by Meg Xuemei X
My cock grew hard. What wouldn’t I give to have her one last time? I would sell my soul to have her ride me like wildfire.
A flick of light penetrated the darkness, and I wasn’t thrilled to see my father’s avatar. He separated us now, even in my memories.
He regarded me, probably having a hard time recognizing my deformed face. “I should never have sent you to Earth,” he said. “The seer said my son would fall in love with an earthling princess and turn on me. I thought she meant Agro, and I didn’t mind getting rid of him. I never thought it would be you.”
I had lost interest in bedroom antics for over two thousand years. And before that, I’d never fucked any female twice. It was unthinkable, even to my father, that his coldest, hardest warrior son would fall in love.
I sneered. They’d crossed me off too soon as a corpse that would never feel. My father had trusted my dead heart and sent me to harvest the young girl.
But my heart was only waiting for the right female to make it beat again.
I had crossed the light years and found her, and now my heart beat only for her, even though, ironically, it would stop beating soon.
I had seen my end in my father’s bottomless eyes.
Was falling in love worth it?
Angels weren’t creatures meant to love, but I’d fallen for Rose head-to-toe.
Such emotion made me vulnerable, but when I loved, I lived. And no force could take my joy away, not even death.
“I should have asked the seer which son would fall,” my father sighed.
The seer from the Death Valley galaxy also predicted that the Sky Power would end the reign of the Lord of All Angels. The Fallen—the rebel angels—had secretly believed I was the Sky Power.
“Have you heard of the Sky Power, Son?” he said, his predatory gaze sharpening.
So he knew.
“Sky Power can’t replace me if he’s destroyed,” he continued. “Killing the symbol will send the message to the Fallen: I, Lord of All Angels, will forever be the one and only true power in the universe.”
I kept my ice-stone mask in place as my father announced, “I wouldn’t kill you if you had only defended your mate, but you want to end my reign. I can’t let Sky Power live, even though you’re my heir. After seeing you deploy the white light, I can no longer deceive myself that you might not be the Sky Power. I’m sorry, my son. You’ll see just three more sunrises on Earth.”
Then he was gone.
EMPRESS ROSE FAYLINN
I sat on the throne of ruby and gold, my mind in turmoil like a turbulent sea.
I’d gone over dozens of rescue plans until my head spun. None of them guaranteed we would get Seth out alive. My guards and I would never have made it out if it weren’t for him. How could I send them back to die?
I couldn’t find a way to save my mate. I couldn’t I abandon him either.
Still no news of Seth. The angels had purged all other races from Atlantis after I fled. Last I knew, he was imprisoned by his lord father. I prayed to every god and goddess that he lived.
Restless, I joined my generals to inspect my army.
One-third of the fey army were stationed at the leyline—the portal the angels opened to tear through Mysth’s magical walls. Seth had told me where it was and how to seal it.
I’d gathered all of the magic wielders in the realm, but even our collective power wasn’t enough to mend the huge rift. Only the one who had the destructive, dark magic promised by Earth Mother could seal the leyline. My people expected me to be the one, but time and tests proved that there wasn’t a sprinkle of great magic in me.
I stepped off the royal battleship, newly made by Dragonian engineers and my scientists, and surveyed the war camps stretching endlessly before me.
My main brigade stood parked outside the twilight realm alongside the Dragonian army. The Dragonian had no cities of their own, so guarding Mysth, and later taking back Atlantis together became our common goal. The Dragonian had supplied us with many blades that could cut into an angel’s flesh, but they weren’t enough.
My generals strode by my side, my captain a few feet behind.
Fey warriors were mighty in strength and speed, at least compared to the Earth mortals, but the angels were the mightiest aliens from other advanced worlds.
The bloodlust warrior breed had conquered every nation, except for the Mysthians and the rebel Dragonians. They had slaughtered a nomad fey tribe which had dwelled outside the twilight realm, and I had seen how my enemies fought in the hologram.
Was I about to lead my army to slaughter and drag the Dragonian along with us?
Dry, freezing wind swept by, and I felt its chill in my bones. The weather outside the twilight realm was harsher than I expected.
I looked afar. The angel hordes rallied across the Mysthian Sea in the north and in the valley two mountains away from us. We were surrounded by our enemies on all sides. The ocean and mountains posed no barrier to their wings.
The air was grave, the mood desperate.
My army knew what they were facing, and most of my soldiers would never see the fire lit again inside the twilight realm.
As I passed by their ranks, no soldiers cheered, although they stood at attention in solemn respect.
The angels hadn’t attacked. We believed that they had a sinister plan on a larger scale. Some of the angels flew overhead like vast bats, taunting us. We didn’t react. We wouldn’t take the bait and reveal our new weapons before the final battle.
With the angels’ main troops facing us, it gave me a better chance to reach Seth. I would take volunteers to go back to Atlantis for him. We would find him. We would get him out. And if no one wanted to go, I would find my mate alone.
As I was about to go to the Dragonian’s side to meet with North, Lexa rushed toward me with labored breaths. She dropped to one knee. “Empress, the angel king sent two messengers and a sealed iron box.”
A feeling of deep foreboding engulfed me.
~
Two white-winged angels knelt in the center of my grand throne room, hands and feet in chains—chains forged by their own kind. They bowed their heads, their breath ragged and bodies battered.
Between them rested a vast iron box, a ‘gift’ from the angel king.
Earth mortals believed the rumor that iron could bind us fey, partly because we were averse to the skyscrapers made of iron and steel outside Mysth. As the only immortal, magical beings on Earth, we were bound to nature and elements.
I strode toward the messengers, flanked by my generals and guards.
“They arrived with the package,” Lexa said, noticing my gaze on the angels’ chains. “Ephraim caught them in the leyline. He said they were the high prince’s house members.”
Just then, Ephraim walked in and went down on one knee, his fist on his heart. “No more angels came through, Empress,” he said. “I’ve enhanced the security around the portal.”
I gave him a nod, and he rose to his feet.
Hearing Ephraim’s voice, the two messengers snapped their heads toward him before turning back to me with solemn expressions.
“Agro sent you a message with a gift, Empress,” one of them said.
I noticed that he didn’t say King Agro or His Majesty.
“Speak,” I said.
“He said to send his greetings to—” the angel hesitated.
“Speak freely,” I ordered.
“The king said to send his greetings to the fey whore,” the other angel said.
A flash. Lexa backhanded the messenger’s face, yet the strike barely shook him. She’d forgotten that the angels were immune to earthling beatings and weaponry. Lexa soon corrected her mistake by pulling out an angelic blade. “I’ll cut out your tongue should you spit another disrespectful word to my empress.”
“Stop, Lexa,” I said. “He’s only a forced messenger.”
“They belong to the High Prince,” Ephraim told Lexa in displeasure. “Prince Seth won’t be pleased that
you struck his household members.”
Lexa hissed at him.
Two of my weapon masters stepped up. “After a magical scan, Empress,” one of them said, “we didn’t find any hazardous object inside the box.”
I gave them a nod, and a weapon master broke the seal and opened the lid. For a few seconds, he froze, eyes widening, before he staggered back. “It’s—” he swallowed.
The twang of copper mixed with the scent of faint pine and wine wafted toward my nostrils. Seth’s scent wrapped in blood. I knew how his blood tasted. I had once bitten his lower lip when he had forced a kiss on me.
Had the angel king sent me Seth’s corpse? I felt the floor withdrawing from my feet as pure panic and grief iced over me.
Lexa stepped forward and peeked inside the box, the blood draining from her face. She looked at me with sorrow and sympathy, then she slammed the lid shut.
I wanted the box closed forever so I would never have to know what was inside. Yet, I demanded, dread twisting my guts, “What is it?” I snapped, waiting for the nightmare to unfold before me.
“There is nothing inside, Empress,” Lexa said. “Let me remove the box, please.”
“They cut him,” an angel messenger said, dull eyes glued on me.
Hector dashed toward the iron box.
“No, please,” Lexa whispered, “don’t let the Empress see it. Let me remove the box.”
Hector halted, exchanging a look with Lexa before nodding.
I was already in front of the box.
Then I felt a stir through my mating bond, and Seth’s voice whispered, Rose, do not open any box. Leave the planet. Now!
Was it truly Seth’s voice or did I imagine it, wanting to hear it so badly? But whatever was inside the box, I had to face it.
“Open it, Hector,” I said.
“Maybe it’s not a good idea, Empress,” Hector said.
From his look, I knew my face had drained of color, but I had to face what was inside the box, even if what I saw would kill me.
Ephraim beat me to it. He flapped open the lid, stared inside, then dropped to his knees and howled.
My stomach leaden, my mind all ice, I stared into the box like staring at a nightmare itself.
A pair of vast wings, severed and bloody, covered the box. Droplets of blood dripped from the top feathers, gathering in a pool of blood at the bottom.
A single, fresh red rose with thorns shivered atop the cleaved wings.
The wings, once glorious and magnificent and so alive, had cocooned me. They had shielded me. They’d even trapped me when its owner attempted to claim me.
I had once taken a nap on the soft feathers and let sunshine bask my face.
My mate’s wings had been torn from him.
I didn’t stagger back as my generals did. I just stared at the broken wings and the torn, bloody flesh connected to them.
The world was a muted place. Even Ephraim stopped sobbing. Everything was silent and dead in my head, until a horrific, anguished roar tore from my throat.
Then magic, ancient and abyssal and shaking heaven and earth, broke free.
PRINCE SETH
My father hadn’t paid a visit since he’d revealed the seer’s prediction.
He wouldn’t eliminate me if I only fell in love somewhere. He wouldn’t get rid of me, even though I cost him the Earth energy. I was more important than one planet, and he knew it. But when he connected the dots and believed I was the Sky Power, he would never let me live.
For the first time, I touched my father’s fear.
If he killed the Sky Power, he would never have to look over his shoulder at the great, emerging power that would end his reign over the universe. He would also kill any hope for the Fallen and eradicate his eternal enemies.
I wondered how far Rose was from me, from Earth. I had made Ephraim promise to take her to my hidden planet when my ship came for us.
I had no regrets going to my death. I had found my destined mate. I had tasted joy.
For a second, I was curious to know what my other brothers thought of my fall. Some of those who fought with me might miss me, but most would be delighted. With me out of the picture, one of them would emerge as the next heir. My replacement would be the new High Prince of All Angels instead of the prince or king of some planet.
A click echoed in the dungeon. Agro removed the electric lock.
Only two beings could enter the force field—my father and Agro. I hoped my survival team wouldn’t be foolish enough to try.
Agro had interrogated me endless times. He mauled my face with his fists gloved in angelic steel. My nose remained crooked, broken from last night’s beating, though I wasn’t exactly sure it was last night, since time didn’t pronounce its usual passing in this shit hole.
The inferior looked down at me. Light poured in from behind him, so he could see how badly he had deformed me. The sight of my torn flesh offered him sadistic satisfaction. For the first time in eons he could lay his hands on me whenever and however he wanted.
Yet he still whined about how life was unfair to him and that I made him live in my shadow. When he was finally going to live happily ever after on a nice planet in the far galaxy, I had to ruin it for him. I spoiled his trophy bride and made him the laughingstock among the angels.
“Grow up,” I said. “She was never yours. She was mine all along.”
“Yours.” He pondered that point for a moment. “Fine. I have a brilliant idea. I’ll send part of you to her.”
I kept my face blank, but a dread churned inside me. Hadn’t Rose left Earth?
“The stupid goons you freed came right back, trying to break you out,” Agro said. “Of course, none of them survived, except for two. And I have a good use for them.”
If it weren’t for my father’s power that restrained me, Agro would have been torn to bits by now.
“They’ll carry my personal gift to the fey whore,” he continued.
Rose hadn’t left. Ephraim had failed me.
“Do you know what the gift will be?” he asked.
I didn’t respond.
“You deflowered her!” he screamed. “It was my right to do that, yet you screwed her.” His fists landed on my face. “You screwed my bride, Seth! You fucked her! And I’m your brother! You had to make a cuckold of me! You think she’s your mate, so you’re entitled to fuck her. Do you know what I’ll do to your female? She now calls herself the Empress of Mysth and positions her weak army to face mine. She thinks she can fight me. She’ll soon receive the gift I’m going to send her. After I strike terror into her treacherous heart, my army will topple her walls, burn her land, and take her captive. I’ll drag her naked to Atlantis in chains. All nations will witness her sin and shame. I’ll rape her again and again in public before your corpse until she screams and begs for death; until her sweet blood vessels burst one by one. That’s what I’m going to do to your fey bitch who played me like a fool.”
Agony and fury chewed my stomach.
My stubborn, foolish female had chosen to stay and fight.
The angel army would cut down the joint army of the Dragonian and Mysthians like a herd of sheep. My Rose would be plucked out and tortured before her death.
I howled and fought to break free to kill this rabid monster before me, but the harder I struggled, the tighter my restraint grew, until the power that gripped me chocked every breath out of me. Burn marks appeared all over my bloody body.
I forced open my swollen eyes and tried to release my lightning, hoping to fry my bastard brother. It sizzled in my eyes. Agro cowered back, his armored arm shielding his face, but my lightning wilted before turning static.
I summoned the Forbidden Glory again. It did not respond, though I could feel the ancient connection between us. My father must have sealed the access to the flame, which meant he couldn’t command it any more than I could. The bond between us was broken, so neither of us could wield the flaming sword now.
A flash of light passed thro
ugh my mind, the altered inscriptions on the doorframes of the angels’ vault beaming brightly.
All who enter shall perish, except the chosen son and daughter.
That was what shifted. It was no longer father and son. The Forbidden Glory wanted a new bond—the chosen son and daughter.
My father had no daughter. He was one of the most powerful beings in the universe, but for some reason, couldn’t sire a daughter.
Then Rose’s image appeared before me. The inscription changed only after she entered the vault and encountered the Glory. Unprecedentedly, the flame let her live.
She was the daughter. But was I still the son?
A test would show if our bond could summon the flame, but we were a world apart, and in two days’ time my head would drop.
She didn’t know she was my mate. It was better that way. I wanted her to move on when I was gone. And I would never want her to see my severed head hanging on Atlantis’s gate.
I prayed for Ephraim to find a way to spirit her away to safety. I should have acted sooner and sent her away, not taken her to my villa to fuck her instead.
I was a selfish, horny bastard, who had doomed us both.
The only small comfort I had left was that the Forbidden Glory was now inactive, so Rose and her people might survive if they stayed inside their magic walls.
I had taught her how to seal the leyline.
Agro edged toward me as the echo of my roar vanished.
“No one has done me this kind of damage, Seth!” he started shouting again. “You shattered my dream, so now I’m breaking yours.”
He darted behind me, but I couldn’t move.
A pain worse than anything I had ever known erupted in me as my brother grabbed my left wing and tore my feathers out.
I couldn’t help but scream in agony.
“You finally screamed, Brother,” he said. “I wish she were here to watch, but no matter, she can picture how you suffered after she receives this gift from us both.”
