Now, things are right once more. My people are the angels they were always meant to be.
Everyone stared down at themselves in wonder. And she wondered if they too felt as if the world was finally the way it should be.
Her gaze swept over them. In one corner, to her surprise, one of Caine’s angels remained. The blonde who had rescued her, only to betray her.
Sharen watched as fire leapt onto her wings, burning spots as she cried out.
When the woman looked up, her gaze met Sharen’s, and then she turned and ran. Disappearing into the woods.
She’s been given time to prove herself still.
She looked out at her people. They had gathered together, and they looked both amazed and confused.
She smiled, wishing she had all her memories. Wishing she knew more than that her magic wanted to make things right.
And then, she caught a movement in the woods. Kade came limping out. His body a broken, bleeding mess, a blade clenched in his hand.
She smiled and ran to him.
Everything was right once more. Everything was being put back into place.
She reached him, gently pushing herself into his arms. He held her for a moment, and she pulled back.
“You’ve missed everything, but I’m so glad.”
His blade dove into her stomach. Her eyes widened. He pulled it out again, and stabbed over and over. She fell back, the sword still buried inside her. Her golden magic faded. Her warmth faded.
A numbness swept over her.
“Shapeshifter,” she whispered.
Kade’s mouth curled into a smile.
And then, Alec severed his head from his body.
Before the shapeshifter’s body even hit the ground, Alec and Ryder knelt over her. Their black wings spread behind them.
“Sharen!” Alec exclamined. “Sharen, it’s okay. You’re not human. This won’t kill you. You’ll be fine.”
And yet, she knew she wouldn’t be. She’d used her power. Her magic was tired. Gone. She no longer felt the strength of being something else... she was merely, mortal. And this wound would kill her.
“Sharen!”
She turned her head.
Kade was crawling towards her. Black wings on his back. He kept trying to rise, but couldn’t.
It seemed to take an eternity to reach her. And then, he was there, tears streaming down his face. “I tried to beat him here. Damn it, I tried.”
Her husbands gathered above her. She looked at each of their handsome faces. Her heart swelling with love.
I have them back. Safe. Now everything is right with my world.
Coughing, she felt the blood that rolled from her mouth.
Ryder wiped it away, his tear filled eyes above her.
She felt Alec trying to stop her bleeding. She heard someone shouting for help.
Reaching up with hands covered in blood, she touched each of their faces. “It’s okay. You lived. I put things right. That’s all I needed.”
Darkness filled her vision. She was falling, somewhere cold. Somewhere she’d never been before.
And she knew, that was the end of her life.
Chapter Twenty-One
Kade had done everything he could to reach Sharen before the shapeshifter. But it hadn’t been enough. He’d run until he couldn’t run anymore. He’d walked until he could only crawl. And then he crawled without stopping.
Just on the edges of the forest he’d felt her magic sweep over him and felt confused when the wings had sprouted on his back. But still, he hadn’t slowed. He needed to warn Sharen.
But even after everything, I was too late.
He and his brothers held their wife, their tiny human wife. She didn't breathe. She didn't have a heartbeat.
The others said she was dead.
They wouldn’t hear them. There was no way that the woman they loved with every ounce of their hearts could no longer be alive.
It was impossible.
And so, they held her, not caring as the day faded to evening. They held her.
The others moved about them, but Kade couldn’t see anything except her face. Her pale, expressionless face.
Her blood cooled. Her body was like ice. And yet, they couldn’t let her go.
“What—what now?” Ryder whispered, breaking their shocked silence.
After several moments of silence, Alec answered. “She wasn’t human. I don’t know if she was part angel or demon, or witch... I don’t know. And without Caine to pass judgment on souls, I don’t know where she’ll go either.”
“But we’ll get her back.” Ryder said, the words filled with certainty.
And they would. If they had to pluck her from the heavens, or from the pits of the demon-realm, they would save her. They wouldn’t stop searching until she was with them again.
A strange feeling overtook Kade.
He stiffened. Looking up. His brothers had the same look. It was if a jingling was filling their ears. A calling.
The demons... who now wore angel wings, stopped in their tasks.
“We need to go,” someone said.
And then, everyone began to flap their wings.
He had the urge too. The overwhelming urge to go. To follow the call.
Looking to his brothers, he asked the question without words.
“Let’s go,” Alec whispered.
Kade gathered Sharen in his arms. And although his body ached, it was nothing in comparison to his soul or his heart.
They lifted into the air, dozens of dark-winged angels. They flew toward the horizon, and then like an instinct, they teleported. In a new place, far from where they started, they rushed forward and passed through a magical barrier that shimmered like Sharen’s golden magic. They traveled down toward the earth until they hovered just above a small temple hidden in an ancient woods.
“Where are we? And why did we come here?” Ryder asked.
They settled upon the ground around it, and the instant Kade’s feet touched the ground the building began to glow. A golden light, so like Sharen’s magic, spread out covering the building, the ground, and running over the angels. When it reached Sharen, the magic shuddered.
And then, her eyes opened.
Kade gasped and watched as the golden light streamed into her wounds, through her eyes, her mouth, her ears, and her nose. And then, in shock, he watched her take a breath.
The light vanished.
And they all stood staring at Sharen.
She blinked. She reached forward and touched where her wounds were no longer visible.
“This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen,” she said.
Kade choked back tears. “How what’s supposed to happen?”
She frowned. “I should have been reborn in another body.”
“Reborn?” he repeated, confused.
She looked up at him, holding his gaze. “I don’t know everything, but I know this. I’m one of the Immortals. The Goddess of Hope... and this was not what was supposed to happen.”
For some reason, he laughed and gathered her to him. “I don’t care how it was supposed to happen, just that you’re alive!”
Alec and Ryder were there in an instant, and they held her between them. There was a lot of kissing and touching and more laughter. It was as if every step they’d taken since meeting Sharen had been meant to lead to this.
When at last she insisted they put her on the ground, she stared at the temple, frowning. “It’s like my dream... but why are we here?”
The others looked at her.
Elle spoke, cradling her angel baby in her arms. “We thought you might know.”
After a second, Sharen’s mouth curled into a smile. “It’s because things are not ready for us yet. I can’t take my place as a judge of mankind yet, for some reason. And you guys can’t join the angels because they’re still corrupt. This is a place we will be safe, for a time, until it’s ready for us.”
Kade expected the others to have questions. To have fear
s, but instead, they started to walk into the temple like her answer made all the sense in the world.
He frowned. They were just supposed to accept this?
He squeezed his fist and felt his dark wings curl around him. And then, it struck him. None of this felt strange.
“We were always supposed to be angels?”
Sharen smiled beside him. “Caine has screwed the whole system up, but yes, none of you were meant to be demons. Things won’t change overnight, but this is the first step toward setting the world right.”
Kade shook his head, feeling a wave of exhaustion come over him. “If Caine’s dead, why can’t we just put things right?”
Her smile faded. “I don’t know. I have pieces of my memories... but not enough. I just know the world isn’t safe yet.”
He nodded. I guess that has to be enough for now.
They moved into the temple and were met by druids who welcomed them with confused, but open arms. The temple ran deep underground and had been created as a safe place for immortals in trouble.
It was strange. Kade had more questions than answers, but he also felt safe for the first time in longer than he could remember.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sharen stood at the very top of the temple, staring out at the sea of forest. She knew in her heart that she and her people would not be safe here forever. This was only a temporary resting place. But there was nothing more she could do now. Being one of the Immortals meant that she could no longer fight.
The idea pained her more than she would ever tell the others.
If Caine had succeeded in gaining her powers, he could have stolen hope from the world. And such a thing would have made it impossible to ever destroy him. She had been reckless not to go into hiding as Marval has warned her. Even though if she could turn back time she’d do it all over again.
But this time things were different. Her demons were with her. Her people were with her. And they were all safe, for now.
She could no longer fight this battle the way she had been doing. She had to wait and be patient. One day it would be her time to battle again.
Because that was the other thing. The thing she told no one.
Caine wasn’t dead.
“Sharen?” she spun to find that Kade had walked the steps to her little tower. “Are you coming to bed?”
She smiled and moved to him, taking his hand. They moved down the many stairs until they reached their room. Throwing open her door, she smiled again at the lovely room filled with everything she could need, a massive bed, and her three demons.
Or were they simply her angels now?
They’d discovered they could hide their wings with glamour, but at the moment, their black wings were spread wide. And the combination of big, half-naked men with dark wings was strangely... sexy.
Alec and Ryder looked up at her as she approached. Then, they closed their wings tightly to their backs. And within seconds, their wings had disappeared.
She smirked. “How does it feel to be angels?”
Alec scowled. “We’re not angels. Angels are winged bats. We’re demons with wings.”
“Demons with wings?” She couldn’t contain her laughter.
“Yes!” he exclaimed, yanking down his boxers to fall around his ankles. “Demons with wings and big cocks.”
She threw back her head and laughed.
He was on her in an instance. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to laugh at a man when he says he has a big cock?”
That just made her laugh harder.
Suddenly, she was swept up and tossed on the bed.
“Apparently our wife needs to be taught some manners,” Alec said.
Kade grinned and tugged his own boxers down. “I’m all for it.”
Ryder stripped and leapt onto the bed next to her. “How is it that we always say we’re teaching her a lesson, and then she ends up owning our asses?”
Sharen laughed, curling her hand around his erection. “Because we all know who’s really in charge.
She knew what would come next. And for the first time since her marriage to the demons, there was nothing else they had to do. There was nothing else to focus on. Tonight, she’d make love to her husbands, and the next day, and the next day. There would be no more hunting or fighting or running.
They would just have... peace.
For now.
And that was enough for her.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Caine punched the stone floor of his throne room. He was damned weak. He’d died and been born again, which meant he had to gain strength over his powers once more. Dragging himself across the room, he sunk into his throne.
The moment he’d arrived in the throne room, he’d commanded his angels not to interrupt him, and he would not allow himself to be seen by them until he was strong.
A great deal of his forces had been destroyed in the battle, sent into the demon-realm and out of his grasp forever. He would need more angels. More warriors.
Because even though he no longer sensed Sharen’s magic and she was no longer under his thumb, there were nine more Immortals.
As he closed his eyes, he sensed them. His angels worked tirelessly to break them down. This would be their last lives, he’d decided. Since discovering the secret of how to take their powers, he was determined to have what he desired most in this world.
Yes, it would take time. And yes, killing them was far easier.
But he grew tired of simply torturing them. Of watching them being reborn over and over again. Because that was the thing with the Immortals, they could die, and they couldn’t be judges.
Yet now that he knew how to take their powers from them, he could finally kill them for good. And what was more? Once he absorbed their powers, he would be unstoppable.
Sighing, he looked to his throne room. It was crowded with the tiny glowing wisps that represented souls. Far too many had come to gather since his death, without him there sending them away with his judgment.
Annoyed, he sent all but the most defined of the wisps screaming into the demon-realm. He didn’t care if they were good or bad. He just didn’t want to stare at them any longer.
When those were cleared away, a dozen remained. The wisps that still took human form were more powerful. He would look at these more carefully and determine which would make good, obedient soldiers to join his forces, and which were too dangerous to become angels.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of one and stood up.
It was his son, the shapeshifter.
Fury overtook him. His son had one job at the battle. To kill the demon called Kade in front of her. To make her feel hopeless so that Caine could take her powers.
Instead, he’d watched his father die. And even knowing that his spirit still remained, waiting for an opportunity to use Sharen’s powers to take shape once more and become even more powerful, his son hadn’t destroyed her hope. Instead, his traitorous son had killed the woman herself.
Because he believed it would destroy his father.
My son wanted me dead. And now, he’ll pay.
Calling the shape to him, his son’s eyes widened as they focused onto his father.
“You thought I was destroyed forever.”
“No,” the shapeshifter lied, crumbling to his translucent knees.
“Yes,” he hissed.
“It was simply a mistake.” His son’s voice was filled with fear.
He knows his fate, and yet he can do nothing to stop it.
“You killed her, thinking you were sealing my fate.” He smiled. “How could you know you were sealing your own?”
“Father, please, I beg of—“
With a flick of his wrist, he sent his son’s soul to the black pit on one side of the room, something he rarely used. The place where souls deemed too dangerous to continue living were thrown into... to be destroyed and never reborn again. The Soul Destroyer.
His son’s soul screamed and screamed, the sound ec
hoing in the room as every tiny piece of his soul was torn and burned until nothing remained.
And then, his throne room was blissfully silent once more.
Caine pressed his fingers together and rested his forehead on his hands. Now back to what matters.
I have to destroy the rest of the Immortals and ensure I’ll rule for eternity.
He smiled. Already he could sense the Immortals suffering.
This will be too easy.
But first, to deal with the traitorous angel.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Surcy smiled as she ate the last bite of her doughnut. “Oh God, why does sugar have to be so good?”
Daniel looked up from the couch, setting the book down in his lap. “If you’re going to keep moaning like that, I’m going to have to do something about it.”
She leaned back on the barstool beside their counter and raised a brow. “I could use a little activity to work off all these calories.”
He tossed the book, jumped over the couch, but caught his leg and hit the floor.
She laughed, and once she started, she couldn’t stop. Mr. Serious. Mr. Arrogant. Was a pile on the floor! His dark eyes locked on her, while he pushed some of his blond hair out of his eyes.
“That was not funny.”
Triston snickered from his chair across the room. “It was... quite comical.”
That only made her laugh harder. Triston never laughed!
Mark shook his head and set his book down in his lap. “We’re never going to find the Immortals if we keep stopping for food and,” he blushed, “sex.”
Daniel grumbled as he got off the floor. “No one said you have to stop for sex, but I’m getting tired of all this studying.”
She opened her mouth to answer him when the vibrating began in her chest. Stiffening, she touched the spot above her heart. It grew hotter and hotter, almost painfully so, with each second that passed.
“Surcy?” Mark said, concern in his voice.
Triston was across the room and at her side in an instant. “What is it?”
It’s time. That’s what.
She looked up into his beautiful mismatched eyes. Remembering a time when she saw nothing in his gaze. No emotion. No love. Nothing. He was like a man made from stone. But now, when he looked at her, she saw everything... his very soul.
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