His blood continued to ice my veins, taking away some of the pain at having Genesis ripped from me.
I'd only experienced this type of pain once before.
When I'd had to kill my own mate.
It had taken me fifty years to stop craving her.
Every evening when I went to bed, I'd dream of her only to wake up in a cold sweat, craving her taste, her smell — everything about her.
The only way to exorcise it from my system was to starve myself of blood, allow her blood to leave my body. It was a battle, possibly with my own bitterness at her betrayal.
"He will not kill her," Cassius said once we reached the Sound.
I snorted. "You think that's what I'm worried about right now?"
"Yes."
I looked away, clenching my teeth, unable to speak because I hated that he was with me, hated that I needed him at all.
"I never took your mate," Cassius said in a detached voice. "I tested her. I never stole her from you. Her betrayal was not my fault."
"You still touched her," I whispered.
"After she begged me," Cassius fired back. "You know I would never force myself on a human."
"You took my mate and my daughter."
"I will say this only once," Cassius growled. "You have no daughter."
"She was more mine than yours."
Cassius ignored me and continued driving. "When we arrive at the house, try your best not to charge the archangel."
I rolled my eyes. "You make it sound like I have no self-control."
"When it comes to Genesis, I believe self-control is something you seriously lack, brother."
"I love her."
Cassius sighed, a slight frown marring his face. "Yes, I know."
"What do you know of love?" I spat, clenching my hand into a tight fist, my knuckles cracking against each other as I fought to keep my rage at bay.
"I know," Cassius said in a hoarse voice. "Believe me when I say I know."
I didn't point out that Dark Ones didn't love — that love was just as forbidden as mating, just as ridiculous a notion. They felt no love because they gave themselves over to their angelic blood more than their humanity, and everyone knew angels didn't feel, didn't love.
They simply existed and ruled, but never by such human emotions. To feel such strong emotions was the reason the Dark Ones had been cursed in the first place.
"Are we close?" Cassius asked.
"You truly can't trace her?" I was curious, with all his strength, how he couldn't pick up her specific smell. From where I sat, I could even make out her heartbeat.
"No." Cassius sighed.
"There." I pointed at a large house facing the Sound. It was a two-storied beach house; intricate brickwork lined the front. A door big enough for two angels to fit through loomed in front of us.
"Well?" Cassius shut off the car. "Shall we?"
I grunted.
It would be impossible to catch Sariel unaware. He was an archangel, not necessarily all-knowing, but most likely expecting us. What mate wouldn't fight through hell to gain his love back?
We walked in silence toward the door.
I wasn't surprised when it opened.
My heart beat wildly in my chest as the scent of Genesis became stronger, her heartbeat more erratic.
"Easy," Cassius said under his breath.
I clenched my teeth together.
The solid oak door opened before our very eyes. A blast of humidity shot through the air making me hold my breath as the sting of sweet sugar invaded my nostrils. It smelled of angel—of the heavenlies. I wondered how Cassius dealt with it—when my own body was already shaking with the need to run in the other direction. Because that very smell was the one I'd always been warned about. If it smells too good, it is too good—run.
Suddenly the archangel appeared, his wings dripping with purples and blues as his feral face tilted to the side, a smirk lining the corners of his mouth.
"Sariel." Cassius smiled, of course he would. "I think you have something that belongs to the vampire."
"But of course." Sariel nodded. His wings fluttered as he looked me over with a calculating glare. His head tilted to the side. "Vampire, your love for her, is it pure?"
"Yes." It hurt to speak. I could feel her presence. I just wanted to see that she was all right, take the fear away, give her my blood, and get her the hell out.
"Mmm…" Sariel nodded to both of us. His eyes were blazing white. He wasn't just immortal, he wasn't human, wasn't man — more being or spirit than anything else. "After you."
Cassius stepped in the house first.
I followed, my nerves on edge as I pushed past the archangel, not caring that I was being disrespectful to someone who could end me if he willed it.
I didn't turn around.
And maybe that was where my instincts were off.
I always turned.
Always smelled.
Always sensed.
But this, this I didn't see coming, because the minute I moved away from the angel, my eyes locked on Genesis.
Blood. So much blood. I reached for her just as a jarring pain stabbed me in the back.
With a curse, I stumbled forward. Warm blood oozed down my back, mixing with the icy blood Cassius had given me.
"No!" Genesis screamed. "Ethan!"
Cassius turned, his eyes horrified as he reached for my back, and pulled out a single purple feather dripping with red.
"And now…" Sariel pushed me to my knees in front of Genesis. "…we begin."
Genesis
I'd never bled so much in my entire life. Just when I was about to pass out, Aziel appeared by my side and told me to drink. Whatever he brought me tasted funny. I tried to jerk away from him, but I was too weak from blood loss.
I heard Ethan's voice. My heart soared. He was there.
And then Sariel turned and offered a sad smile, almost as if he was apologizing for having made over a hundred different small cuts around my arms and neck.
It had happened so fast the pain didn't even register for the first minute, and then everything stung like a hundred fire ants had all bitten me at the same time.
"Genesis…"
Ethan had eyes for me and only me. I wanted to yell for him to stop because something wasn't right. Something felt very wrong. Cassius moved away from Ethan toward me, maybe to help, maybe to finish the job. When I saw Ethan stumble forward…
I knew.
Things were about to get a lot worse.
Cassius swore, pulling a feather from Ethan's back.
"Now we begin," Sariel said in a calm voice, picking up his pace as he stalked towards Cassius.
Confused, I watched as Ethan fell to his knees and reached for me, his face ashen, his eyes black.
"What did you do to him?" I yelled.
"Simply making him… a bit more human." Sariel shrugged, stopping directly in front of Cassius.
Cassius clenched his fists, his stance predatory. "It's been a while… Sariel."
"Father." Sariel shrugged, "And apparently I've been a horrible one… neglecting my children. Then again, you know all about being a father, don't you… son?"
In a flash, Cassius had his hands around the angel's neck. He threw him against the wall.
Sariel simply shook his body, his wings elongating to at least seven feet across. "I see I've touched a nerve."
"Ethan." Cassius growled. "Get her out of here."
Ethan shook his head then slowly stood and stumbled toward me. When his hand touched mine, it was slapped away by chains.
Aziel laughed. "No, no. The vampire watches. This concerns him, after all."
"Be silent." Sariel sneered, waving his hand at Aziel.
"Did you think you could bring the balance all on your own?" Sariel laughed mockingly, making my ears ring with its loudness. "Did you think that you were strong enough to shield all the immortals and humans alike from your sin?"
Ethan reached for my hand again, tuggi
ng me close to him.
My head slumped forward on his chest.
I didn't know if it was my blood getting all over him or his getting all over me. But I felt safe — finally.
Until Aziel lunged for me.
Ethan kicked him in the chest, causing a snarl to erupt between Aziel's lips. "If I were whole, I'd rip you limb from limb — then again, I've already taken everything from you. Do you know…" He stood to his full height, which I hadn't noticed until now, matched Sariel's. "She gave me her body — her very soul — before you killed her."
Ethan shook in my arms, his fangs grazing my neck.
"And when I took her over and over again," Aziel laughed, "I promised her I'd make her immortal. If she did one tiny, little thing for me."
"Ethan, don't listen to him." I gripped the sides of his face. "Focus on me."
"Birth me a son," Aziel yelled. "And you know what that bitch did?"
Sariel had Cassius by the throat. With a growl, he punched Sariel in the chest, sending the angel soaring through the air again. "No!"
He was running toward us.
My mind wasn't putting the pieces together fast enough.
Aziel leaned down and whispered in Ethan's ear. "She gave me a daughter."
Cassius fell to his knees.
Sariel walked around him, pulling a long sharp feather from his wings. "One should never have to kill his own offspring."
"Cassius! Behind you!" I yelled.
Cassius hung his head like he wanted to die.
In a flash, Ethan's fangs were in Aziel's neck. He hunched over him, blue blood dripping from his fangs as he completely drained the angel.
When he stood, his eyes were white just like Cassius's. In two strides, he had Cassius by the neck and tossed him against the wall.
A crack ran from the bottom to the top of the ceiling as plaster fell from overhead.
"This is my favorite part," Sariel sang, removing himself from the fight between Cassius and Ethan and coming to my side. "Where they are finally forced to finish what they started so long ago."
In my weakened state, I saw two of Sariel. I shook my head. "He can't die."
"Which one?" Sariel asked.
"Both." I forced the word out. "They'll kill each other."
"Ah, but balance must be restored."
"I don't understand," I whispered. "Ethan, stop!"
Cassius wasn't fighting anymore. It was like he wanted to die.
"Please!" I reached for Sariel, my fingers coming into contact with his soft velvet feathers. "Please."
"You know…" His eyes closed briefly. "That's the first time a human has dared touch me in… years."
"Sorry."
"It was warm." He sighed. "I've been cold for a very long time."
The air in the room shifted, turning to ice.
Ethan growled, his fangs nearly dipping into Cassius's neck when Cassius finally punched him in the jaw and stumbled backward. "I couldn't do it!"
"A daughter!"
"She wasn't yours!"
"You still killed her!"
Cassius fell to his knees. "No. No, I couldn't."
The room stilled as if someone had pressed pause on the TV.
"And so the truth reveals itself." Sariel put his arm around my shoulders. I was too weak to do anything but lean against his cold body.
"A daughter," Ethan hissed. "You would kill an innocent human."
"Abomination," Sariel said in a deadly tone. "Another Dark One. No Dark Ones have been born since Cassius — since my sin."
Cassius flinched.
I wanted to hug him.
His own father thought him an abomination.
"No more Dark Ones must live." Sariel sighed. "And now that Aziel is dead, I am almost appeased. You see, balance was shattered the minute Cassius allowed the Dark One to breathe."
"I couldn't." Cassius shook his head back and forth. "She was innocent."
"So one of you will take her place." Sariel nodded. "One of you will take her place, and balance will be restored. It's as simple as that." He turned his head to me. "Choose, human."
"Wh-what?"
"Your destiny. You must choose."
"I don't understand."
"Who lives? Who dies?"
Ethan
Adrenaline pulsed through my body as madness overtook me. All I knew was that I had to kill him — kill him for taking something important from me. But what?
"Kill, kill, kill," the voice whispered in my head.
Cassius wasn't fighting back. His eyes were white, haunted. It didn't register that he was giving up. I just wanted him dead.
"Dead, dead, dead," the voice continued to chant.
"Ethan, No!" Genesis screamed.
I wrapped my hands around Cassius's neck, ready to snap, ready to kill. When his eyes met mine, something had me pausing.
Why was I strangling him?
Why was I so upset?
I looked down at my hands, the same hands gripping his neck. Blue blood trickled from my fingertips.
"Damn it." I pulled back, chest heaving as my hands shook.
Aziel's blood was poison.
"Kill, kill, kill," his voice whispered. "He took from us."
"No." I fell to my knees, the blue blood continued to drip from my fingertips. I quickly bit into my wrist, letting more of the blood fall out of my system.
"Choose," Sariel said from behind me.
Cassius shook his head slowly. There was a piece I was missing, a piece of the puzzle that wasn't fitting together.
A daughter.
My mind replayed back the images. The baby was wrapped in a blanket — he or she wasn't human.
Half-angel?
A Dark One.
"Mine," Aziel whispered in my head.
"No." I choked out a hoarse cry. "You destroyed her."
Aziel would live until the last of his blood left my body. Images flickered in front of my eyes as if I was watching a movie.
Aziel crooked his finger at Ara. She didn't need any more encouragement than a flick of his wrist, a smile in her direction. Ara had been lost to him before she even took the first step in his direction.
"Wanted her," the voice whispered in my head. "So bad."
"You killed her." I hung my head.
"You killed her."
"Because it had to be done." I was arguing with a dead angel, arguing with the last of his lifeblood.
Cassius reached for me.
I gripped his hand and helped him to his feet. His face was covered in bruises. His lower lip bled blue. Dark hair mixed with blood caked on his cheeks.
"You didn't kill her?" I asked.
"Well done," Sariel said from behind us. "Didn't think a vampire could control himself, and now I see him touching a Dark One. Impressed, but this is going a bit too slowly for my taste."
The room went black.
A chill filled the air.
The last thing I heard was Genesis scream before the room flashed again.
Everything was in black and white.
The house around us faded to an apple orchard.
A little girl with bright blue eyes was climbing a tree, giggling as she went faster and faster.
"Keep up!" she yelled. "You can't catch me!" She laughed harder.
Cassius was standing beneath the tree, his hands on his hips. "Get down! You'll hurt yourself."
"Nope!" She hung upside down, her long hair nearly sweeping the grass beneath her.
Cassius grinned and grabbed her, setting her on her feet. "Remember to take your medicine."
She crossed her arms. "It tastes funny."
"I know," Cassius said in a low voice. "But it won't always be this way."
"Promise." Her eyes filled with tears, the blue flashing with such ferocity that it turned white.
"Promise," he echoed.
The scene changed.
The girl looked to be around twelve. The apple orchard was the same, only this time it was fall. Leaves were sca
ttered around the grass, and she was reading a book.
"Boo…" Cassius stepped around the tree. "I've come to say goodbye."
"No!" The girl threw her book onto the ground. "Why? Why would you leave me?"
Agony crossed over Cassius's face. "You hardly see me as it is."
The girl hung her head. "It's my favorite part of the year. When you visit."
Cassius sank to his knees so he was at eye-level. "It's for the best. Besides, you have a brother to take care of."
"Yeah." She wiped her nose with her sleeve. "He's cocky though."
"Heard that," a voice said from behind the tree.
Alex stepped into view and shared a serious look with Cassius.
"Please don't go." The girl wrapped her arms around Cassius's neck. "I'll miss you. You belong to me."
"I don't." Cassius choked out the words. "Now, run along and help your mother with dinner while I talk with your brother."
"Will I forget you?"
"No," Cassius whispered.
"You'll come back? One day?"
"Yes."
Satisfied, she ran off, leaving Cassius with Alex.
"You lied," Alex said, leaning against the tree.
"It's best this way." Cassius waved his hand into the air.
The girl staggered forward, scratched her head, and then kept running toward the house.
"The memories are removed. Just make sure she continues to donate blood and keep the glamour on her at all costs."
Alex shook his head. "I swear they'll never discover her true identity. On my life."
"Good." Cassius nodded. "That's good."
"Are you alright?"
"Of course!" Cassius pulled the hood over his head, covering his dark hair and white features, a pure giveaway to any of the townsfolk of what he was, what he was capable of. "Run along, Alex."
Alex rolled his eyes and left.
The girl stopped at the house, turned around, and lifted a hand in a cautious wave.
"Goodbye… Stephanie." Cassius cursed and walked in the other direction. Each step he took covered the grass with ice.
The scene faded.
And Ethan was back in the house with Cassius, Sariel, and Genesis.
A Kiss For You Page 17