He pulled Anya to his chest and clutched her lifeless body, rocking her back and forth as he cursed God, cursed Gahn, and swore Gahn would pay for what he’d done.
Staggering to his feet, Haden carried Anya’s body away, taking her back to the meadow—the only place he could remember ever being truly happy—Anya loved this place. He buried her beneath the tree he’d lounged under that one summer day that felt like a lifetime ago, tossing flowers into her hair as she’d gathered herbs. He could still hear her soft laughter as the breeze brushed past him. Haden turned to look, and for just a moment, he dared to believe this was all a terrible nightmare…
As Haden placed the last stones over Anya’s unmarked grave, he reached out and touched the mound of cold, hard rock. Immobilized by grief, he mourned the woman he loved and their unborn child who’d never get the chance to take his first breath. Had it not been for his promise of revenge, he would have taken his own life, right then and there, spilling his life’s blood over the rocks that now entombed his sole reason for living.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Olivia woke to the sound of Liam’s heart beating against her ear, his spicy scent deep in her lungs, and the languid sense of total peace surrounding her. Had she known that in a few short minutes, the best night of her life was going to usher in the beginning of the end, she would have closed her eyes and gone back to sleep, praying she’d only been dreaming.
Instead, she lifted her head from his chest and placed a kiss on the peck she’d used as a pillow. “Good morning. How are you feeling?” She leaned back to get a better look at his side and saw nothing but smooth, tan skin. Amazing… “Does it hurt?” she asked, poking at his ribs.
He flinched, and she glanced up at him in surprise. “I’m sorry. I thought you’d be healed by now.”
“I am.” His brows drew together. “That tickles.”
Ignoring his frown, she arched a brow and grinned. “I didn’t know you were ticklish.”
“Neither did I.”
The seriousness of his tone and his weighted scowl were starting to unsettled her. Pushing aside the gnawing unease, she bent down and brushed her lips against his, not willing to consider the significance of his comment. “You want to know what I think?”
He threaded his fingers into her hair, holding her close. “What’s that?” he whispered against her lips.
“I think we should spend the morning trying to figure out where else you might be ticklish.” Slowly, she marched her fingers over his ribs and past his stomach. When they teased lower, he flinched. She could literally feel the energy humming beneath his skin. Heat flooded his veins, warming his touch that grew hotter the longer she continued this forbidden caress.
A tortured groan rumbled in his chest that she felt all the way to her bones. Reaching under the covers, he gently removed her hand from his person. “We can’t, Olivia. As much as I’d like to become a masochist so every night could be like this. As much as I want you, I can’t be this for you and still keep you safe. Last night was… There are no words for what last night was.”
The pain in his voice raked over her like broken glass. Cupping her cheek, he stared at her with eyes that were a kaleidoscope of raging emotions. “Your safety means everything to me, and I can’t protect you like this. How can I stay focused when all I think about is what you taste like, what you feel like in my arms? When all I want is to have you beneath me? I never understood it before now, but there was a reason you were forbidden to me. It’s your essence, Olivia, your mortality is addicting. You make me feel things I shouldn’t, crave things I shouldn’t, behave in ways that are unbecoming to my nature.”
Olivia tensed, dread boring down on her like a tempest. “What are you saying, Liam?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. His honesty was starting to sting with the sharp pain of rejection, and she had the sneaking suspicion the truth was going to hurt—bad.
“You’re turning me mortal, Olivia—”
She gasped.
“Not literally,” he quickly added. “Emotionally. It’s the jealousy, the anger, the lust—it’s raging inside me, and the more I take of you, the more it consumes me. This isn’t me. It undermines everything I am, everything I stand for. And I can’t allow that. I can’t give up being your guardian so that I can have you in my bed. It’s selfish, and I won’t allow another angel to become bound to you so that I can make you my wife. I’m in love with you, Olivia. I’m so in love with you that it makes me crazy sometimes, but I’d rather suffer the physical loss of you than share you with another warrior.”
Just talking about her becoming bound to another guardian darkened his eyes to jade. She knew by the ferocity of his conviction that trying to convince him otherwise was a moot point. But still, it didn’t stop her from asking, “So, don’t I get a say in any of this? Doesn’t what I want count for anything here?”
“Not where your guardianship is concerned. Not when your life is at stake.”
“You’re the only one who can do this job?” she challenged, not liking where this conversation was going. When it was all over, she knew she was going to lose him again, and it would be his choice to go, because she was not going to be selfless enough to let him go freely a second time.
He stiffened and his hand that had slid into her hair tangled into a fist, pulling just hard enough for her to know his grip on her had tightened. The possessive hold he had on her sent a rush of heat flooding her system as the unwavering intensity of his jade eyes locked on her intently, taking her breath away. Her lips parted in a barely audible gasp.
“Do you want another guardian?” he rasped, tension radiating from him in waves of energized heat as he waited for her answer. He shifted, reconnecting the majority of his unclothed body against hers.
Desire consumed her, stoking the fire he lit in her core. “Of course not,” she replied breathlessly. “Nor do I want to lose you again.”
“You know I can’t stay without giving up my wings. Eternity is a long damn time, Olivia.”
“So, this—”
“Cannot ever happen again,” he supplied before she could finish. Clearly, he’d had plenty of time to mull this over when she was sleeping blissfully and wonderfully sated in his arms. “Even now I can feel my energy burning out of control for you. I should be thinking about Haden right now, planning how I’m going to circumvent his humanity so I can kill him. I should be plotting to slay Rhen and Cale, but instead, I lay here with you in my arms last night and the only thoughts I have are of you—of us.”
“Rowen.”
“What?”
“You forgot to mention Rowen,” she added coolly. Hearing what he was saying, and knowing it was out of love that he did this, didn’t make it hurt any less. She didn’t really care about Rowen. It was just that there was nothing else to say. What could she do? Beg? Plead? Stomp her feet at the knowledge that last night was a one shot deal for them? What good would that do? Everything Liam said, everything he did, was for her. Because he loved her, above all else, he prized her safety. Fighting with him right now would only make things worse.
“Rowen’s dead,” he answered flatly.
“What?” She wasn’t sure if it was what he said as much as how he said it that shocked her more—cold and emotionless was not a side of him she often saw. “When?”
“Yesterday. That’s why I was gone so long. I went to see Haden, and then I paid Rowen a little visit. I’d just…finished with him when I felt your fear and came back to find that bastard in here with his hand on your throat,” he growled the last part.
“I know it sounds crazy, Liam, but if he would have been able to take the necklace, I don’t think he would have hurt me. When it burned his hand and he realized he wasn’t going to get it, that’s when he became furious. He was trying to force me to give it to him. What I don’t understand is why he wasn’t able to take it.”
Liam reached down and lifted the stone through her tangle of hair, examining it as he rubbed it slowly between his finge
rs. “Because I warded it to you. Only you can break the connection by giving it away. The stone is very powerful, especially against evil. That’s why I gave it you. It’s a warning to any demon who may think to harm you that you’re guarded and they should stay away.”
“So this wasn’t just a trinket of love, after all.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Above all things, she prized this necklace Liam had given her on her eighteenth birthday. To know it was a motivated gift somehow made it feel less…personal.
“It was given in love, Olivia. I carved that stone with my own hands. But it was a dual-purposed gift.”
Okay, sentiment redeemed. “Do you have any idea why Haden wants it so badly?”
“No. But I intend to find out.” He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. When she parted them to return his kiss, he pulled away. It took all her self-control not to balk when he slipped out from beneath the covers. She bit her bottom lip, stifling a feminine groan as she watched him cross the bedroom and disappear behind the bathroom door.
As if he didn’t trust her not to respect the redefined boundaries of their relationship, she heard the lock softly click into place a moment before the blasting hiss of the shower.
Sighing, she threw back the covers and got dressed. She could still smell the faintest hint of Liam’s spicy scent on her skin, and truthfully, she wasn’t in any hurry to wash it off. Stopping at the dresser, she combed her fingers through the several snarls of her long black hair and pulled it into a messy bun.
With her hair pulled up, the marks on her ivory skin stood out. The dusky purple fingertip bruises from Haden’s punishing grip lined the left side of her throat. His thumbprint spotted the other side, but the mark she reached up to finger, the red mark that brought a small smile to her lips, was the one Liam had made on her neck when they’d been in the shower together—just like the marks she’d placed on him in a multitude of creative places. But just as he’d promised, this morning they were all gone. His body bore no evidence of their night together. To look at him was as if it had never happened. But this…this small reminder that last night hadn’t been a dream, made a smile touch her lips.
She shuffled into the kitchenette, put on the complimentary pot of coffee, then took yesterday’s room service pizza from the small refrigerator and stuffed it into the microwave. It wasn’t anything to write home about, but it was calories. She was halfway through her second slice and sipping a hot cup of less than average Joe when Liam strolled out of the bathroom, running his hands through his damp, overgrown locks. Moisture concealed the dark burgundy streaks, making his hair look nearly black.
“It’s longer than it used to be,” she commented, glancing up at him over the rim of her cup.
“What?” He stopped abruptly, halting a few steps from the island to look over at her questioningly.
“Your hair—it’s longer.”
He tossed his head and dragged his hand through the dark locks, pushing it out of his face. “Just haven’t had time to take care of it,” he replied offhandedly.
“I like it this way. You want a cup of coffee?”
“Sure.”
The chair rustled behind her as she poured a cup. When she turned back and handed it to him, he glanced at her and then visibly tensed, his brows pulling tight in a menacing scowl. An amethyst sheen rimmed his violet irises as his eyes locked on her neck and he muttered a curse that sounded more like a growl.
Taking the cup, he set in on the counter and caught her wrist before she could move back to her side of the counter. When she resisted his tug for her to step closer, he took the necessary steps to come to her. Bringing his hands up to circle her throat, heat seeped beneath the surface of her skin, slowly spreading up her neck. She knew this feeling, knew what he was doing. He’d done it before after Max had attacked her—he was healing Haden’s marks on her neck, and with it would go the marks left behind by his kisses.
Olivia jerked away, and he had no choice but to let her go or strangle her himself. “Stop! I don’t want you to fix this.” She turned her back to him and walked over to the counter. It sounded irrational and she didn’t expect him to understand, so Olivia didn’t even try to explain it. “I’m fine,” she quickly replied, reaching up to touch her throat.
“Olivia, what is going on with you? Why wouldn’t you want me to erase Haden’s touch from your neck?”
She busied herself refilling her cup of coffee while fighting back tears. Because you’ll erase yours, too… “Nothing’s wrong,” she denied, struggling to keep the thickness out of her voice. “I just don’t want you wasting your energy on me. That’s all.”
Seconds passed, and she knew he stood right behind her. Not because he’d made a sound—he never did. His heat radiated against her back and she steeled herself against the impulse to melt into him.
“Olivia.” His hands firmly grasped her shoulders. “I think you misunderstood me earlier—”
“No, Liam, I understood you just fine. You need there to be boundaries between us so you can do your job and go home. I have no say in this. It’s just something I’m going to have to accept. But it would certainly be a lot easier to do if you’d stop touching me.”
His sigh tickled the back of her neck and his hands dropped from her arms. “Dammit, Olivia, this isn’t any easier for me.”
“I never thought it was,” she replied coolly, taking a step to the side, putting a fraction of distance between them. Right now, the only thing keeping her together was self-preservation mode, and she’d had three long years to perfect it. She’d be damned if she was going to let him see her cry. “So, tell me, what’s the plan?” she asked, changing the subject. “Since Rowen is dead, do you really think Cale and Rhen will bother coming after me?”
“I know they will. Haden needs them as a distraction. He knows he can’t take me on alone and win.” His gruff voice grew distant, and she glanced over her shoulder to see him walking away. “I’m going to pay Haden a little visit and get some answers before we leave,” he said, shoving his feet inside his boots and bending over to lace them up.
She could have done without that perfect ass shot, especially now, since she knew exactly what was beneath those low-slung dark blue jeans that were intended to be relaxed fit, but considering the muscular body inside them, relaxed was definitely not the way she’d describe them.
“I won’t be long. Do you think you can be ready to leave as soon as I get back?”
She nodded. Not that he was looking at her anymore. “Sure, where are we going now?”
“Duluth.”
“Minnesota? Why are we going there?”
“It’s far enough past the Grotto that hopefully Haden won’t realize that’s why we’ve traveled north.”
“Grotto? As in West Bend, Iowa? Why are we going there?”
“As long as you possess that stone, you’re a target. The Grotto is the best place to hide it. It’s constructed of precious stones.” He stood, walked over to her, and stopped on the other side of the table. When he met her eyes, they were full of regret. “I’m sorry, Olivia, but when we get there, I’m going to need you to give that necklace back.”
Shit… “I don’t understand. Why can’t you just kill Haden and end this?”
When Liam exhaled, it sounded as if the weight of her world rested on his shoulders. “It’s complicated. Haden is a Nephilim, which means he’s half mortal, and that half buys him just enough humanity to fall under the blood covering of Christ.”
“I don’t understand. What does that mean?”
“It means that all of humanity had been bought and paid for by the sacrifice. Angels are strictly forbidden from ending the life of a being that has the potential for salvation. Demons, no problem, their choice was made a long time ago, but mortals…they’re a different story.”
“Are you saying there’s still a chance Haden could get into Heaven?”
Liam nodded, looking none too pleased by the little loophole.
“What do you t
hink he’s going to say?”
He arched his brow and looked at her like she was crazy. “I’m not going to tell the bastard. It’s bad enough that I can’t kill him. I’m certainly not going to give him the ‘repent and ye shall be saved’ speech.”
“Huh…well, maybe you should. Perhaps then he’d give up his quest for Immanuel’s Stone.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cale sat across from Rhen in the all-night diner, sipping his Diet Coke and bemoaning his rotten luck that Mitch’s “friend” just happened to be the ward of Liam’s best friend. He shifted in his seat and stretched his side, testing the tender ribs—yep, still sore. He was healing more slowly lately, and would really like to know what in the hell that was all about. Other than a black eye and busted lip, Rhen didn’t look much too worse for the wear. Of course, if he was, he wouldn’t say. Rhen never did, and that’s what Cale liked about him. All brawn and little lip, not that Rhen wouldn’t take the opportunity to bust his chops from time to time, but Cale didn’t mind.
What did burn his ass was that Rhen emphatically failed to appreciate the severity of their situation. He didn’t know Liam and Balen the way Cale did. Before the Great Fall, they’d served in the same army together—he, Liam, Balen, Rowen, and Tate. That battle was the first, and not the last time they’d raised arms against each other. It had been a violent and bloody war. When all was said and done, both he and Liam had met the end of each other’s blade. The scar running down his face was a daily reminder of how close he’d come to losing his head. No doubt Liam’s side bore a reminder of his own.
It was too little too late to consider the possibility that he’d chosen the losing side of this war. All the regrets in the world weren’t going to get him a “do over.” He’d been so convincing, the Morning Star, filling their heads with thoughts of injustice and grandiose promises of power and incomprehensible strength—lies on both accounts. At this point, the only hope that remained for the Dark Court was the Antichrist. He would come and deceive the multitude, armies would rise up and align with them in the battle of the Second Coming—if Olivia, the sighted one, didn’t ruin it all first. She would see him for what he truly was, and if exposed before the appointed time, all could be lost.
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