“Why are you doing this? Fight me!”
“Oh, but that’s what you want, isn’t it?” Caine said.
She stiffened, but tried to hide her thoughts. Did he know what they had planned? Did he know that the Immortals had discovered a simple way to destroy him?
“I could order your demons to walk straight into the Soul Destroyer. I just have to wish the portal to open and it is so. They can't refuse a direct command. Then they will be gone."
“No,” she denied him, her stomach turning. “You can’t.”
“Go to the Soul Destroyer,” Caine ordered Mark and Tristan.
They obeyed him without hesitation, coming to stand close to it. Instantly, the portal seemed to open. Darkness moved from it like a black fire, licking at their legs and feet. Their dark wings shook upon their backs, but they remained in place.
“Let me see their plan, or I will forever destroy the two men you hold so dear.”
Tears filled her eyes. With the slightest order, Mark and Tristan could be lost to her forever. She couldn’t make a mistake now. Too much was riding on her getting this right.
As tears ran down her cheeks, she collapsed onto her knees. “Do it, if it will keep Mark and Tristan safe.”
The darkness pulled back from Caine and she saw the face from her nightmares. His haunting beauty whispered of death and danger. He placed his big hands on either side of her head and tore into her mind like a savage.
Surcy screamed, the violating feeling making revolution blossom within her. For one long minute, he peeled through her chilly thoughts. He froze.
His confusion was like a perfume that filled the room. He slowed in his exploration of her thoughts, focusing on the moment the Goddess of Life filled the bottle with its dark liquid. The substance had only been used twice before in the history of forever.
“No,” he whispered.
And then, he was shooting out of her mind.
“No!” he shouted, staring at his hands as the dark veins appeared, spreading onto his fingers, wrists, and up his arms.
Spinning to his archangel, he shouted. “You’re the only one powerful enough to take this poison from me. So take it!”
The archangel smirked and stepped away from him. With a simple gesture, Mark and Tristan flew across the room, slamming into the stone.
“What are you doing?” Caine shouted, true panic in his voice. “If I die, you go with me. They’ll execute you as a traitor.”
His smirk widened. “Or I can do what I always wanted… serve no one but me.”
The archangel leapt into the Soul Destroyer. For a minute he screamed in terrible agony as it ripped at him, and then, he was gone.
Caine turned to her. The black veins had spread up his neck and gathered on his face. The black veins spidered in the white of his eyes, and then his head tilted back.
A second later, he collapsed to the ground.
So did Surcy. The poison the Goddess of Life had used to infect Caine through Surcy was a powerful one. It wouldn’t just destroy him. It would destroy her too.
They’d warned her they didn’t know what would be left of her to be reborn.
Her breath puffed out in front of her and tears flowed from her eyes, tears of relief and sorrow. It was done. Caine was destroyed. The Immortals would take control again, and everything would be different.
Better.
So much had been lost.
But all that mattered now was that it was done.
Closing her eyes, she knew the instant the poison consumed her entirely, because there was nothing. Nothing left of her.
Then came the darkness.
23
Mark screamed as the Immortal touched his head. His memories exploded in his mind, and then, it all came back to him. Surcy. Daniel. Tristan.
Everything.
Including the fact that Tristan had killed Daniel.
The Immortal drew back his hand. The being’s golden-eyed gaze held his. “We, the Immortal Ten, have been restored to power. You are an angel who will serve us.”
Mark nodded, even while he tried to force air into his lungs. He’d killed Daniel. He’d worked for Caine. He’d betrayed everything he’d ever believed in.
And yet… his memories were fuzzy. The Immortals had won. Caine was gone.
He should be happy.
Turning, he saw that Tristan was kneeling beside him, recognition in his eyes. So his gargoyle brother remembered it all too.
Now what were they to do?
“You may rise,” the Immortal said.
They both stood.
“Go and find a place,” he commanded.
They turned to see lines of white and dark-winged angels lined up perfectly in the throne room. They found a place in one of the lines and waited, for what they didn’t know.
From behind them, a line of people walked on a path through the angels. When they reached the dais, they spun. All wore matching golden robes. Instantly, he recognized the Immortals they had saved. The ten most powerful beings in existence sat upon ten golden thrones that had been concealed by darkness for far too long.
The God of Summer remained standing, staring out at the ranks of angels. “We are the Immortal Ten. We have ruled here since the beginning of time… until the usurper Caine came. He was the child of the God of Sin and the Goddess of Winter, a being with the unexpected ability to manipulate minds. He used his powers against all of us. He manipulated our thoughts. Some of us he killed over and over again, ensuring we remained ignorant of who and what we were. Some of us he manipulated into prisons of his own making, but he made a fatal mistake. He knew that the Goddess of Life had had a child… but he did not understand her role in restoring us to power.”
The God of Summer gestured with his hand and suddenly a woman appeared, surrounded by dark-winged angels. She blinked in confusion.
“Where am I?”
The Goddess of Life stepped forward and smiled. “Daughter, Goddess of Hope, you are home.”
But there’s already ten of them. How can there be more?
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“The Goddess of Life concealed your father. Caine believed you to be an Immortal, but he didn’t understand that you were more powerful than the ten of us… because your father wasn’t a simple mortal.” He hesitated. “It’s me.”
The woman’s eyes widened, and Mark recognized her as Sharen, the demon-hunter that Surcy had saved many times before. She was an Immortal?
An eleventh Immortal?
“Come to me, daughter,” the God of Summer said.
Sharen stepped forward, but three massive angels stopped to block her path.
“What do you want with her?” One of them asked, the defiance in his voice surprising everyone in the room.
The Immortal smiled. “Not to worry, Alec, she is safe.”
Alec didn’t move. A small hand grasped his arm and pulled him back, and then she walked forward, lit by the same inner glow as the other Immortals.
Without being told, she knelt.
Her father smiled. “There are only ten thrones. Ten judges to decide the fate of man. To make you a judge would destroy the balance.” His gaze moved to the Goddess of Life. “We have decided how to ensure you may survive within this world, but not overthrow the balance. You, my daughter, will help with the great changes that will now occur. Many demons will be angels soon, and many angels will be demons. Someone with knowledge of all the realms will need to help with their adjustments, while we focus on our job—to judge mankind.”
She looked up at him. “I can do that. But not alone.”
“Then, you will have your lovers at your side. Not ours to command, but yours.”
A surprising smirk touched her lips. “I’d prefer they be given free will.”
He raised a brow. “Are you certain?”
“Yes,” she said, with absolute certainty.
“Is that all?” he asked, and there was a fatherly humor in his voice.
/> “I’d like Surcy and her lovers too. This is a big job, and I could use an angel I trust at my side.”
His smile faltered. “You may have her lovers, but not Surcy.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because Surcy… she has been reborn as an angel. But she paid the ultimate sacrifice in this war. Her mind is gone. Who she was. Not just her memories. Everything.”
Sharen rose, her jaw clenched. “Bring her to me.”
Her father raised a brow. “My daughter, we have all tried to restore her mind.”
“And yet none of you are the Goddess of Hope.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “She gave up everything, father. Everything. I may have set this rebellion in motion, but she restored all of you to power. Surely I can try?”
He nodded and made the slightest gesture.
Two angels hurried from the throne room.
Mark looked from one Immortal to another. He realized he’d been in shock. Nothing Sharen had said had made sense, but now he realized, and the knowledge was like a hand plunging into his heart. Surcy… she didn’t remember them. Again?
How could it be possible? Were the Fates simply cruel children playing their heartless games?
The doors opened once more and one of the angels came in carrying Surcy in his arms.
Tristan sprung forward and snatched her from the other angel. His eyes were wide, fixed onto her face.
The other angel returned a moment later, leading Daniel. Daniel looked confused. How long ago had the Immortals brought him back?
Daniel and Mark hugged, a hard hug that said what their words couldn’t.
They all three stood together, looking down at Surcy’s face. It wasn’t like before, when she had been confused and didn't recognize them. . It was… blank.
She stared off, as if seeing nothing.
“Surcy,” Tristan whispered, the word torn and filled with tears. “Surcy!”
“She can’t hear you,” The God of Summer said. “She can’t hear anything anymore. She is just a shell. The essence of Surcy—whatever made her at her core—is gone."
“Bring her to me,” Sharen, The Goddess of Hope, ordered.
They moved up to the dais with even steps. If Sharen couldn’t fix her, no one could. That knowledge made him feel as if the world was crashing down on him.
Tristan laid Surcy at Sharen’s feet and the goddess knelt down, touching her gently.
Mark spoke before she could act. “If you can’t restore her mind, I want your word that you’ll destroy mine.”
“And mine,” Tristan and Daniel repeated without hesitation.
Sharen’s eyes filled with unshed tears. “You can’t mean that.”
“Promise us,” Tristan said. “Give us the word of an Immortal.”
Sharen looked up at her father. After a moment, he nodded, but his expression was reluctant.
She took a deep breath, and reached out to touch Surcy’s head. Her eyes closed, and minutes of silence ticked by. Her expression changed, from faraway to frustrated.
Come on. You can do this. Save her life. Bring her back to us.
At last, Sharen’s eyes opened. “Something’s wrong.”
Her father spoke. “I told you. It isn’t possible.”
“It’s not that,” she said, and then her gaze met theirs. “I can’t bring back someone I didn’t know that well. But you all can. Touch my hand.”
They obeyed without question, placing their hands upon hers. One second they were in the throne room, the next they were gone, pulled through their lives with Surcy.
He remembered when they saw her on that farm, many years before, the most beautiful angel in existence. One who let them live for reasons none of them would ever understand.
Their memories ran through every laugh, every tear, every small moment that meant more than the big ones, every piece of themselves that contained Surcy.
Someone drew in a deep, shaky breath, but they kept being pulled through time, pulled through everything, until they reached the end. Until they reached that very moment when they touched Surcy, their hearts in their hands, ready to die for her.
Mark opened his eyes. Surcy was breathing hard, her eyes closed. Her entire body shaking.
His gaze met Tristan’s and Daniel’s. Did it work?
Sharen suddenly collapsed. Her demons—no, her angels—surrounded her, pulling the little woman into their arms. Sharen wasn’t looking at them. Her eyes were on Surcy.
“Come on,” she said. “Come back.”
“Surcy?” Mark said, taking her hand. “We love you. Are you in there somewhere?”
Very slowly, her eyes opened, and they were staring at two pools of the deepest blue. “Mark?”
It was like an explosion in the room. Tears filled his vision, and he pulled her into his lap. They gathered around her, kissing every inch of her. Glorying in the look of recognition on her face.
And then, she laughed.
“What?” Daniel asked.
“You all make the strangest looking angels.”
And then, they were all laughing.
She touched each of their faces. “And I remember. Not just this, but before, before Caine took my memories.”
What must this be like for her?
It was something they’d have to deal with, not now, but soon. But they would be there for her, and they would be there for each other.
The God of Summer came to stand closer to them. “My daughter truly is the Goddess of Hope, and she’s given it back to you. Now I must know, can you serve my daughter as she helps to fix these shattered realms? Can you follow her of your own freewill?”
“Freewill?” Surcy asked, confused.
“You won’t have to obey anyone, angel.”
Surcy nodded. “I can do that.”
“And so can we,” Mark said, without hesitation.
The Immortal smiled. And then, a flash of light came over them.
This time, it wasn’t the end. Just the beginning of something more.
24
Surcy smiled as she stared from her bedroom window. Plants, trees, and flowers spread out in all directions, growing from the ash. It would not be the druid’s sanctuary for Immortals anymore. Instead, it was the place they would train angels and demons who had been placed in the wrong realms by Caine.
They weren’t able to help every demon and angel. Some of them couldn't be pulled from the realms, for reasons the Immortals had not yet determined. They believed it had something to do with the Fates, but none of them were sure.
And yet, they were able to help most of the people and to begin setting things right. It was everything Surcy had dreamed of and more.
Because she wasn’t just an angel bent to the will of new masters. She was working with Sharen, by her own choice.
With her demons… well, her angels, she corrected herself with a grin..
And life, it was actually pretty damn good.
The door of her room opened. Mark, Daniel, and Tristan came in, their dark wings folded upon their backs. Her own wings shivered. She was still getting used to having them back, a gift from the Immortals themselves. There was something strange about not only having them, but seeing her demons with them too.
Daniel grinned. “Sitting in here staring at your wings again?”
She laughed. “I am not!”
“Then, you’re waiting for us,” Daniel’s smile widened and he looked to the bed.
Despite herself, a tremor moved through her body.
“Oh, that’s exactly what she was waiting for,” Tristan said, his voice deepened by arousal.
Too proud to admit it, she turned casually and sat on the edge of their big bed. “I was just going to take a nap.”
“A nap?” Mark asked, too innocently.
She began to undress, removing her clothes in moments. “A naked nap.”
“A naked nap?” Daniel sounded horrified. “Without us?”
She stretched and crawled into the bed, tucking herself u
nder the covers. “I’m pretty tired. Long morning and all.”
“Fuck this,” Daniel said, and then he was tearing off his clothes.
Surcy had to hold back a laugh as he came sliding into the bed.
She wanted to tease him, to torture him, but the second his lips found hers, all thoughts of waiting died. His kiss was so hot, deep and desperate, and everything she loved about him. When his tongue swept inside, she was lost, lost to his touch.
She was lost until she felt his big hand sliding down the valley of her breasts, down her belly, and then to the junction between her thighs. When he began to stroke her slowly, she gasped against his mouth. Her thoughts spun, and she arched against his touch.
The big bed shifted as Tristan knelt, naked, at the edge. She moaned again with her eyes closed, and Daniel kissed her again. She felt Tristan lift the blanket, and thought nothing of it until his mouth pressed inside her wet folds.
One man stroked her, one man sucked her, and the sensation was incredible. Life-altering.
She moved against them, growing closer to her orgasm with each second.
When Tristan plunged his big fingers into her body, she broke their kiss and began to swear. Mark sat naked on her other side, he caught her lips and his kiss was different… gentler, slower, like an intricate dance. His hands found her breasts, and her nerves screamed as he brushed her nipples with his thumbs.
“Fuck this,” Daniel groaned.
And then, he moved her. Tristan lifted his head from between her legs, and everyone moved back as Daniel came behind her. Immediately she knew what he was doing. She gripped his thighs as he lowered her ass onto his hard shaft.
She was tight, struggling to stretch around him. Then Tristan’s head was back between her legs and the tension eased. The discomfort passed as they gave her everything she needed.
When Daniel reached his hilt, they were both breathing hard. He laid back, gripping her thighs and spreading her wider. Tristan gave her one last hard lick, and then, he moved higher. When he positioned his tip at her entrance, she felt overwhelmed. Could she handle feeling this good?
Lover's Wrath: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Romance (An Angel and Her Demons Book 3) Page 10