by Zoe Winters
He reached out for her. His hand glowed as he pressed it against the center of her chest and she felt the burn of final destruction begin.
Angeline sat up, nearly hyperventilating, her eyes darting around the room. But Rodolfo wasn’t there. She’d fallen asleep for just a moment. The clock on the nightstand read nine o’clock. She shielded her eyes from the morning light streaming in the window and went to check that the balcony door was locked. Maybe she should go for a short flight, but after the realness of Rodolfo’s glowing hand burning through her to disintegrate her soul, she didn’t want to be out and about.
She slipped into Hadrian’s room and shut and locked the door behind her—as if that lock would stop anyone from entering—particularly an angel anyone.
Hadrian looked dead. He’d gotten his shirt and shoes off before collapsing, but then the sunrise had taken him. Angeline climbed into the bed. She’d wake before sunset and go back to her room before he knew she’d been there.
***
Hadrian woke to the most lovely smell. Dinner, delivered in bed. At some point in the day his dark angel had moved to his room. Her head rested on his chest, one arm and one leg thrown over him. He raised her arm to his mouth, and his fangs elongated.
She jerked and let out a whimper, still not fully awake, as he bit into her flesh. He didn’t care what she said, the taste had not diminished by any noticeable margin. There was less power in it, yes. Her guardian blood still made him feel stronger than human blood by a large degree, even more than therian or witch blood. But the taste was still the best he’d ever had.
He didn’t want to entertain whether it was because it was guardian blood or because it was Angeline’s blood.
She stirred as he took deeper pulls of her blood. Her heart rate climbed as her breathing grew ragged and panicked. He withdrew his fangs and ran his tongue over her wrist.
“What’s wrong little angel?”
She tried to scramble off of him, but he pulled her back and covered them both with the blankets. Hadrian’s mouth found the hollow of her throat, and instead of biting, this time he kissed her.
Angeline went still as he moved from her throat to her lips.
“Are you okay with this?” he murmured against her skin.
She began to cry and pushed him away.
He sighed. “I’ll take that as a no.”
“No, I mean yes. I’m okay.”
He arched a skeptical brow as she fought to wrap a sheet around herself. He’d never get over this strange modesty, particularly after his first impression of her so many years ago. It was especially strange given the number of times he’d seen her naked in the past few days. One would think she wouldn’t be so shy. But he suspected it had to do with shame and nonsense they’d drilled into her head as an angel. She’d conflated it all into one big ball of angst and guilt.
“If you’re so okay, why are you crying?”
She gripped the blanket tighter around her form and looked away. “I didn’t care if you were okay with it. I just threw you down on that altar and desecrated your church.”
This clearly wasn’t happening right now. It would be too awkward. He wasn’t sure he could do sex and self-loathing mixed in one big pot. He’d done that one before, and it hadn’t been overly appealing that time, either. She’d turned her back to him, and he came up behind her and placed a kiss on her neck.
“Wherever I sleep for the day, that’s where you sleep. Just like today. If you’re going to be my guardian angel, I need you to be where you can guard me.” Suave, Hadrian.
“I’m not an angel.”
He pressed a kiss against her shoulder. “Of course you are. Go feed or eat or absorb or whatever you call it. I’m grabbing a shower before we head to Anthony’s for the meeting.”
***
When the bathroom door closed behind him, Angeline dropped the sheet and went out onto the balcony. The Moon wasn’t as bright and strong as the night before, but when she closed her eyes and pushed her wings out of her back, she was still able to absorb the power from it. She soaked it up until she was satiated.
She tried not to think about Hadrian naked in the shower. That body. A shiver trailed down her spine just underneath her wings. She remembered that body—the taut muscles of his stomach underneath her hand. She still remembered the way he felt inside her, even as she tried to push that thought away.
She couldn’t allow the word to form in her mind, what she’d done. Yes, he’d wanted her even without thrall. Thrall had only been needed to get him to break his vow of chastity. But somehow that made it worse.
How could he want her after that? Maybe it was because of feeding and finding her naked in his bed. Or maybe he was just using her. If that was his plan, she couldn’t bring herself to blame him. He was still hard to read. He had so much anger—always swirling around him like a thick, black smoke she feared she could get lost inside.
But just because he felt anger, didn’t mean it was about her. It could be about any number of things. And yet, that emotion had been constant, humming under the surface ever since she’d confronted him to warn him in his church.
In ordinary circumstances, she’d never trust someone with that much anger. Anger was a volatile emotion, hard to control. But Hadrian had enough control that she felt safe with him, whatever demons he might be fighting in his mind. He never broke his own code.
She jumped when hands spanned her waist and pulled her back to him. Her wings kept him from pressing all the way against her. She was afraid to know if he wore a towel or if he was just all Hadrian behind her.
“If you want a shower, you’ve got ten minutes,” he said. “Then we have to go.”
She scurried past him and locked herself in the bathroom to get ready.
Chapter Ten
Hadrian felt Angeline’s nervous energy as he took her up the stairs to the rooftop of Anthony’s penthouse.
“You’re late,” Anthony said. “Again.” He already had out the overhead projector. It was a mystery why he used that ancient thing when there was so much better technology available for meetings. But then, most vampires had trouble keeping up with or appreciating technology. They were a bunch of cranky Luddites, except those who’d been more recently turned. Even Hadrian found himself resistant to the newest technology these days.
Hadrian kept Angeline behind him. “I brought the angel you requested.” He felt her racing pulse.
He turned to find her face as anxious as her heartbeat, betrayal shining out of her eyes. With the guilt she carried, perhaps she thought he’d led her up here for payback, some punishment for the massive list of her sins. But he’d gone soft and protective where she was concerned.
He touched the side of her face. “Everything is okay.”
“Angeline? Is that you?” Anthony said. “I thought surely you couldn’t be my Angeline.”
“Excuse me? Your Angeline?” Charlee said.
“It’s just an expression, Charlotte,” he said to placate his mate.
Angeline gripped Hadrian’s arm like he was her lifeline.
“I haven’t seen you in… what is it now… two centuries? Perhaps longer?” the vampire king continued. “I was surprised when Linus let you go.”
“H-he didn’t let me go. I ran.”
Anthony chuckled. “No, he let you go. No one gets away from Linus. Or no one got away from him before I separated his head from his body. I guess after he grew his menagerie of broken things, you no longer held his interest. No longer exotic enough.” He turned to Hadrian, “Why did you bring her here?”
“You said you wanted protection for your family from the angel who’d been protecting me.”
Anthony left the podium at the head of the table and approached them, still staring at Angeline as if not believing it was her. Those two had to have history. From the way she clung to Hadrian, it wasn’t good history.
“Angeline is no angel,” the vampire king said. “While I’m sure it’s a fascinating story how a va
mpire ever got elevated to begin with, she’s just a guardian now, no better than any of the other guardians I already have on the payroll. She’s of no use to me. Neither of you are.”
Anthony pulled a sharpened stake from his coat pocket, but Angeline was too fast. She pushed him back, and her dark wings came out, wrapping around the two of them. The stake bounced off the protective barrier and clattered onto the concrete.
Cain had left the table by this point and picked up the stake.
“That’s mine,” Anthony said.
“You can have it back after class, if you behave,” Cain replied.
“I shouldn’t even allow you at these meetings,” the vampire king said.
“We have more important things to worry about right now than this grudge you’re holding against Father Hadrian. If I can let it go, you can let it go. And you will let it go for the sake of everyone here and all of our people.”
Hadrian felt the shield go down as Cain took Angeline’s hand and helped her up. Hadrian stood and brushed himself off.
Anthony made a face. “It’s sad that you need a woman to protect you.”
“She’s my guardian. That’s her job,” Hadrian said.
“Will someone get Angeline a chair?” Cain said, ignoring Anthony.
“She can have mine,” Charlee said, standing up with Sydney and heading to the door.
“Charlotte…” Anthony said.
She held up a hand. “You’re being an asshole, and the baby’s fussy. Neither one of us is in the mood for it right now. I need to feed her.” She turned back to Hadrian. “If you and your guardian would like to stay at the penthouse until you find a new place…”
“Why would he need a new place?” Anthony asked, horrified by the suggestion.
Charlee rolled her eyes. “He stays in churches. Guardians can’t get inside churches. Keep up, dear.”
Anthony followed her to the door and they exchanged whispers so quiet, even a preternatural couldn’t pick it up. After a few minutes back and forth, her face softened and the two of them shared a kiss. He kissed his daughter on the cheek, and Charlee took the baby inside. The wolf pup followed after them.
“Hurry back,” Anthony said to her retreating form.
“Father Hadrian? We’ve got chairs,” Cain said.
Attention had shifted from Anthony and Charlee to Hadrian. Angeline sat next to Tam who, to Hadrian’s relief, was making her feel welcome.
“It’s just Hadrian now, no Father,” Hadrian said.
Something flitted across Cain’s face, but he didn’t comment.
“The penthouse is not on offer,” Anthony said, making his way back to the table and smoothing his clothing out.
“That’s fine,” Hadrian said. “I wouldn’t stay in a place you had easy access to if the only other option was lying in an open field until the sun came up.”
Anthony growled.
“Children,” Cain said. “Enough. I’m done. Hadrian and his guardian can stay in my dimension, but only until we get through the worst of this. Then you’ll need to find another place.”
“I appreciate it, you don’t have to…” Hadrian still felt guilty for what he’d done to Tam and found it surreal that the two of them didn’t seem to care that much. It was a sign of their otherness. They may both be preternaturals like the others on the rooftop, but Cain and Tam were so old, their minds worked differently. To say the least.
Cain returned to the table.
“Wait, can I speak with you privately?”
The demon leader arched a brow but followed Hadrian to the far end of the rooftop. Anthony looked annoyed, but Hadrian couldn’t care less.
“Don’t think me stopping Anthony back there or giving you and your girl a place to stay for a few days is some gesture of friendship. I’m doing what is practical only. We’ll never be friends. Not after the incident.”
Okay, so perhaps the demon did hold a grudge.
“I understand. I just had a question you might know something about.”
Cain’s arms were crossed over his chest, and it was clear he wouldn’t indulge Hadrian for long.
“Can angels be destroyed? Their souls, I mean.”
Cain glanced over at Angeline then back to Hadrian. “They can. I’m not sure if it’s just a rule of the man upstairs or if only angels are in a form that can be destroyed, but yes.”
“What about guardians?”
Cain nodded. “They’re still part angel, so yes, technically, though I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Once they toss them out of Heaven like that, they just shun them. I’ve never heard of a guardian being destroyed.”
“Is there any way to… how do I protect her for sure?”
“Claim her.”
“What? Are you sure?”
Cain rolled his eyes. “You asked the oldest pure demon in the world how to protect a fallen angel in case Heaven decides they aren’t done with her, and I told you. Claim her. Tying her to you like that will protect her, they can’t destroy a soul that belongs to a vampire or demon.”
“Wouldn’t she be safe in your dimension?” Hadrian knew that option wouldn’t be offered, but he was grasping.
“We are not friends,” Cain repeated. “If you want her protected, you protect her. It’s in your power to do so.”
The demon leader went back to the table and sat next to Tam. Hadrian sat beside Angeline.
“What was that about?” she asked.
“Nothing important,” Hadrian said.
Cain snorted.
Anthony pounded his gavel on the table to bring the meeting back to order, and the group settled.
Claim her. It seemed extreme, like pushing the red button. The human side of Hadrian was skeptical and anxious about the whole idea. It was such a big step. He hadn’t been around her for very long since he’d known she was back. He was attracted and felt weirdly protective, but that didn’t mean that he had to spend the rest of eternity with her.
And it grated on him. Hadn’t that been her plan when she’d turned him? To keep him with her forever? Although Angeline hadn’t suggested it, it felt as if somehow Hadrian were playing into her plans. And the part of him that didn’t do other people’s plans—which was every part—didn’t like it at all.
But the demon side of him latched onto the idea. The demon side loved it. Claim her. claim her. claim her. claim her. It chanted and danced around in his mind like a hyperactive toddler. CLAIM HER!Now the voice was doing some serious mental opera. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Want her. Take her. Claim her!
“Shut up!” Hadrian shouted.
His demon side quietened, but everyone else at the table turned to him.
“Something you’d like to share with the rest of us?” Anthony asked.
“No,” Hadrian said.
There was a long pause as they waited to ensure no other outbursts were forthcoming.
“As I was saying, since I’m sure you just drifted off on a cloud somewhere,” Anthony said, “They’ve already taken New Orleans and Atlanta.”
“Who is they?” Hadrian asked.
“That’s what I thought. You weren’t listening. Someone remind me why Hadrian is here. He has no angel for me, and as charming as you were, Angeline, I have a mate now.”
Hadrian growled at the vampire king’s implication. Definitely history. Angeline flinched.
The werewolf alpha spoke up then. “If they’ve taken Atlanta, my pack and I will have to find a new place to run. That’s too close for my comfort.”
The werewolves had been using the demon dimensional portals to get out of Cary Town’s police state, so they could run and hunt in Golatha Falls, Georgia, outside of Anthony’s reach and watch. It was a small town with a lot of forest and mountains and no vampires to speak of, which suited the wolves just fine.
“Again, who is they?” Hadrian said, by this point not caring he’d been caught zoning out.
“Magic users,” Cain said. “They’re systematically banding
together and taking over places where Anthony set up infrastructure to mimic Cary Town.”
“Which means it’s weak enough to take over but strong enough to be useful to the new guard. Great job, Anthony,” Hadrian said. It wasn’t as if his feelings on Anthony’s special brand of dictatorial ambitions hadn’t previously been made known.
Anthony growled but continued. “It’s not the infrastructure, as much as you would like to believe. It’s like you warned us. The angels are joining forces with the magic users to help them do these takeovers, and it’s no secret angels don’t have any major weaknesses that we know about. They want to flush us all out and then band together to do God only knows what. But it won’t be good.”
The werewolf spoke again. “They’ve already flushed the vampires out of New Orleans and Atlanta, and I’ve been getting rumors through my company that therians are disappearing. Some long time donors at our facilities aren’t showing up. We think the magic users are taking them outright for their blood’s magic.”
“Which brings us to Tam,” Anthony said, turning to the witch. “What do you have for me? Can we stop the angels?”
All eyes turned to the blonde with the pixie cut sitting next to Cain.
“I met with my coven and spoke with a couple of other elders I know I can trust who haven’t taken sides in this yet. They think it’s possible to sever the link between this plane and Heaven, closing all portals and forcing the angels back into Heaven. But the ritual will be big, ugly, and we have to cross lines I don’t know if any of you are prepared to cross.” She paused a second and then said, “Well, except maybe Anthony. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have lines.”
“Thank you for that commentary and vote of confidence,” the vampire king said. But he didn’t contradict her assessment, and they all knew it was true. “What must be done?”
“I’m still working on creating the spell, but it’ll take blood from every species involved, including a full angel. And we’ll have to kill.”
