From Ashes and Embers (Ceasefire Series Book 3)

by Claire Marta

  The world rushes by in a blur. All my concentration is on the woman I need to save, and I’m barely aware of the mountain side racing past me or the lash of the chilly airstream.

  Reaching for her, my fingertips brush hers. Everything seems to happen in slow motion. Coiling my hand around her wrist, I tug her into me. Hot, stilted breath caressing my cheek, she breathes into my neck. Twisting our bodies, I cushion her on top of me. The impact comes solid and fast. Rocks slamming into my back, for one brief second, there’s nothing before pain reverberates along my spine. I feel my bones move in a way they shouldn’t. Winded, wondering how the hell I’m not dead, I lay staring up into the mist shrouded sky.

  “Raziel!” Jane scrambles up, trying to wedge some space between us. Hands firm and urgent, she inspects me from head to toe. “Are you alright?”

  Her concern makes me smile. “A little drop like that? I’m fine. Nothing broken.” Taking her mouth, I kiss her roughly. A stamp of possession.

  “You idiot, you could have been killed,” she snaps, slapping my shoulder, making me wince when I finally release her.

  Demented screams from above split the night. Glancing toward the sound, I comprehend then just how far we fell. The fall should have left me smashed and bleeding. I’m immortal but not indestructible.

  “We have to get out of here,” I tell her, pushing the thought aside, not knowing how much time we have before they retaliate. Rolling off me, Jane takes my arm, helping me hoist myself up to my feet. Everything spins. The head rush sends nausea spiking through my stomach.

  Golden eyes watching me with concern, Jane threads a loose lock of hair behind her delicate pointed ear. “You sure you’re ok?”

  “I’m weak, but we’re not sticking around here.” Grabbing her hand, I move out into the swirling mist, hoping it will keep us hidden enough not to be seen. I have no idea where the Hell we’re going, but anywhere is better than this.

  “Be careful, there’s quicksand in places. Stick to the patches of grass you see,” she warns, her grip tightening on my own.

  “What about wildlife?”

  “Nothing lives out here.”

  We run for what feels like hours in silence. If we’re going in the right direction for the portal, I have no bloody idea. Neither of us has a compass. Everything is obscured. All I’m certain off is the sensation towing me like an invisible cord. Instinct? Something deeper? I obey it out of no other choice.

  A glance behind and the blanket of white is so thick I can barely make out the outline of the mountains. It’s a maze. Heather and short grass cover the ground, coarse plant life suited for the terrain.

  Thunder rumbles deep and foreboding overhead. The drop-in temperature announces a coming storm I know we shouldn’t get caught in, but without shelter, we have no choice.

  Stopping to catch my breath, I check on my woman. “How you doing?”

  I’m out of sync with my limbs. It’s getting harder to continue as if some viscous unseen force is weighing me down.

  My question is greeted with a tired smile. Hunting around where’s she stooped, she searches for something among a thorny shrub. “My powers have taken it out of me. I’ve been terrified to use them before. It’s the reason I kept it bottled up. Here chew on this.”

  Staring at the yellowish fleshy piece of plant she hands me, its pungent smell is strong. “What in the name of all that’s unholy is this?”

  “A root. It will negate the effects of the potion they gave you and restore your strength.” She gives me an encouraging look. “Help you heal quicker.”

  Nibbling on the end, I discover the taste is no better. “It tastes like shit.”

  “Stay weak then, I don’t care.” Shoulders stiffening, she breezes past me, setting off at a brisk walk. I don’t miss her expression of hurt.

  Groaning, I eye the offering before taking another bite. I’m moody, exhausted. Longing for a place we can rest without fear of attack and I’m being an arsehole.

  “Did they teach you this?” I ask gruffly, trailing after her.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Jane

  “They took me in when I was eight. Basic potions were something I was taught. How to use herbs and plants. After that I learned from observing, as Arianna decided it was better, I moved my focus to preparing myself for bearing a child. It’s the reason they allowed me to take jobs as a nanny outside their domain. A way to gather the skills needed as none of them knew how to care for a…baby.” The last word is a painful barb on my tongue. That’s never going to happen now.

  “Why didn’t you run when you had the chance? You must have been tempted.”

  “I tried. Each time, I was caught, dragged back to this place, and beaten until I gave up the idea of defying them,” I explain. “They were forever watching me. Making sure I was docile and agreeable in the realms I worked. I soon accepted I had nowhere to go. There are still hunters out there pursuing the descendants of dead and abandoned Gods. I would have been hunted.”

  “What’s that over there?” Raziel’s question pulls me from my sadness. A shadow looms in the fog.

  A tree.

  Lone, solitary.

  Massive, gnarled, and old, it’s hollow and dead where it stands. Drawing closer, we spy huge roots coiled and bent, strewn around poking from the craggy earth.

  “There’s a hole in the trunk. We can take refuge in there for a while.”

  Cracked and broken, the jagged gap is wide enough for us to fit through one at a time.

  “What do you know of this place? This dimension.”

  Arms wrapped around my waist to keep out the growing chill, I shrug. “Not much. Just stories. It was once said to be a paradise before it was corrupted.”

  Stuffing the last piece of the root into his mouth, he grimaces as he chews. I don’t hide my smile. He’s gruff and hot-headed, but at least he’s listening to me. A few hours rest and his strength will be restored. We’re going to need it.

  Treading carefully, we roam closer. The rain starts in a gentle patter with another boom of thunder, lightening piercing the twirling mist in a bright electric blue arc. From experience, I know this is only a prelude to the storm. The wind will pick up until it howls like a banshee. It will render us helpless out in the open.

  Another jagged flash of pure light streaks the obscured sky and with it comes the onslaught of the downpour. Cascading in diagonal sheets, it drenches me to the skin in seconds. Gasp of surprise lost beneath the thunder, I shiver in shock. In two strides, Raziel is beside me, using his frame as a shield, buffering me from the icy pelts. Hurrying together, stumbling, we gain some refuge below the lifeless branches, so vacant of leaves.

  Poking his head inside the broken trunk, Raziel gives a nod. Seemingly satisfied, he offers me his hand helping me through, his attention running over me. “The roof is intact. It will keep us from getting soaked further but won’t be much protection if those witches find us.”

  “Arianna won’t risk the storm. It’s just as dangerous for them as it is for us. Will you stop looking at me like that?” I grumble, snatching my hand free the second I’m through. The space is cozy but spacious. Vibrant green moss covers the ground in a soft spongy carpet. The smell of decay I expect is absent.

  “Like what?”

  I watch as he clambers in behind me, his larger frame dominating our new hideaway. “As if I’m made from spun glass.”

  “Well in your condition, it’s better if you take it easy.” Rubbing a hand over his damp bearded jaw, he frowns as if only realizing the state of growth.

  The sound of the rain hammering the ground outside violently distracts me. “What condition?”

  Raz’s gaze drops to my stomach.

  “I’m not pregnant,” I state tonelessly, catching on quickly.

  “Tink, you fucked me non-stop. The amount of cum I’ve emptied into you over the last….shit I don’t know even how long you’ve kept me captive, but I’m pretty certain we made a baby.”

  I�
��ve been holding in the memory of what Lucifer did. How can I miss what I’ve never had? Grieve for it? It swells with every expelling of my uneven breath. “There will be no child.”

  Taking my shoulders, Raziel holds me gently in place, his warmth invading me. “You can’t know that for sure.”

  “Your Master made me barren.” Tears blur my eyes.

  “What?” Raz’s shock is clear. His expression would be almost comical if this all wasn’t so painful and hopeless.

  “Lucifer cursed my womb!” I scream at the top of my lungs into his handsome face. “I will never have a child even though it’s the only thing I want in the universe. The one single fucked up certainty in the lie of my life and even that’s been taken from me. I have nothing now. Nothing. So, if you want to go ahead and leave me behind because of it, then just walked away now.” I taste salty wetness on my wobbling lips, only understanding then I’m crying. We’re soaking wet. Hunted. Trapped in the middle of a relentless storm, and I’m falling apart.

  Crushing me against him, Raziel keeps my face buried in his chest, the dampness of my own tears searing me further with blame. Saying it out loud finally splinters the last of my secret hope. Reality is bleak. Weeping, I give into the misery. The untamed fury of the elements outside lash round our haven in tune with my sobs.

  “It’s ok, Tinkerbell. I got you,” he croons as he rocks me.

  “No. It’s not,” I wail. “I hate him. Hate you both.”

  “Jane…”

  Beating my hands against his chest, I punch and claw. “I hate you.”

  He’ll leave. There’s nothing to keep him tied here. Everyone eventually abandons me. My parents. My friend. The children I so lovingly looked after.

  Hand closing around my wrists, he ends my attack with ease. “I don’t want your hate, honey.” Fingers tangling in my hair, he scatters kisses on top of my head. “This is not exactly the tranquil fucking setting I had in mind for this.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I love you.”

  My heart stutters in my chest. Tears still flowing, I look up to see the truth. “You love me?”

  Staring at me intently, the seriousness of what he’s saying is etched into every inch of his attractive, rugged face. “I hunger for you. Thinking you were dead has been torture. It’s like my heart was carved in two and bleeding slowly out in my chest. I don’t care if you don’t feel the same way. All I know is there’s no way you’re remaining here. I won’t fail you again, even if it kills me.”

  “I told you there’s no baby coming. I don’t know if you’re feeling some misguided sense of responsibility, but you don’t need to. I don’t need broken promises. I don’t need you.”

  Large, warm hands cup my cheeks, his thumbs gently wiping away the evidence of my sorrow. “Jane, you’re not listening to me. The Devil might own my soul, but you have my heart. Hate me all you want. Even if I have to tie you up and gag you, I’m not leaving you here,” he vows, brushing his lips against mine.

  I fall into the kiss. It’s not what I expect. Soft, gentle, loving, it soon becomes something more urgent. Breaking away, nipping, sucking, Raziel explores my jawline, journeying to my neck.

  “Fuck me, Raz,” I whisper, giving in to my desires. Everything inside me is wound up tightly. An ache throbs in my core, needy and frantic. “Not because you’re my prisoner or because it’s my responsibility. I want what’s between us to be real for once. Just us.”

  Stripping off his t-shirt, Raz bares the glorious sight of his ripped and honed body. “You and me, that’s all that matters. This. Every time I’m inside you, it feels like home.” Sweeping me off my feet with ease, he carries me down with him onto the mossy floor, settling me comfortably over his lap.

  Bunching up my loose skirt, he drags it up to my thighs. His fingers creep past the flimsy material of my panties to slide inside me, filling me, and I moan in response.

  Raz has left me insatiable. Greedy for everything and all I know is that I want more. Taking his wrist, I motion him to fuck me with his hand. Dipping the digit in and out, a second one soon joins it. Thumb circling my clit, my arousal drips onto his hand as I writhe and moan.

  “Is this for me, Tinkerbell?” The corner of his mouth lifts up in a knowing grin.

  “Just you, Raz. Only you.”

  My breathing coming heavy, I turn my head, devouring his mouth in a heated kiss. Raziel growls, his tongue dancing over mine making me whimper. His gaze grows fierce with need. It triggers the same ferocity inside me. Finding the button on his jeans, I pop it free. Together we drag the material down his muscular legs. Cock bobbing up hard and straining, pre-cum glistens temptingly on the tip. Straddling his hips, I take charge, lowering myself down onto him as he fists the base, holding it still. His length fills me completely until he’s seated as far as he’ll go. Addictive, intoxicating, it takes over my mind. Head rocking back, a groan flutters from my lips.

  Rolling his hips, Raziel moves slowly, sensually. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the moment you first walked into my life. You’re all the colors my fucked-up life has lacked. Not all sunshine but the beauty right after a storm.”

  Joining his rhythm, I ride him, breasts bouncing under my t-shirt with every thrust. My knees cushioned by the softness of the moss. I cry out as he pumps harder, my nails raking the tightly packed muscles of his abs. It feels different between us than the times before. A powerful union. As if our very souls have risen, entwining in a way that transcends this physical act.

  “I love you, Jane,” Raziel rasps, gripping my hips, plunging into me as deeply as he can. His eyes shine with emotion that I know are reflected in my own.

  I love him.

  I’m frightened to utter the words. Expose myself to more hurt. When did it happen? I don’t know. Maybe it was too quick for me to realize, or it built up piece by piece. All I know is Raziel has come to mean so much more to me than a mark.

  Energy gathering, my orgasms builds. I’m so close. Abandoning myself to the sensation, release shudders through me as I cry out. Groaning, he pulses inside me, filling me with his essence.

  Slumping forward, I bury my face in the curve of his neck. “I don’t know who I am anymore,” I admit, voice tiny with the confession. “My purpose has been ripped away from me. Something I’ve been preparing for since I was eight. Embers. That’s all I am, Raz. My heritage is dead, gone. Dust. This power inside me…It should have been granted to a goddess because I don’t know how to control it properly. It terrifies me. How can you love that?”

  “You don’t understand it, that’s all. From watching you, I’m pretty certain now it’s linked to your emotions.” He rumbles, still trying to catch his breath. “Forget everyone else’s expectations. Who do you want to be, Jane? This is your life. Claim it, make it your own even if you have to claw and fight for it.”

  Tilting back, I study every fleck in his brown eyes, noting the hints of green woven around the edges. “You’re bossy, you know that?”

  Mouth twitching upward on the left side, he smirks. “It’s been mentioned in the past.”

  Wrapping my arms around his waist, I lay my head on his shoulder, snuggling into his warmth. His own find their way around me, binding us together so fiercely it’s as if he fears I might leave. I secretly revel in the intimacy. The closeness my life has lacked.

  “This doesn’t mean anything,” I tell him hastily, knowing he’s waiting for me to respond to his revelation of love. “What we just did, that’s just sex. Nothing more.”

  A silence stretches before he speaks. “You lived with your parents before the witches killed them?”

  “We lived on Earth.” I tell him, unable to keep the old pain from surfacing and confused by the sudden change in conversation. “Dad used his glimmer to hide the fact he was an Elf. They were always so frightened of being discovered, so we moved around a lot. I miss them. The night of the attack was when my powers first manifested. Hunters forced us off
the road. Dad died trying to defend us. My mother’s powers weren’t destructive like mine. She could make plants grow and bloom, but that didn’t stop her trying to save him. Watching them die…it triggered something inside me. I incinerated every last Hunter out of pain and fear.”

  Raziel’s embrace tightens around me fractionally. “My mother was burnt as a witch when I was ten. I never knew my father. Some arsehole angel who seduced her in a nunnery then abandoned her. Lucifer answered my call for revenge. He told me he’d been attracted by the magnitude of my hatred. We slaughtered my entire village that night. Every last human.” Raziel’s words are low, void of emotion, but I sense his own pain buried beneath. “He took me in and raised me to be a warrior. His loyal solider. I’ve never once wavered from that path or wanted to until you.”

  We’re not so different. Our pasts both lay in tragedy and heartache. Our families torn from us at an early age. It makes me realize that he does truly understand. We’ve both been bound by duty. Prisoners of fate.

  “What are you saying, Raziel?” Lifting my chin, I search his grave expression.

  “That I will walk away with you. I’ll forsake everything I know. Even if you don’t love me in return, I’ll stand at your side and protect you. And if you push me away, I’ll stalk your pretty little arse to ensure its safety. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Jane

  “Eden.”

  Raziel’s murmur stirs me out of my sweet languor. Spread out on top of him, I’m experiencing such a deep sense of belonging I want it to never end. The moss is our mattress. Brown, rich mahogany, the trunk of the ancient tree cocoons us in safety.

  Mind still half asleep, I blink up at him. “What?”

  His fingers continue to drag up and down my spine in a hypnotic motion. “Where we are. This is what’s left of the garden of Eden, and this tree we’re taking sanctuary in is the tree of knowledge.”