Blinking against the bright sunlight, I stir when soft fingers stroke my hair away from my brow. “There you are.” Freya’s soft voice rouses me further from the clutches of sleep. I lift my head from her lap and look around the field. “Don’t worry, you haven’t been asleep for long.”
Confused, I peer back at her, and she hurries to add, “Today’s lesson is about the importance of forgiveness…” Her voice drifts away as my gaze wanders the expanse of the field. Angels with white wings that shimmer beneath the warm sun listen intently to the Elder on the podium. A tickle on my shoulder draws my attention to a small, blue butterfly.
“Are you listening?”
The butterfly takes flight. I look at Freya. “Huh?”
“Colossians,” she says, reaching out to brush away a strand of hair stuck to my damp bottom lip. “He has delivered us from the power of darkness.”
I startle awake with a gasp, my hand flying up to my sore throat where the sensation of gnarled, pale fingers that dig into my skin still lingers. Choking on air, my lungs burning, I roll over onto my back. Overhead, thousands of twinkling stars burn brightly while somewhere in the distance, a fox barks.
Footsteps approach from my left and Amenadiel crouches down beside me in the clearing, his long cloak pooling on the grass. His calloused fingers trail over the bruises on my cheeks, and he lets his gaze sweep over my face before whispering, “Fight it. Fight her.”
Pain rips through me as shadows seem to dart from the tree line to snap their vicious teeth at me.
“You’re stronger than this,” he says, his voice firmer. “Fight the darkness.”
My spine arches in an unnatural curve, threatening to snap as I release a choked cry. I dig my fingers into the damp grass. Everything hurts. An eternal battle as old as time plays out in my soul while I writhe on the grass that’s covered in a thin layer of dew.
Shadows hiss at me. Ghostly figures leer over Amenadiel’s shoulders with glowing eyes and rotten flesh.
“Look at me,” he orders, cupping my chin. “Whatever you see is a figment of your imagination. Focus on the light.”
“I don’t know how,” I grit out as the clouds part to reveal a blood-red moon.
Sliding his arms beneath me, he lifts me into his arms and scoops me up as though I weigh nothing. The soothing scent of midnight and hellfire settles over me like a warm blanket. I wonder briefly when Amenadiel became my safety. “Focus on the one thing that burns brighter than a candle in the dark.”
Raven wings and eyes as dark as the night flash in my mind. Softly spoken words and snarling teeth. “I want you.” The whisper of a memory from a time when Daemon confessed his love caresses the fringes of my awareness like a cool summer breeze on a warm day. All around me, the shadows hiss, forced to retreat back into the tree line.
“I’ll be damned,” Amenadiel whispers, stroking his fingers over the palm of my hand where a small beam of light swirls in the air like a thousand floating dust particles. Intrigued, he slides his fingers through it, caressing the light with hesitant curiosity. When I glance up, my breath catches in my throat at the sight of the tears on Amenadiel’s lashes.
Clearing his throat, his hand retreats, and he helps me to sit. “You’re breathing normally again.”
I look down at myself, at the pleated skirt and leather bra I’m wearing. “What happened?”
“You lost yourself to the darkness.”
I lower my gaze and swipe at my wet cheeks. Fragmented memories assault my mind. I flinch when Amenadiel reaches out to cup my chin.
His hand retreats, and he puts his elbows on his knees. “You fought and won. I knew you would.”
Resting back against the big boulder behind me, I look around the small clearing. “Where am I?”
“Deep in the forest.”
My gaze snaps back to Amenadiel, who rises to his feet and dusts off his knees. The black shirt beneath his cloak has the top three buttons undone, and my attention is drawn to the silver chain that disappears beneath the collar. Running a hand through his dark hair, he motions to me. “You need to feed to regain your strength before the shadows overpower you again.”
With great effort, I climb to my feet on wobbly legs and press my hand flat on the boulder to steady myself. “How did you find me out here? What happened?” Memories hover at the fringes of my consciousness of Daemon visiting the cellar where I was locked up. I try to strain my mind, but they’re out of reach, teasing me with snippets of imagery.
“Daemon and I crossed the veil and saved you. But you had to fight off the shadows to free yourself.”
I attempt a single step, arms outstretched by my sides to balance me.
Steadying me with his hands on my shoulders, his wings erupt behind him to block out the night. “Easy now.”
“How will I feed to regain my strength? Won’t that coax the shadows to the surface?”
“It will,” he agrees, stroking his hand down my hair in an almost tender gesture before stepping back. “But if you don’t feed, the shadows will claim hold of you anyway.”
My wings ache as I stretch them out behind me, the feathers rustling in the late-night breeze. “They were tied,” I whisper, wincing as memories of being locked in the dark flood my mind. “I was shackled.”
Gritting his teeth, Amenadiel looks past me toward the trees. “We’ll find out who the stalker is and kill him.”
“Can we go back now?” My shaky voice is almost lost on the breeze.
Looking back at me with dark eyes that peel me open, he nods softly. “Sure. Come here.”
Hesitating, I stay rooted to the spot.
With a sigh, he motions to me. “You’re weak. You can’t fly on your own in your state. Not until you’ve fed.”
When I still don’t move, a muscle clenches in his cheek. “Look, do you want to get back or not?”
Something holds me back. It unnerves me that I feel this safe around him—the man who used to be my prime enemy. Wrapping my arms around myself, I swallow past the thick lump in my throat and blink back tears. My voice is so quiet, he’s forced to step closer to hear me. “I don’t know myself anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
A small shrug. “I used to fight, you know? Now I’m… I’m scared.” I chance a look at him. “I’m weak.”
“You’re not weak,” he says with conviction, placing his hand on my arm and squeezing gently. “You could never be weak.”
“I don’t remember much from my time in the shadows, but I remember him and how he hurt me.”
A snarl rumbles low in his throat, but it cuts off just as quickly. Cupping my cheeks, he brings my eyes to his, the cool breeze moving through his dark hair. “He won’t hurt you again.”
“Take me back to Daemon, please.”
His fingers flex on my cheeks. He looks at me for a long moment, his dark, unreadable eyes flicking between mine before he scoops me up and shoots up into the sky with lethal grace and power.
Seated on the floor in front of the crackling fireplace, I don’t bother to look behind me when the sound of footsteps disrupts the silence. “Where’s Daemon?” I ask.
“Out looking for you,” Dmitriy replies, coming to a stop at my back. “They all are.”
I prop my chin on my knees and wrap my arms around my shins. “How long was I gone for?”
Lowering himself down beside me, one leg stretched out, one bent, he rests back on his hand and lets the other dangle over his knee. “Long enough.”
I look at him, studying the way the firelight flickers over his face. “You don’t want to tell me.”
“I don’t think it matters. One day. A year. Your harem is going crazy without you.”
A weak smile plays at the corners of my lips. I’ve had a shower and changed into a clean dress. Strands of my still-wet hair tickle my cheek with my next exhale. “And what about you?”
He slides his gaze away from the fire to look at me. When he doesn’t reply, I shrug one shoulder.
“Have you been going crazy?”
His brown eyes sweep over my face before he brings his hand up to his mouth to hide his smile. He rubs the corner of his mouth with his thumb. “Is it Aurelia or Genesis asking that question?”
My smile grows impossibly wide. “Does it matter?”
“Yes.” Dropping his hand from his mouth, he reaches out to tuck my hair behind my ear. “It matters a lot.”
Breath caught in my throat, I stay silent while his fingers linger on the sensitive spot below my ear.
“They’ll be back soon. You better prepare yourself. Daemon is on the warpath. In all my years, I’ve never seen him this worked up.”
While I appreciate that he saves me from answering, a small part of me wants him to elaborate on why it matters. The question tickles my lips, demanding to be asked. I swallow it back down and look back at the flames. His gaze burns the side of my face until I can barely breathe.
“What happened to you?”
Like a bucket of ice water, his words splash over me. I flinch, turning away from him. When his fingers reach for me, I physically recoil, remembering the stalker’s touch. “Don’t.”
“I’m sorry. I won’t touch you again.”
With my back to him, gaze lowered to the floor, I ask him the question that’s been on my lips since my return. “Why can’t I conjure hellfire?”
“Lucifer, he… he fed a vial of potion to Genesis. Your powers are dormant for a few days.”
“I know about the vial. The stalker, he… He made me drink it, too. But the light…” I drift off, remembering the beam of light on my hand that chased away the shadows and how Amenadiel explored it with his fingers.
“What about the light?” Dmitriy shifts closer, the heat of his breath wafting over my exposed shoulder.
My chin touches it as I peer back at him in the firelight, our lips dangerously close. Visibly swallowing, he stares at my mouth.
“It doesn’t matter.”
His eyes flick up to mine, and he frowns. “What are you talking about?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“When are you gonna get it?” Leaning in closer, he looks down at my mouth as he whispers, “Everything about you matters.”
My heart stalls. But before I can answer, the door flies open. I jerk back, looking over his shoulder as Daemon and the others come tumbling through the door.
“Get the fuck away from her!” Daemon growls, striding forward.
With a defeated sigh, Dmitriy climbs to his feet and steps back, hands held up in a placating gesture to soothe the raging bull that’s tearing across the room to get to me.
Flipping the armchair over, Daemon crosses the floor in five large steps and hauls me to my feet. Crushing me to him, his voice rumbles in my ear, “Thank fuck!”
I’m not sure how to feel. Relief to be back in his arms holds me in a chokehold. But as my eyes collide with Dariana across the room, the ugly truth of our predicament slaps me in the face. She’s marrying Daemon.
As though she can read my thoughts, her eyes narrow, and she gives a small shake of her head. A shake so small, it’s barely noticeable.
“Daemon,” I whisper, then stronger, “Daemon!”
He looks down at me, arms still banded around my waist in an iron grip as though he might lose me to the shadows at any minute.
“We can’t.”
His brows furrow, and he stiffens. Then he looks to the side, where Dariana stands with a defeated, broken look on her face. Realization dawns, and he looks back at me with gritted teeth and hellfire burning in his gaze. Reaching up and gripping my chin hard, he leaves me no choice but to drown in his dark, determined gaze. “No, little witch. It’s not fucking happening. We’ve played this game too many fucking times now. I don’t give a damn what you want or don’t want. You’re ours, and if you think you can walk out that door because of some stupid fucking idea that my father has in his head, you’re dead wrong. I won’t ever let you go.” Bringing his face close enough to mine for our noses to bump, he growls, “I’ll chain you to my fucking bed if I have to.”
When I visibly flinch at the assaulting memories of my time in the darkness, a cruel smile lifts his lips to reveal his slowly elongating fangs. “He’s a dead man walking, little witch. No one chains my angel but me.” Then his lips descend on mine in a fierce kiss that’s more than a simple claiming. It’s a ravishing of my soul, a complete plundering of my essence. Daemon leaves no stone unturned.
Forcing his tongue between my lips, he smiles into the kiss when I gasp. “You belong to me,” he whispers before driving his tongue back into my mouth to tangle with mine. “I won’t ever let you go.” His teeth sink into my bottom lip, the sharp sting turning me delirious with frenzied desire. “I don’t care what it takes, or what depraved lengths I’ll have to go to in order to keep you. I won’t ever stop hunting you, little witch. Do you know why?”
Whimpering, I clutch his T-shirt.
“Because I love you. This thing between us? It’s beyond obsession.”
My lungs burn when I moan into the kiss. His words seduce me as much as his dominating touch and biting kisses.
Breaking away from my lips, he tosses me at Alaric, Ronan, and Dariana. His voice is deadly cold. “Break her.”
