by Meg Xuemei X
“Time flies by, High Prince,” Adrianna said, her eyes fixed on me.
Judging from her uniform, she had risen to the rank of admiral.
I nodded curtly, realizing my mate was watching me closely. I tried not to laugh. Rose was jealous. I had a bad reputation when it came to females, so she must be wondering if I had slept with Adrianna.
She had no idea that even if I had had sex with that white-winged angel, and even if millennia of celibacy hadn’t erased all the females I’d once fucked from my memories, she’d wiped them all out the moment her scent had first hit me.
I didn’t tell her that. When my female became possessive and insanely jealous, it amused and pleased me. But I should be careful not to provoke her. She could get jealous on her own account, but could find no fault in me. Otherwise, she would lash out at me.
I didn’t like fighting with her.
“Make it brief, Adrianna,” I said. “I have a war to fight.”
“I came as soon as I could,” she said. “And good to see you, too, Ephraim.” Then her tone turned sour. “And hello, Gabriel.”
“Adrianna,” Ephraim said tightly. Did he realize he had said her name when he first spotted her in the hologram?
Gabriel grinned. “Captain Adrianna, you owe me a pair of boots.”
What was that about?
“It’s Admiral Adrianna,” she corrected him, “and I owe you nothing.” Then her curious gaze sliced to Rose, who held my hand and gave the admiral a none-too-friendly stare.
“Meet the Empress of Mysth—my mate,” I said.
Adrianna’s violet eyes widened, then understanding dawned in them. She had just found the source of my rebellion.
“Empress, High Princess of All Angels,” Adrianna greeted, crossing her hands to show respect.
“Admiral of Angels.” Rose greeted her in an angelic tongue with a twinge of an exotic accent. She had picked up my language fast, though not for the love of it. She needed to study the art of her enemies.
I had once been her enemy.
“How many ships can High Commander Camael spare?” I asked.
“Why don’t you ask him?” Adrianna said with a hint of smile.
“I lost the code,” I said.
“You no longer need it,” a strong warrior’s voice boomed beside me as another hologram beamed into existence on ThunderSong. High Commander Camael stood in front of me.
Camael was one of the twelve most ancient, powerful angels, until my lord father tricked them, killed them, and absorbed their powers. The high commander was the only one who escaped because he had never trusted my father.
“Greetings, Ex-High Prince of All Angels,” Camael said.
“Hello to you, too, Most Wanted High Commander of the Fallen,” I replied.
His lips twitched. He’d visited my mentor and me eons ago when I was a boy.
He had steely grey eyes. A scar sprawling across the high ridge of his nose to his lips told of his old fight with my father. His massive blue wings, even tucked in, were powerful.
“I hear you’ve beaten me to the title, High Prince,” he said, “as you’re now the most wanted. Damn, I’m not thrilled to give up the number one spot in the universe.”
“I need battleships, Commander Camael,” I said.
“You could command all of mine if you joined me ages ago,” he said.
“I didn’t hunt you either,” I said.
“Think you could take me faster than your tyrant father?” he asked.
“You don’t know what would have happened if I truly joined forces with him,” I said.
Somehow by our designs, our two armies had never crossed paths.
“You finally see, Seth,” he said, “all because of your mate.” He regarded Rose, who laced her fingers with mine. His gaze was potent, but Rose glared at him unflinchingly.
“She didn’t back down even from my father when she first met him,” I said.
The high commander roared with laugh.
The Mysthians stepped closer to their empress and glared at the high commander.
“High Commander, did my mate amuse you?” I asked casually yet lethally.
“No offense, Empress, High Prince,” the commander said. “I was picturing the sour look on your father’s face. The empress’s reputation preceded her. My spies said her Earth magic and your Sky Power took down two battleships.”
“Be our ally, High Commander,” Rose said, “and I’ll let you watch how I spew fire and storm beside my mate’s Sky Power. We’re the new force against our common enemy.”
“Charming,” the commander said.
“My father’s forces will be in this galaxy in two days,” I said. “I’m outnumbered. Are you sending ships to fight with us or not, Commander?”
“Two thousand ships are heading your way as we speak,” the commander said. “That’s all I can spare.”
I nodded my thanks. “My father is leading the Reapers.”
“He’s determined to take out the Sky Power,” the commander said softly. “He finally knows who you really are. I’m glad he didn’t get to hang your head on Atlantis’s gate.”
“Or send it to you,” I said.
His gaze fell on my shoulders. He knew I no longer had wings.
“How soon can your fleet get here?” I asked.
“Three and half days,” he said.
“Too late,” I said.
“You know I’m on the other side of the universe, don’t you?” he said. “That’s the quickest we can do, even with our new warp speed.”
“How did Admiral Adrianna get here so soon?” I asked.
“I’ve been lurking near Earth for months,” Adrianna said.
“ThunderSong didn’t detect you,” Gabriel said.
“We’ve upgraded our cloaking device,” the high commander said. “While you and your lord father were busy colonizing worlds, we endeavored to free them. We recruited the best engineers to work for us underground. Our force has infiltrated every world.”
“My father’s counterintelligence is everywhere, as well,” I said.
“That was how he found out about the seer from the Death Valley,” the commander said. “She escaped before he came back to kill her. She predicted your rise in this century. That’s why Adrianna has been following you wherever you go.”
It unnerved me that Adrianna had stayed under my radar for a century. I’d become too arrogant and sloppy. I would correct that since I had a mate to protect now.
“What else did the seer say?” I asked.
“Only when the Sky Power finds home,” the high commander said, “will universal peace come. I just never expected you to settle down on Earth.”
He meant that Earth was a primary planet, but he hadn’t seen the twilight realm and I wasn’t going to invite him.
“Buy us time, Camael,” I said.
“What’s your war strategy, Seth?” the commander pursued.
“Leave that to me,” I said. “Just get your ships here faster.”
“Good luck, Sky Power.” High Commander Camael phased out.
Adrianna remained. “Admiral Adrianna at your command, Your Highness.”
“ThunderSong is returning to Earth,” I said. “I need you to guard the portal, Admiral Adrianna. Be our eyes and ears and buy us some time.”
Adrianna’s hologram flickered out, and ThunderSong descended toward Earth.
Rose moved to gaze at me.
“Like what you see, eroma?” I asked.
“Let’s see if you taste as good as you look,” she said and stood on her tiptoes to kiss me.
I would do anything to make sure she lived.
And I knew what that meant. I had to kill my own father this time.
EMPRESS ROSE FAYLINN
From the Silver Palace’s rooftop, I watched Seth jog toward the red forest.
He wanted solitude, and I gave it to him. I would give him everything, just as he would give me the world.
I hadn’t insisted on
having the guards follow him. My mate was the most powerful being I knew, except for his lord father. He didn’t need anyone to protect him, but Bhaltair, the former captain of the imperial guards to my father, kept an eye on him anyway. Bhaltair was assigned as the new captain of the guards to Seth. Hector said he didn’t envy that fey warrior one bit.
I told Seth to remember the way back, and he said he would always find his way back to me. He once threatened me (or was it promised?) while he pounded hard between my thighs: “Be prepared, Rose. There will be thousands of nights like this. I lost too much fun time before, and I intend to compensate by riding you every moment I can. If you plan to get away from me, think twice. You know how powerful and resourceful I am. I’ll stalk you. I’ll hunt you to the end of the Universe!”
My blood heated at the memories, but I restrained myself from going after him and dragging him back to our bed. I would have his cock inside me tonight.
My eyes followed him, a lone figure amid the vibrant landscape.
My angel no longer flew, but walked.
He had lost everything for me. “I gained you, love,” he said, laughing it off. “I find home with you.”
“You once lived to conquer,” I said, unsure if he could really settle down with me. What if he got bored of Earth? What if he grew to resent me?
“Now I live to fuck you day and night,” he said, heat rising in his silver eyes. The angel was always in the mood to seduce me.
Wildfire licked between my thighs.
It was hard to have a conversation with my mate without me jumping on him or him taking me to bed.
“I asked the healers,” I said, “if you would ever get your wings back, and they think it unlikely. You might never fly again.” I hated myself for being cruel, but I didn’t want him to brood over it alone. I was his mate. I was meant to carry his pain now, and hopefully share his joy one day.
Darkness and agony sank into his eyes before they lightened again. “You’re my freedom, eroma. I have no need to fly. Only if you don’t mind. Only if you have me. Only if you don’t miss me taking you to the sky. Only if you’ll accept me as a crippled angel.”
“We have ThunderSong when we miss the sky,” I said. “And you’re never a cripple to me. You’re my mate, mighty and magnificent, and I’ll do everything in my power to give you back your wings, no matter how long it takes. That’s my promise to you.”
Despite his devotion to me, my mate would always feel broken without his wings. Even fallen, he was still an angel. Flying among the stars was his birthright.
I watched my mate stroll into the red forest and beyond.
PRINCE SETH
When I first come to Earth, I had flown over the vast forest with sunlight on my wings and a bright, wicked wind beneath me.
I had sensed the pulse of the Earth magic, alive, fresh, and scented like the finest wine. I’d been mesmerized by the purest, wild beauty of the twilight realm, but I hadn’t realized I’d been looking for this place my whole life to call it home.
I had reported back to my lord father about the Earth elemental magic and stoked his greed to seize it like no other.
I thought it would be just like before: wherever my father commanded me to go, I went. I landed on a new planet to carry on my duty as a good, loyal son. After I finished his errands, I left the planet behind and headed to the next.
I would keep crossing the endless universe, hoping to find the next conquest that could make my heart beat.
I never thought I would fall for an Earth princess and fall so hard. I hadn’t expected my heart to beat again, and beat so strongly for her. Then my racing pulse sank to ice when a sudden dark thought haunted me.
Rose would not forgive me if she knew I was the reason her planet was in peril. If I hadn’t told my father about the Earth magic, he would have moved on, believing this planet was as insignificant as many others.
No way would I volunteer to confess my sin. If she found out, I would put up a defense because I couldn’t bear to lose her. I would tell her I was the one who had convinced my father not to touch the twilight realm before I harvested the Earth magic. I’d had my brother back off from taking Mysth by force. I would do anything to amend my part in this, hoping she would find it in her heart to forgive me.
I threaded my way through the charmed forest.
Magic pulsed, thicker than aged wine. I felt lightheaded from drinking it in. I had felt the same magic in my mate when I made love to her.
I halted, sensing my mate’s need for me through our bond. I wanted to be with her, but I needed a moment alone to sort things out.
After ThunderSong returned us to Earth, we had a war counsel. My father’s forces would break through the rank of my battleships and reach Earth in less than three days, and the Fallen’s fleet couldn’t get here in time.
Rose’s magic and my power had once blown off my father’s avatar, but we wouldn’t be able to take him down when he was in the flesh, unless—
Rose had widened her whiskey-brown eyes and said, “We have to do it, Seth.”
“No way!” I’d said angrily. “It almost burned you to ash!”
“It burned everyone it intended to, but it let me live,” she’d said.
“I won’t let you take the risk,” I’d snarled.
She’d turned to everyone in the war room. “Here’s our only chance: Seth and I will steal the angels’ flame and use it against the Lord of All Angels.”
The Mysthians had looked horrified. Then fierce objections had filled the room. My warriors had also looked uncertain. And for once, Gabriel had shut his mouth.
“There’s no other way,” Rose had insisted. “Our survival depends on it.” She then had touched my face, trying to soothe my rage and fear. “You know we have to do it. Don’t let your fear blind you. You can’t protect me that way. You read the inscriptions and know what it means.”
I had kept my silence.
“All who enter shall perish, except the chosen son and daughter,” Rose had cited. “You’re the chosen son and I’m the daughter. We’re one flesh.”
“If we get it wrong and the Forbidden Glory harms you—”
“It won’t if you’re with me,” Rose had said.
In the end, she had won the argument, and we had laid out the war plan.
The joint Dragonian and Mysthian army would launch an attack on the angel hordes camped across the ocean to draw their attentions while ThunderSong took us to Atlantis. My ship would beam us right inside the vault room.
And then we would take the Forbidden Glory and get out.
It sounded simple, but nothing could be that easy.
What if, when we faced the blue flame, it burned my mate and I couldn’t stop it?
No, I wouldn’t go along with it. I wouldn’t let some ancient inscription or prophesy make me reckless when my mate’s life was on the line.
I would take ThunderSong and join my fleet and the Fallen to fight my father in deep space before he reached this galaxy.
It was decided.
A wild gust swept by me, twirling up to the silver tree, then returned to circle me.
I smelled the magic and stood very still.
The wind touched where my wings used to be, reminding me of the unending, throbbing pain on my back and an aching, weightless sensation in my shoulders.
An elemental force was taunting me.
My muscles tensed up. “Take a hike,” I snarled.
The wind morphed into a mist of light and a mesmerizing voice reached me. You were my daughter’s mate since the creation. Two souls once deeply in love but tragically parted have reunited.
“Show yourself,” I demanded.
You remember nothing of what happened. When you first met her and loved her, you weren’t an angel, the voice said. You returned, and against all odds, crossed the universe and found her. Be warned: a dark force will come for you and try to tear you two apart again.
This made no fucking sense. But I wouldn’t allow any
force to separate my mate from me.
Shield her, and the flame won’t harm her.
“Of course I’ll shield her,” I growled. “I’ll protect her with my last breath. She’s my mate!”
I heard a satisfying sigh in the mist.
Earth Goddess, I realized. She talked nonsense, and I didn’t trust her. When it came to Rose’s safety, I trusted only myself.
The need to see her burned in me. I didn’t want to be apart from her for one minute again. Without my wings, I had to run back to her.
She’s coming, Sky Son. The mist of light vanished.
I shrugged and started heading out of the forest.
EMPRESS ROSE FAYLINN
Was Seth lost in the red forest? I felt his urgent need for me through our mating bond.
I searched the angels amid my guards and called out, “Ephraim.”
One leap, and the big angel landed in front of me. “Ephraim at your service, Empress.”
“Take me to your high prince,” I said.
Hector was at my side in an instant. “I’ll escort you, Your Majesty.”
“Ephraim will fly me to the red forest,” I told him, “but you may follow.”
Hector gave Ephraim a hard glare. Ephraim nodded respectfully. The angel was the opposite of Seth. My mate was born to dominate. There wasn’t a single humble bone in his firm body. Whenever things didn’t go his way, his first reaction was “punishment is in order!”
I had to constantly remind him that I was the Empress and that harsh punishments would never be in order during my reign in Mysth. The good thing was that, as ancient as Seth was, he was adaptable. He was learning to compromise, though with his long-suffering look.
And now, I had an unquenchable urge to take my mate to the Tree House; it was deep in the forest and warded by lethal magic. No one knew who built it, but I was the only one able to enter it. Others couldn’t pass its perimeter.
It appeared to be a different thing to different beholders. Some said it was the Earth Goddess’s holy temple, some said it was a golden palace, and some said it was the most splendid Silver Tower that reached to the heavens. And some saw nothing but mist.