Cursed Heart_The Siren Coven

by Kim Loraine

  I shake my head. "I don't. Helena does."

  "It's not the most attractive beverage."

  "What are you doing here, brother?"

  He smirks and sets the bag on the counter. "I come bearing gifts."

  I cock an eyebrow at that. "Your gifts are typically not things I want."

  "I'm offended."

  "I'd apologize, but I'm not sorry."

  Then his cool exterior evaporates. "You forget your place, fallen. I am still an archangel while you can barely tap into enough power to wield Michael's sword."

  "If you expect me to cower, you're going to be disappointed."

  "I've been sent by Michael. We've been following your…misadventures of late. Your clandestine meeting with the demon—"

  "I know, I…it got out of hand."

  "It was unfortunate, but ended up helping our cause."

  "How so?"

  He leans against the counter and runs his finger over the dark granite. "He left a trail and it's highly likely he led us to the location of Hell's new leader."

  "How do you know that?"

  "With the blood of the witch and a fallen together, we were able to track him. It was a rather brilliant realization on my part if I do say so myself."

  "And what does this have to do with your gift to me?"

  That smirk of his turns into a full-fledged smile. "It will save your witch and gain you the redemption you so desperately seek. But you have to accept the gift."

  My heart leaps at the words. Save Helena? "Yes. I'll do anything I can to save her."

  "Bow your head, brother."

  I do as he says, closing my eyes and readying myself for the inevitable pain anything he bestows upon me comes with. It happened with Michaels' sword, bright, burning in my arm as power was infused in my hand. I'm sure it will happen now with whatever weapon he's entrusting to me.

  He places his palm on the crown of my head and murmurs in Enochian, words I haven't heard since my fall. Blinding pain slices across my back and shoulders, everything in me is on fire. My back arches as I'm lifted into the air, arms extended as wings, my wings, erupt from my shoulder blades. They extend and stretch, flexing muscles I haven't used in millennia. They're blackened and nearly transparent, but I can feel their weight, the shift of air between each tattered feather, and sensation ripples up them when the tips of dark feathers brush each end of the kitchen. My wingspan was one of the largest of the Grigori before my fall.

  "I…I don't understand why you'd return these to me."

  Gabriel crosses his arms over his chest. "Because you'll need every advantage for the fight that is ahead." He reaches out and brushes his fingertips over the ends of my feathers. "They're not whole, as you can see. I can't bring them completely back to you. That can only happen after you've earned redemption."

  My gut twists at the thought of having to return to Heaven without Helena. "And what happens after that? Do I have to choose to live without her?"

  Sadness twists his features. "I don't know. Every case is different. Regardless, she'll go to purgatory if you don't stop her curse. I wish I could help you further, but it is Father's will that you and the witches be the ones to embark on this battle."

  "I can't take Helena and her sisters in to fight the leader of Hell. This isn't about them."

  "It is. Why else do you think Kit would use your blood to locate her?" He sighs. "Honestly, are you so wrapped up in her that you can't see what's in front of your very eyes?"

  "The leader…it's Calista?"

  "We can't know for certain. She's still hidden, but it's likely. It would explain her anger over the coven offering aid to Sariel and entrapping Lucifer."

  My thoughts run to the moment Helena was nearly summoned by a sinister force. If Calista is the new leader of Hell and all its demons, things are much more dangerous than we previously thought. "Is she carrying my child?" I ask through a tight throat.

  "I should hope not. That woman is terrible. Not to mention, I'm sure she's had Lucifer between her legs."

  "Not Calista. Helena. She's my soul mate, you know it as well as I do. Is she pregnant?"

  Gabriel rolls his eyes. "No."

  Something eases in my chest. But there's a pang of disappointment there too. I want her to share everything with me, and that means a family. I sink down to the floor and my wings fold up and vanish, the flow of angelic grace a flash of heat across my skin. "We're going to stop Kit, and take down Calista. Where are they?"

  Gabriel waves a hand over the dark granite of the countertop and a map of the city appears. A red dot shifts erratically along one block near the Staten Island ferry. "He's there. Pacing and possibly trapped somewhere underground."

  "Trapped? Why?"

  "Well, I know if I were trying to acquire a witch and my only opportunity to summon her failed I'd be cross with the messenger who failed me."

  "You think he's been locked up by Calista?"

  "It's definitely a possibility. Or he's being used as bait. I suppose you'll find out."

  I heave a sigh trying to contain my frustration. "Thanks for the help."

  He nods then glances over his shoulder and down the hall. I know he's heard Helena's feet hitting the floor just as I have. "Tamiel?" he murmurs.

  "What?"

  "You know you can't save her and keep her at the same time. Yours is a tragedy, a story written as a warning about forbidden love. Star-crossed and destined to end in heartbreak."

  "You've been reading too many romance novels," I say, but his words are like a punch to my gut.

  "You'll make her love you and then do what you do best, Tamiel. You'll abandon her. Like you abandoned your duties, like you abandoned us."

  He is wrong. "She is everything to me. I'll never leave her."

  My brother shakes his head. "So be it. I can't change your mind, I know that. But remember this, her soul is at stake. When the time comes, I can only hope you'll make the right choice."

  Then he vanishes, leaving nothing but the overwhelming feeling of impending doom in his wake.

  "Morning." Helena's sleepy voice is equal parts healing and painful as she rounds the corner, blissfully unaware of the exchange I'd just had with my brother.

  I push away thoughts of us being destined for heartbreak and focus on what we have now. This is us, and I want to believe it's our time and our fate is what we make. Except I know better than most that my Father's plans take us where His design needs us.

  12

  Helena

  Tamiel has been cagey for the past hour. His gaze never meeting mine, the tension in the room nothing to do with attraction. I could taste the power in the kitchen as soon as I entered the room. Strong, ancient, and fierce. Angelic power.

  "What's happened?" I ask, staring at him over the rim of my coffee mug.

  "Why would you think something happened, love?"

  "Because you're being…not yourself. You're keeping a secret, I can see it in your eyes." I rise and take my cup with me, pretending I'm going to fill it with more coffee. Instead, I set it on the counter and move to stand behind him, closing my eyes and working to sense his aura. "There's a wealth of power surrounding you that wasn't there last night."

  "You let me feed, remember?"

  Oh, I remember. I'll never forget that moment. Not even when I die. "This is different." I place my palm between his shoulder blades and he flinches away as though I slapped him.

  "Stop." His voice is tense and pained.

  "Tamiel," I say, using a low, calm tone. "Take off your shirt."

  He sighs, his palms braced on the bar, but then he pulls the fabric over his head. I see it immediately. There's a faint shimmer of angelic grace under his skin, something so minimal you wouldn't notice unless you knew to look.

  "What is this?" Part of me already knows, but I want to be wrong. Because he can't have accepted the return of his wings. Not if he truly wants to be with me. An angel can't have it both ways. It's heavenly duties or earthly love.

  "
Stand back," he whispers. The words are strangled, as though he's forcing them free.

  My hands tremble as I do what he says. In a flash of light, his wings appear, unfolding from his body and extending. They're breathtaking and tragic, the tattered and singed feathers reminding me of the only other fallen with wings. Except where Lucifer's were black and tinged with blood, Tamiel's are dark gray and fading to white the closer they get to his body. "Tamiel…you…your wings."

  I reach out and run my fingers over the slightly translucent ridge of muscle at the top of his wing. He lets out a soft groan and folds them in until they vanish completely. "A gift from Michael."

  "You're not fallen any longer." My heart squeezes at the thought. He's going to leave me. I finally open up to a man and he chooses to leave immediately after. "Of course. You got what you wanted, a roll in the sheets with the legendary Helen of Troy. You wormed your way into my heart and then decide to abandon me as soon as a better offer comes along."

  "Helena, no—" He turns toward me, bare-chested and gorgeous. It's not fair, really. But I'm not going to let this happen. Not now. I should have run the moment I started feeling more than lust for him.

  Closing my eyes, I concentrate on the first location in the city I can think of. In an instant, I'm standing outside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Already a line has formed for entry into the vast museum, but I'm not going inside. I palm the black moonstone from the inside of my pocket and pull its power into me. I'll need help for this if I'm going to be able to kill the seed of love Tamiel planted in my chest. Love. No. I don't bloody love him. I can't. But if he's my soul mate, isn't that love a foregone conclusion?

  I murmur an incantation, one that will take me to the closest unclaimed heart. I'll prove I don't love that damn fallen angel. A faint blue glow settles between my feet and begins moving in the direction of Central Park, bypassing couples and groups of tourists. How is it possible these people are all in love? It's supposed to be rare and, more often than not, a lie. But then, rounding the corner, I see where my light stopped. A man stands next to a park bench, his dark hair curling around his collar and the tall frame drawing my gaze over broad shoulders.

  Immediately I start singing, waiting for him to turn and face me, to be enthralled and under my spell. Proof that I'm not in love. His shoulders stiffen and he turns, but the moment I see his face, my stomach turns to stone.

  "Helen. Still enslaving men with your song, I see."

  I think I might be sick. "Paris?" I can barely get his name out as I stare at the man legend says I loved. Far from it. He abused and tortured me after my song drove him insane.

  "I haven't used that name in a very long time." He smiles, his sinister grin sending a chill over me. Then he blinks and his blue eyes turn blood red. "You can call me Kit."

  Tamiel

  The instant Helena vanishes from sight, I follow. There's no way in Heaven or Hell I'm going to let her leave unguarded. The problem is, she's managed to cloak herself from my sight. I can sense her, feel where she is, but I can't see. Damn witches.

  Using my newly restored wings, I fly over the street, my presence invisible to the humans below. If I weren't searching for my errant woman, I'd be savoring the feel of flight. A blue light from an obvious spell trails across the ground, and I know Helena must be following. Perhaps she'll drop her cloak when the spell takes her where she needs to go. It's then I catch sight of Kit, standing next to a park bench. The bloody bastard has the nerve to show his face in daylight? Demons aren't known for their ability to handle the sun. It takes strength I didn't think he had.

  Sure enough, Helena appears behind him and I hear her begin to sing. Why? What purpose could she have for attempting to enthrall him? But when he turns, and she nearly chokes on the name, Paris, I understand. Kit has had many names, but I never knew the depth of his history.

  I make myself visible as soon as my feet touch solid ground and Kit locks gazes with me, his red irises glinting with hatred. Then, before I can get to them, he laughs and says, "Better luck next time, mate."

  He grips Helena's arm and tugs, his brow furrowing when she doesn't budge. "Why won't you come? I need you." Desperation fills his tone.

  "If you're looking to spirit me away, you'll have to do better than this level of pathetic magic."

  Oh, how I love her. Yes. I fucking love this strong woman. She wrenches her arm from his grasp and her hair swirls around her as she manifests a ball of bright blue flame between her palms. Kit's eyes go wide, and he blinks out of existence at the same time Helena sends the deadly spell flying toward him. The flame hits a tree and dissolves it into nothing. Then she turns to face me, her chest rising and falling in ragged breaths, expression broken.

  Without a single word, she falls to her knees and her shoulders shake as sobs roll through her. I gather her into my arms and press a kiss to her forehead, needing her to know the depth of my feelings when words won't work.

  "Take me home, Tamiel," she whispers.

  With a flare of my grace, I hide us from view and extend my wings. I hold her close, cradled against my chest and take flight, soaring over the busy city streets until I find the rooftop garden of my high-rise. I don't let her down when I land. I'm not ready to relinquish her from my grasp. But she insists, wriggling until I place her feet on the sun-warmed patio.

  "I didn't know this was here," she marvels, her slow, deliberate steps away from me making me nervous. Fingers trailing over the lush leaves of potted plants, she glances over her shoulder. "You're too good at hiding things."

  "It's not protected. Once they tried to summon you, I didn't want to bring you up here and risk you being found."

  "And yet, they found me anyway. I can't escape him. I thought Paris died long ago."

  "You have to believe me, love. I didn't know that's who he really was. I've known Kit since the 1600s, and never once has he mentioned that life."

  She arches an eyebrow. "That long? Are you two friends?"

  Guilt washes over me. "I have a laundry list of actions to atone for. There was a time I thought being friends with a demon was the least of my sins."

  "I understand. Better than you know."

  I can't help but think of the choices she's made over lifetimes. "You did what was necessary to survive."

  She shakes her head. "No. I did what I wanted. I tried to get vengeance after Troy. I never thought I'd…" she trails off and stares at me with such pain in her eyes I want to pull her to me.

  "Helena, I—"

  "It's my birthday next week. I'm going to die and this time, I won't come back."

  Now I do take her in my arms. I press my mouth to hers in a kiss so fierce I know I'll leave her lips sore. When I manage to tear myself away, I want to scream with frustration at the circumstances. "I won't let you die. You can't. You're my soul mate. Hasn't that broken the curse? We sealed our bond, joined our bodies."

  "Izzy's curse broke when they finally joined with no doubt of their destiny. But I have doubts. I have so many. I don't deserve this kind of happiness. Not after the things I've done."

  "I love you, Helena. I may not have been able to admit it for fear of losing you, but I've loved you since the day I found you again. I have no doubts. You're my destiny."

  She smiles and cups my cheek. "That's what makes this so incredibly hard. You're mine. I know it. But it doesn't change the fact that I can't love anyone. My heart won't let me."

  Father give me strength. I want to shake this woman. She won't allow herself to admit how she feels because lifetimes of convincing herself she doesn't know how to love has poisoned her. "How did your siren song pan out today?"

  Her confused expression almost brings the ghost of a laugh to my lips. "What?"

  "You used your siren song on Kit. You once told me it works on all manner of creatures. That the only time it won't is if that creature's heart has been claimed."

  "Yes."

  "And, you sang for him today, but nothing happened."

  "I d
id." She frowns. "And it should have worked. Why the bloody hell didn't it work?"

  "I know a little about the curse of a siren, love. The catch is, the siren herself can't use her spell if she's lost her heart to another."

  "But I can't—"

  "Close your eyes, love."

  She does as I ask, her dark brows drawing together as she concentrates.

  "Picture the life you want. A life without your curse. Who do you see by your side?"

  A tear trails down her cheek. "I see you."

  My chest swells with pride. "And I you."

  Her eyelids flutter open and that bronze gaze finds mine. "If I could love anyone, Tamiel, it would be you."

  I claim her lips with mine one more time before pulling away and leading her to the door that will take us into my apartment. Once I get her settled inside, I'm leaving to collect her sisters. We'll take down Calista, end this curse. If she can't believe her heart can love, I'll have to love her enough for both of us.

  13

  Helena

  "Are you ready?" I ask as Tamiel stands in front of the living room window. The sun is shining, and the glow makes him look even more angelic than usual. My heart gives a pained squeeze. I need to get my sisters here so I can put a stop to Calista's plans and break this curse. I will not die before I've had the chance to live with the man I'm meant to have.

  "I am." He turns to face me and smiles. "We'll take them down, love. I won't rest until you and your sisters are safe."

  That's what I'm most worried about. Now it's not just my life, my soul with a rapidly approaching expiration date. He's told me, plain and simple, if I die, he'll make sure Gabriel smites him.

  The air in the room shifts and my ears pop as he vanishes, leaving me with a sinking feeling in my stomach. I palm the black moonstone and let its power flow over me. It's like a drug and I've found myself subconsciously reaching for it more and more lately. I need the boost of strength, the will to fight the summons I haven't told Tamiel about. Since the first time, I've barely gone a night without having to fight against their call. Now I'm certain it's Calista…and Paris. I can only guess at the horrors that await me if I end up too weak to fend off their spell.