by Meg Collett
He didn’t tell her that she wasn’t the only one who spent some nights in his bed. There was a steady rotation of Descendants and refugees who kept Clark occupied. The women and the whiskey numbed him late in the evenings when his mind wanted to return to Sophia. Her face flashed unbidden in his mind and squeezed his heart in a viselike hold.
Clark hurried down the hall to his office. It was too early in the morning to pass Descendants and Nephilim in the hallways. He tried to time it this way every morning, because some of the younger Descendants still openly gaped at him—the half-Nephil and incredible bearer of the Watchers’ secrets. Clark didn’t mind the attention, nor did he revel in it. It’s just who he was now.
He reached his office door, easing it open and going inside. It overlooked the back fields, a view familiar to Clark. He’d spent hundreds of hours playing in front of this very desk while his father worked.
He sank into his leather chair behind the desk and poured himself a glass of whiskey before he turned on the stereo in the corner. Classic rock spilled out and filled the room as light from the sunrise spilled through the windows. He leaned back in his chair and sighed, watching the bright colors leech into the clouds. It was the only moment of peace he might get all day.
The whiskey did the trick and buried Sophia deep in his thoughts. Clark wondered if this was what Michaela had meant when she told him to save himself. He doubted it. Maybe if she’d been here with him every day, he might have saved himself sooner. But that was a fantasy, and Clark forced himself not to dwell on how much he missed his best friend.
He knew he would find peace one day. He’d find his love, too. The strength wouldn’t always be at the bottom of a whiskey bottle or out in the fields with Zarachiel or even in bed with a beautiful creature. Some days it was just there, waiting for him to reach out and take it.
But Clark didn’t want to take it just yet. Taking it meant leaving behind Sophia, and he couldn’t bear that yet. He lived for the nights he dreamed of her. He just wasn’t ready.
Truth was, he missed them all. He missed Gabriel’s silent, disapproving stares and Ophaniel’s pretty hair and Simiel’s lame jokes. He even missed the war and unity he’d felt helping the angels. Mostly, he missed Michaela. But missing her was like missing his dad or Sophia. She was just as gone, just as far away.
Clark would repair himself one day, he knew that. Until then…he poured himself another glass of whiskey.
A knock came from his door. “Come in,” Clark called and took a sip.
Zarachiel came in, looking confused and shy as usual. “We have a slight situation.”
Clark groaned and quickly swallowed the rest of his whiskey. “What now?”
“It’s nothing like that…just…well, a Nephil arrived this morning. She’s demanding to see you,” Zarachiel said. He shoved his hands into the worn pockets of his work pants. He’d tracked dirt in, but Clark didn’t care.
“Who is it?” Clark asked.
Just then the door banged open behind Zarachiel and the Nephil charged in. At the sight of her, Clark sprang to his feet, dropping the glass to the floor. It shattered on impact, sending shards cascading across the rug. His heart was somewhere in his throat, squeezing the breath out of him.
“Sophia?” he choked out.
“No,” the Nephil said. “But I think you knew my sister.”
To be continued…
Epilogue
Heaven was a grave, and Michaela knew it was meant for her.
The Angel of Death didn’t deny it had been a beautiful grave. The hallowed city sat, tucked away, in a fold of the universe, far, far above Earth and space. Set against a sky cast in the undulating colors of a perpetual twilight, glass-like towers jutted from a thick bank of blush-colored clouds. Graceful spires reflected beams of bright light back into the illuminated sky.
But it had been a short death, and Michaela had emerged from her grave.
Heaven was just a place now, as Hell was just a place. Neither was her home.
Michaela stood on the rocky outcropping in front of the lone tree standing sentinel against the wind. Her golden wings fanned out widely behind her, the feathers glinting in the breeze. Her face was upturned, taking in the clear, bright sunset as her black hair twisted in the coming night’s wind. A simple stretch of cloth wrapped around her body to form a dress that allowed room for her wings and exposed lengths of her scarred back.
A twig snapped behind her. Michaela turned around and saw him, stepping from the woods, his bronze hair catching the last of the fading light. He looked up at her with dark eyes full of shadows and love.
She was home now, in her slice of forever that had been carved out before her and Gabriel, their eternity stretching into the forevermore and the forever always. It was an always of stolen, brief moments between souls pulling her away. It was a form of life Michaela wouldn’t have wished for but received anyway. She’d never wanted to leave Gabriel’s side, but that wasn’t her reality anymore.
She only had her moments with him now, but it was enough to restore her.
Michaela smiled and reached for him.
The End
Dear Reader
Michelangelo once talked about seeing an angel in the stone and carving until he set the angel free. This book is my angel. If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review. Even if it’s a few words, it would mean the world to me.
About the Author
Meg Collett lives deep in the hills of Tennessee where the cell phone service is a blessing and the Internet is a myth of epic proportions. She is the mother of one giant horse named Elle, one giant dog named Wylla, and one little dog named Mandy. Her husband is a saint for putting up with her ragtag life. End of Days is her first series.
Find Meg at…
www.megcollett.com
Follow her at
www.twitter.com/collettmeg
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Table of Contents
End of Days Series
The Hunted One Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
The Lost One Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
>
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
The Only One Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Epilogue
About the Author