Awakened By Power (Empire of Angels Book 3)

by Zoey Ellis

  Dani took her hand. “For this, yes. Just keep your mind blank and hold onto me. I’m taking you to your destination.”

  Thea nodded and did as she was told. On the other side, the warm and humid air pressed in all around her as she took in her surroundings. They stood on a sandy beach that stretched out far on either side. Behind them was a large town made up of white houses and buildings with terracotta roofs, punctuated by wide leafy palm trees. Thea’s hand slid from Dani’s as she watched a group of children playing with a ball in between one of the houses.

  “Here,” Dani said, handing her a cell phone. “It’s Amber.”

  Thea froze. She could hear Amber saying hello on the other end, but she couldn’t speak.

  “Say something,” Dani hissed. “You need to speak to her.”

  Thea sucked in a breath. “Amber.”

  “Thea?” There was a pause. “Thea. What’s going on? Where are you? Dad and I have been really worried.”

  Thea relaxed a bit. “I’m sorry, Amber. I’m so sorry. I-I’ve been ill.”

  “Are you okay?” Panic flavored Amber’s tone.

  “I’m all right… I’ve been recovering slowly. That’s why… that’s the reason…” She trailed off. She missed Maddy’s birthday six months ago and hadn’t given Dani any messages to send since.

  Amber was quiet for a moment. “Where are you?”

  Thea glanced at Dani who whispered to her.

  “West Africa,” Thea repeated. “But I’m okay, there’s no need to—”

  “Where, Thea?” Amber snapped. “Stop being so vague for once. Where are you?!”

  Dani whispered to her again.

  “Senegal.”

  “Come home, Thea,” she pleaded.

  “I’m not well enough yet to travel,” Thea replied, which was actually true. Flying had been freeing but it made her slightly nauseous.

  Amber let out a frustrated sigh. “So, who’s been texting me on your behalf? Cam?”

  “Yeah,” Thea said before she could stop herself. Dani frowned at her, but she ignored her. It was easier to just agree. “I’m really sorry, Amber.”

  “No, Thea. No. You don’t get to make everything okay by saying you’re sorry from some distant country,” Amber fumed. “If something happened to you, how would me and Dad know? You never keep in touch regularly and you don’t stick to your promises. We can’t even get in contact with you if we need to; other than when Cam texts me, your cell is off. What if you died?” Amber paused for a moment, her voice dropping to a tone of disappointment. “This isn’t the Thea I grew up with. We promised to look out for each other, remember? If you don’t want to do that for me anymore, fine, but I will never stop looking out for you.”

  “Amber, you have every right to be mad,” Thea said, dismay and guilt burning within her. “I just didn’t want you and Dad to worry—I thought I would recover quicker than I did.”

  “What did you have?” Amber said hesitantly. “Will you recover fully?”

  “Yes. It was a fever that’s local to this particular area—I caught it just before Maddy’s birthday. I just need to rest and continue my treatment.”

  There was a short silence and Thea could tell that Amber was still annoyed, and possibly now uncomfortable. She wasn’t someone who liked confrontation and wouldn’t usually initiate one unless she was forced. She almost missed the soft sob that came from the other end of the phone, and tears pooled in Thea’s eyes before she even knew it.

  “You never want us to worry, Thea,” Amber said, her voice trembling. “But don’t you ever worry about us? Don’t you think that maybe things might be happening here you need to know about?”

  Thea paused. “Has something happened?”

  Amber sniffed and blew her nose. “Dad’s mind has been getting bad again. He still remembers some of the more recent things, but he struggles a lot with the past. It makes him angry and miserable and… violent.”

  “Violent?” Fear rose in Thea. “Has he hurt anyone?”

  “One of his nurses,” Amber said. “I had released him from the home, but they had to take him back. He’s been there eight months. He has some good days and some bad, like before.”

  “Okay,” Thea breathed, relieved he was back somewhere he could get full-time care. “Thank you, Amber. I do think about you guys a lot, even if it doesn’t seem like it.”

  Another silence grew for a long moment before Thea said, “Tell me about how Maddy’s birthday went.”

  Although the conversation began hesitantly, Amber and Thea were soon talking about everything and anything. Amber had left the catering company to start her own bakery business, Maddy was in school and showing an interest in gadgets, and her Dad was on a course of medication for his mental health problems. Dani threaded her arm through Thea’s and led her down the beach as she spoke on the phone and then after an hour, gave her a signal that they needed to go.

  “When will you call again?” Amber asked, somewhat nervously.

  Dani whispered in Thea’s ear again.

  “This time next week. I promise,” Thea said.

  After they said goodbye, Thea dropped down onto the warm sand. The salty, fresh scent of the sea drifted in the air around her and the warm sun beat down on her from high in the sky. She dug her fingers into the golden sand and breathed deeply. Her mood had lightened and the pain in her limbs seemed to have lessened considerably.

  “Thank you,” she said to Dani, who sat down beside her. “I really needed to speak to her.”

  Dani smiled at her. “It was Asteroth’s idea, actually.”

  Thea frowned at her.

  “Yeah, he said you might heal better in the human world,” Dani said, shrugging.

  Thea leaned back on both hands and stared at the ocean as multiple tiny waves rippled its surface. She had repeatedly gone over everything Asteroth said when he came to see her and all she could deduce was that Cam was suffering some kind of consequence for attacking her. Maybe he finally got in trouble with the Dominion League, but she couldn’t figure out how that would stop both him and Zak from visiting. She sighed in frustration, there was just no way to know.

  ***

  For the next five weeks, Thea traveled to the human world on a daily basis to talk to Amber and lay on the beach under the sun. She enjoyed hearing all about Amber’s week and all the crazy things Maddy was getting up to—she was growing so fast, especially when a human week passed with each Angel Realm day. Amber asked a lot about Cam and seemed to sense that things weren’t right but didn’t push the issue. She was more concerned about when Thea would be coming home. A few times, Amber managed to coincide Thea’s calls with a visit to her father, so Thea got to speak to him. He mostly seemed fine, but there were times when he became confused. Dani was sure that nothing more could be done for him but said she would see her commander about it.

  Thea healed quickly under the sun’s heat, and soon she felt no pain in her body at all. Her headaches were manageable and infrequent and Simiel decided that she was well enough to be released.

  “I’m sure you’re glad to get out of here,” Simiel said, smiling as she pulled her shoes on.

  “Definitely,” Thea muttered. “I’m looking forward to…” She straightened slowly, her voice petering out. She was going to say looking forward to going home, but where was home? Cam’s quarters?

  “Are you okay?” Simiel asked. “Are you worried about adjusting to the Realm?”

  Thea nodded a little too quickly.

  “Someone will come and check on you in the evening,” Simiel said. “So any problems you have, make sure to let them know. I think you should still visit the human world regularly until you feel settled too. It might also be a good idea to begin some mild training—”

  As he continued to talk, Thea suddenly remembered, with relief, that she had her own quarters on the same floor as Cam. She hadn’t ever spent a night in them, since the whole point was to be close to Cam but now, at least, she had somewhere that was her
own space.

  She landed on the floor of her quarters and slowly stepped to her door. She paused with her hand on the door knob, looking at Cam’s quarters. Dani explained to her once that most in the Angel Realm didn’t lock their doors. There was no crime and it was expected that visitors would knock. Angels tended to enter their homes through their balconies. Cam certainly never locked his door, and Thea was tempted for a moment to enter his quarters and find out what was going on with him. She ignored the urge. Bursting into his quarters wasn’t the answer—and what if he was in there? Could she really face him? She let herself into her quarters and shut the door.

  ***

  As the months passed, Thea was reintroduced to gentle exercise through training sessions. She was part of a small group of angels who needed to be reintroduced to using their abilities for various reasons. Thea found that her fighting skills came back to her on instinct, while it took some time for her to get used to creating energy weapons. She struggled with an intense apprehension when her trainer, a thick-set Power angel called Hamon, introduced weaponry to the training sessions.

  “It’s been recommended that you learn how to use holy blades, Thea,” Hamon said, when she refused to touch one.

  “I never learned how to before,” Thea insisted, in a bluster of panic. “I thought I was supposed to be relearning what I already know.”

  “You’ve already recovered that,” Hamon said, watching her closely. “Now you need to get over this fear of blades.”

  Thea sucked in a breath, realizing it was fear that held her stiff, fear that was making her reject the idea. Cam had cut her with a holy blade.

  “It will help you,” Hamon said firmly. He picked up a dagger and held it out to her. “Let’s begin.”

  Thea fell into an easy routine. Breakfast with Dani at the food court, then training with Hamon, a long chat with Amber in the human world, then a check-up by an Archangel in the evening. But she felt alone. Her quarters didn’t feel like home, and she missed Amber desperately but wasn’t approved to spend more than two hours in the human world daily. Her mood descended lower and lower, until she was almost going through each day on autopilot. She simply focused on the tasks in front of her and tried to blank her mind from everything else. The only reason she even got out of bed was because she didn’t want to let Amber and Dad down. Also, her dreams were becoming more and more disturbing. She couldn’t remember them exactly but frequently woke trembling with uneasiness.

  One day, as she was preparing for her evening check-up, a heavy knock fell on her door. She opened it to see Zak.

  She was stunned for a moment.

  “Greetings, Thea,” Zak said softly, his hazel eyes taking her in. He looked exactly the same as always, low cut hair, muscular frame, and cinnamon-bronze skin.

  “Zak,” Thea breathed, when her voice finally returned.

  “I hear you have healed fully now?”

  She nodded, struggling with the sudden, powerful conflicting emotions warring within her. It had been months since she’d last seen him, and while there was a great sense of relief, it was hard to tamp down the hurt that he had abandoned her, just like Cam had.

  “May I come in?”

  Thea stepped back and allowed him to enter then followed him into her social room. She fidgeted and paced, while he sank into the couch and watched her.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked, frowning.

  “No, I’m glad to see you,” she admitted, still pacing. “I was expecting my check-up…”

  “You no longer need those,” Zak said. “I told Simiel I would come and tell you.”

  Thea continued to pace and was no longer able to hold her emotions in. “I don’t understand why you and Cam left me alone in the healing temple. Why I haven’t seen either of you?”

  Zak sighed heavily. “There is a lot to explain, Thea.”

  “It’s been nearly eleven months, Zak. I’ve felt alone all this time. Abandoned by him… and you. Where have you been? Where has he been?” Thea’s voice rose louder than she intended it to. She clamped her mouth shut and stilled before him, waiting for an answer.

  “Cam is under investigation by the Thrones. The Virtue angels who did the clean up after your… attack, recognized Nephilim blood and Legion remains at the site. It was reported to both the Dominion League and the Thrones, since Nephilims have never been known to vanquish Legion demons. It was quickly determined that it was Cam’s attack site and they learned about your injuries and put two and two together.”

  Thea stilled, shock and fear jumping into her throat.

  “He has been contained in their Sanctum since the time I saw you last.” Zak shifted in his chair. “They have been looking into his previous assignments and considering whether he will be able to recover from such long exposure to the sin of Wrath.”

  Thea stared at him, hardly breathing. It was much more serious than she thought.

  After a long while, Zak continued, “I was also detained and questioned for five months.”

  Thea’s eyes flicked to him. “It’s been longer than five months, Zak. Why haven’t you come to see me earlier?”

  “You needed time to heal without taking the weight of all this, Thea. I know it might seem like I’ve been cruel to stay away, but I had no choice about the first five months and after that, it didn’t seem right to cause more stress that could inhibit your healing.”

  Thea shook her head, her heart heavy. “What will happen to Cam if they think he can’t recover?”

  “He will Fall.”

  Thea swayed, her knees weak. She made her way to the couch and sat down, thoughts revolving in her head. “Would they really do that?”

  “Yes.”

  Thea’s chest tightened. Cam could become a fallen angel? That seemed impossible. “Can’t you do anything about it?”

  “I have an idea,” Zak said, watching her carefully. “But I need to know how you feel about him now.”

  Thea shrugged. “I’ve been trying not to think about him.” She chewed her lip in thought. “But I don’t want him to Fall.”

  “Are you still scared of him?”

  Thea thought back to the alley; to the darkness in his eyes, the snarl on his lips, the harshness of his attack, and a shiver went through her.

  “Don’t think of the last time you saw him, Thea,” Zak said, before she could say anything. “Think about the real Cam, the one you know.”

  She dropped her head and pushed away the fear that rose. Cam, her Cam, was loyal… intense, beautiful, fierce. She smiled as warmth blossomed in her chest for him. And he loved her.

  Zak leaned forward, an inkling of hope in his eyes. “If you still love him, all isn’t lost.”

  “What do you mean?”

  A knock at her door prevented him from answering.

  “Are you expecting anyone?” Zak asked as she stood.

  “No.”

  An Angel of the Order stood at the door with a roll of parchment. “You have been summoned by the Dominion League.”

  Thea frowned but took the parchment. She turned to Zak as he came up behind her.

  “What is this about?” he asked.

  The Angel of the Order reached into his robe and pulled out another parchment roll. “Zakiel, you have been summoned too.”

  Thea’s heart sank. They wanted to force her to talk about the incident with Cam, and that would be just like reliving it all over again.

  “What is it about?” Zak repeated, his voice demanding.

  The Angel averted his eyes. “They wish to talk to you both about an assignment.”

  Zak dipped his head in a sharp nod and closed the door.

  Thea leaned against the wall and breathed deeply. “I thought that was about—”

  Zak shook his head. “Both Simiel and I petitioned that you would not be ready to answer questions about that yet.” He broke the seals and scanned both of their summonses. “They want to see us both at the same time. So at least we’ll be there together.”

&
nbsp; Thea nodded as he returned her summons but couldn’t ignore the feeling of dread stirring within her. The first time she met with the Dominion League she’d received bad news. If this summons wasn’t about the attack, she didn’t anticipate it would be anything good.

  ***

  They flew to the golden Dominion League building next to the Stream garden and waited to be seen. Zak had been quiet and his silence unnerved Thea more than the summons. Zak had always been reassuring and supportive. He had an air of calm about him, and always had an answer or a suggestion. She now realized how much that was a blanket to her.

  “Are you worried?” she asked him in a hushed voice, as they sat in the reception area.

  Zak glanced at her and the hard look on his face softened. “I’m concerned that they have summoned us so late in the evening. But if they want to see both of us, and it’s about an assignment, it must mean they think you’re well enough to work again.”

  Thea nodded but wondered if that was really a good thing. She hadn’t thought about how she wanted to live her life since she moved back to her quarters. Amber, Maddy, and her Dad were living their lives in the human world. Without Cam, why should she stay in the Angel Realm? Immediately, her chest tightened at what she’d just thought. Without Cam…

  “You can go in,” said the angel at the reception desk.

  Inside, the full Dominion League turned towards her as she stepped through the door. Once again their combined energy was almost overwhelming, but she ignored it as she made her way to the two spare chairs obviously placed for her and Zak.

  Laylah, a friendly angel who was usually the one who spoke to her, greeted her tentatively. “Welcome, Thea. It’s good to see you again. We trust you’re feeling well.”

  “Would it matter if I wasn’t?”

  Laylah’s smile dimmed. “Yes. You’ve been through a traumatic experience. If you feel you need more time, we will allow it.”

  Thea took a breath and reigned in her nerves. “No, it’s fine. Carry on.”

  Laylah clasped her hands together on the table, her face serious. “We have made some discoveries about your mother.”