by Trina M. Lee
His gaze fell to my neck, to the immortal mark there.
Falon tensed beside me. His otherworldly power, usually shielded so well, unfurled as a living, breathing force. “And if we don’t have Shya? You seem to assume that we do.”
Salem pinned Falon with a stare so filled with loathing and revulsion that I was almost afraid for my fallen angel. “Don’t waste your breath with lies, traitor. The stone was a fake. We know Alexa has the real one. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.” Directing his attention back to me, Salem said, “We had a deal, Alexa. You chose to keep Falon and surrender Shya to me. You owe me one of them, and there’s nothing stopping me from taking Falon right now. Let’s be rational.”
A threat already. That came as no surprise. Salem had come for Falon before, and I had claimed him as mine. Knowing that both Salem and Lilah had nothing but hate for Falon, I couldn’t let them touch him.
“I didn’t know the stone was a fake. It was switched without my knowledge, and I’m doing everything I can to locate the real one.” The lie spilled out of my mouth before I could second guess my choice. Well, there was a partial truth in there.
Salem held my gaze so long and hard I felt like my knees should be knocking together. Were they? I didn’t dare risk glancing down, taking my eyes off the twin-flame demon.
“One of your people switched the stone? What kind of a queen would allow her subjects to get away with something like that? Something that could put her in very grave danger.”
By the way Salem glanced at Falon, I knew whom he suspected. I had no intention of telling him who really switched the stone. Rather than rise to the challenge of his threat, I came back at Salem with a challenge of my own. “Why would you want to help her find Shya anyway? You hate him. I know because I’ve seen it.”
And I had. Every time I had ever touched Salem as a light flame, a spark of recognition passed between us. Glimpses of his memories showed that Lilah’s affair with Shya had been part of the conflict that led to their destruction. Though the flames might have been together, they were not whole. Their balance had been destroyed.
“Yes,” Salem agreed. “I do hate him more than just about anything in this world. But I love her, and I will serve her in any way I can.”
Salem’s response left me puzzled. There was definitely more to it than Lilah simply wanting to reunite with her old fling. She needed him because of the key that had died with me. That had to be her reason. But how could Shya possibly help her?
Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself for a shot in the dark. “It doesn’t have to be that way. Whatever she’s up to, you don’t have to be part of it. You never wanted this, and you can still stop it. Stop her. Before she drags you into madness with her.”
The demon’s reaction was instant and volatile. Eyes wide, he rushed me. With the flick of one wrist, he threw my three lovers aside like they were nothing. Salem surrounded the two of us in a circle, trapping me with him while the others watched with varying expressions of worry and rage.
I backed up as far as the six-foot circle would let me, which wasn’t far. Fear struck me, but it didn’t stop me from bargaining for my life. “I’ll find the Shya stone but I need more time.”
Salem ignored me, reaching for my hand. “You think I can stop Lilah? You should know better.”
I tried to jerk back, but I had nowhere to go. With my hand seized roughly in his, Salem shoved his fingers between mine and held tight. I struggled to pull free, knowing one of his most painful memories was coming. There was no escaping. The light flame spark within me recognized the spirit of one who had once been the same, one whose spark had since gone dark.
Then I was in his head. Seeing through Salem’s eyes, the images blasted through my mind in a blur, one after the other, until they started to make sense.
Lilah begged him not to help me restore the twin flame balance. She threatened him right before he came to me that night. As he watched from within his own body, a horrified passenger, Lilah burst through. She destroyed my efforts and drove Arys into darkness, using Salem to sabotage me.
That was the turning point for Salem. That’s when he chose to fall. To join his queen in eternal darkness. He’d never escape her, and their story could never end any other way. Because he didn’t want to escape her.
That’s not true . It didn’t have to be this way.
If Salem were aware of my thoughts, he didn’t reply. He just kept showing me the pain. So I felt it too.
His fall. Taking on Lilah’s darkness. Sharing it with her. Becoming one in a way they were never meant to be. The pain was sudden and severe. Deeper than the physical. It tore from somewhere beyond this world, echoing through me, until it burst forth on a scream.
I dropped to my knees, but Salem never released my hand. I squeezed my eyes shut. Behind me the energy wall quivered and shook. Falon and Arys unleashed everything they had to break down Salem’s circle. To no avail. It never weakened.
Salem’s anguish spilled through me, breaking me both physically and emotionally. The abyss had eagerly claimed him. Devastated him. Without his place among the light, he lost everything he’d ever been. All that he’d known.
That loss filled me, ate at my soul. It dug a pit of despair and filled it with the bones of Salem’s light. Who he’d been, that person was dead.
As Salem’s thoughts and feelings became my own, bloody tears spilled down my face. My shrieks turned to sobs, and I no longer fought to pull away.
Then he released me.
I fell back against the circle. The unseen wall caught me as I came back to myself. He’d let me feel the fall, the light snuffing out. Digging clawed fingertips into the grass, I drew in shaky breaths.
Was that what Willow had felt when he took my darkness? Was that what Falon would feel if he honored his promise to take that final fall to protect me?
“I’m sorry, Alexa.” Salem crouched down to meet my eyes. To his credit he truly did appear apologetic. “I needed you to know what it was like. Because Lilah was right about one thing. Restoring the balance might have condemned you to a worse fate than allowing it to follow its course.”
He paused, eyeing my trembling hands. Some part of who he’d been, before Lilah had warped his mind, was still in there. Demons didn’t do sympathy. But it was all over his face.
“Light and dark are not meant to dwell together the way they do in you now,” Salem went on. “You restored the balance by cheating death, something no other twin flame has done. Such things never come without a price. When fate comes to collect, remember what I showed you.”
What the flying fuck did that mean?
The circle disappeared, and Arys gathered me into his arms. The power sparked between us, strong and solid. Balanced. A force that defied the laws of fate. Apparently. How could anything that felt so right ever be wrong?
Falon stepped in front of us, wings spread to shield me. But the damage had been done. It lived inside me now.
I swiped at the blood tears streaking my face. “Let us help you. You don’t have to let her drag you farther down into the abyss. Nothing good can come from helping her find Shya. You know that.”
Of course he did. Nobody knew that better than Salem. Still he was in too deep. After a shake of his head, Salem stilled like stone. Emotionless. “If you can’t give us Shya, we’ll take the steps necessary to find him.”
“She needs him to get back into her kingdom, doesn’t she?” Falon held himself braced and ready for a fight I didn’t want to see happen. “Because Alexa destroyed the key.”
Although I doubted Salem would have admitted as much, we never got to find out. Willow all but broke down the mental door between us to get into my head. His urgency was contagious, and his manic state flooded me with adrenaline. Edgy and loosely hinged.
‘The club is being raided by demons. They’re looking for Shya.’
Panicked, I grabbed Falon’s arm. “Lilah sent demons to raid my nightclub. Can you go? Make sure they do
n’t hurt anyone.”
They were definitely going to hurt someone. Falon’s gaze flicked to Salem and back to me. “Yeah, I’ll go. Be careful. Do not leave Arys’s side.” He caught my hand and gave it a possessive squeeze before vanishing.
I turned to Arys and Shaz, ready to race back across the city. “We have to go.”
“Alexa,” Salem called after me as we hurried from the yard. “Give Lilah what she wants. It will go down much smoother for all of us that way.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
By the time we reached The Wicked Kiss, I’d run three red lights and almost taken out a handful of people leaving a bar. According to the clock in the dash, it had taken me seven minutes.
I slammed the car in park and killed the engine before leaping out fast enough to trip myself up on the seatbelt. As I wrestled to break free, Arys called my name. He came around from the passenger side, but I was already off and running for the door. I had to get in there.
Nobody manned the door. The lobby was empty.
A crash rang out as I entered. The place in the throes of chaos, a battle raged between my vampires and Lilah’s demons. One relief, the humans had fled, aside from a few who had been trapped or injured in the crossfire.
“Alexa, wait.” Arys grabbed my wrist and jerked me to a halt. His grip was painful, but I couldn’t focus on that. “We stay together, remember? Don’t you dare rush in recklessly. I am not losing you now. Got it?” Arys’s hold tightened until his hand shook. The vampire who showed no fear was afraid.
It sobered me, bringing me back to a rational headspace where I could push the impulsive panic aside. “Got it. I know, I’m sorry.” I nodded, letting him pull me back into the lobby where we could assess the situation.
Shaz ran in only a moment behind us. The three of us watched from the sidelines as Willow, Jenner, and Gabriel threw down with Lilah’s henchmen. Since two of them had substantial demon knowledge, they did a damn good job of it.
Two demons cornered Gabriel. He worked a spell with nothing but a Latin command and a few drops of his own blood from a finger. His attackers froze in place before exploding in a shower of body parts that promptly disappeared.
Across the room Willow had little trouble taking on four at a time. The demons’ efforts were thwarted when Willow easily blocked and returned their attacks. He hit them with precise shots formed from a power that never should have been.
Jenner and a handful of vampires who frequented the club were back to back in a group, taking on another set of demons. People cowered under tables and pasted themselves against walls, anything to stay out of the line of fire. They weren’t all so lucky.
Just how many demons had she sent here?
I scanned for Falon. I didn’t see him anywhere.
“We hit them all at once.” I slid my hand into Arys’s. We had to do this together. To Shaz I said, “Help everyone get out of the building.”
Together Arys and I ventured beyond the lobby. Our joined hands glowed with the power we called, a twisting blue and gold light. We stepped forward, each focused on the demonic energy. Finding it and seizing hold, we let them have it.
Power exploded out from us, following our command. As directed, it sought out the demons and hit them all in a simultaneous blast. Several dropped and vanished back to the other side. A few others turned to find us ready to nail them again. Those voluntarily took off.
Just one of them was stupid enough to take a run at us. He flew straight at us, large wings propelling him fast. Arys and I each raised a hand to hit the demon pointblank with a blast meant to kill. Demons couldn’t die, not permanently anyway, but it was enough to send him back to where he belonged. For now.
Once the demons were gone, I was able to take in the damage they’d done. Tables were overturned. Glass glittered in the low light, particularly around the bar. Injured people huddled in any shelter they could find. Blood stained the floor and tainted the air.
“Is everyone alright?” I asked, trying to take it all in. “Where’s Falon?”
Gabriel kicked aside a few toppled chairs, searching the floor and finding an amulet he must have dropped. “He was here. He went after Lilah’s head guy, the one who led the ambush. I think Falon was trying to grab him before he could get back to her. Try to get some info out of him.”
People filed out under Shaz’s direction, except those with injuries who awaited first aid. Thankfully nobody had been seriously harmed. Our triage efforts ran smoothly until one woman broke free from the rest and rushed forward, hands bleeding from the broken glass.
“Someone help me,” she begged, flailing about. Clearly in shock, she tangled in the pieces of a busted chair and fell forward. Right into Willow’s arms.
He caught her in time to keep her from face planting on the floor. Although that might have been the better option. Bloody hands clutched his shirt, and she quaked in terror. Two things a vampire on the edge simply couldn’t resist. Not even Willow.
I saw his bite coming, but I was too far away to stop it. Still I broke into a run, crossing the debris-filled room in seconds. But that’s all it took for Willow to snap.
Gripping her tight, he went for her neck. Blood sprayed. The woman’s shriek grew shrill with her mounting panic.
“Willow, don’t,” I shouted, throwing myself at him.
To my utter shock Willow raised his head to casually lick blood from his lips and, barely raising a hand, flung me off him like a bug.
I came right back at him, ready to slap him with a psi ball if necessary. When he bit her again, I gave him a slap of power strong enough to bring him to his knees. I commanded it, my intention outweighing his.
The woman collapsed, and Shaz rushed to grab her, checking the wounds.
“You’ve got to stop this, Willow.” My voice quavered as I crouched down in front of him. “Let me help you.” I hovered close, wanting to touch him, afraid it would be unwelcome.
When Willow’s gaze strayed to the injured woman, realization settled on his face.
I couldn’t wait any longer for an invitation. Not when I saw the guilt and anguish wash over him. This had only happened because of his internal struggle over his changing feelings toward me. I couldn’t force him to take the steps he needed to come to terms with his desires, but I could help him stay in control.
He was mine. I had to protect him.
“Alexa, I can’t.” Willow’s voice broke, and he shook his head, stiffening when I touched his arm. “Shit, I’m sorry.”
The woman sobbed, a hysterical mess. She would be fine, but Willow worried me. I held tight to his arm, seeking to calm him. There was only one way to do that, and it was on Willow to make that choice.
“You can,” I assured him. I dared to caress his face, though he flinched from my touch. “We need to talk about what’s going on with you. It shouldn’t be this way.”
Willow’s wild eyes darted from me to the woman he’d almost killed. The remorse would eat him alive if he let it. His aura felt choppy and untamed, like anything could set him off at any moment. It was a dangerous way for a vampire to exist, especially one as powerful as Willow.
He pulled away from me, shoved to his feet, and tore out of the room. I watched him flee to the back where he would beat himself up for a slip that never should have happened.
“Get Nova on the phone,” I said to Arys who’d stepped in to heal the worst of the woman’s injuries. “Tell him that we need him to do a memory wipe on these people if The Circle wants them to forget the demon raid they just saw. I’ll be back. I need a few minutes with Willow. Then we’ll regroup and figure out our next step.”
Arys nodded and pulled his phone from his back pocket. I might be leaving his side, but I wasn’t leaving this building without him.
Nova would scramble any memory of demons the humans might have. Sure they knew that monsters were real, but there was only so much a mortal mind could take. The Circle of the Veil preferred to keep as many secrets from as many people as possibl
e. I didn’t doubt that they’d want to act on this breach.
The back hall lay deadly quiet. Doors stood open, rooms empty. I rarely saw The Kiss this way. At the end of the hall, my office door hung on one hinge. The contents of my desk were visible on the floor, computer included.
Willow’s door stood ajar. The last time I’d approached his room worried about his mental state, I’d been hesitant. After what I’d just witnessed, I strode up like a woman on a mission. I couldn’t force Willow to sort through his bag of conflicting feelings, but I couldn’t let them drive him crazy either.
“Willow?” I knocked a few times before shoving the door open wider.
He emerged from the attached washroom shirtless, a washcloth in hand. He used it to scrub a bloodstain from his forearm. “I can’t believe I slipped like that. I mean, I’ve never come so close. I’m so careful. So motherfucking careful.” His voice rose, and he tossed the cloth back through the open bathroom door. Rubbing both hands over his face, Willow muttered a handful of muffled curses into his palms.
I waited for him to vent, understanding his frustration. “It’s not you,” I said gently, stepping fully into the room. “As much as I want to let you come around to the new dynamic between us on your own, we don’t have that kind of time. I need you to be the best version of yourself. And you can’t do that if you keep denying your needs.”
Naturally his naked torso drew my attention. The muscles in his upper back rippled as he moved about the room. My gaze fell upon the twin scars that slashed over his shoulder blades and guilt stabbed me like a knife, sharp enough to steal my breath. I had done that to him. Stolen away his immortal power and his beautiful wings.
The evidence of that night stung.
I followed the strong, lean length of him down to where his jeans were slung low on his hips, revealing a hint of the black boxers he wore. These angel types were absolute perfection. Not that I didn’t appreciate every one of my men in every way. The angels though, they were something else. Something that made me pause and remember just how otherworldly they were.