“Yes.” She’d find something else to use. There had to be something that called to her in that chest. Something she could get a psychic grip on. Even if, deep inside, she feared nothing else could work.
“The one I gave Eleni was lost with her,” Gabe said, and she caught her breath at his unexpected confidence. “Before I left Earth, that last time I saw them, Helena gave hers to me. So I wouldn’t forget her.” His smile was sad and so full of love it hurt to look at him. “Her necklace was the one Zad had once given to his beloved, centuries before Helena’s birth. It had passed down through the generations to Eleni, and she gave it to our daughter on the day she was born.”
Her throat ached with tears she could never allow to fall. She hurt for his loss, but she could never seek comfort from him. Not for this, when he had suffered so greatly already. He was an immortal, but right now she was the one who needed to be strong.
He brushed his lips across her clenched knuckles. “I’ll get the necklace.”
Chapter 31
Aurora
They teleported to Kala’s planet and into the underground headquarters of the pirate cell that had abducted Evalyne. The information Gabe had extracted had led them to the exact place where the Guardians had come to collect the child.
The place was wrecked, and Kala’s warriors looked pissed at having to cut short their plans of total destruction. But finally, she and Gabe were alone, and with infinite tenderness he removed her necklace and placed his treasured one around her neck.
Awe whispered through her as she curled her fingers around the ancient pendant. Its shape was familiar, but an ethereal vibration emanated, as if it possessed a fragile heartbeat of its own. Her breath caught in her throat, and instinctively her fingers tightened as a surreal glow of tranquility enveloped her.
It was as though she had discovered a long-lost piece of her soul.
“Do you want me to come with you into the astral planes?” Gabe’s husky whisper pulled her back to the present. He stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her, and she leaned her head against his shoulder.
She should be able to make the connection without ascending into trance. But the astral planes had been her special place for so long, and this wasn’t the time to take chances.
“No.” Once she made the connection and located Evalyne, Gabe would reach through the physical gateway she created and rescue the child.
The echoes of chaos that had disturbed the astral planes the last time she’d been there had dissolved. She concentrated on the precious archangelic necklace Gabe had entrusted to her, the token of devotion from an immortal to his beloved. And simultaneously focused on the image of Evalyne in her mind, anchoring her with an identical archangelic wing necklace.
Energy, raw and primal, throbbed from the necklace that she cradled in the palm of her hand. A blazing trail of starlight shot from the necklace and collided with an identical glowing trail that emanated from a place beyond her comprehension.
From Evalyne’s own necklace.
It happened so fast. She had barely done anything at all. It was as though whatever magic contained within Evalyne’s necklace had been transmitting a celestial SOS.
Waiting for a lightning rod.
Her.
A shimmering darkness unfolded on the physical plane. Something alien and icy that didn’t belong in the world she knew. It hung there, hovering above the ground, a rupture in reality. And beyond lay only desolation.
Her mind reeled against the unimaginable vastness that threatened to seep into her psyche and steal her soul. Concentrate. She couldn’t afford to let terror wrap her in its relentless embrace.
Gabe loosened his hold on her, waiting for the moment her psychic energies connected with Evalyne.
Inky shadows thickened in the darkness and the hideous sensation of nothingness receded. Distortion took on form, and a dull violet illumination emanated from slick rocks glistening in a stark chamber.
And there, in the center, was the child.
Evalyne floated, bound by ethereal smoky restraints.
Wild relief slammed through her chest. They weren’t too late. Evalyne was still alive.
Please let her still be alive.
Gabe plunged into the Voids, and Aurora gripped their psychic connection with such fierce concentration her mind trembled on a precipice of self-destruction. Through the veil of the spiritual realm she watched him stagger toward the child.
The Voids rippled like restless water, and Gabe’s steps grew slower. Muscles strained and an agonized expression tore across his face as his skin smoldered.
What was happening? Her connection had been tight. He should have passed straight through from their world directly to Evalyne.
Panic twisted through her. He’d assured he would be fine for the few moments it would take to rescue Evalyne. But he was wrong. What did he really know about the Voids? He’d already admitted the physics was a mystery to him.
He wasn’t fine. He isn’t going to make it.
Agonizing seconds stretched into infinity as Gabe wrestled with the diaphanous restraints that appeared to not only hold Evalyne in place but also sank into her arms.
When he tore the last deceptively fragile bonds from Evalyne, he turned and stumbled back toward the fracture Aurora had created. But he was only halfway to freedom when he fell to his knees, his agonized groan flaying her heart. And then he catapulted Evalyne through the rift before falling onto his hands.
God, no. She tumbled back into her body. Disoriented, she lurched toward the rift. Violet, gaseous tendrils snaked through the gap and curled around her, chilling her blood. She battled against the primeval warning that screamed through every molecule to retreat, to escape while she still could, and gritting her teeth, she stepped into the deadly Voids.
Unexpected, acidic heat seared her lungs and the air was thin, but she could still move. She grabbed Gabe’s arm with both hands and pulled.
“Move!” she screamed.
“Get out of here.” His voice rasped in her head.
“Not without you.”
Shadowy creatures swarmed in her peripheral vision, their hideous psychic hisses shredding her brain.
I’m still wearing the demonic earpiece. She could understand them. And their hate-filled venom wasn’t directed at her. It was directed at Gabe.
He bared his teeth, gripped her wrist, and shoved her forward. The fracture was shrinking, and the more she tried to focus on it, the further away it seemed. She gasped frantically for elusive oxygen as dizziness whirled through her.
I’m not going to fail.
Gabe grabbed her hand, and together they fell through the rift. The jagged edge slashed her flesh and blood trickled down her arms, but they were out. And the fracture sealed shut with a vindictive screech and vanished.
“What the hell were you doing?” Gabe panted, propping himself up on one hand as he gently brushed Evalyne’s tangled hair from her face. “You were meant to stay out of the Voids. Can’t you ever do as you’re told?”
She watched Evalyne’s face and saw the child’s eyes flicker. Relief spun through her. Despite being in the Voids for months, it seemed her archangelic heritage was diluted enough to save her from the devastating injuries Gabe had suffered. The little girl was going to be all right.
“You fell down,” she whispered, turning to look at him. Her heart squeezed at his scorched flesh, but at least he didn’t seem about to collapse. “I thought you needed some help.”
He pushed himself back onto his knees and gripped her shoulders.
“You were helping. Until you jumped through and scared the shit out of me.”
“I’m sorry. I was just afraid of losing you. I didn’t want you to be trapped in there again, that’s all.”
Except they’d both almost been trapped inside the Voids because she’d abandoned her post. What would they have done then?
Kala would have ensured Evalyne was returned to her parents, but there wasn’t any way she
could’ve saved them, lost deep within the Guardians’ domain.
Even if she’d wanted to.
“Gods, Aurora.” He pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair. “Just promise me you’ll never do anything like that again. Don’t ever put yourself in danger for my sake. Do you hear me? I’m an archangel. I can take care of myself.”
She sniffled into his neck. Don’t cry. She’d wait until Evalyne was safely reunited with her parents before she indulged and fell into relief-induced shock.
He let out a pained breath, and then lifted Evalyne in his arms.
“Hold on,” he said, looking at Aurora. And then he teleported.
* * *
Gabe
“My Lord Gabriel.” Jaylar sank to his knees in the luxurious room where they’d met previously and kissed Gabe’s feet. It was a custom of homage, and he’d never thought twice of it before.
But he thought of it now. Because it was wrong, so wrong, for Jaylar to show such subservience to anyone.
Even an archangel.
He glanced at Evalyne, who was wrapped in her mother’s arms. The last shred of doubt as to the child’s heritage had died in the Voids, when the Guardians hadn’t tried to reclaim her. Gods and goddesses might not acknowledge their half-blood descendants or care what happened to them. But no archangel would turn their back on a Nephilim, no matter how diluted their heritage.
And now the Guardians knew that, too.
“Thank you.” Tears glittered in Jaylar’s eyes. “My soul is yours, my Lord.” Again, he bowed his head. Waiting to pay the price.
Jaylar had no idea he was descended from an archangel. Had no idea he didn’t possess a soul. Not that Gabe would have taken his soul in any case.
But he couldn’t wipe the minds of this small family. He had no rights over Jaylar.
Except to love and protect him and his daughter—as Nephilim.
Who is their archangelic ancestor?
Only one thing was certain. The archangel in question had no idea.
He drew back, dragging Aurora with him.
“Stand up.” His voice was hoarse. Evalyne’s mother flinched, clearly expecting dire recompense now the mission was completed.
Jaylar stood and looked him fearlessly in the eye. He would give whatever Gabe demanded because he would do anything to save his daughter.
As it should be.
“She was taken by the Guardians.” He waited and saw dread comprehension dawn in Jaylar’s eyes. “They wanted her for her diluted archangel blood.” He recalled the other victim Aurora had discovered. The one who been wearing an archangelic wing necklace.
How many other Nephilim were scattered throughout the universe? While archangels had blindly believed all their beloved children had perished in the Great Cleansing and its immediate aftermath, the Guardians had discovered differently.
And were hunting them.
Guardians abducted mortals so they could feed on their terrors. Did an archangelic heritage give an added edge? Or was there another reason?
Jaylar gripped Gabe’s arm, as an equal might.
They had always been equals.
“They’ll return for her, is that what you’re saying? How can we protect her, my Lord? What must we do?”
He doubted they’d be back for her. But in the distant future they might well return for one of Evalyne’s descendants, unless the protocols were once again resurrected. “We’ll let you know what you must do to ensure continued immunity from them.”
“Archangel blood?” Evalyne’s mother said, looking at Jaylar. “You’re descended from the archangels?”
The fact that Evalyne had a drop of immortal blood in her veins should have been protection enough against the Guardians in the first place. But, just as the ritual to affect an archangel’s protection over a mortal required the spilling of blood, a similar ritual was needed before the descendants of immune immortals were also granted the same invulnerability.
The gods, like the demons, had never experienced any problems with procreating, and only acknowledged their offspring when it pleased them to do so. If Jaylar’s demigoddess ancestor hadn’t bestowed the protection on her own child, or told anyone else on Medana of it, then the knowledge hadn’t been lost.
It had never been shared in the first place.
Mephisto needed to be informed and the archangel responsible for Jaylar and Evalyne’s protection found. But right now, he needed to heal Aurora’s injuries.
“My payment is this.” Instantly, their attention returned to him. “Keep your child safe. She is more precious than either of you can imagine.”
With that, he teleported home.
Back in his kitchen, he healed the bloodied gashes on her arms. His blood ran cold at the memory of her leaping into the Voids.
To save him.
“How’s that feel?” He looked up at her, and her blue gaze caught his.
“Amazing.” But she didn’t check her arms. “Thanks.”
“It’s the least I can do, when you insist on putting yourself in danger for me.” He attempted a sardonic smile. He wasn’t sure he succeeded.
Because one thing kept pounding through his head. She was his beloved, and therefore she was immune from the Guardians’ wrath. There was no need for her to remain on his island anymore.
“I can’t help myself.” Her smile seemed kind of sad, too. Then she gingerly removed the earpiece and placed it on the table. “This is impressive. I don’t suppose I’d be allowed to examine it and find out how it works?”
“Not unless you want the Demonic Council on your case. And trust me. You don’t.”
She sighed. “That’s a shame. It would make an incredible subject for my doctorate.”
“Or your government would lock you up.”
“Good point. Humans probably aren’t ready for demon technology in their lives.”
He threaded his fingers through hers, and silence wrapped around them, a deceptive cocoon of warmth and familiarity. She had been in his life for such a short time, yet he couldn’t imagine an existence without her.
But he couldn’t keep her here, isolated on his island. I have to let her go.
Phantom claws scraped through his chest, an insignificant precursor of the rank emptiness that crouched on his horizon. A future without Aurora.
She cleared her throat. She only did that when she was nervous. Was she going to ask him to take her home? It was all she’d wanted, from the moment he’d brought her here.
But far from keeping her safe as he’d promised, he’d exposed her to the wrath of Mephisto, the continued evil of the Guardians, and taken her into the heart of demon territory.
No wonder she wanted to get back to her normal life as soon as she could.
“Have you always lived here on this island? Since, uh, discovering Earth, I mean?”
And yet again, she said the last thing he had expected. A small reprieve from the inevitable, but he’d take it.
“This island didn’t even exist back then. I found it a couple of decades before I became the uninvited guest of the Guardians. That’s why the others brought me here afterwards.”
“I thought maybe you’d always lived here. The villa …” Her voice trailed off, and she focused on their entwined fingers as a faint blush heated her cheeks.
He understood.
“The picture you found.” In a twisted way, he was happy she’d found it. That she knew of the life he had once had. “That was where I lived with Eleni and Helena. I built a replica here after I recovered from the Voids. I told you once I never brought women here. It was the truth. You’re the first.”
And you’ll be the last.
She blinked, but her eyes glittered with what looked suspiciously like tears.
“Did I ever thank you for rescuing me from the Guardians?” Her voice was husky, and it took every shred of self-control he possessed not to pull her into his arms and bury his face in her hair.
If he did, he’d never let her
go. And while she couldn’t leave his island unless he allowed it, what good was it if she remained here against her will?
“Yeah.” He sounded tired. Defeated. And he didn’t even care if she heard it. “Did I ever tell you that you’re welcome?”
She smiled, but her bottom lip trembled, and she didn’t say anything.
She didn’t have to.
Do I have to hurt you? Her teasing words floated in his mind.
I’d like to see you try. He’d been so sure she never could.
Be careful what you wish for.
He’d feared the time when Aurora would grow old and die, and he would be left behind. But that had been a fool’s dream, because he didn’t even have those few blissful years ahead.
I’m not fucking ready to say goodbye.
He never would be.
She wanted him. She desired him.
But it wasn’t enough.
She was his beloved, and he would give her anything that was within his power to make her happy. And she wanted her freedom.
Something cracked deep inside his chest. His heart, maybe. He’d always thought he no longer possessed a heart, but Aurora had proved him wrong.
She’d proved him wrong about so many things. Gods, how could he let her go?
How could he not?
How the hell am I going to survive?
“Oh.” There was a choked note in her voice as she tugged her fingers free from his and unclasped the necklace from around her neck. “This is yours.” She dropped it onto his hand. Eternal silence spun between them, and he couldn’t break it. Because the inevitable was so very near. Finally, she let out a ragged sigh. “What happens now?”
Now, it ends.
“I’ll take you home.”
She swallowed. “Yes. Thanks.” She stood and wrapped her arms around her waist, and it killed him not to take back his promise. To tell her she wasn’t going anywhere if he wasn’t by her side. “I’ll collect my things.”
After she left the room, he followed her upstairs, but she had gone into the bathroom. He pulled her necklace from the pocket of his shirt, and then transferred his gaze to the one Eleni had given to their daughter, so many centuries ago.
Redemption: A Realm of Flame and Shadow Novel Page 24