My God, she gave ’em hell tonight. She spent a year screwing Gage, though. I don’t know if I should hug her or deck her. Nevertheless, her plan worked out beautifully. My mother was wrong. I could trust Rory—sort of.
Without thinking, my feet move back in the direction of that theater. It’s as if I’m being lured in that direction once again by my sister, the memory of that moment already swilling inside of me like fine wine.
I can’t help it. I want to cradle the memory, savor it. A very warped part of me wants to watch the footage again and again.
The air is still chilled in the hall leading down to the infamous theater. The faint scent of popcorn piques my senses.
My hand presses against the door, and I slowly push it open. To my surprise, the screen is still lit—the same footage is playing as if it were my new favorite song. The mood music and the sound of Chloe’s caustic voice make for a haunting backdrop.
A figure of a man stands in the middle of the empty theater, and I recognize that body, that dark head of hair.
“Gage,” I whisper as I come upon him, and he turns my way ever so slightly with a dead look in his eyes. But his lips flicker when he sees me.
“I was hoping you would come.” The words leave his lips, but it’s as if he didn’t mean them.
“Really?” I’m partially amused, but my heart and my adrenaline spell out fear far more than they do anything else. “Gage.” I shake my head as I step in close to him, my fingers floating to his lips. “You still love me.”
“Yes.” He doesn’t hesitate with his answer. Instead, he closes his eyes, wraps his arms around me tightly, and pulls me close. Every last part of me drinks down the sensation of his body against mine. It feels like heaven, like every dream come true. “Skyla—” He presses those cobalt eyes to mine with such a powerful intimacy every fragile part of me shatters.
“Gage.” My hands cup his beautiful cheeks as tears blur my vision. “Are you back? How I love you. You have to know that. I never stopped. Not deep down. I couldn’t. How I will always love you.”
He swallows hard, nodding as if painfully accepting everything I said was true.
There’s an ache in his eyes, emanating from the deepest part of his being.
His hand creeps up to the back of my neck, his fingers digging into my hair, and how I’ve craved his touch. Just one more time. Just like this. That’s all. Nothing more.
“You have to know that I love you.” His tone is firm. “Everything I have ever done is for us. It’s for you, me, and the boys. For Sage. Eternity is ours. We will sort this all out later. This I know is true. I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry. Happy Birthday, Skyla.”
His lips crash to mine before I can process what’s happening, and I struggle for a moment before I succumb to the familiar feel of his tongue roaming in my mouth, his hard kisses fueled with passion, fueled with a desperation that I’ve never felt from him before. Gage kisses me as if it were his last kiss on earth—as if it were mine.
I try to pull back, but he’s too strong for me. Gage, no.
His fingers clamp over my nose. Gage suctions the air right out of my lungs, and I struggle in spasms, trying to escape his murderous grasp.
No, Gage. No! I beg of you, no, not this. Anything but this. My God, what has become of you?
Every fiber of my being cries out for mercy as I struggle and beg for one small breath. My legs wrap around his body as I claw to push him away, but his mouth remains secured over mine. Judas with his deadly kiss.
My lungs feel as if they’re imploding. A sharp pain sears through them as they’re denied what they so desire, what they need. My mind begins to fade.
Gage, please. You love me. I know you do.
His body bucks. I do, Skyla, and that’s exactly why I need to do this. I love you so damn much.
In a moment, something loosens—my body grows limp, and yet I feel free, lighter than air as I float right out of my corporal frame.
Gage lets out a roar, a ferocious cry as he looks to heaven with anguish etched over his face.
And then the unthinkable happens. Rory appears, sparkling and bright, an ethereal illumination in this dimly lit room, and she steps right into the limp body Gage is cradling in his arms.
I watch as the eyes on my body open, quick and wide, like that of a haunted doll.
Gage helps her up—the old me, my own body—and she dusts herself off, coughing and sputtering to life, and I zoom in and get a good look at those familiar eyes that were mine just moments before and I see my sister for what she truly is.
Wicked.
Books by Addison Moore
Thank you for reading ALL HAIL THE KING (Celestra Forever After 6).
Look for ROAR OF THE LION (Celestra Forever After 7) coming 2020!
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AddisonMoore.com
Paranormal Romance
(Celestra Book World in Order)
Ethereal (Celestra Series Book 1)
Tremble (Celestra Series Book 2)
Burn (Celestra Series Book 3)
Wicked (Celestra Series Book 4)
Vex (Celestra Series Book 5)
Expel (Celestra Series Book 6)
Toxic Part One (Celestra Series Book 7)
Toxic Part Two (Celestra Series Book 8)
Elysian (Celestra Series Book 9)
Perfect Love (A Celestra Novella)
Ephemeral (Ephemeral Academy 1)
Evanescent (Ephemeral Academy 2)
Entropy (Ephemeral Academy 3)
Ethereal Knights (Celestra Knights)
Season of the Witch (A Celestra Companion)
Celestra Forever After (Celestra Forever After 1)
The Dragon and the Rose (Celestra Forever After 2)
The Serpentine Butterfly (Celestra Forever After 3)
Crown of Ashes (Celestra Forever After 4)
Throne of Fire (Celestra Forever After 5)
All Hail the King (Celestra Forever After 6)
Roar of the Lion (Celestra Forever After 7) Soon
Cozy Mystery
Kittyzen’s Arrest (Country Cottage Mysteries 1)
Cutie Pies and Deadly Lies (Murder in the Mix 1)
Bobbing for Bodies (Murder in the Mix 2)
Pumpkin Spice Sacrifice (Murder in the Mix 3)
Gingerbread & Deadly Dread (Murder in the Mix 4)
Seven-Layer Slayer (Murder in the Mix 5)
Red Velvet Vengeance (Murder in the Mix 6)
Bloodbaths and Banana Cake (Murder in the Mix 7)
New York Cheesecake Chaos (Murder in the Mix 8)
Lethal Lemon Bars (Murder in the Mix 9)
Macaron Massacre (Murder in the Mix 10)
Wedding Cake Carnage (Murder in the Mix 11)
Donut Disaster (Murder in the Mix 12)
Toxic Apple Turnovers (Murder in the Mix 13)
Killer Cupcakes (Murder in the Mix 14)
Pumpkin Pie Parting (Murder in the Mix 15)
Yule Log Eulogy (Murder in the Mix 16)
Pancake Panic (Murder in the Mix 17)
Sugar Cookie Slaughter (Murder in the Mix 18)
Murder in the Mix Boxed Set (Books 1-3)
Murder in the Mix Boxed Set (Books 4-6)
Murder in the Mix Boxed Set (Books 7-9)
Murder in the Mix Boxed Set (Books 10-12)
Murder in the Mix Boxed Set (Books 13-15)
Mystery
Little Girl Lost
A Sublime Casualty
The First Wife’s Secret
Romance
Just Add Mistletoe
Winter Kisses (3:AM Kisses 2)
Sugar Kisses (3:AM Kisses 3)
Whiskey Kisses (3:AM Kisses 4)
Rock Candy Kisses (3:AM Kisses 5)
Velvet Kisses (3:AM Kisses 6)
Wild Kisses (3:AM Kisses 7)
Country Kisses (3:AM Kisses 8)
Forbidden Kisses (3:AM Kisses 9)
Dirty Kisses (3:AM Kisses 10)
Stolen Kisses (3:AM Kisses 11)
Lucky Kisses (3:AM Kisses 12)
Tender Kisses (3:AM Kisses 13)
Revenge Kisses (3:AM Kisses 14)
Red Hot Kisses (3:AM Kisses 15)
Reckless Kisses (3:AM Kisses 16)
Hot Honey Kisses (3:AM Kisses 17)
Shameless Kisses (3:AM Kisses 18)
Value 3:AM Kisses Boxed Sets
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 1-3
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 4-6
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 7-9
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 10-12
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 13-15
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 16-18
The Social Experiment (The Social Experiment 1)
Bitter Exes (The Social Experiment 2)
Chemical Attraction (The Social Experiment 3)
Low Down & Dirty (3:AM Kisses, Hollow Brook1)
Dirty Disaster (3:AM Kisses, Hollow Brook 2)
Dirty Deeds (3:AM Kisses, Hollow Brook 3)
Naughty By Nature
Heartless (Breakers Canyon Billionaires 1)
Wicked Heart (Breakers Canyon Billionaires 2)
Stone Cold Heart (Breakers Canyon Billionaires 3)
Beautiful Oblivion (Lake Loveless 1)
Beautiful Illusions (Lake Loveless 2)
Beautiful Elixir (Lake Loveless 3)
Beautiful Deception (Lake Loveless 4)
The Solitude of Passion
Someone to Love (Someone to Love 1)
Someone Like You (Someone to Love 2)
Someone For Me (Someone to Love 3)
BOXED SETS
Breakers Canyon Boxed Set (Books 1-3)
Lake Loveless Boxed Set (Books 1-3)
A Totally ‘80s Romance (Books 1-3)
3:AM Kisses, Hollow Brook (Books 1-3)
3:AM KISSES (Books 1-3)
Young Adult Romance
Melt With You (A Totally ’80s Romance 1)
Tainted Love (A Totally ’80s Romance 2)
Hold Me Now (A Totally ’80s Romance 3)
Acknowledgments
Thank you, the reader, for coming along on this supernatural adventure with me. Paragon wouldn’t be the same without you.
A very special thank you to my Celestra army of angels—Jodie Tarleton, Kaila Eileen Turingan-Ramos, Shay Rivera, Lisa Markson, Ashley Marie Daniels and Kathryn Jacoby. Words cannot express how grateful I am to you!
A HUGE thank you to the wonderful Paige Maroney Smith for putting up with anything I throw your way. I love you.
And last, but never least, thank you to Him who sits on the throne. Worthy is the Lamb! Glory and honor and power are yours. I owe you everything.
About the Author
Addison Moore is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author who writes mystery, psychological thrillers and romance. Her work has been featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine. Previously she worked as a therapist on a locked psychiatric unit for nearly a decade. She resides on the West Coast with her husband, four wonderful children, and two dogs where she eats too much chocolate and stays up way too late. When she's not writing, she's reading. Addison’s Celestra Series has been optioned for film by 20th Century Fox.
Feel free to visit her on Instagram.
*Be sure to subscribe to Addison’s mailing list for sneak peeks and updates on all upcoming releases!
For up to the minute pre-order and new release alerts
✦Follow Addison on Bookbub!
✦Like on Facebook
*Want to chat about the books? Hop over to Addison’s Reader Corner on Facebook!
*Be sure to subscribe to Addison’s mailing list for sneak peeks and updates on all upcoming releases!
Or click over to the WEBSITE
All Hail the King (Celestra Forever After Book 6) Page 64