“Is there something funny about me wanting to go home?”
“No. I simply find the way mortals adhere to nicknames rather interesting.”
She rolled her eyes. “What, no one’s called you ‘Roth’ before?”
“They wouldn’t dare.”
Echo shook her head. “Wait, what do you mean—back to that?”
“As badly hurt as you were by the spelled bullet in you, you created quite a stir, insisting on going home to—” He stopped. Something flickered in his cool gaze. She was suddenly glad the retribution wasn’t directed at her. “You weren’t meant to die. You were supposed to ascend to the Celestial Realm at the appropriate time. But the Fates messed up badly.”
“I don’t believe in fate.” The words felt familiar. Like she said them before. Echo struggled to hold onto her memories, but they dispersed like wisps of mist. “Why can’t I remember anything? I feel like I’m in a void, just floating. I don’t like it. Look at me.” She stuck out her hand. “I look like a ghost.”
“Ah. That’s because you hover between both realms. This is your astral form, while your corporeal self remains in the mortal world.”
“Then send me back.”
Roth waved his hand and an image appeared before her. “This should help with your homesickness.”
She peered at it and grinned. “Hey, I know this place...I think.”
Streetlights winked. The night was hot, steamy. She could almost feel the heat rising off the asphalt to wrap around her. People hustled by and a cacophony of sounds filled the streets. Greedily, she absorbed it all.
Then her attention was snagged by a lone figure. A man walked down the street, his head bent, his dark blue hair tied at his nape. Silver earrings glinted in the streetlights. The short sleeves of his tee revealed an intricate tattoo on his biceps.
“Ah, a bad boy—” Frowning, she leaned forward. The man looked up, revealing one of the most compelling faces she’d ever seen. She sensed the raw grief beneath his icy façade.
Her chest suddenly hurt and she rubbed it, her other hand reaching out to him. Instead, she distorted the image and it dissipated.
“So much sorrow,” she whispered. “What happened to him?”
Roth manifested a tall stool and sat down, tucking his wings close to his body, but still they swept the floor. He leaned forward and braced his arms on his knees.
He shrugged. “What happens to most people when they lose loved ones? It’s the circle of life.”
Her mouth open then closed at such callousness from an angel, when all she wanted to do was comfort the man. How could anyone witness such pain and do nothing?
“I am an angel,” he answered her unspoken question. “I don’t do emotions.”
She looked at him with pity in her eyes. “I feel sorry for you then.”
He eyed her contemplatively then shifted on his seat. “All right. If I do this for you, if I speak to him, will you do something for me?”
“Why is there always a price for a favor?” she asked, setting the candle-stand back on the nightstand.
“You are selfless, little one, but nothing in life is ever free,” he told her. “Especially for those of us who live forever. As you now do.”
She did? “Okay, what do you want?”
“First, finish the nectar in the glass. Second, remain what you were meant to be.”
“Healer of the realms,” she murmured. “How come I know that but I can’t remember anything else?”
“Because you were born to be the Curantii. Only the descendant of Zarias can take that role. Your ancestor saw to that.” His expression changed ever so slightly, as though he disliked talking about it.
“Why would Zarias do that?”
“Seems like I have my work cut out for me, then, to teach you about your stubborn ancestors. First, I need your answer. Eshana?”
“Why do you call me that?” she asked, frowning again.
“It’s the name you were given at birth.”
“Oh...”
“Your answer?”
“Okay.”
“Just like that?”
“Yes.”
Roth nodded. “All right then. Rest now, as the Curantii you will need your strength.”
“Who are you?”
The hint of amusement was back in his eyes. “Now you ask.”
“Yes, because I’m curious why one like you would bribe me.”
He was silent for a long moment then he said, “You mortals are unique. To answer your question, I am the one with the power to thwart the Fates. I am the Ultimate Fate. Your fate, Eshana, has been, as Michael would say, ‘screwed over once too often.’ He asked me to rescind your destiny as the Healer.”
“Who?”
“The Archangel.”
“Right.” She rolled her eyes. “Why would Michael ask you to change my fate?”
His amethyst eyes burned fiercely. “Because when an injustice is done, it screws with the natural order of things. That’s when I step in.” He flowed to his feet and the stool vanished. “Remember our deal.”
“So, did Michael have to do you a favor, too, for asking this of you?”
“But, of course.”
***
Aethan laced his fingers through Echo’s. Three weeks had passed, since she’d been shot. Three weeks of sheer hell. He’d been prepared to end his life with hers on that fateful day. But Michael had intervened, telling him to listen.
And then he heard it. A heartbeat, so faint only his exceptional hearing could pick it up. But his happiness was short lived. For three long weeks she’d remained in a coma, her wound showing no signs of healing. Dark thread-like veins leading from the lesion on her chest had crept over her breast and into her neck.
“Come back to me, Echo, wherever you are now. It hurts to breathe with you not here.” He pressed a kiss to her cool palm. “Gods, I miss you.” His eyes burned with unshed tears. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I failed to keep you safe...Echo, do you hear me? Squeeze my hand so I know you’re still in there. Please.”
Nothing.
Just unending silence in his soul, where she once blazed, an iridescent light, full of life.
The door opened and Michael strode in, dressed in his patrolling gear. “How are you holding up?”
Resentment churned to a vicious rage in him. Aethan placed Echo’s hand back under the covers and faced the Archangel. “Do I look like I give a rat’s ass at pleasantries? It’s been three weeks. Three fuck—” He gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to lose his temper in front of his comatose mate. “Her wound shows no sign of healing. It deteriorates. You were supposed to find out where she is and bring her back. You came back with nothing.”
“She lives. That is what matters.”
Bastard! His fucking prophecies were all that he cared about!
Aethan stalked out of the room. He had to get away from Michael before he did something regrettable.
CHAPTER 36
Aethan jerked upright, uneasy now. He’d fallen asleep in his chair. Something he’d never done while sitting with Echo. The passing months had left him raw with suppressed emotions, edgy enough to go back into the gym and pound the heavy bag until his knuckles were raw.
He dragged a hand over his face and stopped, his eyes narrowing on the strange male sprawled in an armchair on the opposite side of the bed.
“Who the hell are you?” he growled.
“That’s not important. I wanted to see the female in the flesh. The one you fight so hard to keep, even though she remains in another world.”
The male came over to Echo’s side, unfolding his gleaming black wings edged with ice. The movements created a soft breeze around them, stirring the ends of Echo’s hair.
His amethyst gaze lingered on her for a moment then came back to Aethan. “Let her leave this realm, and I will grant you anything you desire.”
Aethan pushed slowly to his feet. “Get the fuck away from her.”
The angel watched
him carefully, undeterred by his anger. “You sure there’s nothing you want?”
Childish laughter filled the room. ‘A’than!’ The voice caught at his heart.
Bastard.
“If you mean Ariana, I loved my sister. It took me three thousand years, and the love of my mate, to point out that it was an accident. Now, leave.”
“Very well. But first, I have a little story for you. So why don’t you reel in that bad boy attitude and sit?” The angel sat again, his wings spread over the armrests.
“I am Roth—” He paused, amusement crossing his face. “My name is Marmaroth. I will keep it brief. Eons ago, a male was born with a unique ability. While all immortals have their powers, he was special, born in the fury of Whitefire.”
Aethan stiffened. “You want to spout that bullshit, find someone else to listen to you.”
“Sit down, Empyrean, I made a promise and I’ll keep to it.” Roth waved his hand back to the armchair Aethan had vacated. “The boy, despite his powers, didn’t know his capabilities. None did, until the day a tragic event occurred. But you see, herein is where things take on a different context.”
Aethan’s fists clenched, but he remained at the side of the bed.
“He wasn’t allowed near his sister, for one important reason. Had he done so, he would have allowed a cataclysmic prophecy to unfold. He had to leave Empyrea. Allatus had to make sure you were banished instead.”
Aethan’s rage grew. “You’re telling me, my sister had to die, so I could be banished?”
“When Ariana died, had you used your powers, you would have given her life again, and you would have stayed, never to leave Empyrea.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You were born in the flames of God’s wrath. Not only do you take life, but you can give it, too. Only you must want it. When a person dies, if in that split second you intervene with your powers, you can give them life again. And that is a gift none have, save you—”
“Then why couldn’t I save my mate, if I have this amazing gift?” he snapped. “She hovers between here and wherever the hell the other place is.”
“You, alone, keep her chained to this realm. She needs time for the transition to complete.”
“What transition?”
“When her heart stopped beating, you brought her back. Your touch is one of immortality. Had she not died, she would have lived a very long, but mortal life.”
Aethan sat down.
She would be immortal. She wouldn’t die. Wouldn’t leave him.
He reached for Echo’s hand and pressed her palm to his lips. Gods, how much longer must he endure living without her? Truth was, he’d wait eternity if it meant she’d come back to him.
He heard Roth say something else, but he didn’t care. He just wanted him gone.
The angel stood.
“Wait,” Aethan said, stopping him. “Ariana?” He had to know about his sister.
“You had to leave to fulfill your destiny, and Ariana’s fate lay elsewhere. There is always a price to be paid. Your mother knew that when she fell.”
Roth set something on the bed, a pearlescent feather that had streaks of silver running through it. A feather exactly like the one his father had in remembrance of his mother’s wings.
“My mother’s feather. Where did you get this?”
“Didn’t say it was hers, did I?” The angel shimmered then disappeared.
Aethan picked up the feather and the scent of wildflowers hit him. “Ariana,” he whispered, his pain, his guilt for his sister’s death finally healing.
Ariana had taken his mother’s place in the Celestial Realm.
***
Five months later:
It was the darkest hour before dawn. The coolness of the morning would soon vanish as summer made its way in with a ruthlessness that left one gasping and wishing for the cold of winter. Sparkles of dew hung like diamonds on the leaves of the shrubs.
Exhausted, Aethan declined joining the others for their after-patrol meal. He trudged up the stairs and walked into his bedroom. Shrugging off his coat, he tossed it over a chair then willed the candles in the room to flare to life. He preferred their soft healing light to the artificial ones these days.
Lila brought the candles over when she visited Echo. She and Kira came by daily to check on her progress. He had hoped, with them around, somehow she’d respond, but nothing. Even her guardian had come, except it was always when they were out on patrol.
Aethan glanced at the bed as he headed to the dressing room and his heart stopped. The bed was empty.
He wheeled around, scanning the dimly lit room. “Echo?”
Terror filling him, he rushed to the dressing room. She wasn’t there. He sped back to the bedroom, scanned for her, then stilled. The bathroom door was shut and locked. He strode over, slowly, laid trembling hand on the door, and willed it to unlock and open.
There in the center of the bathroom she stood, wrapping a bath towel around her slender form, water dripping down her face. Her hair had lost its choppy style. Longer now, it brushed her shoulders.
She turned and her eyes widened in alarm when she saw him.
“I’m sorry—I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I wanted a shower but I didn’t know whose room this was and—hey–hey! What are you doing? You can’t come in here!”
He stopped then. The sight of her brought him to his knees. He shook his head, could barely see her for the tears in his eyes.
“Er–who are you?” She stepped back warily, keeping a safe distance from him, despite the fact he was on his knees.
Her words slammed into him, as if someone had taken a tire iron to his gut, shattering his joy.
Slowly Aethan rose to his feet, his jaw hardening. He’d waited long, agonizing months for her, only to have her return with no memory of him?
No way in hell would he wait another second.
“I am your mate. If you think for one moment I’m going to go through the whole fucking dance again to claim you, you are mistaken.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She glared at him with her unforgettable eyes. Her fist clenched the ends of the towel. “You’d better leave, or–or...”
“Or what?” His smile was grim. “You’ll yell?”
She looked around frantically. Her gaze settled on the obsidian dagger lying on the marbled counter. For some insane reason, he had left the thing at her bedside while she’d been in a comatose sleep.
“Go ahead, take it. Stab me if you want. Anything from you is better than the months of silent hell I’ve had to live through.”
Her brow furrowed in confusion. Aethan pounced.
“Let me go.” She struggled, her small fists beating at him. He picked her up and set her on the counter. “Who are you?” She shoved against his chest, keeping him back. “Why are you doing this?”
“Here.” He put the obsidian in her hand. “Your dagger, if you think I’ll hurt you.”
She stared blankly at the weapon. Then he spread her legs and moved in between them. She grabbed the towel at the bottom, preventing it from opening.
Her confusion made his pain more acute. He shouldn’t be angry—how could she forget him? “Gods, Echo, how can you not remember me?” The words were wrenched from him.
“Echo? My name’s Eshana.”
She didn’t remember her—
Fuck it! He went for broke—wanted it all back, every smile, every look, the sparkle and light that had once filled his soul—and captured her mouth.
She struggled, pushing at him. The dagger dropped from her hand and fell to the floor with a dull clang.
He gave her no quarter as he destroyed the barriers surrounding her mind with a soul-searing kiss.
Then she stilled.
And that luscious mouth moved beneath his, seeking his, driving him out of his mind. Her hands went from pushing to sliding around his neck. She scooted closer, wrapping her legs around him. Her heart beat hard agai
nst his chest. All those anguished, lonely months fell away as the iridescent sparks of the mating bond slipped back into place, and he reveled at her warm presence in his soul again.
“Aethan?” she whispered, breaking their kiss. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she touched his face in reverence.
He nodded. His breathing jagged and raw, his vision blurred, he struggled to speak. “Saying, ‘I missed you’ feels like the understatement of my life.”
She blinked away her tears. “I missed you, too.” Her smile wobbled. “Only, I didn’t know why. There was this hole, this emptiness in me. But now—” Her arms tightened around his neck. “Now, I feel you again.”
“I need a moment.” He pressed his face into her nape and inhaled her unforgettable scent.
She stroked his hair. “Aethan?”
He could hardly get the words out from a throat gone tight. “Yeah?”
“What happened to me?”
“You were shot. You died in my arms.” His grip on her tightened, his expression fierce. “Never again do you place yourself in danger like that. Understand?”
***
“I couldn’t let you die—but you brought me back,” she whispered. Emotions overwhelming her, Echo pressed her face against his neck.
A deep sigh left him. The hand stroking her back paused. “Shh, me’morae. All that matters is you’re here.”
She hiccupped. “All this time of not knowing why I felt so empty.”
“I’ll never let you feel that way again,” he promised.
She looked up at him, her face wet with tears. “You said I died What happened?”
He wiped away the tears with a finger. “Your heart stopped beating. I refused to let you go. I used my powers, jolted you back. And you fell into a deep sleep. Seems you were in another realm.”
“I remember.” She told him what she recalled about being in the Celestial Realm and about the angel who had changed her fate. When she mentioned Roth, Aethan scowled.
“He’s not all bad,” she said wryly. “Anyway, he told me my history, about Zarias being the leader of the Watchers...seems I have a big, bad angel as an ancestor. No wonder I can’t keep away from scary, badass immortals.”
Absolute Surrender Page 35