by Meg Xuemei X
“Royal, my ass, vampir—” I said, then the pain pierced me, like thousands of needles being forced into my skull. “Sure, Princess Jasmine.” And the pain receded.
“See, isn’t it easy, love?” she purred.
My eyes remained fierce, but that only turned her on more. Fucking pervert! I should come up with another kind of look that would turn her off.
Desdemona watched, bored, yet thoughtful.
“You might not feel an intense burn, like others,” she said. “But you’ll feel the scorch in your heart, your airway, your veins, and every fiber of your being soon. My elite blood isn’t like any other, and now it flows in you. When the black fire finally activates, you’ll wish it burns you to ashes quickly.”
“Sister, you make the same speech every time,” Desdemona pointed out.
“I actually altered the speech for him,” Jasmine said with irritation. “Now I’ve lost my train of thought, thanks for interrupting me.” She turned to me, her eyes softening. “You’ll survive, Angel, and the pain shall pass in the end. Everything has a cost, and that’s the price of being an immortal.”
“I’m already an immortal, bitc—” I swallowed the rest of the curse as pain throbbed in my head.
“Then it’s even nicer,” Jasmine said. “Two immortals. We’re compatible!”
I snorted, but took care not to be obnoxiously offensive this time. It would be foolish to inflict unnecessary pain on myself.
“I don’t think he returns the same sentiment, obviously,” Desdemona said.
“Oh, he will. He just doesn’t know it yet. And since he’s also an immortal, we have all the time in the world.”
I’m an immortal. I have all the time in the world, I had said that to Fiammetta.
“Don’t count on that,” I said. “This planet is going to blow up.”
“Is that what the Wickedest Witch told you?” she asked, and looked at me with pity. “That’s why you’re so eager to go with her and protect her, because you want to preserve yourself. She’s a bad influence on you. She tried to poison your mind with crap about the danger of Pandemonium. I’m so glad that you’re away from her now. You’re safe with me. The great Akem has told us all about her plan, and her delusional personality disorder.”
Her words etched my mind with hatred for my mate, but a thread of light beamed in my heart and mind, brushing off the vampiress’ influence and lies.
Jasmine didn’t know about the mating bond between Fiammetta and me. Even if I were a weaker male, the bond wouldn’t allow anyone to get between us. My witch had no idea of the bond, either, but she was territorial for sure.
I grinned. The mating bond had become part of my defense mechanism.
Which meant the primordial vampires could never compel me completely. It also helped in my case that they couldn’t drink an Archangel’s blazing blood, so, they couldn’t seize hold of any of my memories and secrets.
My best strategy was to fool them.
To make it plausible, I needed to keep my defiant attitude at bay, and let my body obey most of their orders when they suited me.
“Akem lied to you,” I said, offering the vampires the rumors or facts that had floated around the City of Nine. “The Wickedest Witch said Akem caused the ships to fall and absorbed their energy. Akem also feeds on the aliens on this planet. He wants no one, not even you lot, to leave.”
Jasmine clicked her tongue. “Lies. The Wickedest Witch is the biggest liar.”
“Everyone lies,” I said, but I put on the appearance of being more submissive than when I’d first come to consciousness in the vampire tower. I was betting the vampires believed their compulsion had begun to kick in.
“Akem put us in a different dimension,” Jasmine said. “We’re safe. The meteor rains won’t affect us.”
I put on a show of pondering this for a while and pretended to be convinced. I even nodded at her bullshit. I must work on her to find out what Akem had told them about my mate.
Fiammetta couldn’t remember how she’d fallen to the jungle, but Akem had watched the whole episode. I needed to collect more intel on the entity.
I narrowed my eyes in mocking suspicion. “What dimension?”
“We’re in the past on Pandemonium,” Jasmine said. “Even if this place explodes, we’ll live through it.”
I didn’t think that was possible, but it was one of the time paradoxes.
“You don’t seem surprised to know you’ve come to the past,” Desdemona said.
“I figured it out when my ship fell,” I said. “We Angels are the most intelligent and mighty species. We conquered a vampire planet thousands of years ago. I wondered if that’s where you originally came from. We used to experiment on your kind, curious about your phobia of intense light, heat, and fire. Your abnormal diet, though disgusting, piqued our interest as well. We created a branch of mutant vampires that are stronger than the original.” I chuckled. “You might even envy them. The new kind of vampires can walk under in sunlight. We gave them a new name—the Daywalker.”
Desdemona snarled. “This one is the most arrogant son of a bitch I’ve ever met!” He seemed to want to strike me down again, but Jasmine laid a hand on his arm. “I’ll discipline him, brother.”
The vampiress turned to me. “Kneel, Gabriel.”
Had I heard it wrong?
“Archangel Gabriel,” she commanded, steel in her voice. “Kneel before me.
“Angels do not kneel, ever,” I said. Yet my knees went wobbly.
I lurched two steps and dropped one knee before her—the best I could do.
The Wickedest Witch had once humiliated me worse than this when I’d first crashed onto this planet. So, this was nothing, I told myself.
“I might not be able to get rid of his superiority complex,” Jasmine said. “That seems to be part of his inheritance, but he’ll always obey me, no matter how strong his will is. Brother, you should just ignore his bedside manners. You’re a bigger, better person than him.”
Desdemona considered it. “Fine, you can keep him, but you owe me big. You were supposed to bring me my Wicked Witch, but you brought her pet instead, for your own lust.”
I wondered why the Dark Prince didn’t go capture Fiammetta himself if he wanted her so desperately, since he was the most powerful vampire on Pandemonium. Instead, he sent everyone else to do his dirty work. Not that I wanted him or any of his minions anywhere near my mate.
There was something odd going on with the vampire prince.
“Don’t be bitter, brother,” Jasmine said. “It was Akem’s fault. For some reason, he intentionally let her slip. And you know we can’t afford to offend him. But I’ll get her for you eventually, I promise. I’m not as self-centered as you think I am. I want happy endings for both of us.”
The vampiress let me kneel there for hours, and when I shook off her coercion, I remained on the ground since I didn’t want her to grow suspicious. Her built-in compulsion in me made me unable to harm her. So, I had to bide my time, though time was running out.
Every second I wasn’t with my mate was hell, and this vampire tower felt like the center of it. It felt wrong in every sense, as if it was haunted, as if it was breathing down on me, full of poison and menace.
Fiammetta wouldn’t come for me. I’d forbidden her to do that. I needed to get the fuck out of here, and return to her before she forgot me again.
“He needs to be chained at all times,” Desdemona advised before he left the room.
“Kinky, and I like it,” Jasmine said with a syrupy smile.
11
The Witch
Gabriel’s fate was unknown, and I couldn’t go to him right now.
I paced in my chamber like a caged animal. I envied the wolves, who at least could howl.
I fought the urge to pull open the door, as all I wanted was to storm out of my tower and charge headfirst into the vampires’ lair, no matter the consequences.
That would end badly for everyone I’d vowed to p
rotect.
And Gabriel’s sacrifice will be for nothing, said the voice of reason.
How I hated that voice, knowing it was right.
Gabriel had ordered the wolf to tell me not to go after him.
Kaara kept saying Gabriel was alive. “He has to be,” she’d said. “He’s tied to the prophecy.”
But when I’d pursued her on the prophecy, she couldn’t utter a word, as if gagged.
I recognized that some potent dark magic had warded her mind. If I tried to breach it, I might risk damaging Kaara.
Right before we’d been attacked in the jungle, Gabriel had asked me, “Did your magic ever record the prophecy?”
We’d never had a chance to talk about it.
It was just another riddle that was hidden from me.
I trotted to the open window and looked outside, anxiously waiting for the scouting wolves to return with any news about Gabriel.
After they located his whereabouts, we’d go rescue him in two days. I had a hunch where he would be if he was alive—the vampire tower where Desdemona had wanted me to live with him as his queen.
I shut my eyes for a second, praying for the Angel to be alive.
But what if I was too late? What if he perished before I could reach him?
At the thought, an iron hand squeezed my heart, and pain tore through me.
No, I couldn’t think like that. I needed to hold onto hope. I’d always preferred to stare cruel reality in the face instead of finding comfort in illusion, but not this time.
The reality for me now was that my heart would be beating again only when I was with Gabriel. I had to get him back.
I had to make myself remember him. I didn’t want him to be just a name and a line of event on my skin. I wanted to remember his touch, his voice, and his scent. He’d asked me to remember him, with his last scorching kiss. That was all he’d wanted—for me to remember us.
If I forgot him, I would be lost all over again.
I would stay awake as long as I could. I would even hold onto the horrors of today, so I could remember how his kiss burned not my lips, but my soul.
Oh gods, I’d left my mate behind.
His furious roar still rang in my ears.
I hadn’t showed much emotion in front of everyone when the white wolf had recounted how the vampires and Akem’s creatures had dragged him down. Gabriel belonged to a proud race, but those monsters had stomped and humiliated him.
The scene kept playing before my eyes, but I was so helpless to reach him.
I dropped to the floor and gagged. My stomach turned over, but nothing came out. I hadn’t eaten all day. Still, my stomach refused to ease up, until the steel will that made me the Wickedest Witch ordered me to stop this.
No, I would not weep. I would not throw up. I would not scream.
Not until I got my mate back.
And I needed help.
I knew Kaara was sitting on the stairs outside my chamber right now. She would guard me tonight.
I needed her to help me remember. I had to admit to her my tightly guarded secrets and show her my vulnerabilities.
I would do anything to get Gabriel back.
So, I opened the door and called for Kaara Nightshades.
12
The Angel
When I came back to consciousness the second time in the vampire tower, I found the vampire bitch had chained me to her bed.
Jasmine had used my angelblade to cut open my veins and poured more of her venom into me because of her insecurity.
I’d once thought Fiammetta had hexed me to control me, but she’d never put any spell on me, or anyone. One would expect the Wickedest Witch would do all things vile, but I’d been wrong about her.
Everyone, except Kaara, had been wrong about her.
This vampiress, in all her smiling shamelessness, wanted to have power over me more than anything, but I couldn’t strike her down. I was bound by her venom to preserve her.
This was a very bad joke.
I’d once assumed being trapped on Pandemonium and tormented by my lust for Fiammetta was hell. Compared to this, that was pure heaven.
And I’d been cast out from the heavens.
My angelic blood didn’t bode well mixing with the vampire venom. My Flame had failed to purge it. My fire now no longer coursed in my veins, but crouched somewhere in a hidden corner.
The planet was the ultimate predator.
It drained all the alien ships. It hindered my ability to heal because it sensed I was a threat. I was more powerful than any other being here.
Anywhere else, my wings would have healed.
Were Pandemonium and Akem one and the same?
After I killed or escaped the vampires, Fiammetta and I would have to lead our team past Akem to reach the portal.
The final battle was inevitable.
To defeat the entity, I needed to know his weakness, and the best way to learn of it was through his allies.
I should prey on the vampiress’ lust for me.
The idea repulsed me, but I had to do what must be done.
Then a dark thought crossed my mind: Has the vampiress already sexually molested me while I was unconscious?
That psychopath hadn’t a shred of morality or honor.
I scanned my surroundings.
The all-white bedchamber was spacious and luxurious. Silky curtains, a diamond chandelier, ivory vanity, and a rug with silver lilies decorated the room. Through the open door to the outer suite, I spotted a grand piano and books on the shelves.
The vampiress’ chamber was on the higher floor. The tower was more of a skyscraper, with marble floors and glass windows.
For a second, I felt I was in another place and another time, disconnected from the harsh reality of Pandemonium. While the City of Nine was evidently a post-apocalyptic metropolis, this place was like a haven in an old world of grandeur.
It still felt wrong.
The tower—its every brick, stone, and swath of fabric—seemed to watch me with sinister intent.
My gaze wheeled back to Jasmine.
She perched at the foot of the bed, smiling at me, heat burning in her blue eyes.
She wore a complicated royal-blue gown, thin and flimsy above the waist, outlining the shape of her small, perky breasts and her taut nipples. The intricacy was in the skirt—it had layers of romantic folds enhanced by ruffles, flowers, beads, pleats, and dramatic color.
I expected my aversion toward her to rise, but instead, I found her enchanting.
She looked every inch a princess.
I blinked. She was one!
Her pale skin was flawless. Her red lips were alluring. They had to be kissable.
Such unmatched beauty!
And she was right in front of me, ripe, delicious, and welcoming.
Hadn’t she been exactly my type before I’d met—?
Met who?
A moment of confusion flooded my mind, and I shrugged it off.
What idiot would have doubts in front of such perfection?
Princess Jasmine had told me their vampire race was the finest in the universe.
Indeed. I saw that represented in their precious, elegantly sexy princess.
And she wanted me badly.
I was the luckiest man in the universe.
I grinned at her. “Hello, gorgeous.”
The princess sucked in a breath, her blue eyes lighting up.
I knew my masculine smile was killer to females of any race, in every corner of the universe. My smile grew wider. I needed to charm this princess and make her mine.
Mine?
The fog grew thicker in my mind, yet it seemed to have teeth, since someone had just bit and bled me.
Who could do that? And who dared! I looked around in the mist, ready to eliminate any threat or nuisance.
A flood of memories slammed me in the face.
The Wickedest Witch had once bled me with her teeth, and when I’d showed her my best male smile, sh
e hadn’t sucked in her breath, like Princess Jasmine. The witch had been untouched and unimpressed. Her cold heart hadn’t thawed. Instead, she’d ridiculed me and later on had tried to use her ice magic to freeze me.
The witch was the nastiest woman I’d met. Yet—
How had she even had the chance to bite my tongue? Had I thrust it into her mouth? How had that been? No, that couldn’t be me. I wouldn’t have been attracted to the vile Wickedest Witch.
I had this gentle, incomparable beauty in front of me, and I needed no one else.
“Hello, stranger,” Princess Jasmine said, moving closer, her fingertips tracing my cheek.
It felt good, and I craved more.
“Your Highness is a master of all things sensual,” I offered. “You’re the best!”
The only female who didn’t care for flattery was the Wickedest Witch, but I wasn’t dealing with the stonehearted bitch now.
“Oh, Gabriel.” Princess Jasmine gazed at me indulgently, her cold, delicate finger outlining my lips.
My teeth caught her finger and my tongue licked it.
She threw her head back and moaned. “Oh, Gabriel, yes.”
My blood rushed in my veins at her erotic sound.
“You’re mine, Angel,” she sighed. “See, I don’t need to rape you as you were so worried about. You were quite obnoxious before.”
I’ve been obnoxious? When? And rape? That’s unacceptable! Who’s going to rape who?
I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“I don’t like to force anyone if I don’t have to,” she said. “I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone. I want you to touch me willingly and hotly. I can see how much you want me already. Do you want me, my Angel?”
I had a feeling that Desdemona was watching, though I couldn’t see him. Every wall in the tower seemed to be his spy, but I didn’t care.
Watch it all he wanted.
“Yes, princess,” I said, my voice slurring like a drunk. I grinned at her like a puppy. “But how am I going to run my hands all over your hot, sweet body when you have chains on me?”