by Kim Loraine
“Don’t give him so much credit. Technically, he’s just a naughty angel who didn’t like Daddy’s rules. He didn’t even fall for a good reason. Think of his fall as more of a tantrum.”
I don’t miss the clenching in Lucifer’s jaw. I hit a nerve there. Good.
“What are you waiting for? Take them out!” he shouts.
The fallen rush us. My focus is erratic as I move to protect the two humans I’ve dragged into this mess. Pain blossoms across my jaw as one of the fallen strikes me with all his strength. If I was human, I would be dead. He’s not going for me, though. As I step back trying to right my footing, the dark-haired vampire races toward Reese. Galen and I both run for him, me wielding Michael’s sword and Galen a stake. The vampire is on Galen in the blink of an eye, breaking the man’s arm with a sickening crack. Galen’s face pales with the pain, but I can’t get to him. In my rush to save Reese, I neglected to pay attention to the five other Watchers who have surrounded me. Eyes on Galen, I wait for the inevitable moment the vampire kills my friend. Reese screams as a vampire pulls her hands behind her and holds her tightly. “Watch your lover die, human,” he snarls as he pushes her toward her husband.
The broadsword glows with power as I raise it above my head. I catch the gaze of Willow as she fends off a vampire who is at least double her size. She kicks him square in the chest before plunging a stake in his heart. As the circle of Watchers closes in on me, Willow leaps across the room, tackling two of them and breaking the circle. I strike, smiting two of my brothers as I tear across the room toward Galen and Reese.
“Willow, you get Reese, I’ve got Galen!” I call even as I close in on my friend.
The vampire who holds Galen pinned to the cement floor shudders and goes still. Galen grimaces and shoves the body off him with his one good arm. A stake protrudes from the chest of the dead vampire.
“Reese,” Galen cries as I help him to his feet. The idiot is trying to use his broken arm to push me aside, but with every attempt, agony blossoms over his face.
“I’ve got her.” Willow’s words are tight, uncomfortable. Her gaze is trained on Devin.
“Bloody fucking hell, this hurts.” Galen’s voice is a pained whisper as we take up a formation, backs to each other, facing our enemies. Willow breaks free of us, smoothly working her way toward Devin with the katana. She beheads Watcher after Watcher without looking back while Lucifer watches. Curiously, he doesn’t stop her as she tears the chains from her lover’s body and pulls him from the cross.
“Go ahead, you can’t escape, and after you watch your friends die, I’ll make Sariel stand helpless as you willingly give me your soul. You don’t have the vaguest understanding of my power.” He extends his black wings, and with a flare of power, summons more of the fallen to his side. “You see, every one you kill can be returned at my will.”
Dragging Devin with her, Willow leaves a trail of blood behind as she goes, but still, Lucifer stands there with an amused expression on his face, a general watching his army, confident he’ll win.
A fallen jumps on Galen’s back, his fangs digging into my friend’s shoulder, producing a roar from the Irishman. Without a thought, I rush to him, but Reese has already staked the vampire through the back, and he releases Galen before crumpling to the ground. As she tends to Galen, I smite every one of the fallen who approach. I had hoped to save them. That hope is gone. Lucifer may have thought I’d be weak without Selah. He was wrong. I’m an avenging angel.
Soon, all there is around us is a pile of bodies and dust.
Walking the injured Galen along the same path Willow took, the three of us make our way around, until we stand in front of Lucifer once more.
“That was…impressive. Too bad it won’t help you,” my brother sneers.
“Won’t it?” I lift my hand and slice open my palm as Reese does the same. “Blood freely spilled. Watcher, soul bearer, mother.” Reese and I join hands and mix our blood as Willow slices her own and places it on top.
“You have to draw a circle in blood to hold me.”
Cocking an eyebrow, Devin rasps, “We did, motherfucker.”
Looking around him, Lucifer roars as he sees the trail of Devin’s blood sealing him in a binding circle. He tests the strength of our spell by pushing his power at the barrier.
“No!” he roars. “This won’t hold me for long. And believe me, Sariel, once I’m free, I’ll come for you and make you suffer.”
His wings extend, and he shoves against the barrier over and over as we stand together. Then, curiously, he stops and cocks one eyebrow. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as Reese is ripped out of my hold, a scream tearing from her throat.
Galen and I both rush toward her, but a fallen we’d thought dead has her in his grasp.
“Free him, or I’ll turn her.” His voice is an angry hiss. “She’ll be a Watcher.”
“Let go of my wife, you goddamned bastard.” Galen lunges at the same time Reese plunges her dagger into the Watcher’s throat. The vampire jerks and falls back while Galen thrusts a stake through his chest.
It seems surreal, watching these two humans destroy such a powerful creature. But Reese staggers as Galen pulls her to his side, and I see the blossoming red on her shirt as it spreads across her chest. I know the Watcher didn’t do this. This is fate. Magic. A sacrifice.
“A ghra, where are you hurt?” Galen’s hand slides across his wife’s torso, trying to find a wound that doesn’t exist.
The disembodied voice of Helena fills the room, sending a wave of despair through me. “A blood sacrifice. The prison isn’t complete until the price has been paid.”
“No! She’s done enough. Fucking hell, what more could you want?” Tearing off his shirt, Galen balls up the fabric and presses it to the invisible injury, trying desperately to stop the flow.
There’s nothing I can do to end this pain for him. The air around us changes as the witches appear.
Lucifer groans. “Witches? You had to bring them into this. You little traitors. Why tell me about Willow all those years ago if you were only going to help them trap me?”
Willow sucks in a sharp breath. Hurt flashes across her face, and I know it’s because she’s remembering the deaths of her parents. The end of her normal life.
“Hedging our bets.” Isolt’s voice is a singsong tease. “Besides, it was a vision Guinevere had a hundred years ago. We said she’d be instrumental in your end. Not that you’d stop her.”
Lucifer’s beautiful features twist into an ugly mask of rage. “You little whores. When I break free of this pitiful trap, you’ll—”
“Hold your tongue, fallen.” Helena shoots him a scathing look.
Galen cradles Reese in his arms as her blood pools on the ground. He murmurs soft assurances in her ear while running his fingers through her hair. Her skin is paler than it should be, and soft pants fall from her lips as she struggles for air. She’s dying. Falling to my knees, I do what I can to comfort her, placing my palm over her heart and willing any pain away.
“Helena, why is the blood not mixing?” Isolt cocks her head as she points to the pool of blood that stands a few feet from the circle.
“What?” Helena peers down and throws her hands up. “Bring the woman. Damn, Guinevere was right again. Reese isn’t the right one.”
My heart leaps as Reese’s color begins to return and the rise and fall of her chest evens out. But the instant Selah appears next to Guinevere, I know my world is about to end. Selah stares at me with wide eyes filled with mistrust and hurt as she watches me with Reese.
I jerk my hand away as though Reese has burned me and rush to Selah, hoping she’ll allow me to explain.
Guinevere stops me with a palm to my shoulder. “No, Sariel.” Then, turning to Selah, she takes her hand. “Do you give this blood freely?”
To my horror, my Selah nods. “I do.” Then, turning to me, she breaks my heart with a few words. “I’m so sorry. I have to do this.”
B
lood flows from her palms as soon as Guinevere lays a hand on her. Selah kneels and presses her fingers to the floor, the trail of entirely too much crimson immediately traveling toward the circle. As soon as it connects, flames run the diameter, high and threatening. Lucifer writhes and screams, his wings catching fire as the prison seals and he vanishes. Then, only silence, darkness, and the smell of smoke and copper surround us.
Summoning all my grace, I light the room with nothing but my power. I have to see her. See what she’s done. My gut churns as soon as her form comes into view. Selah lies on the ground, bleeding from invisible wounds, but the blood has slowed to a trickle, and her skin is ghostly white.
“No. No. No. This can’t happen again,” I say, dropping to my knees next to her. I can’t lose her again, I can’t watch it happen and stand, powerless to stop it.
Her skin is cold, and those beautiful steel eyes are closed against my need to see them.
“Selah, please,” I whisper. Then, in a moment of pure clarity, I know what I need to do. Pressing my forehead to the cool floor, I pray to my Father for the first time since I fell.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for my disobedience. Please, Father, I ask for your forgiveness. I ask you to punish me but spare her. I will pay the price, anything, if you’ll forgive me and give her back her life.” Tears tighten my throat. “I was selfish to love her, to keep her even though you forbade it. I see that now. Father, please hear me.”
Warmth envelops me, covering my back as my wings move under my skin. Instinctively, I hear His message. He is calling me home. My wings burst from my back, filling the room with an even more brilliant light than I’d conjured with my grace.
“Fucking hell,” Galen mutters from somewhere behind me.
As I rise, my wings move, stretching and flexing in preparation for their intended purpose. I need to see Selah safe before I go. Her cheeks already hold more color, and as I scoop her into my arms, I can feel the steady rise and fall of her chest and the warm skin I’ve longed for.
“Thank you,” I say, staring heavenward.
In one quick pulse of power, we appear in my bedroom, leaving everything behind. I lay her on the bed, brushing hair from her eyes and taking in the last moments I’ll have with her.
Present day
Soft kisses to my forehead wake me. I half expect crazy-pants Guinevere to be trying to put the moves on me, but then I smell him. Sariel is here. He’s touching me.
“Wake up, my love. Please?” The despair in his tone sends an ache through my heart.
Fluttering my lashes, I blink my way toward consciousness. He’s the first thing I see. Thick strands of his wavy, golden hair fall over his closed eyes as he leans over me. The strong jaw that looks like it was cut from marble tenses as he frowns and sighs. My hands are heavy as I lift them to cup his cheeks.
With a harsh gasp, those bright silver irises lock onto mine. The guilt, worry, and fear in them makes everything that happened between us before seem inconsequential. Guinevere showed me things. She unlocked my memories, and I know now, beyond any doubts I may have had, that Sariel’s love for me is true and endless.
“Selah.” He says my name as though it’s a prayer.
Without warning, my chest constricts and a sob sits in my throat. Lips trembling, I fight the tears stinging my eyes. He brushes them away as they slip down my cheeks.
“I thought you were lost…again.” The last word breaks as he speaks, and I swallow past the lump in my throat.
“I’m not.”
Brow knitted, he closes his eyes and sighs in obvious relief. “I love you, and will for my entire existence.”
With careful consideration, I sit up, expecting pain or exhaustion. I find neither. I feel…normal. “What happened?”
“You don’t remember?”
“I remember seeing you with Reese.” Pain flashes across his features, and he begins to speak, but I hold a hand up to stop him. “I know you were trying to help her. I remember giving my blood. And then nothing.”
“I thought you died. You lost so much blood.”
Taking his hand, I thread our fingers together. “Did we stop him? Is Lucifer imprisoned?”
He nods and smiles. “He is. The remaining Watchers have scattered, but now there’s only a handful left.” Guilt fills his eyes. “I had to smite so many of them.”
“Was there another option?”
“No. They became demons as soon as they willingly allied themselves with Lucifer. There are a few who remained ignorant of Lucifer’s part in this plan. At least three who distanced themselves when they realized the truth. Perhaps they can be spared.”
Unable to resist, I trail my free hand through his thick hair, loving the way he leans into my touch. I don’t want to talk, not anymore. I remember him, I remember us, and we’ve got lifetimes to make up for.
“Kiss me, Sariel. Show me how you love me.”
With a groan, he threads his hand in my hair and cups the back of my head before his lips crash against mine. Pressing me down onto the mattress, he fits himself over me. The feel of his tongue sliding into my mouth sends tingles across my sensitive flesh. I need him.
My fingers run over the line of his back until I reach the hem of his shirt. Tugging, at the fabric, I slide it over his skin until he has to remove his lips from mine so he can pull his body free of the shirt. The sight of his beautiful bronzed skin, shadowed by the ridges of his muscles, makes my blood burn for him. I want him to possess every inch of me. My lips blaze a path along his shoulder and down his chest, tongue flicking over his nipple and rending a gasp the moment I bite down. With one palm on the center of his chest, I push him back so I can run my fingers down his abdomen and into the waistband of his pants. He’s hard, the head of his erection peeking out of the top of his jeans. I want to taste him, to lick the bead of moisture from the tip and make him moan my name. Sitting up, I pop the top button on the denim and pull down the zipper. But he pulls away, staring at me with intense longing. Behind that, I see trepidation.
He has to clear his throat before he can speak. “Are you sure?”
“I’m not fragile. Don’t treat me like I am.”
A flare of unchecked lust in his gaze sends a shiver through me. I’m dying for him to put his hands on me and fuck me like he’s trying to prove something. To my dismay, he climbs off the bed and runs his hands through his hair. Why is he denying me now, after everything? I almost go after him, pull him back to me, but he shoves his pants down his hips and steps close to the edge of the bed.
Freeing his shaft, he strokes the considerable length while watching me. “Stand up.”
My belly flips at the rough edge of his tone. I do as he asks, and he closes the distance between us, one hand cradling my head while the other glides between my legs.
“Take off your clothes, Selah. Let me see all of you.” His words are murmurs against my lips, sending shivers of anticipation dancing across my skin.
I want to rush it, to be bared to him and ready to love him, but until all this happened, I was a dancer. Skilled at the art of the tease. I’ve never danced for him. His hands grip the waist of my pants, tugging roughly as he tries to work them down my hips, but I pull away.
“No. Let me.” Pressing my hand to his chest, I walk forward, pushing him back until his legs find the chair in the corner. “Have a seat. This is what you would have seen if you’d let me finish my show.”
“Selah,” he warns.
Shaking my head, I begin moving, slowly lifting my shirt and baring my skin. His eyes are locked on me as I sway and turn. My back to him, I cast a glance over my shoulder and pull the fabric over my head. My bra is sheer and lacy, perfect for something like this. With a teasing smile, I slide one strap over my shoulder until it hangs across my upper arm. Then I do the same to the other. His groan is enough to flood me with intense arousal when I turn and bend at the waist, my ample cleavage on display. I stand upright before I run my hands over my sensitive, lace-covered breas
ts and throw my head back. Shimmying my pants down my hips, I turn away once more and bend over, giving him a perfect view of my thin panties.
“Baby, you’re so wet. I can see it.”
With one hand behind my back as he watches, I unhook my bra and let it fall to the floor in front of me. My other arm rests over my nipples, hiding them from view. As I turn around and let my hand fall from my breasts, the flare of need in his eyes makes me bite my bottom lip.
“Selah, if you don’t finish this soon, I’m going to come over there and do it for you.”
I can’t contain my soft chuckle at the rasp of need in his voice. “Better a patient person than a warrior.”
“Now is not the time to test my knowledge of Proverbs.”
“I find them useful in my daily life. Maybe you could learn some—” My words are cut off by his mouth on mine. He’s so fast, so strong. His hand slides down my back until he cups my ass and squeezes. A moan falls from my lips at his touch. I know I’m wet for him, ready and willing. In one smooth move, he’s laid me back on the bed and hooked his thumbs in the scrap of cloth covering me. With one sharp tug, the fabric is gone and I’m completely at his mercy.
“How have I not tasted you yet?”
Anticipation coils in my belly. Heated gaze never leaving mine, he kneels and parts my thighs. He can taste me all he wants. Unbelievable pleasure races through me as his lips close over my clit and he begins kissing the tender flesh. Two fingers slide inside as he licks and sucks, the occasional graze of teeth making my back bow and soft cries fall uncontrolled from me. The orgasm builds unexpectedly, starting as a soft glimmer of possibility and detonating with a well-timed flick of his tongue.
Hands delving into his hair, I pull hard enough to make him grunt against my skin as I cry his name. I can’t take any more, and he must understand, because he backs away, standing and running a hand through his mussed hair, his lips glistening with my arousal.
“Your turn,” I whisper. Getting to my knees, I lean forward and wait, needing this. The blunt head of his cock spreads my lips even wider than I’d already positioned them. I’m rewarded with a shudder and groan from the man who owns my heart as I run my tongue along the sensitive skin at his tip. Sucking hard, I let my teeth graze him before I grip his firm ass and take him as far as I can.