Quietly, from the sidelines, Ryver flicked her fingers at a stray demon here or there, her belly filling with satisfaction as they disintegrated into ash on her command. She had forgotten how good it felt to smite demons. The thought brought her up short. Smite? She didn’t smite. She wasn’t her father! Ryver closed her eyes and shook her head as her heart filled with shame. What had she been thinking? She had to leave. Now. A part of her wanted to run back to her home on Earth, but she knew she wouldn’t be staying there very long. No, that wasn’t her home anymore. Home was where the heart lived and hers wasn’t in that castle anymore. She flashed herself away to the place that had taken over the spot she called home.
***
Lucas snarled as he dispatched yet another demon within the vise of his jaws. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ryver helping. He saw how effectively she could handle these demons and his heart swelled with pride. Of course his mate would be strong. But all of the sudden, he felt her pull away. He looked over long enough to see her hang her head and then disappear. Well shit. He supposed he was going to have to go get her again.
“What was that?” Antonio asked after the last demon had been taken care of. “I thought no one would dare defy you, not after the show you put on in the caves.” He walked up to Ash and wiped the sweat from his brow.
“That,” Ash answered him, “was Ryver. She was helping, until she realized what she was doing.” He shook his head. “Why won’t that woman just get over it already?”
Lucas growled and shifted back to his human form. “She’s afraid,” he told them. “And I don’t know how to change that.”
Ash looked around at the now quiet meadow. “Well, she is a hell of a lot stronger than she wants us to believe.”
“Don’t I know it,” Lucas agreed.
“Go to her,” Ash told him. “Talk to her.”
“She’s my mate,” Lucas blurted out. He didn’t know why he felt the need to tell Ash that bit of information, but there it was, just the same.
Ash smiled. “I know,” he said. “It became fairly obvious after your first encounter with her.”
Lucas only nodded. How could he ever convince Ryver that she was strong enough? Brave enough? And why was he channeling Winnie the Pooh? “I’m going after her,” he finally said.
The other Guards nodded and Lucas flashed himself to her castle. He didn’t bother trying to conceal his presence or sneak up on the woman. It didn’t matter anyway because as soon as Lucas entered the building, he knew she wasn’t there.
Even though Lucas had not marked her, he could sense her. Honing his senses, Lucas focused on his mate. It surprised him how easily he knew where to find her. She was in Hell, in his room. She had gone back to wait for him. She was coming around, even if she wasn’t willing to admit it. With a satisfied smile, Lucas flashed himself back to Hell.
Chapter nineteen
“Honey, I’m home,” Lucas called out to his empty bedroom, repeating the words she had used for him before. He knew Ryver was there, he could smell her. Her scent permeated every inch of the room, invaded every fiber of his bedding, of his clothes. But not only could he smell her, his wolf could sense her.
There was a shuffling in his private bath and then the door opened. Fresh, hot steam rolled out through the open doorway, smelling of soap and shampoo. And then, his woman came through. Her long black hair was twisted up in a towel on top of her head and she was wearing a soft bathrobe. Lucas’ body leapt to attention immediately and he had to trample down the urge to throw her on his bed and make love to her again. And again.
“I’m sorry I left so suddenly,” she said softly, pulling the towel from her hair and allowing it to all fall around her shoulders. She produced a brush and began pulling it through her tresses. When did she bring her things to this place? Lucas wondered silently. “I hope you don’t mind, I brought a few things from home,” Ryver continued as if he had spoken his thought aloud.
“Of course not,” Lucas told her. “This is your home.”
Ryver looked down at the floor and released a sigh. “I know.”
She sounded so sad, so lost, that Lucas couldn’t stand it. “I kind of thought that was a good thing,” he told her. “But you don’t sound that enthused.”
Ryver turned her bluer than blue eyes to him. The pain they conveyed shot straight to his soul and broke his heart. “I’m not what you think I am.”
Lucas snorted. “No, I saw what you were doing out there today,” he reminded her. “You’re a whole fucking lot more than you want me to know. But what you don’t understand is, I already know everything I need to know about you. You are strong and powerful, but you have a definite sense of right and wrong. It’s why your father could never control you.”
“I gave up that kind of power when I left here,” she reminded him.
“Then get it back,” he said, matter-of-fact.
“It’s not that easy,” she snorted.
Lucas opened his mouth to argue, but someone knocked on his door.
“Yeah?” he shouted, his irritation showing in his voice.
“Ash wants us all in his office,” Jake’s voice returned. “Now.”
Lucas scrubbed his hand over his short hair. “We’re not done yet,” he told his mate. “But for now, we gotta go.”
“Me too?” she asked, secretly hoping the answer was no, but knowing it wasn’t.
“Especially you,” Lucas said. “I can’t force you to help us, but the others, they deserve to know why.”
Ryver nodded her head in defeat and followed Lucas out of his room. They walked the halls of Hell in silence all the way to Ash’s office. Lucas pushed on the heavy doors and they opened easily for him. Ryver knew that they would not have if Ash had not been expecting them.
“I’m glad you finally made it,” Ash said through gritted teeth. “We have a major fucking issue right now.”
Lucas and Ryver joined the others on the far side of the room while Ash paced in front of his desk. “The portal is under control for now, but the demons who have escaped are causing more damage than we can handle. There’s just too many of them. Innocents are being harmed, even killed at an alarming rate, and I fear if we don’t stop it right now, then there isn’t going to be an Earth to protect.” He looked pointedly at Ryver. “We need someone powerful enough to close it and close it for good.”
“I can’t help you,” Ryver explained. “I wish I could. Before, I would have had the power to close the portal, but without my powers I just can’t.”
Ash raised an eyebrow at her. “Is there some way to return your powers?”
Ryver knew exactly what he was asking of her and what it would entail. There was no need for her to explain her reasons for not wanting to embrace the evil within her; he already knew. They all did.
Lacy placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You know what you have to do,” she said softly. “It will be okay. We’re all here with you.”
Ryver shook her head. “What if it goes wrong? What if I become the thing I hate the most? What if I truly become my father’s daughter?”
Lucas couldn’t stand to see the torment in her eyes. “You are also your mother’s child. She wasn’t evil, was she?”
“I don’t think so,” Ryver answered him, “But I never knew her. I don’t even know her name. All I know is what my father told me.”
“I know you,” Lucas reminded her. “There isn’t an evil bone in your body. Your father knew it too, that’s why he banished you. Because you would have been his undoing.”
“Please,” Ash said quietly. “We all need you.”
“All of you,” Lucas agreed.
Ryver nodded her head once. “If this goes wrong, I want you to all promise me that you will stop me. By whatever means necessary.” She made eye contact with each member of the Elite Guard.
“It won’t come to that,” Lucas said, taking her in his arms. “I know it won’t.”
“Promise me anyway,” she demanded.
/> Lucas closed his eyes. Damn it, how could he promise to kill her? “I promise,” he whispered. He knew that he would give her anything and he would protect her at all costs, even if it meant taking her life so that she wouldn’t be the evil she feared living inside her. And then, he let her go.
Ryver closed her eyes. She had buried her father’s blood so deeply within her that it took her a minute to find it, but it was there. Once she found it, it pulsed and writhed like a separate life force within her own body. It was dark and menacing, begging her to come to the other side. Could she really embrace it? Bring it into her soul and let it mingle with the divine blood of her mother? Did she really have a choice?
Lucas watched as his mate summoned all of her courage and strength. He was afraid for her, but he knew she was stronger than she believed. It was one of the many things he loved about her. Loved. Damn, he had known she was his mate and he knew that meant that they were meant to be together, but love hadn’t crossed his mind. Somehow, in the middle of everything, Ryver Styx, daughter of the devil himself, had stolen his heart. The knowledge made his heart swell and his wolf yipped in agreement, which made him love her all the more. He didn’t just love her, though, he admired her. She was strong and smart, witty and pure. She was the embodiment of everything good in the world and he couldn’t imagine a world without her. He had to tell her. He couldn’t let her go any further without her knowing.
“Ryver, wait,” he said, coming to her and pulling her body against his. “I have to tell you something.”
Ryver looked up at him with fear in her eyes. “What is it?”
Lucas drew in a deep breath. “I know this is going to be fine. I know it. Wanna know how?” he didn’t wait for her response and kept talking. “I know because you make me a better man just by being near me. I am stronger with you. I am lighter with you. You make the sun shine for me and the wind blow. You are everything that is good in the world and no amount of ancestry can change who you are inside. I love you. With my whole heart and soul, I love you.”
Ryver felt the tears gathering in her eyes. That damned stray wolf gave her strength that she didn’t know she possessed. He made her believe she could be anything, including good. He made her believe that he loved her, just like she loved him. She opened her mouth to say as much, but the second she admitted to herself that she could handle the evil within, her body took over.
Ryver threw her head back and screamed as her body went into upheaval. It felt like every cell of her body split apart and reformed. The air itself growled like the approach of a tornado and a wind that came from nowhere surrounded her, threatening to carry her away. But she didn’t move, because Lucas had his arms around her.
“I won’t let you go!” he shouted. “I’m staying with you, just like you’re gonna stay with me!”
Ryver could feel the love emanating from her man and his strong arms grounded her as everything she thought she was changed. Her blood roared in her veins, rushing to meet itself and pass again. Her heart thundered and threatened to explode right from her chest. Her back arched and her feet left the ground, but still Lucas held on.
And then, it was quiet. Too quiet. Ryver realized her eyes were closed and she kept them that way for fear of what may have happened. She took mental inventory of her body and found that she still had all of her limbs. She felt her heart return to normal. She could also feel the beat of Lucas’ heart. He had her trapped in the circle of his arms against his chest. She had done it.
“Oh, wow,” Lucas heard Lacy say. He peeled his eyes open and looked down into Ryver’s face. Her eyes were closed tightly, but she was there. Her angelic face was as beautiful as ever. And then he saw what everyone else saw. He kept his hands on her but moved back to hold her at arm’s length. Her eyes opened and Lucas gasped.
Her eyes were the same, but different. The color was off, but only slightly. Where they had once been a deep sapphire blue, now they were somewhat lighter and there was a light golden ring around the irises. But that was not where the differences stopped. Ryver had wings. He had known that, but she kept them hidden so well that he doubted anyone had ever seen them.
“What?” she asked him. “Did I grow horns?”
Lucas shook his head and pointed to the mirror. Ryver moved to see what he was talking about and was shocked by what she saw. Her wings, that used to be white, were different. The color reminded her of real pearls. They were mostly white, but when she turned they shifted from white to grey to a color that could almost be called pink. It was faint, but it was there. And then there were the golden feathers that were sparsely scattered throughout. They shimmered as she moved them and seemed to be alive by themselves.
She could feel the raw power pulsing beneath her skin. Power she had never allowed herself to feel for fear of what she might become. She had been afraid before, but now, she was not.
“You have lived your life as half a person,” Ash said to her. “Now you are whole. Now you are who you were always meant to be.”
Ryver nodded. She felt whole, and she had Lucas to thank for it. He brought her two halves together and gave her the strength to face her fears. She had been alive before he stormed into her life, but she might as well have been dead. A walking corpse. She may have had a heartbeat, but she wasn’t living. Life was something that was just passing her by. Lucas came along and he pulled her up out of her self-inflicted prison and brought her back to life. Hell wasn’t her home, Lucas was. He was her reclamation to life and to love. He was her perfect other half, and she knew right then she would spend all of eternity making sure he knew it. But first, business. “Alright then, we have a portal to close. Let’s do it.” And then she flashed herself away.
“I like your mate,” Jake grinned at a still gaping Lucas.
“Me too, brother,” Lucas agreed. “Me too.”
Chapter twenty
The scene at the portal was something out of a nightmare. Lucas expected to see the warriors, but he had not expected the SEAL team of humans. No, he corrected himself upon further inspection, not all humans. There were three humans, two weres, and a vampire. The warrior angels were still there, but invisible to anyone who was not an angel themselves.
“Fuck,” Ash snarled as they flew high in the sky above. “I knew it would happen eventually, but I had hoped we could handle this before the humans caught wind of it.” With all the chaos going on in the human world, it was no surprise that the human military had decided to check it out. Unfortunately, Balthazar had kept Ash and his team so busy that they weren’t able to stop it. The humans probably had no idea what they had found in that meadow, but they had found it and sent the best of the best to check it out. Ash feared that the government had unknowingly sent the SEAL team to their deaths.
“This does complicate things,” Jake agreed. He wished his mate was with him. Even though she had been freed from her cage, Shelly stayed behind to watch over Hell and to watch the witch. “How are we gonna send them packing?”
“I got it,” Lacy said as she swooped down to their level. She was careful to keep herself invisible as she approached. She didn’t make it all the way down, though, before a viscous roar filled the evening air. “Balthazar,” she growled under her breath. She concentrated on the humans. “Leave, now. Fear this place. Run for your own lives!” She watched as the humans ran, but the weres and vampire did not.
“Fucking SEALS,” Lucas snarled. “They would walk into hell willingly, no matter the consequence.”
“Isn’t that what they’re trained to do?” Ryver asked. “Can’t fault them for that. We’re just gonna have to protect them.”
“Why look,” Balthazar grinned when he materialized. “Now the living are trying to shut me down. I do love a good party.” He snapped his fingers and twenty of his demons appeared at his side. The SEALS paused, looking confused, but then started forward again, marching into their demise.
“Ryver, get the portal,” Ash commanded. “The rest of you are with me. We take this bast
ard down once and for all!”
Ryver shot off to the portal and landed only a few feet from it. She focused on blocking out the fighting that she could hear, knowing that her mate was strong and would be okay. She had to. She needed all of her energy to close this massive hole in the fabric between realms. She held her hands out to her sides and called on the ancient power in her blood.
***
Ash swung his sword at everything that came at him. Demon blood coated the blade as he forced his way to the one demon he had to eradicate. Balthazar laughed and produced more. How many fucking demons had this son of a bitch gathered? It seemed he had a never ending supply.
He watched out of the corner of his eye as Antonio and Lucas did the same thing, all of them moving toward one single target. Lacy was using her powers to confuse the demons and Jake had called his fire to dispense of them. Their screams filled the night air and black smoke rose into the clouds.
Lacy’s attention turned to the SEALS that were firing their guns at the demons. That would not help. If they were going to stay, then she needed to help them. She tossed her sword down and one of the weres picked it up. She allowed herself to be seen long enough for the wolf to know where it had come from and when he nodded, she winked out of sight again. She poured courage into their souls and knew that they would need it if they were to survive.
Lucas changed into his wolf, doing as Lacy had done and surrendering his blade to the weres. He bounded forward in wolf form, ripping and shredding demon flesh as he went. He was close. Almost close enough that he could get Balthazar in his jaws and literally rip that fucker a new one. Rage fueled his movements, and the instinct to protect his fellow military men kept him going forward.
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