by Zoey Ellis
“Thank you, Thea,” her mother sighed. “You don’t know how grateful I—”
"I did this for Dad. Not for you." Thea said, choking on the tears that threatened. “He’ll never know what you became. That you were willing to enslave your own child to the most evil being that exists to share your torture with you.”
Oriah’s eyes widened and her face dropped. "I'm sorry, Thea," she whispered. "I'm sorry I didn't give you a choice. I'm sorry I made you kill and hurt those people." She winced and shifted onto her side a little. "I was thinking of myself; I didn't think about them or you. I couldn’t.” She struggled for words to explain. “As a demon, it’s not possible for me to… do good. I tried, but this was the best I could do. The choices that demons make are warped and steeped within what we are. Look at your father, I tried to help him and I ended up…" Tears filled her eyes and her voice trembled. "I love him. I have always loved him, and I will always love you. So thank you. I hope you can forgive me one day; forgive me for making you kill and forgive me for bargaining your life with the Devourer for mine. I wish you could have known me before I became this."
Thea shook her head as her nose stung and tears filled her eyes. The room was quiet and she knew the angels must be watching her with her mother. She didn't care.
"Thank you for what you did for me," Thea said, softly. "The sacrifice you made to protect me and Dad. I wish you could have been with me, that we could have been together. I have always loved you too, Mom. And I love you for who you were."
Oriah nodded and reached up to touch Thea's face, then her eyes closed and her head dropped back. Thea felt the energy drain from her mother until she was nothing but a shell. Thea closed her eyes and let the tears come, the tears she thought she didn't have anymore. Cam knelt down, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her away from her mother.
Thea turned into him and he cocooned her with his body, his love, and his attention, sending her comfort through their connection. She buried herself in him and he scooped into his arms and took her away.
EPILOGUE
Thea
Thea sat on her bed staring out of the window. She couldn't bring herself to move in order to try on the dresses hanging around the room for the ceremony in a few days.
In fact, she couldn't bring herself to do much.
It had been three Angel Realm weeks since she had been possessed by her mother. Three crazy weeks during which she wanted to hide and not face anyone. Not only did she have the full memory of everything that happened, she had to deal with the fact that she’d killed angels. That she had hurt Amber, who still hadn't yet recovered consciousness. That she caused panic, and distress in the Angel Realm, completely unbalancing the energy for all of the angels. Apart from Cam, the only person she had been to see was her father and that had been highly uncomfortable—just looking at him would always remind her of Oriah.
Cam dealt with the Thrones and the Dominion League, ensuring her that she would not have to face them. Now they wanted to commend her. She couldn't see why. She killed a Dominion League member, and he wasn't only that, he was Cam's father. Cam couldn't understand it because he had no concept of what a parent was, what a parent was supposed to be. He simply shrugged and said it was a life he didn't remember. But Thea knew what it was like to not have a parent. And Asteroth could have been a parent to Cam; it could have helped him to have someone other than Thea on his side as a true friend and not just someone who helped him in the shadows. Cam argued that he had Zak, but Zak had been different since the events of three weeks ago. He had questioned her thoroughly about Amber; what she was like, who she lived with, who her family was, her relationships, everything about her. He assured her that Maddy was okay and was staying with her father, and then he had hardly been around lately. She wondered if it was because he was trying to avoid her. Maybe he was horrified and disgusted with her for what she had done. She was horrified and disgusted with herself.
She felt Cam land on the balcony and come into the bedroom. He didn't say anything but sat next to her and pulled her into his warm body for a passionate, consuming kiss. Then they sat there in silence, him caressing her bare skin with his fingertips, sending goosebumps all over her body as he nuzzled into her hair.
“Do you think…” Thea began hesitantly, after a long while. She paused, gathering her thoughts. “Do you think my mom knew that the Devourer would be damaged by her death?”
Cam’s fingers stilled on her arm. “I don’t think so. She was desperate for you to kill her. She would have mentioned it if she though it was would help persuade you.”
That was true. “But she must have had some good in her if she couldn’t stand being mated to him though… right?”
Cam looked down at her. “She was a demon, Thea. Look what she did—”
“I know, I know,” Thea said, quickly. “But she did try to protect me.”
Cam nodded, his chin brushing her forehead. “When she was an angel, yes, but as soon as she turned into a demon, she damaged your father.”
“But she did that by trying to do the right thing,” Thea explained. “She sent a message to the Dominion League about me. Not everything she did was terrible.”
Cam exhaled and his fingers continued to trace her arm. “Maybe not. But most of what she did was, Thea.”
“I know.” She sighed. “But I feel better knowing that the oblivion she wanted so badly helped the Angel Realm. Like it was her last act as an Archangel.” She looked up at him. “Do you know what I mean?”
He searched her face with his intense gaze and ran his fingers down the side of her face. “Yes.”
A thrill ran through her at his touch. He pulled her closer to his side.
“Did you speak to anyone about the demons sheltered rooms and… Kara?” Thea asked, after a long moment of silence.
“Yes,” Cam said, his voice gruff. “The Dominion League. They think they’re rare since no one else has reported them. It might be only Legion demons or Legion task forces that use them. They’re going to look into it.”
“I don’t know what changed that made us able to draw the Stream,” Thea pondered.
Cam gave her a quizzical glance. “We mated, Thea.”
“Oh.” Thea thought for a moment. “You think that’s what it was?”
“Yes,” Cam said, resolute. “It makes us stronger.”
They sat for a long while, Cam continuing to caress Thea’s arm.
Although it had been three weeks, they had not yet resumed their full relationship. Cam touched her and kissed her all the time, but didn't take it any further, saying she wasn't ready. It was true that her emotional state was a complete jumble, and he could feel her all the way to her core now so he must be confused about how she felt. She didn’t want to use sex to heal either, it would just confuse things between them.
"You can't go to the ceremony like this," Cam said, snapping her bra strap gently. "Barakiel will have a heart attack."
Thea smiled at him. "Maybe it will loosen him up a bit."
Cam's eyes darkened a little and she felt a surge of possessiveness in him at the idea.
"Hey, you mentioned it," she grumbled as she leaned into him.
He chuckled. "I'm not sure I like you feeling all the negative emotions I have when it comes to you."
"Why?" Thea stroked his chest. "Do you think I don't like them?”
A twinge of surprise stirred in him. "Do you?"
Thea looked up his gorgeous face as desire flooded her entire body. "You tell me," she whispered.
Cam captured her mouth in his own, kissing her hungrily as he ran his hands over her body. She felt his desire rise and blend with her own. It overwhelmed her causing her to gasp and moan into his mouth.
He pulled away and she grumbled.
"Thea," he said, pulling her head back so that he could look down into her eyes. "I have resisted touching you the way I want because I don't want you to use sex to heal. You need to heal yourself and to do that you need to let go.
Let go of this anguish, let go of the guilt. None of it was your fault, none of it was your choice. The longer you hold onto it the harder it will be for you to accept. Promise me you'll try."
Thea looked up into his gray eyes and knew he was right. "I'll try Cam, but I don’t know how."
Cam thought for a moment. "Have you tried what Sal suggested?"
Thea shook her head. "I wouldn't even know where to start."
Cam pulled her onto his lap and sat on the part of the bed where they had a direct line of sight to the Stream. "All you do," he whispered into her ear, his warm breath tickling her, “is open yourself up to the energy you can see, and the energy you can feel. You cannot go wrong. I'm right here."
Thea took a breath. The Throne, Sal, came to see her yesterday and suggested that she connect to the Stream. He reckoned that with all of the energy she had absorbed from the Stream through her mother, she should be able to connect to it easily. She told him that she had never been able to, and he asked her if anyone had ever taught her how. Cam agreed to help her, but she hadn't thought it would be so soon.
"I'm right here," Cam murmured. “Remember to calm yourself and search for what you can feel.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tightly to him resting his head on the back of her head and rocking her gently. "Just try."
Thea sorted through her emotions and calmed them, settling herself into a meditative state. She sent her awareness out over the Realm, where she could feel the energy of various angels. As she continued to probe, Cam kissed her claiming symbol—a beautiful, complex design that had been burned into the back of her neck when they mated. It was identical to the one on Cam’s neck but unique to them both. A strong sense of satisfaction hummed in him every time he saw it, and he sought it out often, kissing and caressing it as though confirming she belonged to him. She relaxed further, bolstered by the feel of his possessiveness. Suddenly, a pure, complete energy flickered into existence out in the Realm. Opening herself up, she reached for it and it reached for her.
Cam
Cam watched as Thea stood in front of the Thrones and the Dominion League.
They stood in the Stream garden, and it seemed like the entire Empire of angels was there, witnessing the honor being bestowed upon his mate. The garden was filled with angels, and more hovered in the air and perched on nearby buildings. In front of the Stream, a platform had been erected upon which Thea stood in the center, with the entire Dominion League on one side and ten representatives from the Throne order on the other.
They all looked at her with renewed respect and pride as they spoke of her achievement.
Oriah's death had weakened the Devourer to a degree that no one could have anticipated, except perhaps the Creator. It had vastly strengthened and rebalanced the Angel Realm in the process, and the Thrones were immensely grateful. The Dominion League also believed that all demon activity in the human world had weakened. The forests surrounding the Empire had reduced so far back they could barely be seen.
Pride bloomed within Cam as he watched Thea get her commendation and be inducted into the Power angel order—something that no Nephilim had ever achieved. He also received a commendation for his work in the Demon Realm, as did all of the other angels who had entered it to battle with him and Zak, but it was Thea who received the highest praise, who gained the most attention. She used the extra power within her to slay her mother, fought with her entire body to save the Realm, almost losing herself in the process. Thea didn’t think she deserved it, of course, but the fact was Oriah was dead and the Devourer was weakened. It couldn’t have happened without her.
Cam took her hand and led her off the platform. Several angels congratulated her as she walked down into the garden. Since leaving their home this morning, every angel they met greeted and congratulated her and he slowly saw her coming out of her shell. She believed that the Realm hated her because of the deaths of Asteroth and a few other angels. However, she still did not get that angels thought differently from humans. Death was not seen in the same way as in the human world. Asteroth got to go back to Heaven, he got to return to a boundless form. And it was clearly his time to go, otherwise the Creator would have intervened. That was the one thing he tried to get Thea to understand. The Creator could have intervened at any time. She was not like the Devourer, who left his beings to manage without him. The Creator was always present, she had seen what was happening and she did not interfere. It had been Asteroth’s time.
Although he had been completely in awe of Thea's story about Asteroth's family, Cam didn't have any memory of what Asteroth had told her. The thing he found most fascinating was the idea that Asteroth had lived with his mate and their children somewhere in the Realm, undisturbed and happy.
After the ceremony, the Seraphim sang. They could barely be seen in their ethereal forms, especially as they were high in the sky. But as their beautiful song ended, a bright shining sun beamed down on the Empire. All of the angels in their vicinity gasped and chattered excitedly at the appearance of a sun that definitely existed for the sake of Thea. She had been missing it since she first arrived. She stared up at it in amazement, and then grinned at Cam. He stared at her. That was a real grin and it made her look so gorgeous.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the crowds, heading towards their quarters, and bumped into Dani. As Dani hugged Thea and chatted with her excitedly about everything that had happened, Cam felt a presence beside him.
He turned. "Greetings, Zakiel."
"So formal," Zak said, a ghost of a smile on his usually stern exterior. "Well done, Cam. You said you wouldn't fail, and you didn't."
"It was tough there for a while." Cam grinned. "I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. Thank you for everything."
"How's Amber?" Thea was staring at Zak, and Cam could feel the hope and desperation trembling in her. He pulled her close to him, trying to reassure her.
"She's stable," Zak replied. "She's improving slightly every day, but I don't yet know when or if she will wake up."
Thea's eyes lowered. “Okay,” she whispered. “What about Maddy?”
“She’s still going to school and visiting Amber every day. She’s worried, but fine.”
Thea pressed her lips together and nodded, guilt spiraling in her.
It's not your fault, Thea, Cam reminded her. The best thing you can do is to go and support her and help her to recover.
Thea looked up at him, her sapphire eyes tinged with so much sadness, and nodded.
Cam looked back at Zak, who was looking at Thea with compassion in his hazel eyes. Zak was one of the best healers he knew, and for a Dominion angel, it was a great skill to have. If Amber was taking a long time to recover, even with Zak's daily treatment, she must be really ill. He frowned, realizing something. "Have you been to see her every day?"
Zak's gaze turned on him, and Cam saw something there he did not recognize. "Yes."
“So…” Cam tried to grasp what Zak was saying. “You have been to the human world seven times a day for the last three weeks to treat Amber?" It seemed unlikely that Zak would visit the human world that regularly.
Zak did not respond this time, just held his gaze on Cam, and finally, the realization hit; something about Amber intrigued Zak. Other healers could have and probably should have stepped in already, but it seemed he wanted to see Amber. Before Cam could decide if that was a good thing or not, Thea leaned away from Dani as Dani turned to chat to someone next to her. “So you haven’t been avoiding me? You’ve just been focusing on treating Amber?” Thea asked.
Zak frowned. “I haven’t been avoiding you, Thea. I’m sorry if it seemed that way. I just…” He struggled for words, and Cam tried to push down his shock. Zak, speechless? He never thought he would ever witness that.
Thea smiled, although a sadness twisted in her. “She’s a great person, Zak. Please help her to recover.”
He nodded. “I will.”
Dani turned back to them and threw her
hands up. “I still can’t believe it," she announced, shaking her head and looking between Cam and Thea. "I’ve never heard of anybody mating in front of a bunch of demons before.”
Cam frowned. "That's not how I would have preferred it—"
"Are you kidding?" Dani made a face. "Everyone does it the boring way; in front of the Thrones, or their fellow angels or whatever. What you guys did was so cool." She pressed her lips together excitedly and then smiled, a sentimental expression on her face. "So romantic."
Cam grinned at Thea, who smiled and rolled her eyes at Dani. “We almost died, but yeah, romance is key," Thea teased.
"Hey, don’t knock it," Dani said, scolding her playfully. "No one else can say that they mated that way, you know? Angels will be asking for that story for centuries to come. They're already telling it to the new baby angels."
Thea laughed and Cam couldn’t help but smile just seeing her happy. He knew that it was going to take a while for everything to get back to normal in Thea’s mind, but he was glad at least that she could enjoy some laughter in the meantime. Her connection to the Stream over the last few days seemed to have brightened her mood and mellowed her emotions considerably. She experienced the Creator as female, which felt right since she just lost her mother for the second time. It seemed her connection with the Creator was more motherly and comforting with no erotic edge, and it pleased him more than he thought it would. If she felt the Creator erotically as a male, it would have irritated him.
“You two did a great job,” Zak said, approvingly. “I’ve never seen anyone fight together like the two of you. It was really incredible.”
Pride rose in both Cam and Thea at Zak's words. Thea beamed. "Thank you, Zak."
"I look forward to working with both of you now I’m your commander again," Zak said, a smile on his face. "I'm sure the Dominion League will have lots of interesting assignments for the Power couple."
Cam chuckled along with Thea and Dani. However, Zak wasn’t entirely wrong. Cam couldn’t recall any couple who had been allowed to mate and be partnered with each other. They were the first. He was sure the Dominion League would want to keep an eye on them, and he didn't look forward to the Thrones’ attentions. But those were worries for another day.