by Nina Croft
And everyone went still. A smile flickered across Torr’s face though it didn’t breach the bleakness in his eyes. “We can’t tell you. But perhaps we can take you to him.”
“You can? Then what are we waiting for?”
“You have to be sure this is what you want. There is...risk involved.”
“I don’t care. He’s in danger, isn’t he? We need to go now.”
He nodded once, and Bella ran across to him, flung herself in his arms. He stroked her hair. “I have to go,” he said.
“I know. But come back to me. I love you.”
“Nothing in Hell can keep me from you.” Then he put her away. “Come,” he said to Imogen.
As she walked slowly toward him, wings sprouted from his back. In that first life, he’d had wings of gold. Now they were black. Her steps faltered, but she forced herself to keep going, stopping only inches from him. He scooped her up. “Hold on tight.”
Behind her she felt a rush of cool air. She glanced over her shoulder as a great hole appeared in the center of the room. Then he took a step forward and they were falling into darkness.
Oh, freaking hell, no.
CHAPTER 21
When Imogen opened her eyes, she and Torr were on the ground. She blinked a couple of times. The light was dim, and she peered around her.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“In the Abyss.”
That sounded awfully like Hell to her. “Where’s Devlin?” She had to find him before her courage broke.
“Come with me.”
She followed as he led the way. They were climbing up a steep incline, and somewhere in the distance she could hear shouts and screams. Maybe people being tortured for eternity. Perhaps Devlin had lied, and Hell was a place of pain and despair,
Finally, ahead of her, Torr halted.
She couldn’t see anyone, but the sounds were louder now, and she walked slowly toward him. Then she stopped, her feet refusing to go forward another inch.
“Oh my God.” She took an instinctive step back, her stomach churning. Acid rose up in her throat, and she swallowed it down. Her breaths were coming hard and fast, and she forced herself to inhale slowly. Exhale. Inhale. Then she inched forward.
She stood at the edge of a cliff. It seemed to be miles high, and she swayed as dizziness swamped her head. Her heart was caught in a vise, tightening, as fear threatened to blank out her mind. Below her, a writhing mass of people swarmed. And at the center was Devlin.
He was bathed in golden light that formed a circle around him, and he was surrounded by darkness. Black wings were unfurled at his back, and he held a huge sword in his hands. He slashed at the shadows, and they were falling away all around him. Only for others to take their place.
“What is he doing?” she asked without looking away. As though if she took her eyes from him, he would be overcome.
“He’s trying to kill Lilith.”
She looked closer and then she saw her. A woman standing at the edge of the shadows. Tall, imperious. Imogen couldn’t make out her features.
“Can he kill her?”
“Maybe. But he’ll die in the attempt. The sword will shatter, and he will die.”
“No. You have to stop him. Help him.”
“Only you can do that. You’ve always had the power to save him.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I think you do.”
The fear was a living thing inside her. And she knew then what she had to do. All along she’d known that she needed to overcome this fear if she were ever to love again. And maybe this was the end. But she would die knowing that she had faced it, done everything she could.
She gave Torr a weak smile, swallowed and stepped up close to the edge. She kept her gaze fixed on Devlin.
***
From far away, he heard her call his name.
For a moment, he didn’t believe it. He looked up. She stood poised on the edge of the cliff. High above him. And he went still.
Then she jumped.
His mind went blank.
Then he hurled the sword into the middle of the oncoming shadows, flexed his wings, and shot into the air.
She was tumbling through space, her long hair whipping out behind her. He wasn’t going to make it. She was going to crash into the ground, and she would die.
But she’d die anyway, because he’d failed, and Lilith still lived, and...
She was almost to the rocky ground. With a gargantuan effort he flew faster, aiming for beneath her, and scooped her up in his arms. The momentum drove him downward but he pumped with his wings. Shadows reached with clawed hands from the ground beneath them, but they were rising.
Devlin stared down at her.
Her eyes were screwed up tight.
“Imogen?”
She blinked and looked up at him, wonder in her eyes. “I love you,” she said.
And light filled his heart. They’d done it. Together. “I love you, too.”
He flew upward. High above them a portal opened and through it he could make out a shooting star blazing across the night sky.
He flew out and found himself high above the church in Barnsdale. The snow had stopped, but the pine trees were covered, the sky was clear, and the shooting star had settled over the church. He lowered them gently to the ground outside the big wooden doors.
Inside, he could hear the choir singing “Oh Come, All Ye Faithful.”
He cupped her face in his hands, and he kissed her as the stars blazed all around them. “It’s nearly Christmas,” he murmured.
“I know. Time to go to work.”
EPILOGUE
Imogen was humming to herself as she headed back toward the vicarage. She’d just held the morning service, and she was filled with a sense of peace and happiness.
Goodwill to all men.
She’d left Devlin at home. Apparently, he was cooking her Christmas dinner. He’d told her she was safe now, and that by the terms of the Covenant no one and nothing could touch her. He’d explained the Covenant to her. And told her all about his years with Lilith. The years after her death when all he had wanted was revenge. She wouldn’t condone the things he had done. But she would forgive him.
And he could turn into a cat. How cool was that?
They had eternity together. That would take some getting used to, but she was working on it. She would never go to Heaven. But she reckoned anywhere with Devlin was her own little bit of heaven.
She pushed open the door and stepped into the hall, and her footsteps faltered. She could hear voices coming from the main room. When she opened the door, the place was full of people.
Devlin stood with his back to her, surrounded by his brothers and their wives. Her family now. Torr, the Destroyer, facing him.
“You lost my goddamn sword,” Torr growled.
Devlin shrugged. “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry about that.”
“Well, you’d better start thinking of a way to get it back. War is coming. I’ll need my sword.”
War was coming. Devlin had told her that as well. But she refused to let it spoil her happiness. She would worry when she had to. And she would fight at Devlin’s side when the time came.
He must have sensed her presence because he turned, and a slow smile spread across his face.
Someone had hung a sprig of mistletoe from one of the beams just inside the door and he stalked toward her, grabbed her hand, and dragged her underneath it. Not that they needed mistletoe. They had spent the night making love. But it was a good excuse. He lowered his head and kissed her long and hard until she ran out of oxygen and had to come up for air.
Someone pushed a drink into her hand. She glanced around at all the smiling faces. She’d always felt so alone, and now she was surrounded by love. She wouldn’t take it for granted, but neither would she fear it and hold it at arm’s length. These people were her family, and Christmas was for families. She slipped her free hand around Devlin’s waist and then she raised her glass.
“Merry Christmas.”
And everyone raised their glasses in return.
The End
Reviews help other readers find books.
Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed UNWRAP ME.
About the Author
Growing up, Nina Croft spent her time dreaming of faraway sunnier places and ponies. When she discovered both, and much more, could be found between the covers of a book, her life changed forever.
Later, she headed south, picked up a husband on the way, and together they discovered a love of travel and a dislike of 9-5 work. Eventually they stumbled upon the small almond farm in Spain they now call home.
Nina spends her days reading, writing and riding under the blue Spanish skies—sunshine and ponies. Proof that dreams can come true if you want them enough.
www.ninacroft.com
And if you’d like to learn about new releases sign up for Nina’s newsletter HERE:
Also by Nina Croft…
The Storm Lords series
Remember Me
Return to Me
Release Me
Unwrap Me
The Cutting Loose series
Falling for the Bad Girl
Blackmailing the Bad Girl
The Bad Girl and the Baby
The Order series
Bittersweet Blood
Bittersweet Magic
Bittersweet Darkness
Bittersweet Christmas
The Dark Desires series
Break Out
Deadly Pursuit
Death Defying
Temporal Shift
Blood and Metal
Flying Through Fire
The Beyond Human series
Unthinkable
Unspeakable
Uncontrollable
The Things to Do Before You Die series
His Fantasy Girl
Her Fantasy Husband
His Fantasy Bride
The Babysitting a Billionaire series
Losing Control
Out of Control
Taking Control
For information on all these and more, go to…
All Nina’s Books