Dust of My Wings

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  Her pulse thudded in her throat.

  Shade?

  No that didn’t make sense. She may not trust him, but she never felt like this around him, not even now.

  The man looked up, revealing charcoal black eyes, and a snarl on his face. “Hello, dear. Sorry about the mess. You should have opened the fucking door.”

  Okay, not Shade.

  Lily picked up the nearest weapon , the fireplace poker, and held it in front of her.

  Right, like a little metal stick she had no idea how to use could protect her against a who-knew-how-old scary angel with black wings.

  She gulped. “What do you want?” Better than nothing.

  “It’s not a question of what I want, but what I’m going to do.”

  That didn’t sound ominous at all. Damn, the door was the only way out. He had her cornered. Why didn’t these stupid new brownie powers help at all? No, she could only turn gold and apparently know when something was dangerous. Like that could help right now.

  “You need to go now,” She said.

  “No, I don’t think so.” He smiled, and her body froze, a shudder running over her skin.

  This was it. She was going to die, and her house was a mess. Right, because that was the most important thing right now. He moved forward, and she brandished the poker. In one swoop, he took it from her hand and threw it across the room. It hit the wall with a crash. She winced, and he growled. Heart pounding, she made a move to run. He grabbed her by the upper arms and shook her. Her head slammed back and forth, and she kicked him in the thigh.

  “Fuck, bitch.”

  She wouldn’t go down easy. Twisting and screaming, praying her neighbors would hear, she tried to break free. His hands dug into her arms, and she screamed again. God, it hurt. He threw her across the room, her body landing on her glass tabletop that shattered. Shards of glass punctured her skin, sending a feeling of fire through her veins. Tears slid down her cheeks, and she struggled to rise. Her hands crushed into glass, the pieces digging deeper into her skin. She had to get away. If only she could crawl to the doorway…

  He pulled her by her hair and dragged her back. A sob clogged her throat as blood seeped down her arms and legs. A deeper cut in her side scared her to death. Oh, God, what had been cut?

  Suddenly, she fell back, her head slammed into the floor as the angel let go over her hair.

  She heard another crash, a curse, and a groan. She forced open her eyes—when had she closed them? The metallic taste of blood coated her tongue, and she rolled to her side, placing her other hand against her side to control the bleeding.

  Oh, God. It was so much blood.

  She looked over toward her attacker and let her tears fall harder.

  Then she saw Shade.

  He’d come back.

  Maybe she wouldn’t die today.

  Shade held a sword, as did the other black-winged angel, who had tucked away his wings. Their weapons clashed, the vibrations making her teeth chatter. Shade pivoted, leaning out of the way of a blow. He bent and shifted, his arm making a slicing motion as the other angel screamed.

  Good, he’d cut the bastard.

  “Lily, let me help you.”

  She started and winced at the pain of the motion. She forced herself to turn her head and look at who ever had spoken with that deep, gravelly voice.

  “Am...Ambrose.” Her words sounded stilted, painful.

  “Oh, Lily, I’m sorry we weren’t here sooner.”

  “Help Shade.” Here she was, bleeding to death on her floor, her home ruined beyond her OCD repair, and she only cared about the man who’d torn out her heart and stomped on it. Why didn’t she just stamp doormat on her forehead? Wow, the blood loss must be making her loopy. That or she was always this sarcastic. Hmm…sleep sounded good right now.

  “Lily! Wake up now!”

  She blinked and focused on the three moving images of the handsome blond man. Hmm…no wonder Jamie liked blonds.

  “I’m sure Jamie has a reason she likes blonds, but that isn’t the point right now. You’re bleeding heavily, and I need to take a look at it so you can start to heal on your own. By the way, Shade is fine; he’s a warrior.”

  She blinked. “Don’t tell Jamie I told you she thought you were sexy, okay?”

  Ambrose blushed. Aww, for a stiff guy—snort—he was pretty cute when he blushed. Especially when there were three of him.

  “I need to look at the cut on your side now. You’re getting pretty loopy, dear.”

  “Okay, but don’t look at anything else, okay? Jamie would never forgive me.”

  “Okay, Lily, whatever you want.”

  Lily blinked and looked across the room at Shade and the guy she’d like to kill herself.. Shade had the other angel by the throat, his sword in his other hand and the other angel’s sword on the floor. Go Shade.

  “Who sent you, Azel?” He pressed the sword closer to the angel’s skin, where blood flowed freely.

  “Like I would tell you, warrior,” he said with a gurgle.

  “I won’t kill you…yet, but I will make you wish for death.”

  The other man laughed—laughed. “Don’t you know? I like pain.”

  “Yes, but I know even more ways to inflict pain than you.” Shade pulled the other angel to his knees, and stabbed him in the back in swift motions. Black wings shot out, knocking more things from her counters to the floor, forcing her to wince. Shade growled and sliced the black wings from the man’s body in two clean motions.

  “No!” Azel screamed, his body convulsing on the ground.

  “Tell me.”

  “Who do you think?” the other angel whimpered.

  “Striker?”

  “Got it in one.”

  “Do you have proof of this?”

  “No, why would I?”

  “And no one would believe an angel like you, would they? You’re supposed to be dead.”

  Azel snarled and lifted to his knees again. “I was told to kill the woman so you would die, you fucking bastard.”

  They wanted to kill her because they wanted Shade to die? How did that make any kind of sense?

  She winced as she moved, and Shade looked at her, pain in his features. Before she could blink, Azel leapt on Shade’s sword, piercing himself in the heart. Shade jerked and pulled the sword out then placed his hands on the other angel’s chest to stop the bleeding.

  “Too…late…no…proof…” Azel rasped.

  “Fuck. You can’t die, you fucking bastard.”

  “Shade, it’s a lost cause. We’ll burn the body to destroy the evidence; it would do nothing for the council now. If he’d been alive, he’d have been proof of Striker’s deceit.” Ambrose deftly bandaged her side and she could feel her skin knitting together on its own, and her headache lessened a bit.

  “How…”

  “You’re a brownie now, Lily. You can heal faster than humans,” Ambrose answered.

  “Oh.”

  Shade threw the sword down and ran to her side, his eyes frantic. “Where are you hurt? Tell me. What pains you? Oh, God, Lily, I’m so sorry.”

  She liked that he took care of the bad guy so she’d be safer. He was a warrior who looked at the threats and then came to her side. Maybe that would prove useful.

  “He wanted you,” she whispered.

  He closed his eyes and set his jaw. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m tired.” She pillowed her head on her arm, her body sagging.

  He brushed her bangs from her face as she felt Ambrose move away from her. “I’m sorry, baby.”

  “You’re always sorry.” That wasn’t fair, but she was too tired to care right now.

  “Let me take you to my home and I’ll help you.”

  “Are you sure I’m safe with you?” God, she needed to shut up. Now. He didn’t deserve this. After all, he’d just saved her life.

  “Lily, I will protect you with my life. I know you don’t trust me, but what I’m saying is true. I won’t let them come n
ear you. I’m so sorry I was late.” He ran an arm down her side, careful of her wounds.

  She couldn’t let that feel good.

  “My house…”

  He brushed her hair again, and she closed her eyes. God, she still loved him. That hurt almost as much as the glass. Though that seemed to be healing on its own. So odd.

  “We’ll fix it.”

  We. Like he expected to be around.

  “Okay. Just take me away, okay?” She just wanted to go to sleep. Or cry. Whatever.

  “Okay, baby. I’m going to pick you up now.”

  She nodded, her eyes still closed. His arms went under her, and he carefully lifted her from the floor. She leaned into his hold and inhaled the scent that was just Shade.

  God, she’d missed him.

  But he’d lied. She had to remember that.

  What a day. She’d lost her job, her Shade, and almost her life. She needed a drink. Or a nap.

  Wait…

  “Shade.” She tried to straighten in his arms, and he stopped.

  “What is it, baby? Ambrose is packing you a bag and going to deal with the authorities in case any of your neighbors called the cops. Everything will be okay.”

  “Oh.” Wait, the man was going to touch her panties? Whatever… Other things were more important. “I forgot to tell you with everything else that went on this morning,” Shade looked down at her, a broken expression on his face.

  She couldn’t think about that right now.

  “What is it, Lily?”

  “I got your dust…like, you know…” She ignored his wince. “And your files and everything. No one will know. Glenn won’t say anything even though he saw me turn into a brownie. I know it’s not good, but I couldn’t help it.”

  “Lily.”

  “Wait. The important thing was that he said a brown-winged angel gave him the dust. Do you know what that means?”

  “Fuck.” His grip tightened, and she whimpered. “I’m sorry, baby.” He loosened his hold. “Striker. He’s a council member. The same one who sent Azel to kill you. Apparently, he has a death wish. A wish I’ll be happy to grant.”

  “Just don’t get in trouble.”

  He looked down, his piercing blue eyes sexy as ever. “Would you care?”

  “No,” she lied.

  “Let’s get you home.”

  She leaned her head on his shoulder, pain radiating within her body. What was she going to do now? The man she both loved and hated held her in his arms and a dead angel lay behind them. God, when had life gotten so complicated?

  She exhaled and bit her lip. Just one more moment in his arms. That was all she’d take. If she let herself relax anymore, she just might stay. That couldn’t happen, not if she wanted to live and be herself. No, she needed to break ties. How? She’d think about it later because he felt too warm to care right now.

  Chapter 19

  Shade set Lily on his couch, trying not to hurt her. Her every wince made him want to fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness…again. He needed to focus on other things right now. Namely, healing his true half and figuring out what the hell to do about Striker.

  Bastard.

  He fluffed the pillows behind her head and covered her with an afghan from the back of the couch like a regular nurse.

  God, the look he’d seen on her face when he’d walked into the room had made the blood in his veins freeze.

  Azel had her by the hair, a menacing smile on his face, and a firm grip on his sword. Blood had seeped from his Lily’s side and legs. Fury had raced through him at the helplessness he’d felt.

  He swallowed hard.

  He’d almost lost her, and it would have been his fault. He felt as though someone had thrown him under a bus. There was no denying it. He’d left her alone, and an angel out to get him had almost killed her.

  No wonder she could barely stand to look at him. He couldn’t even look at himself.

  “So, this is your home?” Lily asked from the couch, her pale skin clammy, a side effect of her rapid healing.

  Shade nodded. Funny, he’d have thought his first time bringing Lily to this temporary home of his would have been under far different circumstances. He’d known her for what…a week? He held back a sigh. It seemed as though he’d known her for far longer. In essence, based on the way she’d wrapped herself around his heart, he had.

  “This is where I’m living now.”

  Her eyelids drooped but she forced them back open. “I remember you said you were here on business.”

  That she was his business remained unsaid.

  He brushed a finger around the healing cut on her cheek, and she didn’t move away from his hand. Progress.

  “Do you want me to move you to the bedroom?”

  She shook her head, pain that she didn’t want to lie in his bed slicing at him. He shouldn’t think that way though. Maybe she just didn’t want to move.

  “Okay, then try to rest here. I’ll make you something to eat when you wake up. You’ll need your strength.”

  “I could use a bath, too.” She blushed, and Shade held back a groan.

  He shouldn’t be thinking about her naked. Soapy. Wet. That was enough of that.

  “After you’ve rested, I’ll get you whatever you need.”

  “So, is this healing thing normal?”

  He gave a small smile and resisted the urge to gather her up in his arms. “Yes, you’ll be able to heal faster than a human. It’s part of your genetic make-up now, but it takes a lot of energy to do so. Since you’re so new at this, your body didn’t know what to do, so it healed quickly and, most likely, painfully. So you’re going to need fuel.”

  She nodded. “Eventually I’ll learn to control it?”

  “Somewhat. I’ll help you.”

  She looked at him, and he could tell she didn’t believe that. He bit back a curse. No matter what happened he’d earn back her trust…somehow. He couldn’t lose her, not when he’d only just found her.

  He let out a breath when she didn’t say anything else. “Get some rest, and I’ll make you something to eat. Ambrose is cleaning everything up; that’s what he does. We have a security system around the place, so you’re safe.”

  She nodded and closed her eyes.

  Dismissed.

  Dejected, he stood then walked toward the kitchen.

  “Shade?”

  He turned, his pulse speeding up. “Yes? What’s wrong?”

  “Thank you.” She gave a small smile, and relief spread through him.

  Maybe this would be okay.

  He went back to the kitchen and pulled out the makings for a stir-fry. After almost a thousand years on earth, he could cook a decent meal, though he still couldn’t cook as well as Ambrose; he could have been a chef in another life.

  He took out the wok and heated some peanut oil, the heat feeling good on his cool skin. Then he cut up fresh veggies and chicken and started the rice, tossed garlic and chicken in the wok, then started on the sauce. The room filled with the sounds of sizzling and pops and the scent of stir-fry. He needed to do something mundane while the thoughts in his head warred with one another.

  Striker was a traitor.

  Fuck.

  Shade had always hated him. The ass had never been on Shade’s list of favorite people—and vice versa—but, God, to think Striker would stoop so low. To go against the angels was the lowest form of treachery. If Striker had known he was attempting to kill a true half of a warrior…

  It was all too much. The idea of a traitor in their midst and a plot he couldn’t even comprehend made him want to punch something. Add in his unknown future with Lily and he wanted to scream.

  The chicken popped, and Shade stirred and added some rice wine.

  Azel was dead, though Shade had thought the fucker had been dead for far longer than that. The other angel had been one of the leaders of the opposing faction in the Angelic Wars. He was supposed to have died. Did that mean his brother, Law, was also alive?

 
; Fuck. Azel’s actual death raised more questions than answers.

  Who had covered it up? Striker? How long had the bastard been on the other side? Bile filled Shade’s mouth. Could it be that the fucking council member was also on the side of the rogues?

  He stirred the rice and added the veggies to the wok, glad to have something to do with his hands. All of this had to go deeper than just a vile of dust. Azel had said Striker wanted Shade dead, but why?

  Shade’s death wouldn’t accomplish anything but maybe upset Lily…and Ambrose.

  Fuck.

  If Shade died, Ambrose would no doubt want justice. If things were in the reverse, Shade would want the same, but if Ambrose went against the council, alone, they’d denounce him. Or worse, kill him. That meant the two top warriors would be gone and Striker would have the ability to take over without opposition.

  Holy hell.

  It was diabolical. Not to mention fucking stupid. Did the ass really think he could get away with it?

  He stirred the sauce into the wok and lowered the heat. He turned off the rice then plated their meal. Lily had only slept a little while, but he knew she needed to eat if she wanted to finish healing.

  He set the plates to cool on the kitchen island then poured them each a glass a milk. He’d have preferred a beer, but milk would suit him. His brownie would be craving any type of cream just about now. He held back a smile. Oh, how he wanted to care for her and tend to her needs. If only she’d let him do it on a personal basis.

  He walked out to the living room and set the glasses on the table, careful not to wake her. She slept on her uninjured side, her body in the slow rhythm of sleep. Her eyelashes brushed her upper cheeks, long and thick. God, he loved her.

  He quickly went back to the kitchen, grabbed their meals, and placed them on the coffee table. The aroma of their food filled the room and his Lily stirred.

  “Shade?” she mumbled, her voice low and husky.

  He really needed to stop thinking about her bedroom voice or anything having to do with sex. She was hurt for fuck’s sake. Not to mention she hated him.

  “Hey, baby, I made you something to eat.”

  “I’m tired.”

  His heart hurt. “I know, but you need to eat and gain your strength. Okay?”