by Zoey Ellis
“You could sell this, you know,” Thea said, her mouth full of the Black Forest cake. “It’s delicious. Don’t tell me this is the first time you’ve made it.”
Amber laughed. “No, I’m trying to perfect it.”
“It’s perfect, Ambs.”
Amber laughed. “It’s Dad’s favorite.”
“Yeah, I get my sweet tooth from him,” Thea said, nodding.
Amber finished the muffin she’d started. “Do you think you might ever move him back to his house?”
Thea lifted her shoulders. “I don’t know, what do you think? I wanted him somewhere he would be looked after when his memory was worse. And I was going away so it seemed ideal.”
“He doesn’t really like it there,” Amber said. “He feels like he’s old.”
Thea nodded. Now his memories were better, he may be well enough to manage on his own again. “I’ll speak to the nurses and find out what they think.” What she really meant was, she would speak to Dani and find out what she thought. “But if you think it’s best, you can arrange to move him back. Your name is down as his family too, I put it on before I went traveling.”
Amber beamed and Thea took another bite of the delicious cake.
That evening, they ended up on the couch, half-drunk on wine again and giggling at every little thing on the TV. Thea had always missed Amber while she was in the Angel Realm but didn’t realize how much until that moment. Their lives had always been hard and the moment things began to get easier, Thea had left. So they never really got to enjoy it together. Thea found herself laughing and enjoying herself for the first time since Cam started that assignment and she took advantage of it, relishing in the familiar comfort of being around Amber. By the end of the night, they had gone through two bottles of wine and fallen into a slumber on the coach. When Thea woke, she realized she had to go. She prodded Amber awake to tell her before heading to the kitchen, the ache of a coming hangover thudding in her head.
“Are you sure you want to leave now?” Amber asked, her voice still slurring. “It’s like, one o’clock in the morning.”
“Yeah, I’ve got a flight to catch,” Thea said, before gulping down a glass of water. She didn’t want Cam to get back to the Angel Realm before she did. Knowing she’d put herself at risk would certainly send him over any edge he was on.
“Have you spoken to Cam yet?”
Thea tried to make sense of the question. How could she have—oh right. Cell phones, text messaging, emails… all the things that meant nothing in the Angel Realm.
“Not properly,” she responded. “But I will.”
“Good,” Amber said. “He sounds great, I hope it works out, Thee.”
“Me too.”
“And I’m glad it’s not your trust issues getting in the way, this time.”
Thea pulled a face. “It did at the beginning,” she admitted. “But he understood.”
Amber staggered off the couch and started clearing away their glasses. “So, will you forgive Dad?”
Thea tilted her head to one side. “For what?”
“For giving you those trust issues. You know, neglecting you all those years.” Amber poured herself a glass of water and gulped it down, while Thea just stared at her.
Clearly, the alcohol made Amber say something she wouldn’t have normally said, because she had never mentioned that before. Dad’s neglect caused her trust issues? Thea wanted to snort at the idea of it, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
She shrugged and smiled. “He’s not who he was, Amber. So yeah, I forgive him.”
Amber grinned. “I’m glad.”
Thea prepared to go and Amber gave her a picture of herself and Maddy to take with her.
“Where exactly is it that you’re going back to?” Amber said, watching Thea put on her shoes.
Thea tried to think quickly, but the alcohol wasn’t helping. She realized she hadn’t drunk any in ages. “We keep moving around,” she said. “Mostly Europe, Africa and Asia.”
“Well, that’s very vague,” Amber commented, annoyance creeping into her tone.
Within a few minutes, they were standing in the doorway, looking at each other. Amber already had tears in her eyes but she asked firmly, “Will you stay in touch?”
“Yes,” Thea said. “I will, I promise. Kiss Maddy for me.”
“I will,” Amber said. “But she told me to tell you not to be a shitty Aunt and visit her once in a while.”
Thea grinned. “Tell her I will.”
They hugged and Thea left knowing she had to make sure she kept in touch with Amber more often no matter what was going on. Thea needed Amber in her life more than she realized.
The fresh air sobered her up somewhat and she breathed deep, enjoying the air of the city. As she flew back to the portal, her heart was heavier than when she had entered the human world, but she had more clarity now. Thea didn’t necessarily feel better about Cam, but she took what Amber said into consideration. She would try to wait to talk to him properly before forcing anything on them that would be irreversible.
As Thea approached the portal she became aware of something in the alley near the old bank building. Through her shimmer, she sensed a number of demons nearby. She could tell it was demons—their energy felt… disgusting. Sharp and rough, slimy and gritty. She tensed, wondering if she could get to the portal without being seen. And then something else bloomed into her awareness; the presence of an angel. Or it could be a Nephilim. The energy felt odd—jittery, jumpy, flickery. She hadn’t felt a Nephilim before, but it was certainly angelic energy she was feeling. The idea of one Nephilim dealing with so many demons made her clench her teeth. What if the angel was in trouble?
She created a shield to block her energy and angled toward the feel of them, deciding to check that the Nephilim was okay. She landed on the other side of the bank and crept round toward the alley, careful not to make any sound that might distract the Nephilim. She pressed herself up against the wall as she listened to see if the Nephilim was in trouble. Grunts, rips, splats and rasps seemed to bounce off the brick walls and down into the alley toward her.
She created two energy balls before stepping around the corner. A rush of coldness enveloped her and the energy balls disappeared.
Cam was crushing the head of a demon with his bare hands. Blood, sinew and bone oozed out from between his fingers and he kept pressing into it as he spun and kicked out at the other demons that surrounded him. They weren’t like any demons Thea had seen before; they looked like large, hulking, muscled men and moved smooth and sleekly, like Cam, but had long spiked tails that slashed at him. There were at least four of them and two were in pieces in bloody masses on the ground. Cam pulled away chunks of the mushed demon head and threw it at the attacking demons as the body collapsed. Then he pulled out his blades and attacked them.
In some ways it was a fascinating fight. The demons were just as fast and nimble as Cam, though he moved with a strength that made every blow slam through the demons, and every one of his aims hit its mark. It was shockingly ferocious and barbaric. Cam was brutal—unnecessarily so. He destroyed the demons, tearing them apart with his blade. He gutted one, sticking the blade at the bottom of the demon’s belly and dragging it upward, cutting him nearly in half. Disgust churned in Thea’s gut as the demon’s innards spilled out of its body.
She swore she heard Cam laugh as he stabbed the next demon through the eye, twisting the blade and pulling it out of its socket. Thea watched in horror as he began to hack at the demon’s skull with his blade, splitting the demon’s head in two. The remaining demons sliced at him with their own blades and tails, but Cam didn’t seem to feel it. Where was his shield? She couldn’t recall ever seeing him fight like this before. Was this how he fought when he was in his rage?
As Cam gripped the head of the last remaining demon, muttering something to him as he hacked out his throat, Thea stepped toward him, her mind racing, her body numb.
“Ca
m—”
Cam jerked and looked over his shoulder at her as he buried the blade into the demon’s skull. Turning toward her, he lifted his blade back out and threw it at her. She turned to the side, but was too slow. A sharp flash of pain burst along her collarbone as the knife passed. Cam was coming toward her as the demon behind him fell to the ground, but… his eyes were dark, so dark. All Thea could see was a savage, cold, anger.
Thea backed away as his hand tightened on his other knife; he was still coming toward her. For the first time, fear gripped her. He didn’t recognize her. He had looked her in the face and threw his blade at her.
“Cam,” she said again, trying to remain calm. “It’s Thea, Cam. It’s Elithea.”
He faltered a little in his step, but kept coming.
“Cam. Stop. Calm down.” She was suddenly breathless and a little dizzy. Her chest, just below her left shoulder, seemed to glow with a warm, wet pain and when she looked down, a red wetness was spreading down her top.
She looked back at Cam. He stood still now, confusion seeming to filter into his trance.
“Cam,” she tried to say, but her mouth wouldn’t work.
He took a step toward her and she cowered away from him and lost her balance, falling to the ground. Her head spun and nausea overwhelmed her. Cam stepped forward again, but she couldn’t focus on his eyes to see if the darkness was still there. He was saying something, but she was suddenly so weak. She tried to shift, but she couldn’t. And then her body wouldn’t follow any of her instructions and she fell into a slippery darkness.
Chapter Twenty-One
CAM
Cam sliced through the air to the nearest portal cradling Thea in his arms. So many thoughts and emotions jumbled within him but only two burst through him hard enough for him to focus on; fear and guilt. He had attacked his own mate. He hadn’t even recognized her until her wound had begun to affect her and he had no idea for a moment why she was even injured. It was only when she cowered away from him that he realized what he’d done. She had been scared—of him. He squeezed her tighter, as guilt ripped him raw of almost all other emotion.
When he arrived at the portal, he hurtled through it without slowing down. He couldn’t lose her. Not Thea. He would rather die than continue living without her, especially with the knowledge that he had caused her death. He shot across the Angel Ream registering that it was still daytime.
He flew to Zak’s office where he pounded on the door, desperately yelling for him while balancing Thea in his arms. When Zak didn’t answer. Cam looked around in a panic, wondering where he could be. Zak was always at his office during the day.
He took to the air again and checked the Dominion League building, the Stream and finally landed, roughly, at Zak’s quarters. No answer. He roared into the air in frustration. Every second he wasted, Thea was slipping away. He thought again, what else would Zak be doing if not working or at home.
He flew up again and headed to Asteroth’s training center. Hovering over the gap in the cavernous hall, he saw Zak talking in the middle of space next to Asteroth, a number of training angels around him.
Without hesitating, Cam lowered through the hole and dropped into the middle of the room, letting off a blast of angelic energy that swept the other training angels away from the center of the room. They all flew back, dropping and sliding until they hit the walls except for Zak and Asteroth, who he landed between. They stared at him in shock.
“I need you to help her,” Cam said, laying Thea on the ground. He stood back up and looked at Zak, who seemed to be frozen.
“She needs help!” he boomed, as a frantic, desperate rage rose up inside him. He had already wasted enough time.
“What happened, Cam,” Asteroth said, his voice soft.
“Demon blood. She’s been cut with a blade that had demon’s blood on it. She collapsed almost immediately.” Cam said. He turned to Zak, gesturing to his scarred shoulder, to the scar he knew had been created the same way. “Zak, please. You’re the only one I know that has rejected demon blood successfully—the only one who knows how. Please. You need to do what you can. Now! Too much time as already passed.”
Asteroth and Zak moved instantly. Zak took off his robes and knelt down to Thea while Asteroth gathered the training angels. Cam watched Thea carefully as Zak tore her top to expose her chest and shoulder and used angelic energy to clean the wound. It was a long cut along her left collarbone.
Zak’s began to glow a pale blue, something Cam had never seen before. He had to squint his eyes against the radiance of it. Zak’s hands glowed bright, almost brighter than any light Cam had ever seen. He pressed down on Thea’s shoulder and all of her veins illuminated beneath her skin, as a dark purple glow filtered into the network of muscle, sinew, and veins in her shoulder.
They stayed like that for a long while. Cam blinked to ease the glow on his eyes and began to pace restlessly around them as Zak worked on Thea. Cam had no idea what he was doing to her or how he was doing it but he prayed that she would be okay.
When he glanced up, he realized that the training hall was empty. He had no idea when the training angels left, but Asteroth stood by watching Zak with him. At least another hour passed as they watched. Cam paced and clenched his fists. He cursed himself, running over the memory of her cowering from him, but there was nothing he could actually do.
“Camael,” Asteroth said, as Cam circled Thea and Zak again. “Try to calm down. Panicking is not helping her, and it’s only going to make you more worried.”
“How can I calm down?” Cam growled, forcing himself not yell and disturb Zak. “We don’t know how deeply she’ll be affected by the blood. She’s only a half-angel, and it was too long before I found Zak.”
“I know,” Asteroth said, as he looked down at her. He looked worried too, which was interesting. How much had he grown to care for Thea over the course of their training? That was the kind of person she was—her fierceness was a draw for people like Asteroth, who admired boldness in his trainees. “But she is stronger than most. And based on how far the healing energy is going, I don’t think the cut was very deep,” Asteroth said.
“It doesn’t need to be deep for the blood to corrupt her heart,” Cam said, his voice almost choked. He looked at Thea again and saw that her veins had faded a little bit, that they were glowing a midnight blue instead of a dark violet. Cam hoped that meant something was working. Zak was completely focused, his face intense, as he concentrated on Thea. “She could die from the strain. Or worse.”
Asteroth put his hand on Cam’s shoulder and squeezed it, a rare gesture of comfort from a Dominion League angel. Cam appreciated it, but it didn’t make him feel better. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Thea. Her skin had paled. Her mouth was open, her lids slightly parted to reveal the whites of her eyes. The sight of it made Cam’s stomach roll with worry and fear. Just the thought of losing her and never getting her back sent shivers of helpless through him. If that happened who could he blame this time? No demon had attacked her like they had Karaya. Only he attacked. He could only blame himself.
Zak spent hours knelt over Thea, whose veins faded more and more as each hour passed. Cam sat with them, holding her limp hand, stroking her skin with his thumb as he had many times before; times when she’d smiled and kissed him, times when they lay in bed talking after making love. He desperately held onto the hope that she would be okay.
The glow of her veins faded when the night sky could be seen through the gap in the ceiling. Zak fixed her shirt, pulling it across her to cover her body, then he stood, and stumbled. Cam observed him, slightly shocked. Zak looked as if he had aged ten centuries in the process of treating Thea. He got up. “Zak?”
“I caught and neutralized all the demon blood,” Zak said wearily. He looked like he was going to collapse any minute, like he was so exhausted that he could barely stand. Cam went to him and steadied him with his arm until he strengthened.
“She’s out of the worst of it,” Zak sa
id.
“So she’s going to be okay?” Cam asked. He knelt down over Thea and touched her cheek. Her skin felt warm but she didn’t feel feverish or clammy and her breathing had steadied.
“I think so,” said Zak. “She needs rest and a healer.”
“I’ll get a bed prepared for her at the healing temple,” said Asteroth, before marching away.
A surge of relief passed through Cam and he sighed so heavily it seemed to lift the weighty pressure of fear from his chest. “Thank you, Zakiel,” Cam said. “I cannot thank you enough. You saved her life.”
Zak eyed him. “What happened?”
Cam opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words.
“There was angel energy in that wound too, Cam,” Zak said. “The kind that makes the holy blades.”
“So you already know,” Cam snapped, unable to handle his guilt.
Zak grabbed Cam’s collar and yanked him up from the ground. “You attacked her? You attacked your own mate?”
“I didn’t mean to,” Cam said, not resisting Zak’s grip. He deserved it. “I didn’t recognize her.”
“So you saw her, then. You saw her and you didn’t recognize her?” The disbelief in Zak’s voice was almost too much to bear. Cam just kept his eyes on the ground and said nothing.
Zak let go of him with a grunt of disgust. He walked around Thea, shaking his head. “You know, when she said she was worried about you, that she thought you were going too far, I thought it would be fine once you were off the assignment. I thought maybe she was just unused to seeing you when you’re focused and dedicated on a Legion assignment. I was so fucking wrong. This thing you have is much worse than I thought. Much worse than last time.”
