Roar of the Lion : Celestra Forever After 7

by Addison Moore

  Chloe’s eyes soften, and her body relaxes beneath mine as her hands grow limp.

  “There is no end to this war, is there, Gage?” She shakes her head.

  “You already know the answer, Skyla. I must fight. You must fight. Death hasn’t stopped either one of us. Nothing will knock me off the throne, Skyla. Not even you. Especially not you. I am holding fast. The Fems have reclaimed their rightful spot in the heavenlies, and that is the end of that. No matter how hard you fight, how many serums you develop, it won’t change that fact.”

  “That’s not true,” she pants as her breathing grows erratically. “Gage, you are a moment away from being flicked right back into Heaven. As soon as Celesta is back in its rightful position, I’m banishing you from the planet. And if you think that’s laughable, think again. That is the war I will continue to fight so long as I’m standing on planet Earth. I will unseat you. And then I will evict you.” An anxious smile glides across her face. “In the grand scheme of things, you have already lost. But in the event you need a road map, let me give it to you. You have no more loyal followers. The Videns, Noster, Deorsum, Levatio, Celestra, and yes, the Counts, they are all loyal to me. So you see, your downfall is inevitable. As soon as I get into my proper body—and I will—my petitions to have you unseated will begin. And if something should happen to me while in Chloe’s body—”

  Shit, Skyla, that would mean something would happen to me.

  She closes her eyes a moment and gives a brief nod.

  “Logan”—she clears her throat—“Logan will take over. He will unseat you. So you see, all is not lost even if Chloe and I are eliminated. Logan is the apple of Candace Messenger’s eye. Hell, I’d go as far as saying that she loves him more than me. He’ll take over, and I’m pretty sure he won’t be aiming for the door with his battering ram when he shows up to tear your kingdom down. You are going to pay for all of your sins, one way or another. You will get away with nothing. You chose power over love. You flushed the gold, that was your family, down the celestial toilet but not before you took a shit on us. I won’t forget it, Gage. Neither will Logan—neither will Nathan and Barron. If you think I’m giving you a hard time, just wait until they’re of age.”

  Barron, my sweet son. I had sacrificed so much for him. In truth, I was afraid that if I didn’t take this nefarious step in the wrong direction that Demetri would have made him do it.

  “Do you love the boys?” Her voice comes out soft, marked with caution. “You’ve made it abundantly clear how you feel about me. That’s a moot point, and you don’t need to feed me any weird bullshit on why you’re doing this. But the boys—they bear your likeness. They are pure as the air in Ahava, bright as rays of sunshine. They are everything in the universe that is good, and holy, and right. And yet, I don’t think you love them.”

  I inch back, affronted and equally baffled she went there.

  “How can you say that? Of course, I love them.” I stop shy of professing my love for her as well. She’s right. After what I’ve done, it appears to be a moot point. But it’s far from it. I squeeze my eyes shut a moment as if resisting this damn wall I need to keep holding up around my spirit, around my black heart. “Don’t say I don’t love them. I don’t want you to believe that.” Hell, I don’t even know if I want her to fight anymore. “It’s not true. I care about the boys, and regardless of what you believe, I still care for you.”

  Chloe laughs. I’d slow clap if I could. Come on, Gage. Dish out all the lies in your arsenal.

  Skyla shakes her head. “No, you’re confused, Gage. And do you want to know why you’re confused? Because Demetri isn’t here to tell you how to feel.”

  Burn! Chloe hoots.

  “Not true,” I contest it, but deep down, I’m beginning to wonder myself. “I know why I do the things I do, and nobody has forced my hand. In the least, Demetri.”

  “Of course not.” Skyla plucks her wrists free from me. “He’s cheering you on.”

  The sound of leaves crunching under heavy footsteps erupts from our left.

  “Skyla?” Logan appears with a sliver of moonlight illuminating him as if he were the hero drenched in gold, ready to ride off with the girl, and he is very much that. “Hey?” He pulls her from my midst. “What the hell is going on?” He wraps his arms around her tightly before landing a kiss to her cheek. “Are you okay?”

  I’ll admit, it’s hard to watch him be that affectionate with Skyla in general, but with Skyla in Chloe’s body, it feels as if I’m witnessing heresy at its finest.

  “I’m fine.” Skyla hugs her arms. “Rory stopped by for a booty call, and I interrupted their alone time.”

  Logan’s eyes light up with flames, and before I know it, I’m against the wall and my face catching every punch he’s throwing my way.

  He knocks my head into the dry wall, and I feel my skull pressing through it.

  “Shit.” My eyes remain shut tight as I let the pain reverberate through me. Yes, I will heal. No, Logan can’t kill me. But a part of me feels as if I owe him the pleasure. Hell, I know I do. “Are you finished?”

  He gives a hard shove to my chest. “No, but you are. You don’t have the right to jack off to thoughts of Skyla, let alone touch her body. You are so far gone, there are no words to describe how disturbing it is to be in your presence, much less learn of the new ways you’re deteriorating.”

  I wipe my face down with my hand. “I didn’t touch her. I haven’t touched her, and I won’t.” I blink a smile at Logan, taking in the heat of his anger at this close range. “Rory wanted something that I wasn’t going to give her. I’m guessing you’re not giving it to her either, thus her sudden desperation to get laid. If I were the two of you, I’d watch where she goes next. I don’t know who would be willing to risk their necks by jumping into bed with her, but my guess is there is always someone ready and willing.”

  A dull moan comes from Skyla. “I’ll meet you at Marshall’s.” She zips out of the house so fast she leaves a blur in her wake.

  I tick my head toward the door. “I’m assuming she was talking to you. Get out of here. I’ve got a mess to clean up.”

  He grabs me by the shirt and pulls me in.

  “I’d be much more worried about the spiritual mess you’re making. What is it going to take to beat some sense into your head?” He slams me to the wall one more time. “I refuse to believe you’re this demon you’re posing as, and yet you fucking killed Skyla!” he riots in a rage. “What the hell is happening?” He shakes his head in disbelief.

  “Chalk me up as a lost cause and move on with your damn life.”

  “No.” It comes from him harsh and quick. “Never. I consider myself a good judge of character and the old you, the character I grew up with, was genuine. The world, maybe even Skyla, will give up on you, but I won’t. I don’t think I can. Call it living in the past, the diehard idiot in me, call it whatever the hell you want—I can’t believe any of this. Deep down, I don’t think you do either.”

  “Logan, this is me. I am more real than I ever have been before. And to save Skyla the breath, I’ll give you the highlight reel of our bushy little meet-up. I’m about to swipe all of the Nephilim my way once and for all. Enjoy your five minutes on a cloud, because it’s about to rain, and the footing you think you have will dissolve to nothing. I’m not sorry, Logan. Everything I do is because I’ve thought about it and approve of it. And yes, I even meant to send Skyla packing to paradise. It wasn’t ideal, but she forced my hand. She’s too much of a liability, and so are you. But seeing that celestial forces are determined to keep you two on the planet, I will deal with it. But I will also overcome it. And now that Wes and Chloe have turned their backs on me, I need to keep my guard up from every angle. But I don’t need your pity. I can assure you, I have this handled.”

  A long spate of silence slices between us. Logan never takes his eyes off of me.

  “You’re not the same,” he says it low before reaching up and giving my face a couple of gent
le slaps as if he were trying to rouse me from my sleep. “You look the same. Feel real enough, but what’s on the inside has been severely damaged. Don’t worry, buddy. I’m going to fix this for you. I don’t know how or when, but rest assured, I am not giving up on your thorny ass. Because that’s what brothers do. They fight for each other. I’m not interested in any of your protests, so you can save it. Yes, what you did to Skyla was unforgivable. But it just goes to show how afraid of her you really are. And now all I have to do is figure out why.”

  I open my mouth to tell him the simple answer, the Factions, nothing more nothing less, but he silences me with a lift of his finger.

  “I don’t want to hear it,” he says. “You’re out of your mind, you’re ill. You need help, and I’m going to make sure you get it.” He starts to take off then backtracks. “You lost everything, Gage. Your people are gone, too. The throne is next. That’s not a warning. That’s a promise.”

  He takes off, and I walk to the gaping doorway and watch as he drives off toward Marshall’s place, toward Skyla, where he truly belongs.

  Logan is wrong. I’m not sick. I’m of clear mind and body. If he knew the truth, he’d be singing a different tune. And he was wrong about one other thing, too—my throne isn’t going anywhere.

  I look around at debris left in Skyla’s wake and marvel at the irony. We have splintered in the most literal sense. But my love for her is stronger than ever.

  I step out into the icy Paragon fog. It’s time to secure my throne.

  It’s time to get my people back.

  I decide to hoof it on the way to Demetri’s. Not sure why I didn’t bother with the truck. Most likely because every last cell in this new body wanted to protest Logan’s words. I am so very real, right down to my stubborn spirit. This darkness, this storm—I have to keep reminding myself that this too shall pass. I’m not living in this misery forever.

  Yes, I have to wait for my entire family to cross the great divide before things can even begin to look normal again, but they will. Skyla and Logan will finally see the light, and they will agree it was a good thing that I had done.

  This shithole I’m in at the moment may not feel too good, but you make sacrifices for those you love. And yes, even killing Skyla was a great sacrifice. It had to be done. But now that I see it was a fruitless effort, I’m anxious to see what comes next. She’s back. And I’m assuming soon enough she’ll be back in her own body.

  A part of me finds it hard to believe her mother hasn’t stepped in yet, in some dramatic way. She did give Skyla the ability to possess a believer. I’m assuming Chloe okayed the effort—a miracle of great magnitude, but knowing Chloe, this too will come with a price—a great price, most likely a regrettable one that will leave Skyla rethinking her choices. But her hands were tied. Nevertheless, Skyla and Logan are due to get married in a week. My guess is, if Skyla isn’t in her body, Logan will call things off.

  That will give Rory a big hint that things are off-kilter. Not that she shouldn’t already be apprised. Logan cut her off. Logan would never cut Skyla off. But Rory doesn’t know that.

  Rory is cunning, but she’s not very bright. Not that it’s her fault either. She’s on foreign terrain. She was a spirit born and bred in paradise, a corn-fed bumpkin from a far more innocent place. But she’s packing her mama’s twisted—some might say wicked mind. And she has one serious bone to pick with Skyla. Rory truly believes her destiny was stolen from beneath her. In a way I can commiserate with Rory.

  In my heart I feel I should have been in Logan’s position. But I don’t get the happily ever after. Not on Earth anyway—not during these tumultuous years.

  I come upon Marshall’s overgrown estate and pause, staring at the mansion lit up like a jack-o’-lantern. I can imagine the scene now. Skyla and Logan frantically begging Dudley for help. No, that’s not right. Logan isn’t going to get frantic. He’s going to get pissed, then he’s going to get even. Skyla is already in a panic. I witnessed that with my own eyes. I’m the root of it all when you get down to it. I will admit that I didn’t put much thought into how this all might play out. My chief concern was losing out on eternity. And in truth, I don’t blame myself for not weighing out the what-ifs—for two reasons—I knew they wouldn’t matter, and that there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to change anything. If Logan and Skyla knew what waited in the balance, they’d cheer me on. Although, reality suggests otherwise.

  I give the house a solemn nod before moving on.

  Nope. I don’t have a lot of people in my corner these days. Hell, I don’t have anyone in my corner. Maybe my parents—Emma and Barron, not Emma and Demetri, but then, Demetri is at the crux of my corner. Hell, he’s the entire wing.

  His boxy mansion sits on top of the hill and I jog on up, giving a polite knock before turning the knob and heading inside of the stone and mahogany mausoleum.

  “Hello?” My voice comes back to me with an echo.

  Demetri has a grand entry, limestone flooring, marble walls, and doors with wood so thick you’d think it took an entire Amazon forest to furnish this house alone. To the right is the infamous ballroom where my past met my present. Demetri lured Dominique Winters to hack off my head, and things have been a shit show ever since. And to the right of that malfeasance of space is a more intimate living room, and that’s exactly where I find a little surprise.

  “Sage?” My heart thumps wildly at the sight of my beautiful daughter.

  Her sharp eyes cut to mine, and her tiny lips form a straight line. She’s good and pissed, and I won’t lie, it scares the hell out of me.

  I look past her to Demetri, still in a three-piece suit at this ridiculous hour.

  “What’s going on?” I nod his way as I head over to pick up Sage, but she staunchly walks over to Demetri’s side as if she were pledging allegiance to him.

  Demetri’s chest expands, his eyes dark eyes glint with anger, and his lips curve with wicked intent. I have never been one to underestimate Demetri, simply due to a smile. I know for a fact his smile is more damning than an average man’s scowl. But then, Demetri is no average man. He’s the devil in disguise.

  “Son.” Demetri’s demeanor softens a notch, but his disappointment doesn’t waver. “We were just paid a visit.”

  Sage steps forward before I can ask the obvious.

  “It was Rory.” Her small head tips to the side, the cause of her fury now fully exposed.

  Shit.

  Demetri grows a few inches with his indignation. “Yes, Gage. Shit,” he repeats, and my muscles tense up. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard Demetri let an expletive fly. Come to think of it, he was just parroting mine.

  Sage takes another bold step forward. “How dare you withhold information like this from us. You’ve turned us into a laughingstock in the heavenlies. I won’t easily forget this.”

  Demetri shakes his head. “I don’t know what your intentions were. Perhaps you were ashamed. Perhaps you were saving it as a special surprise. Nonetheless, where is Skyla?”

  Sage glints a dark grin. “You killed her, Daddy. I’m proud of you. But you mustn’t keep large developments like this from us. Demetri called for me as soon as Rory revealed herself. I’ve searched Ahava. There is no sign of Mother. Do you know where she is?”

  She squints over at me, this miniature female version of myself with the long dark hair, same cobalt eyes, and dimples. She looks every bit like the boys, especially now that they’re catching up to her in age. Candace liked the idea of having her about five or six years old right off the bat, and that’s exactly where she’s been since her death.

  Demetri ticks his chin up. “Where is she, Gage? We can’t keep secrets from one another any longer. I must be apprised.”

  “I thought you knew everything,” I muse.

  His features harden. He is very much saying don’t dick with me.

  A heavy sigh expels from my chest.

  “Knew it,” Sage snips. “He still holds an allegiance to Mother. Banis
h him, Grandfather. His work is done.”

  “No.” Demetri comes to my defense with that menacing grin of his. “Certainly we are far from done. Take a seat, son. I have great things to share with you. I’m glad to see you’re ready to hear it.”

  “That I am,” I say, plopping on the sofa as he lands in the one across from me. The other day at the Landon house, Demetri assured me he had our latest move in the bag. He asked me to stop by when I was ready to hear it. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to hear it, but I need to and that’s exactly why I’m here.

  Sage pouts. “Grandfather, how can you forgive him so easily? His wavering could cost us everything.”

  Something enlivens in me to hear her adulating him as a grandparent, and oddly, to hear her utter disregard for me while we’re in the same room.

  A ripe anger shoots through me.

  “Sage,” I bark out her name without meaning to. “I am in control. I will get my people back. The throne is still mine. The crown is firmly planted on my head. Do not doubt me. And do not disparage me. I don’t need you complicating things. I can have you banished to paradise.”

  Hell, I probably should. The hairier, scarier situation is the one in which she’s living. Sage is a young kid. She should be in heaven chasing rainbows, playing with a pet, playing with friends and family. I don’t know why I allowed her to get dragged into this mess to begin with. On second thought, I do. It was my selfish brand of love. I wanted her with me because I love her. If I didn’t realize it before, I’m starting to now. My love is toxic to those I choose to pour it upon, nothing more than corrosive acid that eats away at their existence. I should do everyone a favor and hole up in a cave.

  Her little mouth tightens in a knot. “How dare you speak to me that way. I am not your charge. You may never banish me. I don’t—”