“That won’t work on us, princess,” he snarled. “We love the fire.”
I stumbled to my knees, trying to think of something else, but my vision was going, and a heavy fog was clouding my mind.
Then the pressure was gone. The weight from my back lifted, ripped away in one swoop. I fell onto my hands, gasping and coughing.
“Deep breaths, Hope,” Gabriel said, kneeling beside me.
My eyes were watering so badly I could hardly see the gravel in front of me as I sucked air into my starved lungs.
“Are you okay?”
I turned to look at him, his face hard, his chest rising and falling quickly. I offered a weak nod, collapsing onto my butt as I kept breathing. He rose, looking around at the scattered bodies.
“This was an ambush,” he said to Cillian.
I looked up as Cillian came walking over, sweat glistening off his bare chest. My hand went up to the raw skin around my neck, and I had a feeling it didn’t look good. Mostly because Cillian was looking at it, and I could tell from the spark in his eyes that he was ready to kill the little demons all over again.
“Looks that way,” he said. “I have to call Caleb. We need to figure this shit out.”
“What did you find out at the club?” I asked, my voice hoarse. I cringed at the sound of it.
“The lead swore he had nothing to do with it. Said he’d been in the vampire lands to meet up with one of them for a tryst. He said he had no idea who Dusek had been dealing with, or why.”
“And you believe him?” Gabriel asked.
Cillian bared his teeth at him, sheathing his sword. “He wouldn’t lie to me, or else he’d never speak again. Period. Whoever is behind this is enlisting lower demons to do their dirty work. These ones can be easily influenced with a bag of gold or jewels. They love anything shiny.”
I looked around, swallowing the bile crawling up my throat at the carnage in front of our home. If Mom saw this she’d have a fit - Mom!
“My mom,” I said, scrambling to get up. The three of us ran inside. I didn’t wait for them as I bounded up the stairs, flying into her room and straight for her bed. “Mom,” I said, shaking her frantically.
“Hope? What is it?” She said groggily, taking a second to fully wake up. I saw her finally absorb my panic, and then she was sitting, gripping my arms back. “Are you okay? What happened?”
“I better call Caleb now,” Cillian said. I hadn’t realized he was standing in the doorway. His heavy steps grew fainter as he went downstairs.
“Hope? What’s going on?”
I sat on the edge of her bed, taking a slow, deep breath. “It’s okay,” I said. “Everything’s okay.” For now.
Eighteen
Angels and Demons
Caleb was mad as hell. Cillian had to only take one look at him to know as much.
“What the hell is he doing here?” He said, pointing at Gabriel.
The four of them - Cillian, Hope, Vivian, and feather boy - were sitting in the kitchen when he’d arrived. Hope sat on a stool, Vivian in front of her as she dug through the first aid kit. Cillian was leaning against the counter, trying his best not to stare at the angry red marks around Hope’s neck.
“I warned you years ago that we would be involved now,” Gabriel said.
“You and your Hierarchies need to mind their own business, angel.”
“My name is, Gabriel.”
“I don’t fucking care what your name is, Hope is none of your concern.”
“Isn’t she?”
Caleb’s face went stone cold, his body stiffening.
Cillian pushed off the counter, bracing himself for one word from Caleb. Just one, and he’d show this cloud lover which one of them was truly the more dangerous threat.
“Dad,” Hope said, her voice small and pleading.
Caleb’s gaze went to her instantly, some of the fire in his eyes dying out.
“He helped us tonight,” she said.
Caleb looked at her a moment, clearly warring with himself, before giving in. “Fine. He can stay. Someone explain to me what happened here.”
Hope gave him a brief summary, smartly leaving out the stint at the club. Cillian flexed his hands at his sides, the ghost of the feel of Hope’s bare skin against his still lingering. He forced himself to push those memories away, permanently. Nothing good would come from them.
“Cillian,” Caleb said, bringing him back to the present.
“Boss?”
“Go outside and ward the perimeter.”
He nodded, turning to leave, glancing at Hope briefly before he did. Those blue eyes met his for a second before he broke the contact, meeting Gabriel’s instead. The angel was glaring at him, as only the high and mighty could. He hated the whole lot of them, but Soldiers were the worst. He snapped his teeth at him and headed down the hall.
The angel’s presence around Hope was still a mystery to him. Cillian had been there all those years ago when Gabriel himself had appeared to them in Russia when they’d gotten Vivian back finally. He’d heard Gabriel warn Caleb to walk away from her, insist that the two of them being together would set something in motion that could not be stopped.
Long, dark hair and bright blue eyes flashed through his mind. He had no doubt it was Hope he’d been referring to. It all came back to the prophecy. The Brotherhood’s foretelling that there would be a human and demon who would fall in love and create a child between them that would be the anti-Christ was a bunch of nonsense, in his opinion. Besides, the fact that most demons believed that the prophecy was actually referring to Dermot and Catherine, Caleb’s parents. Therefore, Caleb would have been the great power they had been so afraid of. He just didn’t think Hope was capable of being anti-anything. She had power, but she wasn’t this “evil incarnate” the humans and angels seemed so obsessed with.
It would make sense if the angels were watching her to make sure she wasn’t a danger, but in that case, he would have expected them to just send a Scout. The leaders of the angels, the Hierarchies as they were called, would never have sent a Soldier of Gabriel’s level if it were just a matter of keeping an eye on her. Unless they knew something he didn’t.
Walking around the property, he drew the ancient figures on the ground, warding the place. It was a language only the eldest of demons spoke, a language his parents had both taught him growing up. It was rare for two full demons to procreate, so when his mother had become pregnant with Cillian, they had decided to stay together in order to raise him. It wasn’t a loving household, by any means, but he’d always been able to count on both of his parents. They weren’t mates, but they had always had an immense respect for one another.
He wondered how Caleb was handling being around his mate again, without actually being with her. It had to be difficult. Mates. Cillian shook his head at the word, moving on with his work.
His mind wandered back to the damn angel inside. Why was he here?
Cillian hadn’t missed the way he’d stared at Hope, or she him. A simmering rage rumbled in his veins. There was no way the angel could be interested in Hope in - that way. Was there? It couldn’t be. But Cillian hadn’t missed her attraction to Gabriel. He growled. He’d kill the feathered piece of shit before he let him lay a hand on her.
The crunch of gravel had him snapping out of his thoughts and twisting toward the direction the sound had come from. Stilling, he opened his senses, hearing it again. Someone was walking down the driveway. Debating on glamouring himself completely so he was invisible, he decided to go with his human appearance instead, swooping into the air and to the front of the house before the visitor reached it. She appeared a half a minute later, her steps faltering when she spotted him leaning against one of the posts on the porch, smoking one of the cigarettes he thankfully had in his pocket.
“Uh, hello,” she said, walking up, stopping at the bottom of the stairs.
“Hello,” he said with a small smile.
> He watched as her pupils dilated, and knew she found him attractive. It made his lips pull up further. Humans were always too much work for him, but he’d been with a few in his years. It was a lot of effort with the glamour and mind altering, since his natural appearance was not human enough to forgo either. They always seemed interested though. He blamed it on that bad-boy obsession they seemed to have.
“Is...Hope here?” She asked.
He nodded, pushing off the post. “She’s just inside. I’m her friend, Cillian.” He held out a hand.
She took it, her hand slightly shaking within his. “Emily,” she said, her voice taking on that breathy sound. He knew who she was, of course.
“Nice to meet you. I’ll walk you in.” He sent out a sensory message to Caleb to let him know a human was here, and then led her in. By the time they entered the kitchen, Gabriel was back in his glamour form too, and everyone was sitting around as though they were having a normal family gathering. It was almost comical.
“Emily,” Hope said, a plastic smile plastered on her face. Her friend eyed everyone in the room. “What are you doing here?” She asked, cutting her off just inside the doorway. Cillian stood silently behind them, arms crossed as he leaned against the wall.
“I...uh...was worried about you, so I thought I’d come check and see if everything is okay. You seemed off at school.”
“Shouldn’t you be at home?” Caleb asked, eyeing the clock. It was after eleven.
“My mom was...out, and I couldn’t sleep so I figured I’d go for a walk.”
“Oh, Em, this is my f-father,” Hope said, gesturing to Caleb.
Emily’s eyes went wide. “Your father?”
Cillian hid a smile behind his hand. Caleb definitely didn’t look like your run-of-the-mill dad.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Caleb said, nodding in greeting.
“And this is my mom,” Hope said. Vivian smiled, looking about ready to bolt. It was so awkward. Cillian was loving it. His smile stretch wide as Hope gave him a furious glare over Emily’s shoulder.
“And you know Gabe,” she said after, “and this is - “
“I’ve already met Cillian,” Emily said, fluttering her lashes as she turned to look at him. He grinned, winking. Hope’s cheeks flamed as he glanced at her when Emily turned back around. “It’s nice to meet everyone.”
“I really appreciate you coming by to check on me,” Hope said, ushering her out of the kitchen. “I wasn’t feeling well.”
“Is that why you’re wearing a scarf?” He heard Emily ask as their voice disappeared down the hall.
“Is it warded?” Caleb asked.
Cillian nodded.
“Good. Head back to the penthouse and see Collin.”
“Sure thing, boss.” He walked down the hall, glamouring himself completely this time so that Hope and Emily wouldn’t see him. The wards interfered with his shifting, so he’d have to fly.
Slipping out the front door, he caught Emily’s last words, pausing at them.
“He’s so gorgeous. How could you not tell me about him?”
“Uh, I don’t know,” Hope said, shifting from foot to foot.
“Where did you meet him? How old is he? Does he live close by? Tell me all about him!” She said, tugging at Hope’s arm.
Cillian chuckled, knowing full well they were talking about him.
“What’s to tell? He’s just...Cillian,” she said with a shrug.
“Are you two, like, dating?”
“What?” She laughed, tucking a hair behind her ear. Cillian stepped closer, and he saw her stiffen. “Me and Cillian? No way.”
“Really?” She said, watching her carefully.
Hope nodded. “We’re just...”
He watched her bite her lip, and every instinct in him wanted to have a taste too. He shook his head.
“Just...?”
She blew out a breath. “Just...us?”
His lips twitched.
Emily’s eyebrows knitted together. “Okay...so he’s available?”
“Yeah...for sure.”
Pawning him off on her human friends, was she? Stepping even closer, he blew lightly on the tiny bit of exposed skin just below her ear. She shivered, her head turning slightly, as if she wanted to look to see if he was there, but then thought better of it.
He backed away, blocking out the rest of their conversation as he took off into the sky and headed home.
Vivian cleaned up the first aid kit she had thrown into a cupboard in a panic to hide when Hope’s friend arrived. Caleb and Gabriel had an awkward staring contest, before the angel excused himself and departed, leaving just the two of them in the kitchen. She still couldn’t believe she had met a real angel. It was taking a while to sink in, considering she’d been woken from a deep sleep to another demon attack. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take.
“Enough is enough,” Caleb said, his voice cutting through the silence. There was something about the authoritative way he came in and handled situations that always seemed to get her heart racing. Or maybe it was simply just his presence alone. Either way, it threw her off.
She turned to him, head tilted in confusion. “What is?”
He gestured around. “You living here. I want you two at my place from now on. At least until we find whoever is behind this.”
She choked on a laugh. “I don’t think so.”
“How many attacks are you going to deal with before you realize you’d be safer with me?”
“You just warded the place,” she pointed out.
“That only goes so far, Vivian.”
“This is our home, I won’t leave it. She’s fine here. I don’t want her there...” she flung her arm out. “Around all that.”
“Take a look around, she’s smack dab in the middle of it, whether you like it or not. This isn’t about you, or me, or us anymore, this is about Hope. Someone is out to get her, and no matter what you do, she is part demon. She is my daughter. You can’t hide from this anymore.”
“I’m not hiding,” she defended. “I’m dealing with all of this the best I can. You don’t think I realize that all my efforts to keep her away from it were for nothing? I get it. This is her world, and I have to live in it. But I’ll be damned if you take away every ounce of the life I’ve worked damn hard to create for her.”
They stood facing each other now, their voices raised. Vivian’s blood pounded in her ears as she glared up at him, those eyes looking down at her with so much fire she didn’t know if she wanted to slap him or kiss him. God, she was so screwed. Being around Caleb was just too hard, when she was still trying to maintain a distance.
“Then I’m staying here,” he declared.
She gaped at him. “No you’re not.”
“It’s one or the other, Vi. Pick one.”
“Neither!”
“Too bad. Either you’re coming to live with me, or I’m living here.”
“No. You’re . Not. This place is warded, you have your men watching over her. We’ll be fine. You don’t need to be around too.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Why?” She exclaimed, throwing both hands in the air.
“Because,” he all but shouted.
“Because why? Why do you have to be so stubborn?”
“Because you’re...” He smacked his mouth shut, inhaling deeply through his nose.
“I’m what?” She said, hands on her hips.
“You’re mine.”
Vivian was in his arms in the next instance, her head bent back as his mouth took hers in a bruising, possessive kiss. She clung to him, opening her lips against his. Her body ignited, the same crazy need that always accompanied his touch, racing through every nerve. His scent and taste was surrounding her, and she didn’t know if she could stand it if he took his mouth away from her at that moment.
The kiss turned sultrier as his lips moved slowly against hers, deeper, the anger
that had been there initially, now dissipating. His arms wrapped around her waist, crushing her to him. She hadn’t been kissed like this since him. Because it had always been and would always be, Caleb. No other man could compare, mates or not.
He broke off the kiss, his shallow breaths mixed with hers. Slowly, he brushed the pad of his thumb against her wet lips, his gaze still full of heat that it made her toes curl and her legs weak.
The Dark Princess (The Balance Series Book 3) Page 22