And she wasn’t from another galaxy. The raw energy pulsing from the breach was sharp, bright, and totally alien. An ancient source of unadulterated power from beyond the universe, which had inexplicably bled into this dimension.
He’d figure out the details later. If he didn’t get them out right now, they weren’t going to survive.
Brute force wouldn’t work. He shed the glamour he wore when around mortals, and his archangelic radiance surged into the fissure, blinding rays of his unholy essence pushing back against the force that threatened to obliterate Tom and Aria.
He rolled his shoulders and his wings unfurled.
Now. He sent the command direct into their minds, and as one they braced against their constraints and fell at his feet. With a soundless shriek that razed his soul, the fissure vanished.
He folded his wings but didn’t bother hiding them. As they staggered to their feet, clutching each other, he sucked in a deep breath. His suspicions were one thing. It didn’t make them a fact. He focused on Aria.
“Where do you come from?”
They gazed at him, but to their credit neither of them collapsed onto their knees or quivered with terror at the sight of his wings. Probably because they’d just escaped being crushed to death by something that didn’t belong in this world.
“Earth,” she whispered. But not this one.
He wasn’t sure if she meant him to hear that. His jaw clenched, and he glanced at Tom.
“It’s true,” Tom said. “She comes from Earth, but one from another dimension.”
Curse the gods. He’d been right. But how the fuck had they managed it?
“You deliberately breached dimensions?” He aimed his accusation at Aria, but it was Tom who answered.
“No. We didn’t know how to do that. But if I’d been able to find a way, I would’ve done it years ago. If it was the only way to be with her.”
He rounded on the mortal, and it took considerable force of will to rein in his fury. Because Tom didn’t understand the horrific consequences of what they had done. How could he, when humans as a species were so fucking ignorant?
At any second, the alien Guardians would appear, intent on capturing those who had dared to break one of the fundamental laws of the universe. Their unmitigated hatred of any creature unlike themselves was legendary among immortals, and it was rumored their brand of justice was both brutal and nonnegotiable.
Zad might be an archangel, but he had no jurisdiction over the Guardians, whose ancient edicts were the only reason there wasn’t an all-out, eternal war between them—and all other forms of life in the universe.
“What did you do?” His voice was low, but leashed power throbbed through every word, and both Tom and Aria shivered.
“Nothing,” she said. “I was standing in the meadow when the aurora borealis lit up the sky—and suddenly, I could see Tom.”
Phantom claws scuttled along his spine. A singular phenomenon, in two dimensions, had ripped open reality and allowed two mortals in love to be together. He’d never encountered such a thing before.
It was enough to mount a defense for the humans against the Guardians. If those bastards came for Tom and Aria, they could expect a fight, and like the battle he’d waged millennia ago for his beloved, he had no intention of losing. Why else had he met Tom four years ago, or kept in contact with him, if not for this moment?
He swept his glance around the panorama, but there was no ominous crackle of violet lightning that presaged the arrival of the Guardians.
Finally, his gaze settled on Aria. A woman from another dimension. Unwanted awe stirred through his soul. The solar flares may have opened the breach, but was she the reason why the Guardians hadn’t registered it?
They were, after all, merely Guardians of this dimension. And Aria came from another.
“Zad.” Tom had his arm around Aria, but his wary gaze was fixed on him. “Thanks. Guess you were right. I could have told you the truth.”
“Why didn’t you tell me there were angels in your world?” There was a note of wonderment in Aria’s voice, and Tom tightened his hold on her.
“I didn’t know.”
This was insane. They had barely survived with their lives, and all they could focus on was the fact he was an archangel. He needed to ensure neither of them forgot the danger they had so narrowly escaped.
“If I hadn’t been here, neither of you would’ve survived.”
“I appreciate it, Zad.” Tom gripped his arm, then sprang back as though the contact had burned his flesh. “Sorry, I’m—what are you?”
After four years, it was hardly relevant, but he guessed Tom deserved the truth. “The Archangel Zadkiel.”
“What you did just now,” Aria said. “Are you able to manipulate the space between dimensions?”
He rounded on her. She had to understand some things should never be tampered with, even if it meant terrifying her in the process. “No. I can’t help you find your way home. You must swear never to try. There are creatures in this universe that prey on mortals who attempt to breach dimensions. Don’t give them a second chance to suspect your existence.”
A shudder rippled through her, but she didn’t break. He hadn’t expected her to.
“I won’t.”
He exhaled a long breath. “I’ll pull some strings. Get you a new identity.”
She swallowed. “I know you don’t have to do that, but…thank you.”
“How did this happen, Zad?” Tom asked. “Why now, why today? When you were here?”
He had no idea, but he couldn’t shake the certainty that Aria belonged in this world with Tom. And if he hadn’t been here, the rip in the fabric of the universe would have consumed them both.
But just because he believed something, didn’t make it so. And he sure as hell wasn’t about to attempt to explain something so intangible to them, when he didn’t even understand it himself.
“Random shit happens all the time.” He raked his glance along the horizon, but there was no hint that moments ago reality had turned inside out. One thing was clear in his mind, though. Whatever strange compulsion that had driven him to keep in touch with Tom had to end.
Regret whispered through his chest, but he ignored it and turned back to the humans. They stood before him, hand in hand, gazing at each other with such love in their eyes that his heart ached. The face of his beloved drifted through his mind. She’d been gone for millennia, but she was forever entwined within his soul.
He dragged in a ragged breath and focused on the present. “I know I don’t need to say this, but you can’t tell anyone where you really come from, Aria.”
“I know.” There was such sadness in those two words, but there was nothing he could do about it. Only Tom held that power.
“Even if you have children, you can’t let them know of their unique heritage. It’s too dangerous.”
“But—”
“Aria.” He took a step toward her. “In this instance, ignorance is safer than a perilous thirst for knowledge. For that reason, I won’t be coming back to see you again. In case my presence triggers another anomaly.”
He might not be the reason why the dimensions had split, but it was possible he had contributed to the perfect fusion of solar flares and trans-dimensional love.
If there was even the slightest chance his archangelic power might jeopardize their hard-won love, it was too great a risk to take.
“I’ll miss you.” Tom held out his hand, and a sense of loss rolled through him as he took it. So many mortals that he’d cared for over the centuries were nothing more than memories now. He should be used to the inevitable goodbyes. But he wasn’t.
He’d never get used to it.
“Look after each other.” He transferred his gaze to Aria. She was the first being from another dimension he had encountered, and yet deep in his soul was the conviction that wasn’t why she was so important.
But maybe the fact she was the one Tom loved was important enough.
Nine Months Later
Tom
Tom parked the car outside the cottage he and Aria had shared since the day she’d arrived in this world. There was still a lot of work to do in renovating their home, but they were getting there.
He got out of the car and opened the passenger door for Aria. She smiled and took his hand as she joined him in the lane, and together they looked in the back of the car, where their tiny miracle was strapped into her baby seat.
Awe weaved through him, the way it did every time he gazed at his daughter, from the moment she’d been born in the local hospital three days ago. She was perfection.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t put my family off from visiting for a couple more days,” he said. His parents adored Aria and had been strangely accepting about the lack of concrete details regarding her life before appearing in the village. He wasn’t sure if their incuriosity had anything to do with Zad. As promised, the archangel had created an infallible background for her, and her official documents were never questioned.
He wished Zad knew that Aria and he had a daughter. Then again, maybe he did.
“Hey, that’s okay. I love your family.”
The front door opened, and his mother was there, waving at them. Aria waved back, and then spoke to him, mind to mind.
Are you sure you’re happy with the name we chose?
He reached out and stroked his daughter’s soft hair with the tip of his finger. There had never been any doubt in his mind that she could be called anything else.
Aurora. For your sister.
And the solar flares that had served as a key to unlock the gateway between their worlds.
Aria cradled his jaw and kissed him on the lips. “I love you,” she whispered.
He threaded his fingers through hers, the girl he’d loved for so many years. The woman he had almost lost. The mother of his child.
Tenderly, he kissed her fingers, his gaze never leaving hers. “I’ll love you until the end of time.”
Epilogue
Deep within the vast expanses of space between galaxies, in the Dark Matter where the Guardians reigned supreme, dissonance stirred. An unidentified ripple in the fabric of their existence.
Something had changed. Upset the balance of eons. But the cause was beyond their comprehension.
It might take countless Ages, but the answer would ultimately be revealed. And they would prevail against the unknown enemy.
They always did.
Thank you for reading Catalyst. I hope you enjoyed this prequel to my new series, Realm of Flame and Shadow! Book 1, Redemption, picks up the story in the present day, when Tom and Aria’s daughter attempts to breach dimensions so she can find her mother’s world. But the Guardians discover her crime, and nothing will stop them from exacting their own brand of vengeance against her…
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Preorder Redemption, coming 28th November 2019!
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Redemption, a Realm of Flame and Shadow novel
Author’s Note
REDEMPTION: A Realm of Flame and Shadow Novel
He broke ancient covenants to save her life.
Now, he must pay the price.
A fallen archangel saves a woman from a deadly fate, and unleashes an ancient power that could destroy the universe itself...
Gabe has no time for humans after the way they betrayed the ones he loved so long ago. But when he snatches a woman from the jaws of the hellish Guardians, he's compelled to protect her at all costs. Even if she does drive him crazy with her smart mouth and refusal to fall under his archangelic spell.
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Desperate to discover her true heritage, Aurora opens a rift between dimensions. But before she can enter her mother's world, the most gorgeous man she's ever met teleports her to safety.
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Thrown together, they can't ignore the scorching lust that risks consuming them, or the threat to Aurora's existence. When raw sex evolves into something far more dangerous, it's more than their lives that are on the line.
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As Gabe and Aurora race against time to outwit the Guardians, they come closer to uncovering an explosive revelation that will challenge everything they've ever believed in.
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But deep in the shadows, the merciless Guardians lurk. And they have no intention of allowing Aurora to escape their clutches. Even if it means defying the wrath of an archangel.
This book was previously published by Penguin US under another title and penname, but the current book has been completely re-imagined, rewritten and edited.
Christinaphillips.com
Coming in February 2020
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NEMESIS: A Realm of Flame and Shadow Novel
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When a vampire hunter cursed by her tainted heritage falls for an archangel out for her blood, an ancient covenant threatens to claim more than their lives...
Acknowledgments
A big thank you to my amazing team, Amanda Ashby, Sally Rigby, Cathleen Ross and Amy Hart. I couldn’t do this without you!
As always, thanks to Mark and our wonderful family for all your support and encouragement over the years. Love you guys!
About the Author
Christina Phillips is an ex-pat Brit who now lives in sunny Western Australia with her high school sweetheart and their family. She enjoys writing paranormal, historical and contemporary romance where the stories sizzle and the heroine brings her hero to his knees.
She is addicted to good coffee, expensive chocolate and bad boy heroes. She is also owned by three gorgeous cats who are convinced the universe revolves around their needs. They are not wrong.
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