by Lexi C. Foss
She nodded. “I have my knives.”
I retrieved my favorite sword, sheathed it against my hip, and grabbed a few throwing stars from the weapons table. It seemed my mother had found us in the right location at the right time.
Fate.
I grasped Evangeline by the waist, aligning her body with mine. “Hold on.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck and captured my gaze. “As if I could ever let you go.”
“It’s true,” I told her, smirking. “If you tried, I’d just follow you.”
“Stalker,” she teased.
“Possessive,” I corrected, engaging my shields and plummeting us toward the underworld.
A map of where I wanted to go formed in my thoughts, helping me hone in on the current location for Ashmedai’s realm. The worlds of Hell were constantly shifting, making this sort of travel difficult. It took focus, control, and accuracy.
Evangeline said nothing, her arms strong around me, her legs brushing mine. Had it not required all my attention to navigate, I would have kissed her. Alas, arriving safely mattered most.
Our feet touched down near the steps of Ashmedai’s building, my wings cocooning our forms as Evangeline gathered her bearings.
“You okay, love?”
She swallowed. “I feel different.” Her lids rose to showcase a pair of dazzling blue eyes—as dark as the sapphire on her ring. Her limbs began to tremble, her lips parting on a sharp gasp.
“What is it?” I demanded, my hands on her hips, holding her steady as convulsions shook her from head to toe.
Electricity crackled between us, through us.
Evangeline’s arms fell from my neck, her hands fisting at her sides as she tossed her head back. Euphoria sailed through our bond, her mouth curling into the most beautiful of grins.
Light erupted as her wings ripped through her back, her violet feathers a gorgeous contrast to my black ones.
A joyous laugh tumbled out of her, causing my lips to twitch.
“Always so defiant,” I murmured, nuzzling her throat. “You’re not supposed to have wings in Hell.” Only Archangels possessed that ability outside of Heaven, but of course Evangeline found a way to defy reason.
Her lips touched mine, her elation washing over us both.
Demonic auras surrounded us, their tension palpable.
I ignored them and returned Evangeline’s kiss, my tongue mating with hers in time’s oldest dance. She smiled against me, her arms circling my waist, her breasts against my bare chest. Fortunately, she’d worn a shirt with a low back today for our sparring, just in case her wings returned.
The clearing of a throat by an impatient Archdemon had me grinning against Evangeline’s lips. “I believe Ashmedai is ready for us.”
She didn’t appear apologetic in the slightest. “Oh? Then I suppose we should address him.”
I pulled my wings to my back with a chuckle as she did the same.
Ashmedai stood leaning against the stair railing with Trudy at his side. Interesting how she always seemed to be with him, and again, they both wore matching warrior leather.
Mates, a foreign part of my mind whispered.
Impossible, I replied.
The Archdemon arched a brow. “Are you here to gossip or to help us?”
An interesting reaction to my thoughts. “That depends on what you need help with,” I replied. “My cryptic mother sent us, something about different paths.”
Ashmedai snorted. “Fucking Fate.” He turned, his navy wings vivid beneath the blue-tinted sun. “Follow us.”
Trudy moved with him without a word of greeting, her steps confident.
“How long has she been down here?” Evangeline whispered as we started after them.
“Several thousand years,” Trudy replied, her sanguine voice filled with age and experience. “But time passes strangely when you frequently venture between the planes.”
Ashmedai placed his palm at the small of her back, and she moved closer to his side. Evangeline grabbed my forearm, the only indication that she’d noticed and a subtle hint that we would be discussing this later.
Maybe they really had mated.
We entered the entertainment hall of Ashmedai’s opulent palace and continued down an ornately decorated corridor to what appeared to be a war room of sorts. Maps littered one long wall, surveillance feeds played across from it, and a tactical drawing took up another space.
The demons had been busy.
I studied the familiar realms, compared them to the ones in my mind, and realized the majority of these were a prediction of the future with the shift incorporated. Varying colors seemed to indicate sides, and their counterparts were situated in the various territories of Earth. Zebulon and Ashmedai shared the same shade, confirming them as allies.
Evangeline studied all the drawings with a trained expression, her millennia of experience marking her as prepared for such an outcome. “A demonic war,” she said flatly. “But who are the beings in red?”
“Enigmas,” Ashmedai replied. “Beings rising to power via unknown means and draining the resources from others.”
She touched a gray marker. “And the gray?”
“The drained resources,” Trudy said, joining her at the board. “The Archdemons are losing power and dying, as are their constituents. Those in blue—like Ashmedai—have yet to be affected.”
“Because they acquired their own sources of power,” I said, impressed. “That’s why you wanted Trudy, why Bael has Johanna, and let me guess, Alastor has someone of interest too?” He was a solid blue on the chart, indicating his thriving power. “You’ve all tapped into the balance to save yourselves.”
Ashmedai merely shrugged. “We do what is necessary to survive.”
Trudy snorted. “Yes, it’s been such a hardship on you.”
Those purple eyes of his twinkled. “Extremely hard, yes.”
The Nephilim—or whatever she was now—narrowed her gaze. “Careful, Ash. I know all your weaknesses.”
“Isn’t that what makes it more fun?” he asked, cocking his head to the side. He winked at her before focusing on me. “How are your elders?”
“Healing,” I replied. “Trudy’s warning granted us with enough time to prepare, though I think most are still reeling from the breach. Even with the foresight and preparation, no one thought it would actually happen.”
“It’s going to happen again, and soon.” Trudy pointed to a red area of Hell. “There are troops amassing here, and it’s not to start a battle in Hell.”
“So either Earth or Heaven,” I murmured, studying the numbers listed on the tactical map. “That’s a lot of demons.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “Led by powerful entities without names.”
“Because you don’t recognize them?” I guessed.
“Because we can’t identify them.” Ashmedai folded his arms. “From what we’ve gathered, they’re minor demons who have somehow accumulated enough power to cloak themselves.”
“Similar to Kalida,” Evangeline put in, her brow furrowing. “She masks her aura because of Grant—a Nephilim. But he’s nowhere near strong enough to conceal that many demons.”
Ashmedai shook his head. “Kalida is a ghost. While I see the obvious connection, it’s very unlikely she’s involved.”
“He’s right.” Trudy shuffled through some papers—what appeared to be more maps and surveillance documents—on a nearby desk and picked a grainy photograph to hand to Evangeline. “That’s the last image we have of her on record. It’s over seven hundred Hell years old, and it was taken on Earth.”
Evangeline studied the photograph with a frown. “So you just gave up trying to find her?”
Trudy narrowed her hazel eyes. “We’ve had more important matters to handle, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“Which is a yes, then. You’ve ignored your most obvious link.” Evangeline set the photo down with a shake of her head. “Those portals the other night were created by the same magic G
eier and Kalida used on Earth, just stronger. That can’t be a coincidence.”
“Geier is dead,” Ashmedai informed. “And Kalida is too weak to be behind any of this.”
I cocked a brow. “He’s dead?” Last I knew, the former Demonic Lord was alive and in custody.
“Tru,” Ashmedai said, a devious glint in his gaze as he glanced at her.
“He pissed me off,” she muttered. “So I stabbed him with a silver blade.”
“After cutting off his head,” Ashmedai added. “It was glorious, Xai. You would have enjoyed it.”
As much as I wanted to disagree, I couldn’t.
“You’ve really come into your own,” Evangeline marveled, pride shining from her gaze. “I’m sorry I missed so much of it, that it had to happen here. I feel as if I failed you.”
Trudy smiled, the first sign of her youth shining through. “I’ve never blamed you, Eve. Or Xai.”
“Notice how I’m not on that list,” Ashmedai mused.
“You know exactly why you’re not on that list,” she retorted, her smile fading into a glower underlined in adoration.
Definitely mates.
How that happened, I had no idea, but it had to be one hell of a story.
“How long have you known she was Scion’s daughter?” I asked, my question for Ashmedai.
“From the moment I first read her file. There was no other bloodline appropriate for the favored protégé of Death.” He brushed his knuckles down her arm. “I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out when she delivered the warning in Heaven. Who else could possess such strategic foresight, but the Daughter of War?”
“That’s why your mom sent us here first.” Evangeline stepped into my side, her wings brushing mine. “To consult with Trudy.”
“It’s Tru.” The former Nephilim sounded partly amused, partly irritated. “I haven’t gone by Trudy for a very long time, and I’m pretty sure I’ve corrected both of you on several occasions now.”
Evangeline gave her a sad smile. “You’ll be Trudy to us for a while longer. You were just a small girl only months ago, or maybe a few years ago. Honestly, my concept of time is a bit muddled at the moment.”
As was mine. But one mission remained clear. “On the subject of time, we are slowly running out of it if we have any hope of catching Kalida.”
Evangeline straightened, her shoulders tensing. “Yes. The Archangel of Destiny provided us with a location but wanted us to stop here first.”
“You know where Kalida is hiding?” Trudy sounded intrigued, while Ashmedai appeared bored.
Funny how he’d been the one to start all of this and now he no longer cared. Some may think you orchestrated it to capture Trudy.
His lips twitched. “Fate works mysteriously, wouldn’t you say?”
The women glanced at him, confused, while my gaze narrowed. “You still owe Evangeline a wound, Ashmedai. Don’t think I’ve forgotten.”
“Of course.” He sounded far too amused for a male about to be stabbed. “But might I suggest we find Kalida first? Unless you want me out of commission for the fight?”
Evangeline gaped between us. “What are you talking about?”
“Ash agreed to let you stab him without retaliation,” Trudy explained softly. “Back when you were missing, I mean.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Why?”
“Because Xai required it,” Ashmedai said with a grin. “He blamed me for Kalida taking you.”
She seemed to consider that, her gaze darkening. “Actually, yes, you were the one who wanted us to find her in the first place.” Her attention shifted to me and back to him. “Wait—”
Trudy grabbed Evangeline’s arm. “Okay, before we travel down Blame Ash Road—which is one of my favorites, by the way—could you give me Kalida’s location so I can start strategizing?”
Evangeline shook her head, bemused and clearly torn between priorities—finding Kalida or stabbing Ashmedai. Her need for revenge won in the end, as she pointed at the map. “Alastor’s realm. That’s all we know.”
“Alastor?” Ashmedai and Trudy asked at once. “That’s impossible,” the Archdemon added. “He would never allow it.”
“Unless he doesn’t know.” Trudy tapped her chin. “He has one of the remaining Earth portals. Could she have slipped through undetected?”
“Is that what you would do?” he countered. I immediately recognized what he was doing—pushing his mate to think for herself, granting her independence and strength with a simple nudge.
I begrudgingly approved since I often performed the same tactic with Evangeline. She didn’t need my confirmation, just my support and my occasional offhanded insult to encourage her to prove me wrong. I preferred the challenge, as did she, which was why she frequently did the same to me.
“Yes.” Trudy pointed to an entrance. “Here. But the real question is, why would she venture into Alastor’s realm when she could hide in so many other areas of Hell without the potential for detection?”
“Because Alastor is the Archdemon of Pestilence, with a direct portal to Earth,” Evangeline whispered, her face paling. “Taking over his realm would give those in power the key to destroying Earth.”
“Which is why his realm is the most heavily guarded right now,” Ashmedai put in, frowning. “He’s ready for that attack.”
“Unless he can’t see the threat coming,” Evangeline said. “Regardless, we need to go to Alastor’s realm. Now.”
“Ashmedai can’t,” Trudy said, grasping his wrist. “His realm requires his presence for protection. But I can go with you.”
He growled low in denial. “Absolutely not.”
She stared up at him, undisturbed by the possessive energy rolling off him. “We have an agreement, Ash.”
He held her gaze for a long moment, some sort of silent exchange of wills bouncing between them. Then he grabbed her and kissed her with such ferocity that I almost smiled. It reminded me of myself with Evangeline, and the spark in her gaze as she glanced up at me said she felt the same. I reached out to squeeze her hand, and she returned the gesture.
Trudy broke away from Ashmedai, her chest heaving from the exertion. “Don’t. Do. That.”
He merely smirked. “I love when you chastise me, princess.”
She grunted in irritation and ran her fingers through her hair before smoothing out her clothes. “We should go. I’ll find a Portal Dweller.”
Good. That would help me save energy, and I suspected it would be needed.
15
Congratulations! You’ve Just Been Promoted to My Kill-on-Sight List!
The lack of blue overcast in Alastor’s realm was a welcome change, but I could do without the heat. “It’s like standing inside a furnace,” I muttered.
Xai snorted. “Summer in Hell.”
“I prefer winter.” In the underworld, anyway.
“Likewise.” His feathers touched mine, something he’d done constantly since my wings returned. I stroked him back, content at his side as we waited for Alastor to greet us. Trudy had called ahead, saying she had an acquaintance in his court.
I still couldn’t wrap my head around her living in Hell, and apparently as Ashmedai’s mate. All the surviving Archdemons had procured heavenly ties of some sort, and even some of the Archangels had tied themselves to members of Hell.
How could so much change in such a brief time? Sure, a few thousand years had passed in the underworld, but it had been only a decade or so on Earth, and not even two weeks in Heaven. For all this to crumble seemed impossible. Contrived. Planned.
“They’ll see you now,” a female voice chimed from beneath a dark blue robe.
“They?” I repeated.
Xai shrugged. “Perhaps Alastor has taken a mate?”
“Oh, don’t call Lucía that unless you want to piss her off,” Trudy warned, leading the way. “She and Alastor do not get along.”
“Lucía, as in, from the Divinity?” Xai asked, sounding as flabbergasted as I felt.
“The very one.” Trudy must have missed our shocked expressions, because she followed the blue-robed minion without another word.
“Everything is out of balance,” I whispered.
“Or rebalancing,” Xai mused, his palm against my lower back. “We were due for change.”
True. It’d been several millennia since Heaven and Hell last experienced a realignment. Earth had been at the core with the creation of the Divinity, which appeared to have been disbanded.
My eyebrows rose at finding Alastor and Lucía seated on dual thrones, wearing evening attire as if attending some fancy gala. Alastor’s suit was specially designed to accommodate his dark brown wings, as was his backless chair.
Lucía, being a daughter of an Archangel and an Archdemon, never possessed feathers. A consequence of a sort for her parents defying the balance by creating her. But while she lacked wings, she certainly possessed power, and it shone brightly in her multicolored eyes.
“Son of Chaos, Daughter of Death,” she greeted formally. “Are you here about the disturbance?”
Alastor snorted, his gorgeous face twisting with annoyance. “You just sent off the call, Lucía. Not even Heaven works that quickly.”
“You speak of things you do not understand,” she returned, her voice holding an edge. “Son of Chaos is also Son of Fate, and I am guessing his mother sent him. Am I wrong?” Her eerie eyes went to Xai, seeking confirmation.
“If the disturbance you speak of was a perimeter breach, then yes,” he replied smoothly.
“Excellent.” She looked to Alastor, completely unfazed by his perfect cheekbones, chiseled jaw, and handsome features. I mean, I preferred Xai, but even I could admit the Archdemon was beautiful. They all were. “As I’ve said before,” she murmured, “Heaven is superior in all ways.”
“Do you see what I’m forced to live with daily?” he asked, gesturing to her with a lazy wave of his hand. “She’s impossible. Please take her with you.”
Lucía pursed her lips and refocused on us. “For every one hundred years in Hell, I am allowed one hour in Heaven. You would think my upholding his realm and protecting his people would be worthy of gratitude, but instead, I am stuck babysitting an Archdemon who prefers to behave like a child.”