pet name for a puppy, is so damn cute.
‘Jordan?’
I turn towards the voice, a heartbeat away from whispering her name. It’s lucky I don’t, cos it’s not Ebony in my passenger seat like so many times before. This is Amber. And Luca didn’t kidnap Amber. No, Luca took my girl, the girl I love.
‘Drop me off here, thanks,’ Amber snaps.
I glance out of my side window into what is arguably the darkest stretch of road between the monastery and Thane’s place.
‘Stop the car!’
I pull up on the shoulder as soon as I find a strip wide enough. ‘What’s your proble
m?’
She’s in a hurry to get out. ‘Unlock my door.’ Her voice could be a sword. It sounds so deadly she could kill me with it. ‘Do it, Jordan, now.’
‘Not until you tell me why you want to walk on this deserted mountain road in the middle of the night, alone.’
There’s something fierce in her eyes when she turns them on me. A flash of awareness ripples through my gut.
‘Of course I don’t want to walk out there in the dark alone, but it beats being in this car with you ignoring me or lamenting that I’m not the one who got kidnapped!’
‘I didn’t say that!’
‘Not aloud!’
What do I say to that? Admit it and hurt her more?
‘It’s in your eyes, Jordan, every time you look through me. And I can’t stand to be near you when you’re wishing it were me in her place.’
‘Amber, no –’
‘I love her too, but I wouldn’t want you to take her place. You really are a moron.’
Amber has to know I don’t really mean it. ‘I miss her so much, Amber, you’ve got no idea.’
‘So much that you’d rather the Prince of Darkness had taken me in her place.’
‘Don’t say that. I would never want that for you.’
Tears are swimming in her eyes as I take her hands in mine. ‘Please believe me, Amber, no matter what fleeting signs you might read on my face, I DO NOT want you harmed by anyone or anything.’
She hiccups and scrunches her nose. I try not to smile at how cute she looks when she does that. She sniffs again. ‘Do you mean that? I mean, really, really mean that?’
I glance up at the stars to gather the strength I need to convince her I’m telling the truth. Then I collect her tear-soaked face in my hands and look into her eyes. ‘As God is my witness, Amber Lang, I swear to you that I would kill anyone who even thought about hurting you.’
12
Nathaneal
Twelve Sentinels sit at one time, with each Sentinel serving between seven years and a hundred. It’s a sacrifice and an honour to serve the High King on such a personal level, to deal out his directives, to be the instigators of his law and, along with the Archangels, to protect him.
Avena has no higher honour.
We fly night and day across three provinces, past the River of Twin Tunnels and over the Sea of Seven Winds, before reaching the shimmering white sands of Empyrean Island. Michael, Shae and I make our way on foot along a path that cuts through thick tropical growth that resembles a jungle more than a forest.
Since Michael has been here before, he leads the way. Empyrean was the best place for him after Luca slaughtered his wife, Thereziel, in a vindictive rage, destroying her body and soul. After three years in the Temple, meditating, studying and writing chronicles, he was able to return to his life again.
We reach a vast field covered in wild flowers. Glancing at each other in silent signal, we discharge our wings and fly low over the carpet of silk and velvet. Ebony would be in awe seeing this, running her fingers over the soft furry petals as I am now. One day I will bring her here.
‘I have heard that Peridis is like this,’ Shae remarks.
‘Perhaps you should ask our High King yourself,’ Michael suggests teasingly.
‘I don’t think so, in case he decides to send me there!’ she jokes, but her voice turns serious as she shifts her gaze to me. ‘I can’t risk not being there when you bring Ebrielle home.’
‘You will be there. And, Shae, the only name she knows is Ebony. It’s her identity and we can’t take that from her, not without her permission.’
She nods, and as the landscape grows rocky, we land on terra firma, finding we’re closer than we thought. We tilt our heads back and look up at Avena’s highest mountain, where, at the summit, the High King’s Temple sits permanently concealed in mist.
Michael leads the way through a cleverly concealed path between rocks to stairs that will take us to the walled city.
‘Any thoughts before we start the climb?’ I ask.
Shae frowns, purses her lips. ‘How many steps are there? I can only see the first three hundred and six.’
‘In all the time I spent here,’ Michael says as we start to climb, ‘I never thought to count them.’
‘Weren’t you even curious?’
He shrugs. ‘Not really, Shae. I didn’t have the mind for counting stairs in those days.’
I close my eyes as a wave of grief flows out of him and slams into me, which, coupled with my own despair, takes me to a point of bleakness I can barely fathom. I double over, my hands on my thighs, unable to go on.
‘Forgive me, cousin,’ he says, rushing to my side. ‘You didn’t need that.’
‘It’s all right, Michael. It’s passing.’ He helps me straighten up and I take a deep breath.
‘Sometimes it feels like only yesterday that I lost Theze.’
‘I wish I had known her.’
Losing a partner is rare among angels. The emptiness left behind can devastate the one who remains, the heartache can consume them, rip the angel apart like an incendiary exploding on the inside. The trigger might be a memory, a familiar scent, the voice they hear in their dreams.
For me, without Ebony, it feels as if there are a million triggers: the memory of her face as the gates thundered down between us, the way her eyes clung to mine when Michael pulled me from her arms at my arrest; I miss her gentle, selfless ways, her struggle to rekindle her angelic ancestry, the touch of her fingers on my face. How can I go on without her?
The answer is simple.
I can’t.
‘Are we ready to begin?’ Shae asks, practically jumping up and down. Her excitement at being this near the source of our power, the creator of everything, with the possibility of freeing her sister becoming reality, catches Michael and me by surprise. And as joy is meant to do, it spreads into us and lifts us both to a level where we can function.
Many stairs later, but with many more to go, we enter thickening mist. Shae pauses, stretches, arching her back. Her enthusiasm waning slightly, she asks Michael, ‘Are you sure we can’t fly?’
‘Not if you wish to enter the city.’
‘So for those that come here, this is like a pilgrimage,’ she ponders, ‘for what more can one do when climbing stairs shrouded in mist except to think, reflect and wonder.’
We reach a platform with a railing and a bench. But no one is interested in the view, no matter how astonishing, and there is no time to rest. We push on, and several hundred steps later we reach the summit, where a colossal white wall protects the city, stretching so high its top fuses into the mist.
‘They will be expecting us,’ Michael says.
‘They?’ Shae asks.
Walking to the gates, he peers over his shoulder. ‘The Sentinels. They will know by now that we’re here and what we’re coming for. But we’ll still need their approval for an audience with the High King.’
An Archangel wearing a long white dress and matching cloak with a deep hood opens a door in the towering gate; her graceful, feathered wings sway slightly behind her. She greets us with a warm smile from pale lips, leaning down to kiss the air either side of each of our faces. ‘Welcome to Empyrean.’ Her voice is low and strong, her whitish skin flawless, her eyes amethyst in colour. ‘I am Teeliah, and I’m to escort you directly to the Temple. Please follow me.’
Teeliah slips into the air on silent wingbeats, glancing back once to ensure we’re following.
There is an aura of serenity in this place. It’s tangible even from this height. And by the peaceful look on Shae’s face, and ease by which she’s moving, she’s feeling it too.
Following Teeliah, we touch down on the Temple’s front steps, moving inside through a spectacular glass atrium where plants thrive alongside a waterfall and a shimmering stream leaping with colourful fish. A corridor takes us to an area called the Centre, where a lift waits for us with its doors open. Teeliah takes us up to level twelve but doesn’t get ou
t. ‘Someone will come for you soon.’
We thank her and the doors close behind us.
Only a moment passes before footsteps approach and another Archangel in similar dress greets us and leads us to the Sentinels’ chamber. I can see that she is talking with Michael and Shae, but all I can hear is the sound of my heart pounding. This is it. I have to convince them to help us. I cannot fail Ebony at this first hurdle.
The room is round. The Sentinels – six male, six female – sit up on a raised semicircular platform, with Prince Cassiel from the Order of Powers at the centre, ready to judge whether our petition to see the High King is deserving.
It’s all up to them.
Michael and Shae stand on either side of me. We are brief, to the point, as practised on our way here, taking turns explaining our cause, how important it is to retrieve Ebony and the situation that will occur should we not be successful. How Luca will create an unbeatable army to invade Earth, and how, in our capacity as Guardians, we will have failed.
The Sentinels don’t ask us to leave. They’re quiet for a few moments, undoubtedly conversing through a private mind-link.
Prince Cassiel stands. My mouth goes dry. This is it. He says, ‘Prince Nathaneal, Prince Michael and my lady Shaephira, you make a strong case. You have our unanimous support.’
They will let us meet the High King.
Shae squeals, gripping my arm, and her joy slams into me, but Prince Cassiel has more to say, so I keep my emotions in check to listen to his instructions with a clear head.
‘You are about to meet our glorious High King,’ he says. ‘Forget everything you know about him, all that you have been taught or told or imagined. Control your temper in his presence and do not waste his time. There will be no need for lengthy explanations. He knows your needs before you enter his chamber, your questions before you ask them, the limitations you yourself are unaware of having. Our High King is powerful beyond what we are capable of understanding.’
The other Sentinels nod when he says this. But telling me the High King is powerful beyond comprehension doesn’t frighten me, but gives me hope.
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