Soon, we arrive at a tall, chain-link fence that expands from one mountain to another. There are a few boxy brick buildings along the perimeter. They have solar panels, so I assume they’re for the Golds who guard the camp. In front of the gate are two Gold guards, standing at attention with what looks like automated rifles.
Zeke pulls up to the gate, rolls down his window, and takes off his sunglasses. The guard on his side gapes at the sight of him, but quickly becomes serious again.
“King Ezekiel,” he says, his voice shaking slightly. “To what do we owe this honor?”
“Nothing for you to worry about,” Zeke says casually. “Just a little sightseeing.”
“To a labor camp?” The guard shifts his feet and adjusts his gun.
“Yes,” Zeke says. “We don’t have all day—let us in.”
“Of course.” The guard nods, walks over to the gate, and opens it.
Zeke drives through, and I turn around to see the guards closing the gate behind us. We pass the boxy brick buildings, and drive by long log buildings with roofs that are sinking in.
A few people mill about, carrying pails and buckets. They’re pale and thin, with hollow cheeks and blue tattoos around their wrists. Their clothes are rags, barely substantial enough to keep them warm in the cool November air. They’re covered in dust and dirt, as if they haven’t had a shower in weeks.
For the most part, they ignore us, except for one person who turns to look at us—a young boy with circles under his sad, hopeless eyes.
My heart breaks for these poor people. “Are they ever able to leave the camp?” I ask, dreading the answer I know will come.
“No.” Zeke doesn’t look at me as he speaks. “They’re born here, and they die here. They don’t know that another type of life exists. They can’t miss something they never had.”
“I don’t believe that,” I say. “They see the guards—how they dress and how they live. They must know that there’s a better life out there somewhere.”
“That better life isn’t for them.” Zeke turns to look at me, his eyes full of passion. “It’s for us. We can’t live the way we do without people living the way they do. That’s the way society works.”
I say nothing—afraid anything else will raise suspicion. Part of the curse is that the Golds turn their heads from the Blues who slave away their entire lives to provide resources for the continent. They know that acknowledging the wrongness of this system and trying to fix it will take away their status in society.
They don’t want to overturn the caste system because then they would lose their place as Golds.
But I know better—I know that society doesn’t have to function like this. Before the dimensions collided and destroyed the world, many countries had abolished slavery and created governments that provided opportunities for every citizen. Sure, those countries weren’t perfect, but they were far better than this.
However, I can’t say any of this, since Adriana wouldn’t know about the history of the world before the collision.
Teresa’s been quiet this whole time, so I glance back at her to make sure she hasn’t fallen asleep. She’s awake and alert, and she raises her eyebrow, giving me the feeling that I’m going to have a lot of questions to answer the next time the two of us are alone.
“Are you ready to leave?” Zeke asks, interrupting my thoughts.
I turn to look at him—he’s wearing the same leather jacket that he wore the first night we met, and he watches me closely, his eyes full of love.
If it comes to it, can I kill this man to save this continent?
No, I can’t. I want to help the Blues—and everyone else trapped in a low caste—but I love Zeke. Perhaps I can use my position as queen to help these people and make positive changes throughout the continent.
But maybe I simply haven’t seen enough to break through the curse yet.
“I hear talking,” I say instead, perking up at the warm scent of what smells like a cookout. “Let’s keep going to see what they’re doing.”
“As you wish,” Zeke says, and he heads down the road toward the chatter.
We continue around a corner, and I see a campfire being tended to in the center of a clearing. Lines of meat hang from sticks above the fire.
I’m relieved to see that at least the Blues are fed.
But the relief doesn’t last long, because I see a young girl near the car who’s huddled on the ground in tears. She rocks back and forth, alone, with no one to comfort her.
“Stop the car,” I say, and Zeke does as I asked. Once we’ve stopped, I open the door and rush out to the girl, pulling my sleeves down to cover up my tattoos.
“Adriana!” Teresa calls, but I’m already beside the girl, kneeling to help her.
Teresa follows me, her brow furrowed in concern. “Come back to the car,” she begs. “Please.”
I ignore her and focus on the girl. “Hi,” I say cautiously, and she looks up at me, her eyes pained and confused. “Why are you crying?”
“My mom.” She reaches forward, pointing toward the fire.
“She’s helping with the cooking?” I ask.
“No.” She shakes her head, her hands tucked in her jacket as she rocks back and forth. “She broke her leg. The men with the gold tattoos said she was useless. They…” She glances at Teresa’s wrists, her eyes hardening at the gold tattoos around them. “They shot her. And now they’re cooking her.”
“That meat…” I look back at the meat roasting over the fire, horror washing over me. “That’s not… it isn’t your mom—is it?”
“It is.” She takes her hands out of her jacket, the flash of the knife a blur as she thrusts it forward and stabs Teresa in the neck.
Chapter Sixty
“No!” I push the girl away from Teresa and wrestle the knife from her hand.
Suddenly Zeke’s there, and he pulls the girl off me, throwing her onto the ground.
His eyes darken, and she goes up in flames before she even hits the dirt.
But I can’t think about her right now. Because Teresa—the first person I trusted after arriving to this continent, who’s helped me and treated me like a sister even though my presence puts her true sister in danger every day—is laying on the ground beside me, blood flowing from the wound and drenching the ground around her.
I reach for her and roll her over, knowing before seeing her glazed eyes that she’s dead.
I do the first thing that comes to mind—I try to access my powers to revive her. Angels aren’t supposed to bring people back to life unless God instructs us to do so, but I don’t care—Teresa doesn’t deserve to die. She deserves to finish helping me break this curse—to live in a city where people don’t want to kill her simply because she’s a witch.
How am I supposed to continue this mission without her?
But I can’t heal her, because while in Adriana’s body, I have no access to my angelic powers. I try to exit her body—to take my own form so I can use my magic—but it doesn’t work.
Of course it doesn’t work. I’m stuck in her body until I complete my mission.
So I curl over Teresa and cry, feeling more helpless than ever. It’s my fault she died. I’m the one who insisted on coming here—she never would have been here today if it wasn’t for me.
But Zeke… he’s a demon. A fallen angel. He can save Teresa. I’ve never heard of a demon reviving a human without incentive—some sort of deal—but he has the ability to do it. I know he does.
“Bring her back,” I beg him, tears streaming down my face. “Please.”
“I can’t do that.” He shakes his head sadly. “I’m a killer. Not a healer.”
“That’s not true,” I say. “You’re an angel. A fallen angel, but still an angel. You have the power to do this. I know you do.”
He stares down at me, his eyes twisting with so many emotions—as if he’s fighting within himself to figure out what to do.
“Please,” I repeat. “If you love me as much a
s you say you do, please do this for me.”
He kneels beside Teresa and places his hands upon her forehead, closing his eyes in concentration. The wound knits itself together in seconds, color returning to her cheeks. Then a beam of sunlight shines down on her from behind the clouds, and suddenly, her eyes snap open.
“Teresa!” I pull her into a hug, making sure she’s real. “You’re okay.”
“Yeah.” She sounds woozy, and she pulls away from me, touching the place where the knife had entered her neck. “What happened?”
“It’s a long story,” I say. “But Zeke… he saved you.” I turn to Zeke, looking at him in admiration. “Thank you,” I tell him.
“I’ve never revived someone without a deal being made,” he says, and my heart plummets.
Of course he expects a deal. He might love me, but he’s still a demon. Demons don’t do anything for free.
“Make the deal with me,” I insist. “Not Teresa. It’s only fair, since I’m the one who asked you to revive her.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “I brought her back for you, and I don’t want there to be any deals between us. It’ll tarnish what we have. I love you, Adriana, and I don’t want to think that you might be with me because you owe me, and not because you love me.”
“She killed me?” Teresa looks for the girl, but can’t find her. So she looks back up at Zeke, question in her eyes. “And you saved me?”
“Yes,” I say. “He saved you.”
“Thank you.” Teresa lowers her eyes, touching the place where the wound had been again. “I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”
“I’m going to tell your parents tonight that I’ve proposed to Adriana,” he says suddenly. “The only repayment I need is for you to support our union—and to make sure your parents support it, too.”
Her eyes go wide as she takes in what he said. That we’re engaged.
“I’m sure they will,” she says slowly.
“To my face, yes,” he says. “They wouldn’t oppose me—the king of the continent. But parents worry about their children, and I wouldn’t blame them for being worried about their youngest daughter marrying a demon. I’m sure they’re worried about her enough as it is, and are hoping for her to make it through the year unharmed so she can finally be safe. I want you to take my saving you today as a promise—a promise that I love your sister and will never let any harm come to her, no matter what. And I want you to make sure your parents understand that, so they don’t spend the rest of their lives worrying about her. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes.” Teresa nods, looking back and forth between the two of us. “I can do that. I promise.”
Chapter Sixty-One
I toss and turn in my bed that night, unable to fall asleep. I keep thinking about everything that happened today—Zeke saving Teresa’s life at the labor camp, and then dinner when he told my parents—Adriana’s parents—that we’re engaged.
As anticipated, her parents took it in stride. What choice did they have? They know that if they speak against Zeke they’ll risk being killed. And as promised, Teresa gushed about how perfect Zeke and I are together.
I didn’t realize before now that she’s a fabulous actress.
Or maybe her opinion about Zeke changed after he brought her back to life this afternoon.
That must be it. Because if so, she’ll be even more determined to figure out a way to break the curse without having to kill him. And she needs to be able to do that. Because after today, I know more than ever that my love for Zeke is real. I can’t kill him. I do want to break the curse—even more so after seeing the horrors at the labor camp today—but I’ll be cast out of Heaven before ever harming Zeke.
I still don’t know why God chose me of all the messenger angels for this task. But if this is some twisted test to see if I’m capable of casting my feelings aside for the good of the majority, then I suppose I’ll fail.
If love is my weakness, then so be it. I would rather fall from Heaven a million times than kill the man I love. If I lose him, especially by my own hand, my soul will surely die as well.
Thinking of Zeke reminds me how close he is—he’s in the bedroom next to mine. After he saved Teresa today and asked for nothing in return, I feel closer to him than ever before. And the distance between us right now—the physical distance—is killing me.
So I leave my room and tiptoe down the hall. Like he promised on the train, his door is open. Only a crack, but it’s still open.
I peek inside, not wanting to wake him if he’s sleeping. But his eyes open, as if he’s attuned to my presence.
“Julia,” he says, his voice thick from sleep. “You’re here.”
Hearing that name again—Julia—feels like a punch in the gut.
I walk slowly toward him and sit down next to him on the bed. “Not Julia,” I say, taking his hand in mine. “It’s me. Adriana.”
But as I say it, I’m reminded that it’s a lie. Because I’m not Adriana. I’m Rebekah.
How will I ever be honest with him about my betrayal? I’ll have to tell him eventually, but I’m scared.
Will he love me once he learns the truth?
“Of course it is,” he says with a lazy smile, pulling me down to lay with him. “I wouldn’t want it to be anyone else.”
I snuggle up against him, saying nothing for a few seconds. But I can’t keep it inside—I need to know the answer to the question haunting my mind.
“Who’s Julia?” I ask him, slowly and cautiously. “You said her name the first time we met—you thought I was her. And you just said it again. I love you, and I know you love me—I’ll never doubt that. But clearly this Julia is important to you, too. Please tell me—who is she?”
“Was,” he says after a few seconds, taking my hand in his. “Who was she. Because Julia is gone—she’s been gone for a long, long time.”
“How long?” I ask.
“Longer than you could ever imagine,” he says. “Because you’re right that she was important to me. She’s the reason I fell from Heaven.”
Chapter Sixty-Two
“A human?” I ask. “You fell from Heaven for a human?”
“Not just any human,” he replies. “My first love.”
“Oh.” My heart pangs at the thought of Zeke in love with someone else. The sadness must reflect on my face, because he cocks his head, looking amused.
“I was created in the time before Christ,” he says. “In all that time, you didn’t think I’d ever loved?”
“You’re a demon,” I say simply. “Until now… I didn’t think demons were capable of love at all.”
“We’re not supposed to be,” he says. “Most are not. You see, once we fall, the darkness takes over our souls, destroying any parts that were ever capable of love.”
“But you love me.” I say it as a statement, not a question.
“Yes,” he says. “You see—you look practically identical to Julia. The first time I saw you, I thought you were her. In that moment, the hope that she was alive sliced through the darkness, allowing me to feel again. Allowing me to love again.”
“But I’m not her.” I lower my eyes so he won’t see the disappointment surely shining within them.
“I know that now,” he says. “But I didn’t then.” He places his thumb under my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. “I’ve never told anyone about Julia. You’ll be the first. If you want to hear it, of course.”
“I do,” I say. “Of course I do.”
“Good,” he says, and then he begins, “I was sent to Rome in the year 129 AD on a mission to convert the citizens to Christianity. The religion was just beginning to form, and it needed the support of angels to help people see the light. During my mission, I met a woman—Julia. She and her family weren’t Christian, but she had a curious mind and was interested in learning. We spent a lot of time together, and it wasn’t long before we fell in love. I eventually told her what I was, and she believed I was her guardian angel sent to sav
e her from the future her family had in store for her. You see, she was from a noble Roman family, and was about to be forced into an arranged marriage with an older, abusive man. She was trapped and miserable—she said the only time she felt alive was when she was with me.”
“But angels aren’t allowed to fall in love with humans,” I say quickly, not realizing until afterward that Adriana might not know that.
If Zeke notices my slip-up, he doesn’t let on. “They’re not,” he agrees. “However, it isn’t unheard of for angels to have relations with humans during their times on Earth. Angels love God and all of Gods creations. Humans are one of Gods creations, so it’s natural for us to love humans as well. I’d seen it done by my angelic brothers and sisters many times before, so I thought nothing would come of it. But marrying a human… that’s another story entirely.”
“You married Julia?” I ask.
“Yes,” he says. “It was the only way to keep her from a life of misery with that awful man. He would never marry her if she’d been married before. He would see her as tainted.” He says the word with disgust. “We married in secret, and we planned to run away to the countryside to live the rest of our lives together in peace and happiness.”
“She didn’t mind that she would grow old while you would remain immortal?” I ask.
“I was going to search to the end of the world for a way to make her immortal,” he says. “The same way I will for you.”
“But you didn’t have a chance,” I realize from the way he said it. “What happened?”
“Our marriage was conducted in the traditional Roman manner—it wasn’t a Christian wedding,” he says. “I thought that would be enough to keep it concealed from Heaven. But it wasn’t. The next morning, angels pounded down our doors to force me to face my fate—but first, they killed Julia in front of me.”
“Why?” I gasp. “She did nothing wrong.”
“Angels aren’t as perfect as most want to believe,” he says. “They killed her to prevent the conception of a Nephilim child—half-human, half-angel. Immediately after seeing her killed, I was cast out of Heaven and locked away in the demon dimension, where Mammon—one of the seven fallen archangels who rules over Hell—took me under his wing.”
Demon Kissed (Cursed Angel Collection) Page 18