Wanted Angel: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Feathers and Fate Book 3)

by Sadie Moss

  “You’re a bit more powerful than we gave you credit for,” the demon acknowledges, a trace of his former elegance returning before his inhuman, terrifying face shows up again. “If you really want me to kill you this time, then by all means. Anderson will understand you’ve lived out your usefulness.”

  Right, as if this guy wasn’t the one with his back to the wall last time. I know some of my angelic light pierced him. If I hadn’t lost control and blacked out, I might’ve been able to take him down.

  Well, no time like the present to try again.

  I summon my blade, feeling the weight of it in my hand, and give him a snarl of my own.

  “All right. Let’s fucking do this,” I growl. Then I launch myself at him.

  Salinas launches himself right back at me, and I hear the yelling of the men as they hurl themselves at the other corrupted, all of us turning this into a massive brawl.

  Fighting Salinas is no easier the second time. In fact, it’s almost harder. He’s full of energy and triumph, already convinced he’s won—and I know I’ve said this before, but I really think it bears repeating that I am the furthest thing from a fighter. I’m not exactly trained in taking on the corrupted in general, never mind taking on a powerful demon like Salinas.

  I’m scrappy though. At least I’ve got that going for me.

  “Do you have any idea how pathetic you are?” Salinas hisses, getting his words out in between his breaths. Crap. If he’s strong enough to hold up a conversation while we’re fighting, then I’m not making as much of a dent as I’d hoped I was. “You could join me, you could have power, you could have everything you ever wanted! Instead you’re throwing it away? For humans who don’t even deserve it? Humans who were made to serve?”

  I bare my teeth, trying to make myself as fierce as I can. “What I want is to help people! What I want is to serve humanity! The way angels are supposed to!”

  My blade clashes against his, the heat of the volcano making sweat pour off me. Our swords vibrate with the force as they strike each other, again and again, neither of us able to get a firm advantage.

  My arms are shaking with effort.

  My legs are burning.

  My head, of all things, feels too heavy from whipping it around trying to avoid getting hit and trying to keep an eye on him.

  But if I can keep Salinas busy fighting me, then maybe, just maybe, I can keep him from completing his plan—

  Before I can even finish that thought, the volcano erupts.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  REMINGTON

  I’ve seen volcanoes erupt before. You don’t live as long as we all have without witnessing several major natural disasters.

  But there’s nothing remotely natural about this.

  Lava begins to rise from the mouth of the volcano, but instead of spilling over the edge and spewing into the atmosphere or sliding down the rocky mountainside, it travels straight up, as if it’s drawn by a magnet high in the sky.

  “Shit! It’s starting!” I hear Trinity yell, and then her sword clashes with Salinas’s again.

  The corrupted that the rest of us are fighting redouble their efforts, obviously trying to drive us farther down the mountain to keep us from interfering with whatever spell they unleashed in the depths of the volcano. Ford gives an unholy roar, bashing two demon’s heads together and then dropping their bodies to the ground like sacks of rocks.

  “We need to get higher!” I shout, gesturing wildly before turning to face a demon who’s charging toward me.

  “On it!”

  Sawyer sends out a pulse of his magic, and several of the demons nearest him stop fighting and look around dazedly. Two of them start rubbing up against each other, and if I weren’t so busy trying not to get killed, I might laugh. Sawyer’s lust power doesn’t always work on the corrupted, and the effect won’t last for long. But it’s enough to give us an opening.

  I catch the demon in front of me with a sharp right hook, then join my brothers as we sprint toward Trinity and Salinas. All eight of us need to make it to the rim of the volcano for this to work, and there’s no way I’d leave her to fight this asshole on her own.

  But before we can reach her, she uses her wings to lift herself a few feet off the ground, then dive-bombs Salina, knocking him over and sending him rolling down the mountainside.

  “Holy fuck! Nicely done, Trin!” Nix crows.

  The fall won’t kill the demon, but it gets him out of our way for a second. I catch Trin’s eye and point toward where we need to go, and she wheels in the air, not even bothering to come all the way back down to the ground as she races alongside us toward the peak.

  Lava is still rising from the mouth of the volcano. It was slow at first, but now it’s moving faster. It’s beginning to spark and crackle, and I know it’ll soon be joined by a rush of Hellfire.

  We have to close it up before that happens.

  I sprint flat out, dragging in deep breaths as I push myself harder. I own several restaurants in New York City. I’m Gluttony, for fuck’s sake. Running should not be on my list of special skills.

  When we reach the top, heat assails us. The lava isn’t flowing down the mountainside, but I can feel it’s oppressive heat licking at my skin anyway as we all split up, fanning out around the perimeter of the massive opening.

  This is the part of our plan I hate most. It’s the part that involves us being apart, not able to protect each other’s backs. It’s necessary and unavoidable, but that doesn’t make me dislike it any less.

  So I focus on getting it over with as quickly as possible, putting on another burst of speed as sweat drips down my face. We won’t be able to space ourselves out precisely, but we need to be roughly equidistant from each other around the perimeter of the volcano when we activate the net Valentina built for us.

  She and several other witches made eight charms, one for each of us. When activated, they’ll send out magical tendrils that should interlock with each other and create a mesh that will contain the lava and Hellfire, forcing it back down to Below.

  That is, of course, if everything goes according to plan, which not much has lately.

  Hoping like hell that this mission will be the exception to that, I glance around. The lava shifts and churns as it rises, and I can see enough of the volcano’s rim to see that everyone else is in place. I skid to a halt, sucking in deep breaths even though the air itself seems to burn.

  Reaching into my pocket, I pull out the small, heavy cube that’s been imbued with the magic we need.

  “Now!” I call to the others. I’m not sure they can even hear me over the rumbling of the volcano and the snapping of Hellfire, but it doesn’t matter. They know what to do.

  Setting the cube down, I hold my hand over it and mutter the incantation Valentina taught us all that will activate the magic. The moment the final word passes my lips, silvery threads begin to erupt from the cube, arcing into the air over the steadily rising lava. From across the large opening, I see seven other bolts of silver magic leap into the air, spreading outward as they begin to connect with one another.

  “Thank fuck,” I mutter. It’s working.

  And not a moment too damn soon.

  The corrupted that we managed to fight off down below are swarming up the mountainside, coming right for us. I see Salinas among them, looking pissed as hell.

  Ford sees Salinas too and charges down to meet him. I shift my position, moving over to try to cover both Ford’s cube and mine. We need to protect them from the corrupted. If any of the cubes is deactivated or destroyed, it’ll weaken the net, allowing Hellfire to shoot toward the sky. Already, the silvery web is tightening and strengthening, forming a dome over the volcano’s opening that contains the rising Hellfire, forcing it back down.

  Several corrupted sprint toward me, howling. I move as fast as I can, swiping the legs of one before throwing a punch at another as it reaches me.

  Ford and Salinas are brawling nearby, and I’m vaguely aware of Knig
ht moving to help Ford. We need to take Salinas out if we can—it’s possible at least some of his minions will give up the fight if he’s no longer alive to give them orders. It could turn the tide for us.

  But Knight’s effort to help Ford leaves another cube exposed, and I’m struggling to protect them all.

  I kick one of the corrupted in the stomach, sending him flying backward and rolling. The heavy flap of wings beside me catches my attention, and I turn, expecting to see Trinity.

  But it’s not her. It’s Anderson.

  I lunge toward him, but he’s too fucking fast. Rather than attacking me, he bends down and scoops up one of the cubes, then launches himself back into the air. He didn’t deactivate the magic of the cube, but he’s interrupted it somehow. As he flies, the silvery strands emerging from the enchanted object turn transparent and gossamer, then seem to dissolve into nothing.

  “Shit!” I yell as Hellfire bursts from the damaged net, hurtling toward the sky. The flow is still partially obstructed, but unless we get that cube back in place, the Hellfire will be able to reach the Heavenly light in the atmosphere.

  “Oh, no, you don’t!”

  I hear Trinity’s scream a second before she shoots into the sky after Anderson, a look of fury on her face. Of course she’s pissed. This guy was once her angelic superior—someone she looked up to, or at least respected. And now he’s teamed up with demons and who knows how many other rebellious angels to try to bring about the destruction of Earth.

  She streaks through the air toward Anderson, drawing her angel blade as she does. He turns and sees her coming, a startled look passing over his face.

  I have a moment of pride for her as I realize that this fucker never really expected her to be a real threat.

  Then their swords clash, sparking in the sky.

  Screeches and grunts draw my attention, and my gaze is pulled away from Trin as I fight off the new wave of corrupted that have reached me. A little way down on the mountain, Knight and Ford are working together to battle Salinas—Knight distracting him while Ford leaps in to deal heavy blows.

  Sawyer, Ryland, Beck, and Nix are all fighting to keep any of the corrupted from stealing another cube. If we lose two, we’ll never get the net back up. Even now, the pillar of Hellfire is rising higher and higher into the atmosphere, the damaged net straining as the beam of lava and fire blasts upward.

  If it reaches the Heavenly light, it’s all over.

  “Remi! Remi!”

  Trinity’s loud yell makes my head snap up. Her heavenly light glows from her like warm sunshine, drawing my gaze toward her like a beacon. I dart around two corrupted, racing toward her as she struggles against Anderson in the air. I’ve never wished so badly in all of my existence that I had wings.

  “Here, Trin!” I call, shouting up into the sky as I come to a stop roughly below her and the high angel. “I’m here!”

  With a feral yell, she flies upward and then does the same dive-bombing trick she used against Salinas, turning her own body into a torpedo as she streaks toward Anderson.

  The older man’s eyes widen. I’m sure that move isn’t in any of the battle angel handbooks. But that’s what makes it so damn effective. He wasn’t expecting it at all.

  He swings his sword, and my stomach clenches as it whistles through the air, just barely missing Trin. She plows into him, sending him hurtling backward through the air. They tussle high above me, and a moment later, a small silver object flashes as it falls.

  The cube.

  She got it.

  My gaze zeroes in on it as I leap forward, positioning myself under it and holding out my hands. The cube lands in my outstretched palms. I throw my head back, smashing the face of a demon who’s tried to creep up on me, then pivot and sprint toward the spot Anderson stole the enchanted object from. I have to fight my way through two more corrupted to get there, and as soon as I do, I fall to my knees and shove the cube back down into the earth.

  I mutter the incantation again just to be sure it’s still activated, and to my relief, silvery threads start emerging from it right away.

  For a second, I have a terrible thought that maybe it won’t work. Maybe now that the lava and Hellfire have breached the net, that force will be too powerful to contain. Maybe the net won’t be able to repair itself.

  But slowly, the threads start to knit back together, cutting off the stream again.

  A scream echoes from behind me, so loud that even the corrupted who are rushing up to attack slow their charge. They turn, confusion and shock on their grotesque faces as they watch Salinas crumple to the ground. Knight and Ford stand over him, breathing hard and covered in blood.

  Some of the corrupted resume their attack on us, but just like I hoped, some of them don’t seem sure what to do anymore.

  “Angel!” Beckett calls. He’s fighting back to back with Ryland, the two of them moving in perfect sync as they hold off the last few demons who still think they can take us on. “Get down here! Bring the fight to us!”

  Good. None of us can fly up to help her against Anderson, but if she gets him on the ground, my brothers and I can overpower him easily.

  I think I see her nod, but it’s hard to tell if she even heard him. She’s blazing with heavenly light again, looking terrifying and beautiful as her sword rings against Anderson’s.

  “Trin! Down here!” I yell, using the fact that I’m closer to her as an advantage.

  She definitely hears the call this time. She shoots downward, and Anderson follows, lashing out with his blade. They drifted higher and higher as they fought, and they’re a good way up now.

  But Anderson is the stronger flyer. He tucks his wings and shoots ahead of her, then whirls, slashing again. She pulls up short, stopping her descent as she lifts her own blade just in time to defend herself.

  Their swords ring in the air, and I can’t look away as Trinity begins to glow brighter and brighter. She’s glowing even more brightly than Anderson is, I realize. Does that mean she’s stronger than him? That her virtue makes her more powerful?

  Maybe Anderson has the same thought at the same moment I do, because he shouts something at her and feints to the left, drawing her out before darting right.

  He swoops around behind her, raising his sword, then brings it down in a broad arc—right at the place where her wings meet her body.

  Trinity’s scream echoes in the depths of my soul.

  My heart seizes in my chest as her beautiful white wings tumble downward toward the mountain. For a split second, her body still seems to levitate, suspended in the air as if by some unseen force. Then she begins to fall too.

  But as she drops, a flower of red blooming on her back, she reaches out and catches Anderson’s hand. He jerks in the air as he suddenly has to support both his weight and hers, and before he can regain his equilibrium, she swings her angel blade upward, impaling him through the gut.

  He jerks, a choked cry pouring from his lips.

  And then they’re both falling.

  Fuck, no. Trin.

  I’m moving in a heartbeat, sprinting forward at the same time my brothers move, all of us converging toward the point on the ground that she and Anderson are hurtling toward.

  No. No. No.

  It’s the only word that can penetrate the horror in my mind. I can’t let her hit the ground. I can’t let her die like that.

  Around me, I see the terrified faces of my brothers, and time seems to stretch, two seconds expanding until they seem to take a lifetime.

  We’re so close.

  But not close enough.

  Her body hits the ground with a heavy, dull thud. Anderson hits a second later, the blow driving the sword deeper into his body.

  He’s beyond dead. I don’t even have to look at him to know that. But I don’t even care. The second Trinity hit the ground, time sped back up, and I throw myself to my knees beside her, my heart cracking as I look down at her small, fragile form.

  “Trin. Trin!”

 
I lean over her, searching for some sign that she’s still alive. She’s barely breathing, but she told me once that angels don’t have to breathe often, so maybe that doesn’t mean anything.

  “Fuck!” Ford’s cry rips through the air, full of every bit of pain and fury we all feel.

  I search for a pulse, but I can’t find one. Fuck. Why can’t I find one?

  “Here.” Beckett kneels beside me, pulling a small vial from his pocket. A healing potion. “It’s the best one I have. I’ve kept it with me in case…”

  He trails off, but I know what he was going to say. He’s kept it in case Trinity needed it. Maybe he hadn’t even admitted to himself when he first started carrying it around with him how much he loved the woman he carried it for. But I’m glad as hell that my brother has a sentimental side.

  I take it from him and uncork it quickly. But when I press it to Trinity’s lips, she’s unresponsive.

  Knight lifts her head a little, moving gingerly, and I try again. But when I pour a few drops into her mouth, they just leak out the side of her lips. She’s not drinking, and unless we can get her to drink, this fucking potion will be useless.

  I can feel the tension of my brothers around me like a ten-thousand pound weight, but I push it away, focusing only on the woman in front of me.

  The woman I love.

  The woman who is somehow perfect for me and every single one of my brothers. Who complements us and balances us so well. Who I can’t imagine living without.

  And I’m not going to.

  I fucking refuse.

  Dipping my head, I lower my voice, swallowing back the pain that tries to clog my throat.

  “I’m calling in my favor, Trin,” I murmur. “You owe me, remember? I want you to live. That’s my favor. I want you to live.”

  My voice is quiet, but my brothers hear me anyway. A second later, I hear Nix’s scratchy voice, raw with pain.

  “I’m calling in my favor too. Live, Trin. Please, live.”