Now it’s me saying that one word that encompasses all. "Oh."
Of course, he wouldn’t want to give that to me. If I die, he loses a part of himself and a chance at an eternal life with another angel if he can find one when this is all over.
"I understand," I say finally, going to move away from him, but he still has a hold of me, pulling me back.
"Riley, I have no doubt in my mind that you are the only one I want this with, but you have angel blood, MY angel blood. I don’t know how you will be affected. If this will put you in the same position as me, and I don’t want to force you down that path when you were not born one of us."
It's always about protecting me, isn’t it? Everything he does. Every stupid decision he makes without including me.
I won’t let him get away with this one.
I raise on my toes and place my lips back to his, my shaky hands roaming his still clothed chest. I still stumble at this, especially in my excitement, but I need to show him he has no reason to fear my rejection.
What I have with Kagan is hanging by a thread. Dru would live. He would understand if that’s what happened to my heart after I did this. But there’s also demon and witch in me. I could be able to commit to all three of them for life if they will all have me, but this moment is about Adriel and nobody else.
"You are the first man I have ever been sure I've fallen so deeply in love with,” I breathe as I peel off his jacket. "If you'll also be the last then so be it. I'll never change my mind about you."
His jacket falls to the ground, and he looks at me, watches me while I unbutton his shirt as if I might suddenly disappear. It makes me think of how I had to be sure he was real when he showed up here tonight.
How can he feel that way about me? Riley Graywood?
If this means I get to keep seeing him looking at me like that, why would I ever say no?
Finally, I see his chest, perfect and pale, just the right amount of muscles to look like the god he is.
I take his wrists in my hands, still a little unsteady, and I place them on me, so he knows it’s his turn. That it's okay.
Just as I thought, it’s not too slow or too fast as he untucks my top from my uniform skirt which I never changed out of and slides it off of me and then my bra, my breasts unfurling before him.
He doesn't touch me yet, only looks for a moment before we both take the next step together, his pants falling next, his shoes kicked off at the same time my skirt joins with the ever growing pile of things between us, keeping us apart.
Now, it’s me in my panties and him in his boxers, such an ordinary piece of clothing for an angel. But before we can remove them, he scoops me up into his arms, carrying me into the bedroom like I am the woman he just married.
I can’t imagine this being more perfect as he gently lays me down, then stands before me, me raising my body up on my elbows just so I can see him remove that last piece of cloth between us.
The room is dark, but I can still see as he reveals himself to me. Though he is the most exquisite thing, so much so my mind could have never conjured his body in a million years, it is not about that. It is about the connection we are about to make, becoming one.
I can feel my angelic blood react to him in a way I didn’t expect. It’s like the singing I felt before every time I saw him but 100 times stronger.
His climbs onto the bed on his knees, watching me the whole time, as he reaches toward my hips and slides my panties down. The cool air hits me there, and it serves to make me feel both exposed and so ready for him.
He slides in between my legs, his hands trailing behind him the whole way. Then, he places a hand on either side of my head like a protective cage, as a ringlet of hair falls, cascading down like a waterfall over his face.
I keep his eyes glued to mine as he enters me, trying not to arch my head away and close my eyes even though the feeling is the kind that makes you want to do just that, like the first bite of pure chocolate from Europe.
I let my head fall back against the pillow as he begins to thrust into me, slowly at first as he gets the right angle, filling me up.
I bite my lip, the sensation already making me feel like I might burst into a million pieces like some star at the end of her lifespan.
“You are everything,” he whispers to me as he gets a rhythm going, and I want to say something back. I truly do, but I can’t speak. My body is in suspension, wanting more and not being able to handle it if he changes a single thing. Afraid that a sound, a movement, a breath will take this away from me.
As he picks up speed, I reach my left hand up and grasp at his shoulder, digging into it a little too hard. I am afraid for one moment I will hurt him and turn him away, but it only has him sliding into me harder, making my world go fuzzy.
I can no longer keep my eyes open or keep my cool. My body is writhing in with his, rolling into him as each wave hit me bigger and fuller. I am afraid of hitting the peak and having to come back down because nothing will ever satiate me after that, surely.
My angel blood makes me feel light, and I am moaning, panting, and through the madness I am feeling I can see Adriel’s wings burst forth, filling the room with their brilliant white light. We are both this close.
I can taste blood in my mouth from where I bit down on my lip, and I think I am crying, and now so is he. It’s just all too much, and I go silent as my body doesn’t know how to react to the pulsating that wracks me as we finish almost in unison.
Even as we make the descent from the climb, he stays inside, slowly working us down, not making this fade away too soon. I am not ashamed to say I want more, though I don't know how much more my body can handle of him.
Of us.
But when the build up begins again, more slowly this time, I don't complain. I just let it go on as long as he allows. As long as he can stay by my side.
As the sun rises, he sprinkles me with kisses, with words of adoration, and with promises he can never keep about seeing me again soon. At least we both know the reality of it, but we also know there is a comfort in what we did. We are forever bound. We will always find each other even at the darkest of times. And soon my new training will start. I will be turned into the perfect killing machine; one the Magistrate thinks they see coming, but won’t.
Adriel just might get to have a part in that if we play our cards right, and I trust him to make a fair attempt.
It’s strange, getting ready for school.
I don't just feel a year older, but much aged in one night. I am now officially considered a third year student, my birthday has passed, and I have given my entire soul over to an archangel. And I wonder when I see Dru today if things will have changed and how I will let him know without breaking my own heart.
But I no longer worry about Kagan. If I saw him with another, I know it would hurt tremendously, remembering what we had, what is still there beneath the surface, but if it is meant to be, it will. And if not…I will never be alone. I will make Adriel enough.
He told me I was everything. He could be that too, once this is all over. Once I can think more clearly about wants and desires and less about survival.
I should know to be on guard as I walk to campus. I know that word will get around that I have been given even more privilege and that the other students will have more reason to attack me, but I make the bad assumption that my protectors have scared them away. That they have learned their lesson.
But when I am approached by two girls and a boy I don't know well and they immediately attack me outside the gates, I know I am so wrong about it.
I don't know these three, have never directly interacted with them, but just like in all schools, rumors get around. They get exaggerated. I am sure this has something to do with either being a Graywood and having favoritism or being with Dru since so many wanted him. I have been told it is unfair of me to win over more than one good looking guy, and I still have yet to live down being the girl who dated a teacher, even though he was not a full-blown teacher, at the
time we were openly together.
I don't expect these three to be powerful, not in the way they are. Between Ursula and my training, and the blood that runs through my veins, I should be able to incapacitate them. I would typically worry more about exposing myself as a Demon Witch or killing these three than getting myself killed, but my angel powers are out of control, overwhelmed by what I did last night over and over. They surge and then ebb, either getting weaker or flying out with emotion. And Ursula cannot take on three people on her own, especially in her current form.
I send out a surge of angel fire, something I shouldn’t use so much of. It is one of the most powerful things I could use, and with my powers lacking control, I could kill myself as easily as them.
I know when the world around me closes in that I have miscalculated and overpowered my own system. And my last thought as I go down is for Ursula and what will happen to her if she loses me so soon and so easily like she did my father.
Chapter Eleven
The beeping is what alerts me immediately that I am alive and being cared for. With my eyes still closed, I assume I am at a human hospital or maybe in the infirmary of the academy. Though there is anxiety for me to know how extensive my injuries are and if they have yet figured out that my blood contains much more than just angel blood now, I feel a kind of comfort knowing that for the moment, I am safe and alive.
Those students, they shouldn’t have been able to get me to take my powers that far. All I can think is it has to do with where my emotions were after the night I had with Adriel. Though, I will never bring myself to regret that no matter what it is that comes out of it.
There was no way we would have known the outcome, nor would I have turned the chance to connect with him like that down if I had known.
I relax my heart and my body the best I can as I continue to pull myself out of the haze I am in, whether it is due to meds I was given or still from my powers overwhelming me.
When I open my eyes, though, my heart beats rapidly once more, my breath coming in jags. I blink and blink hoping this is a nightmare as I take in my surroundings.
The room I am in, it’s nice, comfortable. One of the most comfortable beds I could imagine, but all I can link this place to is horror, torture.
I have been here before, and the last time was not pleasant. I thought I would die. I thought I would never be allowed to leave. This time, I am in here for my injuries, brought here to heal, but I doubt that it’s the only reason. And I don’t know how this happened.
I can’t help but think it was staged, rigged. Those students were too strong for just ordinary witches, and I didn’t even know them. And they happened to attack me outside the gate.
No, this can’t be happening.
Then, my head turns to the corner of the room, a new reading corner set up and someone is there. Someone I should have expected to see, but fear and shock wrack me just the same.
I refuse to cry or scream, not yet, not until I get more information. I don’t want to blow everything I have tried to cover up about myself and my knowledge all this time and risk Adriel, Dru, Jake...literally everyone I care about.
He approaches me, his grey-blue eyes cold and stormy, a grin on his face that shows more amusement than kindness.
Does he know my secret already?
I study him as he circles me like a big cat toying with its prey. His hair is perfectly styled, his complexion pale and perfect. His facial hair has been perfectly sculpted and designed as if done by some of the best Hollywood stylists, and if he was not my enemy, I would find him very handsome.
I don’t know how I know now without any more proof than I had before, that Reyes is my enemy. But I just do.
But how can I prove it or retaliate locked up here once again? The Magistrate surely won’t let me leave this time, and that would also depend on who even knows I'm here. It might be Reyes alone who has my location, who controls my freedom and my life.
This man claimed to be my father’s friend and still claims to be a great voice of reason, even a savior to the world, but he is a phony. Maybe he always has been or maybe the watered down demon blood has been allowed to run rampant in him, transforming him into the worst parts of himself.
Hatred courses through me as he begins to speak. "Riley Graywood, it’s good to see you awake. We’ve all been worried about you."
I don’t believe his mention of 'we'. It feels like a bluff.
I should be strong in the face of this. I shouldn't be afraid considering I've been trained for a moment like this.
My fear, however, is consuming me. I am glad my mentors aren’t here to see me like this. Especially Adriel. I don’t think he would be proud of me in this moment as I choke on my own words, stunned at the situation being thrust upon me.
All I can see in front of me are the memories of this room, of how it was only a break, a prison, where they would drag me out and put me through unimaginable torture only to never die and never get relief.
For a second, a terrible thought crosses my mind; that I would rather die than go through something like that again.
I look around the room and wonder if there is a way I could end it all f I needed to, to keep from experiencing any of that again.
"Can you remember what happened?" Reyes presses, feigning concern.
“I was attacked. By some bullies at school. I tried to defend myself and then nothing…”
I maintain my innocence, my naivety as much as I can. I don’t know for how much longer it will save me, but just maybe it will buy me the time I need to find an escape.
"Yes, it’s so unfortunate that some with extraordinary powers have to deal with these things. Wealthy and powerful individuals like us do attract negative attention."
I narrow my eyes, not hiding the fact that I think it’s ridiculous he just compared the two of us not to mention used this moment to praise himself.
"You're here because you passed out in front of the gate to the academy. We got the call, and I agreed it was best you come to us. Upon inspection, it seemed like your powers overwhelmed you. I am guessing you tried to fight these bullies and lost control. Rest assured that you did not gravely harm them and that they are being punished accordingly. But I have taken this as a warning, that there is still a chance your angel blood could overwhelm your mortal body and kill you. After all, you are still a witch. You have not been turned entirely into an undead one like I have. And the purity of the angel blood you seem to have, well, that doesn't mix with human blood."
All he is telling me I already know. I don’t know if he is showing off or just delaying something. Maybe telling me that I never get to leave here or that they have decided to kill me and put me out of my misery.
But that would be too easy for me and a loss to them.
It’s more like I have literally become an asset they can’t let roam free getting hurt.
"It was bad of us to assume that since you have done so well with training all this time that you were past the point of being in danger. It's really a shame. It would be a great tragedy if you never got to live up to your true potential like what happened to your father."
The mention of my father like that makes my heart stop. Literally, the monitors scream at me, and there is no hiding my emotions this way. I am grateful I don’t burst out on hellfire with this rage cruising through me. Maybe they gave me something to suppress my powers for now.
But the way he’s said it, it’s almost an admission of his guilt. Or at least that there is more to my father’s death than I already know.
He’s mocking me.
My reactions could easily give me away, and I know if I ever get out of here, the war will begin immediately. There's no going back to Paranormal Hunter Academy. It wouldn’t be safe.
So, I hope my men are ready, and I hope that Jake finds a way to be safe.
Ursula too, who I mourn for, not even knowing where she could be.
"Well, I seem to be doing mostly fine now. Though, I'm sure I
need at least a night to rest and recover. When can I go back to school? As you know, I am trying to graduate early. I kind of hope what happened was a fluke, but maybe I need more private tutoring to protect me from other students acting out their jealousy on me."
I speak to his ego and to the things he wants out of me, hoping it will make him let me go.
"I do want to live up to my father's legacy. It’s very important to me."
Reyes' smile broadens into a sneer, and I don’t know if he thinks we are both playing his game now or if he believes I am that into learning all I can and joining the ranks of the hunters.
As long as he never suspects Adriel, that’s all that matters to me now.
He gets closer as if we’re buddies. "The Magistrate and I will need to talk about this. We aren’t sure if you should return at all. You do need one-on-one training, much more than we thought, and I don’t think you will get it at the academy. After all, none of your teachers are trained in specifically angelic powers and combat. Which makes sense considering there hasn’t been Aurora Witch in a long time. You might be better off staying here. Where we can watch you and take care of you. Foster you into the hunter that you want to be.”
His eyes go wide and look right at me as if he is a great king cobra trying to hypnotize me.
But there are no Jedi mind tricks here. And even if there were they wouldn't work on me.
I know the truth. I can feel in my bones now. If only I could just prove it.
“If that’s the case, then I would like to be able to see or at least call and talk to my family. I know that my uncle, despite how strong he seems, does worry about me. After all, he did lose my mother so long ago. I think that’s why my cousin Vivi never even tried to come to the academy. They were both too scared.”
"It's a fair request. I will make sure they are informed. For now, I know you shouldn’t have any visitors. I am afraid something might happen and you could easily relapse. We need to monitor you for a few more days, and you need to rest. If you need a little help, we have some of the best concoctions available. My nurse will help you out.”
Demon Witch (Paranormal Hunter Academy Book 3) Page 8
