“No!” Kagan shot him a venomous glare. “If you ever say those words again, I’ll kill you. Capisci?”
“Fine.” Xander scrubbed a hand over his face. He took in Kagan’s shell-shocked expression and the fear in his eyes. He knew those emotions, had lived the nightmare firsthand. “But I’m going with you.”
“To them that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of paradise.” — Revelation 2:7
Chapter 20
“No! I won’t leave her.”
“There’s nothing you can do for her right now, Kagan. She’s safe with me.” Divinity’s gaze narrowed at Kagan’s vehement refusal. She glanced at Mira’s lifeless body and the still-seeping wound in her chest. Strong emotion clouded the warrior’s face, his expression flickering between sorrow, anger, and stubborn defiance.
After a brief battle of wills and a quick aside with Xander, whose calm reserve and quiet assurances seemed to break the stalemate, Kagan relinquished Mira. He knelt and laid her on a marble bench along the wall, pressing a kiss to her forehead before standing to face Divinity. His tone was quiet, steadfast. His voice cracked as he uttered the words. “I’ve never asked for anything. Don’t make me beg.”
Divinity gave a curt nod. She sensed his pain and the amount of pride his admission had cost. Things were progressing better than she’d planned. A small smile touched her lips while she waited for the warriors to depart the room. Yes, all was moving according to schedule. She stepped toward Mira and placed a hand on her forehead, sending a wave of healing energy through the girl’s depleted form.
A knock at the entry interrupted her regeneration. Jaw clenched, she pounded across the floor to yank open the front door.
Lucifer lounged against the doorframe, a lascivious grin plastered on his mottled face. “’Ello, dearie.”
How dare he desecrate her sacred ground? Divinity joined him on the porch. A strong wind swirled around them and clawed at their clothes, driven by her anger. “You bastard! We had an agreement, damn you. Now the first Seal has been opened, and the girl is dead. You will pay for this disobedience!”
Light radiated from Divinity’s being, in pace with her increasing fury. She leaned farther in until her nose was millimeters from his. The insolent creature thought to challenge her? Lucifer shrank away, shielding his face. “I was not the one who broke the Seal, nor did I kill her. It was the work of your half-breed Nephilim.”
She scowled, the air vibrating around them with shimmering heat. “They are not my creation. The Nephilim will be punished. Severely. Our agreement was to protect the Seals. You failed.”
He bared his jagged teeth and hissed. His forked black tongue flicked out over his thin lips and his eyes sparked red with taunting. “Fix it, Divinity. Do it. Return her pitiful life. You want to.” He glanced over her shoulder and shrugged, his countenance transforming to its usual pimpish smarm. “Besides, she doesn’t appear dead to me.”
“What the hell are you talking about? She’s — ” Divinity swung around. Through the nearby window, she saw an angel kneeling beside a now alert, sputtering Mira. She spun back to face Lucifer. “What did you do?”
“Me? Nothing.” Lucifer ignored her accusing stare and withdrew a clear glass jar from inside his suit coat. The container’s warped lid was screwed on crooked. New dents appeared with each strike of the sparkling blob of light imprisoned within, struggling for freedom. “Here. I believe this yours. For the time being.”
Divinity took the jar and scanned the peeling masking-tape label stuck to the front. Letters scrawled in a black marker read: Argus’s Soul. She bit back the smile threatening to blossom. The frenzied blob inside the container stilled.
“This is not over, Devil.” She walked to the entrance and swiveled toward him again, planting a stern expression on her face. “You and I will be talking later.”
“Depend on it, dearie.” She slammed the door on his oozing smirk.
“What’s going on?” Divinity approached the being at Mira’s side. “The girl was dead.”
“Not sure,” the angel said. He rose to his full height, towering over Divinity. “I walked through and she was sitting here. Asked me who I was and then requested the Scion, Kagan.”
Divinity crouched in front of Mira and enfolded the girl’s chilled hands in hers. “Mira, do you know where you are?”
Mira shook her head, her gaze full of confusion. Divinity waved to a passing handmaiden and soon a glass of brandy appeared. She pressed the snifter into Mira’s trembling fingers. “Drink.”
After several minutes, the jitters ceased, and Mira began to peer around the place with curiosity. Divinity smiled and handed Mira’s empty glass to the angel before helping her stand. She slipped an arm about Mira’s waist and led her toward the den. “Mira, dear, you and I have much to discuss.”
• • •
Mira sat in a high-backed leather chair and focused on the dancing flames in the fireplace while Divinity spoke.
“Do you understand what happened today?”
She tried to force the memories to the surface. Flashes of the holding cell at Tolbert and the long, dark trek to the auditorium bobbed to the forefront of her mind. Being strapped to a table. Zoe’s panicked calls for help. Oh, God! Where was Zoe?
Her brow furrowed. Kagan’s voice drifted through her muddled thoughts. His lips brushing hers as she shivered on the hard stone. Cold. Bone-deep cold. Like she’d never be warm again. The last recollections were of chanting, pain, and endless darkness.
“Do you love him?” Divinity asked as she sat forward in the wing chair across from Mira’s.
Love him? Kagan? Yes, yes, yes. Mira’s heart thundered. Her mind screamed in rebellion. She stared at Divinity, unable to answer.
Divinity pinned her with a level gaze. “Your current state is temporary, Mira. I’m not sure what conspired to revive you, but whatever it was I don’t trust it.” She got up and walked toward the large mahogany desk, her expression contemplative. “Your rebirth has put me — and you — in a very tenuous position.”
Mira frowned. Temporary? She was going to die again? She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. She thought of Zoe and Xander and her other new friends. Above all, she thought of Kagan. How could she leave him? Did she love him? Hell, yes, she did. Her rational mind be damned. She found Divinity watching her.
“You must make a choice, and there is little time for deliberation. If you understood the true feelings of your heart, the decision would be easier. For both of you.”
“Both of us?”
“Kagan will be affected by your actions as well.”
Mira dropped her gaze. Great. One more crappy choice in a life filled with shitty luck. Best to deal with the problem fast. Like ripping off a bandage. “What are my options?”
Divinity pulled a large leather bound book from a nearby bookshelf and returned to her seat near the fireplace. “Let me show you something first.”
• • •
Kagan zipped through his shower, washing away the accumulated metallic stink of Nephilim blood. A quick, fizzing tingle charged his belly. His nerves rapid-fired with wild excitement, filling him with ecstatic, zinging energy. Mira! He dressed pronto and rushed from the room.
Xander strode out from an opposite doorway at the exact moment Kagan entered the hall.
“I need to go, Xan. Something’s happened to Mira. I can feel it, feel her,” he said.
Xander kept pace beside him as they raced toward the foyer. “Promise me you won’t get your hopes up, all right?”
He slid a sideways glance at Xander, tamping down the sudden rush of anger brought on by his friend’s words. Dai! Hope was all he had left. Kagan inspected Xander closer and noted his drawn features and the dark circles beneath his eyes. “The accident still haunts you, doesn’t it, amico?”
&nb
sp; “Every day.” Xander’s clipped answer echoed in the now empty foyer.
Kagan stalked to the bench. No trace of her. “Where the hell is she?”
Xander opened his mouth to reply when an angel drifted in through the opposite entryway. He held up a hand in the face of Kagan’s furious glare. “She’s fine. Divinity is speaking with her.”
Alive! Mira was alive! Relief flooded Kagan. Uncontrollable laughter bubbled forth. He rushed from the room, heading in the direction of the den before pacing back in again when he found a closed door. “She’s alive, Xander. Cristo, she’s alive!”
Xander smiled and pulled the angel aside. They conversed for several minutes before the being departed as fast as he’d appeared.
Kagan flopped down on the bench where Mira had lain only an hour earlier, lost to him. Now, by some miracle, she’d been returned to him. He’d never leave her again. He wasn’t sure how they’d succeed. Oca! He didn’t care. Mira was his Anim Fidelis, and they’d find a way.
“No one seems to know why Mira survived.” Xander sat down beside him and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “The angel said one minute she was dead and the next she was sitting up, talking. Strange.”
“I don’t care, Xan. She’s mine. I will not allow her to be hurt again.” Kagan scrubbed his face and leaned back against the cool marble. “I’m going to ask her to be my wife.”
• • •
Divinity cracked the door open and Kagan pushed through, racing to Mira’s side. “Carissima, I thought I’d lost you forever.”
Mira’s heart leapt when she spotted him. It was criminal for any man to be so handsome after what they’d experienced tonight. Mine! No. Not mine yet. She reached out a shaky hand and touched his chest. “I know.”
He gathered her close. His whispered endearments of love twisted her heart. Would he be as quick with those words once he learned what was required to keep her alive? A slight cough had Mira squirming from his embrace. His grip softened enough to allow her to slip to his side. Divinity stood before them, her expression serious. “This is not finished, Kagan.”
“Mira’s alive. Grazie, Divinita.” He clasped Divinity’s hand to place a reverent kiss on the back.
“The Seal was opened, Kagan. The others have now been activated as well.” Divinity studied him, gauging his reaction. “With Mira’s life returned, the Seal’s power has been contained.”
“The problem’s solved, then.” He tucked Mira closer. She shuddered beneath his arm.
“Not quite. Mira’s spirit is not secure. Somehow her soul has been temporarily reunited to her body, but it will eventually escape again unless permanently bound.”
Kagan’s grin never faltered. “Then bind away.”
Mira bit her lip. He couldn’t possibly grasp the implications of his words. “Kagan, you better listen to Divinity’s explanation before you make a decision.”
Divinity picked up the leather-bound tome again. “I must warn you, Kagan. The binding ritual is not long, but it is permanent. If you choose to proceed, you will be bound to Mira forever. Are you willing to accept this?”
Kagan gazed at Mira and gave a definitive nod. No hesitation. Mira’s heart skipped. She searched his gaze but found no fear, no regret. Only joy. Her own happiness threatened to overwhelm her. Mira couldn’t suppress her blossoming grin.
Divinity walked to the odd houseplant in the corner and plucked a piece of tiny fruit from its branches. She returned to the couple and held out the glittering prize. Mira trailed her fingers over it, energy sparking from its ruby red surface. Divinity raised a hand in warning.
“You must both understand what you agree to if you eat this.” Divinity’s solemn gaze flicked between them. “Mira, by consuming this you will become immortal and linked to Kagan for eternity. One can never leave the other and one cannot survive without the other. Kagan, you must also eat of this or she will die. Your immortality will be forever linked to her survival. Do you accept?”
Kagan tensed beside her. Mira’s eyes filled with sudden tears. Here it comes. Rejection. It was all good fun until someone lost their unconditional immortality. Honestly, she couldn’t blame him. She would have sacrificed for him, yes. But then she didn’t have as much to lose. Best not to put off the inevitable. She turned and looked up at Kagan.
“It’s all right, Kagan. I understand if you don’t want to do this. We hardly know each other, and you said you love me, but eternity is a long time and — ” Her words were cut off by his kiss.
“Piccola, I knew from the first moment I wanted to spend all of my days with you.” She rolled her eyes and shot him a “Yeah, right” stare. He shrugged and quirked his lips. “Okay, maybe the second moment. Either way, I can’t imagine my life without you.” He grabbed the fruit from Divinity. “I love you and pledge my eternity and my heart to you.”
He bit off half and extended the rest to her. With trembling fingers, Mira took her portion. “I love you too, Kagan. I love how you stand up for me and stand up to me. I love how you protect me even when I can protect myself. Most of all, I love how you know everything about me and still want to be with me. I love you and pledge my eternity and my heart to you.”
Mira devoured the fruit with her eyes clamped shut. After several minutes, she peeked out at Divinity and frowned. “I don’t feel any different. Maybe it didn’t work.”
“Oh, the binding worked, mio tesoro.” Kagan said, smiling.
A rush of electricity shot through her belly. Mira’s eyes widened, and Kagan placed his hand on her lower abdomen. “Si, piccola?”
Mira winked at him. “And here I thought the tingle was from being with you.”
“I am Scion, ti amo.”
She punched his arm and his purely macho smirk crumpled into a grin. Kagan drew Mira close and kissed her deeply. This time, something joined the rush of heat flooding Mira’s system. Something beyond lust, beyond love. Home. She’d found her home.
• • •
Divinity withdrew as the couple grew more amorous, satisfied to leave them in privacy. She wandered out to the front porch and discovered Xander sprawled on the steps. The chaos of the evening had lifted with Mira’s resurrection, but the air still held a slight chill. She grabbed a sweater off a peg by the door before exiting.
Xander glanced up when she approached and fumbled in his coat, pulling out the twin amulets. “I believe you’ll want to secure these in the vault.”
Divinity slipped them into the pocket of her cardigan.
“What happened?” Xander reclined on his elbows while she leaned against the railing.
“They chose the binding ritual.”
Xander frowned. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
“Are you questioning me, Scion?” Divinity quirked a brow in his direction, her gaze narrowed.
“No. Only surprised a forever match could have formed so fast.”
“When two souls are destined, time is not a factor. You of all people should understand.”
He stood and brushed off his jeans. “I thought I did. Now, I’m not so sure.”
Divinity smiled at his pragmatic tone. “Xander, you have no idea what the future holds.”
• • •
The next day, Zoe peered into the opulent marble guest room and stifled a gasp. It looked like a friggin’ GQ photo shoot. The Scion milled about, waiting for the ceremony to begin. She’d never seen them looking better — or, in Chago’s case, more uncomfortable. A giggle escaped before she could halt it.
Chago tugged continuously on his black bowtie, muttering something about a hangman’s noose. Barron and Sloane, the two newest Scion — and polar opposites — took turns in front of the full-length mirrors. Barron’s loud comments regarding the color of the tuxedo accentuating his tan and gleaming white teeth were rivaled only by Sloane b
emoaning the lack of custom tailoring and shoddy stitching along with the mismatched cufflinks and studs. Luther, the Scions’ middle child and expert profiler, had given up on the fiasco and rested in the corner with his ever-present fedora pulled low over his eyes. Wyck and Xander sat against the far wall, ignoring the cacophony of bitching.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was in the women’s dressing room,” Wyck said, his thumbs tapping away on his smartphone. Xander snorted in agreement.
Zoe confirmed the time on her watch. Noon. She pushed the door all the way open and announced they were ready. She fingered the frothy skirt of her gown, the pale lilac silk sliding through her fingers like water. Mira had helped her with the design, and Divinity had whipped the creation into being. Yeah, their new friends were way cool.
The warriors filed past her and out into the marble foyer, now decorated with dozens of white lilies and roses for the occasion. A few mutters of “about damn time” could be heard as they passed, and Zoe lowered her head to stifle another giggle.
A clearing throat brought her eyes up. Xander’s quicksilver gaze froze her heart, mid-beat. He placed a hand on the door beside her and leaned in. “Ladies first.”
“Thank you.” Her words clumped together and tumbled out in a less-than-attractive mumble. Zoe smiled past the heat burning her cheeks and hustled into the foyer, staying clear of Xander’s warmth behind her.
• • •
Kagan shuffled at the end of the aisle in front of Michael, the archangel who’d first discovered Mira alive and whom the couple had chosen to lead the rites. Dai! He hadn’t been this nervous when facing down Constantine’s hordes.
Michael gazed at Kagan’s fidgeting with cool disdain. “Settle down, Scion. This is serious business.”
“Si, you’re right.” He drew in a deep breath and straightened his tuxedo jacket for the umpteenth time before peering down the long hallway toward a set of double doors. “I’m ready.”
Xander took his place beside Kagan as best man and clapped him on the shoulder. “Congratulations, my friend.”
Seal of Destiny (Seven Seals Series Book 1) Page 24