Her eyes scanned the horizon until she noticed a thin veil of smoke just behind the construction. Her nose twitched at the strong scent of incense. For whatever reason, her lips coiled into a smirk and her fingers tightened their hold on her bow. Her stride was determined, confident; if she was walking down the hall at Onyx High, people might say she had swagger. It didn’t make sense, but it felt good.
Just as she curved around the frame of the house, she readied her brow, nocked an arrow, and pulled the string back. Her whole body tensed, prepared. She had no idea what to expect from this woman, and she wanted to be ready.
And then she saw it. There, in the middle of the backyard, was Ollo, completely surrounded by flames.
“Welcome to the party, Reese,” Daphne sing-songed from behind her.
Upon hearing her name, Ollo’s head snapped up so he could lock eyes with Reese. He was scared. And then it her – he was afraid of fire. No wonder Daphne had such an effect on him; when he was with her, he was dancing with fire, walking on a tightrope. The exhilaration of being with a woman who controlled his fear was probably addicting in an unhealthy was. Idly, she wondered if Ollo provided the same feeling for Daphne.
“Come prepared this time, have you?” Daphne asked, quirking a brow.
She never looked more beautiful, standing there clad in a champagne colored dress, her dark hair curled and whipping behind her, her skin aglow from the fire. Her eyes jumped and danced, turning gold from the flames. The skirts of her dress were pulled back from the wind–she embodied the nymph she really was–beautiful, scary, commanding.
Reese didn’t even flinch. She continued to hold her bow steady; if she wanted to kill Daphne, all she needed to do was to release the string.
“You want to kill me now, but you won’t.” Daphne smiled at this, triumphant, as though she won something.
“What makes you think I won’t?” Reese asked, her tone hard but not loud.
“You’re not that type of girl.” Daphne’s smile only deepened, and the wind stopped. Her hair dropped to her shoulders, and the only sound that was heard was the snap and cackle of the fire. “You have a pure heart, Reese Lespoir. It’s probably why I hate you so much.”
“The feeling’s mutual,” Reese assured her. “I didn’t come here to waste my breath on you. I came for Ollo.”
“Ollo is not yours to come for,” Daphne snapped, and Reese saw cracks of ugliness start to seep into Daphne’s flawlessness.
“He didn’t tell you?” Now it was Reese’s turn to smirk. “I’ve come for him more than a few times.”
Daphne narrowed her eyes and she didn’t bother to hide it. “You lie.”
Reese shrugged. “I don’t care if you believe me,” she said, “but it’s starting to get annoying when you tell me what kind of girl you think I am instead of just taking my word for it.” She paused only to blow a stray strand of hair out of her face. “Now. What do you want with me?”
Daphne looked amused at the question. “What makes you think this has anything to do with you?”
“Everything. You called me, Daphne. You wanted me here, and I’m trying to figure out why.” She pushed her brows up. “Well, you got what you wanted. I’m standing here in front of you. The floor is yours.”
Daphne clenched her jaw, her eyes turning dark with frustration. She wanted the power, she wanted to be in control, yet here was Reese, standing at just over five feet, ordering Daphne around as though she had orchestrated their meeting in the first place. Apparently, Daphne didn’t like to be told what to do. Which was perfect for Reese, because she was so good at telling people what to do.
“You stupid slut,” she spat out. “Ollo is mine. He may have had his fun with you, but he is mine. I brought you here so he could tell you himself. He doesn’t want to be with you. He loves me.”
“You have him surrounded by fire,” Reese pointed out. The muscles between her shoulder blades started to pinch, but she ignored it. “He’ll lie.”
“That’s not true.”
Reese’s head snapped to Ollo, and her posture wavered. It was the first time she doubted herself tonight. Even facing down Satan himself in order to rescue Andie, her faith in herself did not falter. Now, if Ollo –
“Let me clarify,” he croaked over the flames. His voice sounded raw, hoarse. She was certain he had been surrounded by the fire for at least fifteen minutes. “I am not yours, Daphne. I never have been. I never will be. Secondly, Reese is not a slut. She is the last person I know who would ever be a slut, but if she wanted to be a slut, I respect her choice. Finally, I don’t love you. I love her.” Somehow, by some miracle, her eyes found those brown-blue eyes through the spitting flames. “I love you, darl. You had me from the moment I laid eyes on you. I’m yours.”
An animalistic shriek pierced the silence, ripping Reese’s eyes away from Ollo and placing them on Daphne once again. In that moment, the nymph was ugly and awful and terrible.
“Then you’ll burn.”
Ollo–that stupid, idiotic, stubborn, beautiful man–shrugged. He shrugged. “I’ll burn, then,” he said, his voice low. He looked at her all the same. Reese didn’t want to look away, but she had to.
“And you’re going to watch,” Daphne snarled. She looked more beast than beauty, wicked and jealous. “And then, I’m going to kill you, but I’m going to prolong your death. I’ll torture you until you beg, until I go mad and cannot stop laughing. You’ll curse your mother for birthing you. You’ll hate Apollo for loving you. If he won’t be with me, he won’t be with anyone. Certainly not you.” Her nose crinkled at the thought.
“Actually, here is what’s going to happen,” Reese said, tightening her muscles and lining up the arrow so it pointed directly at the nymph’s heart. “You’re going to put out your flames. You’re going to let Ollo and I leave in peace, and you’re never going to bother us again.”
Daphne started to laugh. No. Not laugh. Cackle. It sounded like thunder.
“Over my dead body,” she said as she focused back on Reese.
“I can arrange that,” Reese said, cocking her head and closing her left eye.
The statement made Daphne cackle even harder. “You won’t kill me.” She said it as though it was fact. “You’re not that type of girl.”
“I’m giving you one more chance,” Reese sing-songed.
Daphne didn’t even hear her. “You’re supposed to be the Hope,” she said. “You’re supposed to be warmth. Forgiveness. Love. You’re supposed to be good.”
The second she finished her thought, Reese released the arrow and it flew straight into Daphne’s heart. The minute it pierced her skin, her own flames disappeared from around Ollo and consumed Daphne’s body, turning her into ash. A soft breeze picked up her remains and scattered her into the suburban greenery.
“You killed her,” Ollo said, his voice still raw. He blinked his eyes continuously, trying to get the ash and smoke out of his eyes.
Reese frowned, going over to him. “I gave her three warnings,” she said, a tad defensive.
“No. I’m not condemning you, darl. It’s just…” He stopped messing with his eyes and gave her that familiar boyish charm smile. “I thought it was… your vision…” His smile got even wider. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“She was going to kill you.” She stopped walking when she was directly in front of him, close enough to touch. “I couldn’t let that happen.” She paused. “Are you okay? That she’s gone, I mean? I know you had a history–”
“I’m perfectly fine,” he replied, waving her off. “Are you? You saved my life, darl, by taking another life. I don’t think you realize how that will affect you. You’ve sacrificed a bit of your humanity–”
“I’m not sorry,” Reese said, serious. “She murdered my family. She was going to kill you. She was going to kill you. I know I’m the Hope and I’m supposed to be perfect, but I’m not. And I’m not sorry for it.”
“You misunderstand, darl.” He rested his forehea
d on hers, a soft smile on his face. “You embody the Hope perfectly because you’re imperfect. You are not a symbol like Black Wing. You can fall, but you can also pick yourself back up. And that is what gives people hope. You symbolize redemption.”
“I don’t regret what I did,” Reese told him, her voice firm. “I know it doesn’t bring my family back but you’re here and I can touch you.” Though he was so close to her, she still forced her stormy eyes into his. “That bitch can rot in hell, and I’ll sleep like a baby tonight.”
“And that’s why I love you,” he said.
She closed her eyes at his words and smiled for the first time that evening. “Say it again,” she breathed.
“I love you,” he whispered in her ear. The hairs on her skin stood straight up and she forgot about everything; saving Andie, saving Ollo, everything.
Her lip curled up. “Now kiss me like you mean it,” she murmured.
His lips descended upon hers and kissed her breath away.
Epilogue
Sunlight. He felt it before he saw it. Yet, there was something different about it. It was… warm. More than that, it made him feel warm.
He looked down at his hand. Really looked at it. Something felt… off. Different. His hand looked… human.
“Where are we?” Keirah asked, coming up from behind him. She had her hand covering her forehead, trying to provide her big brown eyes with some means of shade.
“Africa.”
He didn’t know how he knew it was Africa, only that he did. He had spent centuries upon centuries here in a long, slow torture–his own Purgatory on earth–before Lucas Burr had offered him a proposition he couldn’t refuse.
“What is wrong-ah with my face?” he asked her, his words coated in iron.
“It’s beautiful.”
Nobody had ever described his face as beautiful. He wasn’t sure how to take it, didn’t know what she meant by it.
Keirah’s lips twitched up and she reached up so she could brush her fingers against his cheek. He shuddered as he usually did whenever she touched his bare skin, but like everything else, it felt different.
“You’re scar,” she told him, caressing his skin with her fingertips. “It’s gone.” She smiled once again. “It’s like you’re human.”
And then it hit him.
“I am.”
Keirah furrowed her brow but waited for him to speak.
“Demons are currrsed,” he explained. “To break the uh, well to break the hum… curse we need to be redeemed. Usually, re-ah-demption comes through some sort of action done by the uh cursed. But-ah. Not. Me. I didn’t give a shit what I was, but who people, well, who people believed me to be. I liked being cursed. An Excom. I uh never thought I’d be redeemed. Didn’t think about it. But uh you. You changed everything. You redeemed me.”
Keirah paused, almost winced. “Is that good?”
There was a hot breeze in the African desert. It already started chapping Keirah’s lips. It made him want to kiss her all the more.
“I’m um human,” he said, almost to himself. He stared out at the horizon, his golden eyes narrowed at the infinite grains of sand that made up the desert. “I can die.”
“Then let’s not die,” Keirah said with a teasing chuckle. She stuck out her hands so she could grab Noir’s–Jace’s–hand with hers. “Let’s live.”
Acknowledgments
This book took an amazing amount of time, dedication, and inspiration to write. First and foremost, my readers, who have been crazy about Andie, Keirah, and Reese for YEARS (and when I say years, I mean 2009, when I first published their stories on Fictionpress). I hope you enjoyed this trilogy as much as I enjoyed writing it.
To my family – Mom, Dad, Sue and everyone else for your support, understanding, and love. I am so lucky to have you!
Cheree - I LOVE your words of wisdom and your notes – it pushes me to be a better writer
Desi – Your cover is gorgeous!
To Frank, my better half, Kylee, my reason to be greater than I am, Josh and Jacob for teaching me more about myself than I could ever imagine. You are the reason I write.
Finally, to Patrick. That one conversation about angels and devils started it all…
Did You Like Sacrifice?
As an author, the best thing a reader can do is leave an honest review. I love gathering feedback because it shows me you care and it helps me be a better writer. If you have the time, I’d greatly appreciate any feedback you can give me. Thank you!
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The Dark Paradise Trilogy Box Set Page 88
