The Fallen Queen: (Gods & Monsters Book 2) (The Gods & Monsters Trilogy)

by Janie Marie

  “He was warning you because he learned Gabriel had been sent to retrieve Lucifer on the night Jane left to meet him. Lucifer has seen Father again, and Michael believes you are the better option than our fallen brother, so he wanted you informed.”

  “Where is Luc now?”

  “Gabriel returned him to Earth moments after the vampire prince was wounded.”

  Death nodded. “Anything else?”

  “Yes.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Father wishes to see you now.”

  “Is it about Jane?”

  “Yes. Be prepared for the worst news of your incredibly long existence.”

  He lifted his gaze to the moon as his heart felt all of Jane’s sorrow surrounding him. “Forgive me, Sweet Jane.”

  Nyx squeezed his shoulder as he exhaled, letting night take him.

  A gentle caress slid across jane’s cheek. Tingles. She sobbed because they were not the same as Death’s. They were warmer than the unique sensation Death’s touch gave her. With him, she could never decide if he was warm or cold. His touch constantly danced between both.

  Jane forced her eyes open once the brightness dimmed. The two figures wearing black suits looked down at her. Though they held no emotion on their ethereal faces and appeared almost as dangerous as her own angel, she felt no fear in their presence.

  Death, where are you? she mentally screamed. It did not matter she wasn’t afraid of these beings; she wanted Death, and she didn’t understand why he’d leave her if this was going to happen.

  “Help him,” she said, shifting her teary gaze between them. “Please. I’ll do anything you ask.”

  They didn’t respond, and she noticed all the knights were kneeling with their heads bowed.

  Tingles slid across her cheek again, and she faced the blond male with blue eyes who was standing in front of her. His eyes reminded her of David’s.

  As he pulled his hand away from her cheek and looked at her tears on his fingers, Jane assessed the brunet male standing behind him. He seemed even more emotionless than the blond, but she still didn’t feel threatened. She believed they were there to help.

  The blond male returned her gaze, and the voice she’d heard in her head earlier rang through her mind again. “I am Michael. He is Gabriel.”

  “Just fix him.” She took in David’s pale face. “Please!”

  Michael turned to Gabriel and nodded.

  She stayed still as Gabriel knelt beside her. He said nothing but grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit next to David. He held their hands over a wound on David’s back. She expected something miraculous to occur, but nothing happened.

  Jane stared back at him, unsure of what he wanted her to do. “I don’t understand.”

  Shocking her, Gabriel smiled and cupped her cheek as a different, louder voice sounded in her mind. “Remove the silver.”

  Jane shook off the ringing sound his words left in her head as she began panicking at the realization David’s body no longer emitted his beautiful heat. “I don’t know what to do. Please help him.”

  Michael touched her shoulder, and the original voice filled her mind, “You can. You will.”

  David began to cough and his body convulsed.

  “Help him!” she screamed.

  Gabriel squeezed her hand he still held. “Concentrate, Jane.”

  She winced at the powerful voice in her head.

  “We cannot save him again, but you can.”

  “I can’t.” She tried to pull away.

  He kept her hands in place and continued speaking to her mind. “Do you feel it? The silver is there—call it to your hand.”

  Jane darted her eyes to the large holes littering his back, and more tears blurred her sight as she tried to think of how she pulled things to her before. The sight of his blood was all she could see, though.

  “I can’t save him. I’m not good.” Jane shook her head back and forth at the thought of losing him—of never seeing his beautiful smile again or hearing him say he loved her. “I’m not strong.”

  “ENOUGH, JANE!” Gabriel’s mental voice roared, making her squeeze her eyes shut and grit her teeth.

  She fought against the force that seemed to crush her when his words entered her mind and nodded as she opened her eyes. David was so pale. If it wasn’t for the weak breaths he took, she would think he was already gone.

  “He needs you to be brave and fight your fears.” Michael’s voice soothed her painful thoughts. “You are strong. You are everything.”

  Jane kept crying as she studied David’s face and remembered how he looked at her, telling her he needed her to be brave. She blew out a breath as she held her hands over his wound.

  A fiery sensation seeped into her skin where Gabriel’s hands touched her, and she breathed in, letting her eyes close as the burn spread.

  Gabriel’s voice pushed into her thoughts. “Think of the silver, its texture—how it drips from his wounds.”

  Jane began to imagine the silvery liquid. She remembered how it felt on her fingers and how it looked on the rags that had been thrown to the ground after trying to stop David’s bleeding.

  Gabriel’s tone was still firm. “Do you feel it?”

  “Yes,” she said, not opening her eyes.

  “Call it to your hand,” he prompted, more calmly. “Imagine pulling it through his veins, out of his body.”

  The first thing she envisioned was a syringe that could draw it all together, and when she pictured herself pulling back on the syringe’s plunger, a sudden connection to all parts of David’s body switched on inside her. She could feel every part of him: his skin, muscles—his organs. She felt the air in his lungs as if it were in hers.

  She breathed in and heard him inhale until she slowly let out her breath. Tears slid down her lips, and she licked them, remembering the faint salty taste of David’s skin whenever she fed from him.

  She bit her lip even though her fangs pierced her skin. She needed blood, too, but she swallowed her own to hold off her hunger.

  “Relax.” Gabriel’s words gently caressed her mind. “Breathe.”

  She did, inhaling and exhaling slowly, once again syncing her body with David’s. His chest rose and fell with each breath she took, relaxing her to a more meditative state. She focused on his heartbeat and practically felt it beating in her hand. She could almost see a scan of his entire body in her mind, and she watched his heart pumping blood, carrying the toxic silver with it.

  Again, she pictured a syringe in her hand and, only seeing the silver, she began to pull.

  “You have it,” Gabriel praised. “Slowly, now, gather it in your hand. Once it is out and he feeds, the injuries will heal with fresh tissue.”

  She nodded, still visualizing the silver rolling through David’s veins, leaving behind only healthy blood.

  A hand squeezed her shoulder as Michael’s voice entered her mind. “Open your eyes, Jane.”

  She did and stared in amazement at the undulating ball of liquid silver in her hand. Michael nodded to someone, and she looked away from the ball to see Arthur holding a bucket out for her.

  “Release it here,” Michael instructed, his words warming her thoughts with praise.

  Gabriel pulled his hand from hers, and Jane released the silver into the bucket Arthur held out for her.

  Not wasting a second more on what she’d just done, Jane turned back to inspect David’s wounds. They were already coming together, though most of his skin would not fully close over the bullet holes, and blood began to replace the silvery substance that oozed from the wounds.

  Her lip trembled, fearing her efforts were for nothing. He needed blood.

  She averted her gaze from the awful bullet wounds on his body and focused on his face. He was still unconscious and extremely pale. She held her hand against his cold cheek and watched him still struggling to breathe.

  Michael moved closer, placing his hand over hers. His hand glowed and warmth spread through her hand to David. “It is time to
wake, David,” Michael’s voice resonated through her mind.

  She briefly looked at Michael before glancing back in time to see David squeezing his eyes tight as he winced in pain.

  “David,” she said softly, rubbing her thumb over his cheek.

  He must have heard her, because his eyes opened quickly. He blinked several times, staring at her as more tears fell from her eyes. She couldn’t explain what she felt right then, only that it was an overwhelming combination of warmth, joy, and sadness.

  “Jane.” David’s voice was hoarse, but she thought it the most wonderful sound and cried as she dropped her head to his chest.

  “Baby, don’t cry,” he said, placing his hand behind her head.

  She touched his face. She couldn’t believe he was talking to her. He still appeared to be in terrible pain, and yet he smiled anyway.

  “You came back to me,” she whispered, sighing as he cupped her cheek and rubbed her tears away with his thumb. “I thought you left me.”

  “Never, baby—I will never leave you.”

  She turned her face against his hand and cried.

  At that moment, David seemed to finally notice the two angels standing close. Jane watched him look between the two before returning to her.

  “They helped me,” she said.

  David held eye contact with Michael for a moment, and she watched him nodding, but they never spoke aloud.

  Gabriel’s words suddenly thundered throughout her mind. “Jane…”

  She glanced over at him and felt he was keeping their mental conversation separate from the one David and Michael were having.

  “It is crucial that you do not discuss Death and Lucifer’s wager. I have placed a stronger block in your mind to prevent Arthur from knowing all that Death disclosed to you, and also to protect you from my fallen brother.”

  Jane didn’t know if she could communicate mentally, but she tried pushing her thoughts out to only him. Why didn’t Death come?

  Gabriel smiled softly as his response came, “I cannot answer that, child. All I will say is do not forget your faith. He is always with you.”

  “Who?” she asked aloud this time, earning questioning looks from David and Michael.

  “You know, Jane,” was Gabriel’s parting thought as he suddenly glowed with white light and vanished.

  “Who did he mean?” she asked Michael.

  “I know not,” Michael spoke gently to her mind. “My message for you is simply to believe. Believe in yourself. Believe in David. Darkness will always find you—it grows inside you already.” He smiled sadly. “But never forget your heart shines brightly. Look for it, believe in it, and you will find your way home.” He placed a hand on her cheek and the other on David’s. “It gives me joy to see you have found one another. Cherish your moments together.”

  David grabbed one of her hands, and they smiled as light filled the cabin of the plane. Michael was gone.

  Arthur and Bedivere rushed to David’s side.

  “David, you need to feed,” Bedivere said, inspecting the wounds that were still trying to heal themselves. “The transfusion isn’t enough.”

  Jane pulled her hand from David’s and roughly started wiping her tears from her face. She smiled when he reached up to help her.

  “Don’t cry, baby. I’m fine.”

  She hiccupped and nodded. “I’m trying to stop.”

  He chuckled but winced in pain as he tried to get comfortable.

  Jane gasped and held his shoulders as he breathed out harshly. “David, you need to feed. Take it from me, okay?”

  “Jane, you’ve given too much,” said Bedivere. “You need to feed as well.”

  “I feel fine. Please, David—I need you to be okay.”

  Despite the pain he must have been feeling, David shook his head. “No, Jane.” He held her cheek. “Baby, I’ll be okay.”

  “NO!” she shouted. She could feel everyone watching her, but she kept her eyes on Bedivere since he was the one who suggested she not feed David.

  David quickly grabbed her face, turning her so she would look into his eyes instead. “All right, Jane. I will feed from you, but I want you to drink double the donor blood after. Do you understand?”

  She couldn’t respond. She couldn’t think about anything but making sure he was okay, and that they didn’t want to let her help him.

  “My love.” David’s soothing tone broke into her violent thoughts. “You’re losing control. Do you hear me, baby? I need you to stay with me.”

  She blinked a few times, not realizing she wasn’t really seeing him anymore.

  “There you are,” he said, staring at her eyes. He smiled, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. “There are those hazel eyes I love.”

  “David,” Arthur whispered.

  Jane couldn’t stop herself from hissing at Arthur. She didn’t want him to oppose her helping David, too.

  “Shh…” David pulled her face back to him as he addressed Arthur. “Leave us, brother. Keep the others away and prepare her several donor bags.”

  “David, Jason is watching,” Arthur said as Jane blinked away the blurry, red haze in her sight. “Give me a moment to at least distract him and have a curtain put up to block her family from seeing you two like this.”

  Arthur’s words finally registered, and Jane turned her head as both she and David looked at Jason.

  David continued to stare, but Jane turned away from her husband. She’d seen that both her children were asleep, but it was clear Jason had been watching her the entire time. She didn’t know what she felt. Shame, she guessed, but she couldn’t stop herself from needing to remain close to David.

  “It’s all right, Jane,” said David. “Arthur will talk to him.”

  She knew she should probably go check on her family, but once she focused on the paleness of David’s face and how he had begun to break into a cold sweat, nothing else mattered but him.

  Arthur sighed and walked toward Jason, and Jane scooted closer to David.

  “You smiled at me,” he said as she wiped the sweat on his forehead. “I could see your smile in the dark . . . So beautiful, my love.”

  Gawain arrived and began to situate a divider around them.

  “Let me feed you.” She sighed as he held her face again. She could feel a hint of his heat.

  “Okay,” he said as she lowered her neck for him. David licked where he intended to feed, chuckling before he pressed a soft kiss to her neck. “Thank you for saving me, baby.”

  “I will always try to save you, David.” She brought her hand up to hold his head.

  “Mm.” He rubbed his lips across her skin. “That’s my job, though. Now, relax, my love. I want you to enjoy this as much as I will.”

  She gasped and welcomed the complete ecstasy from having David’s mouth on her neck.

  About an hour after everything had happened with David, Jason had finished his conversation with Arthur. He sighed and watched him—King Arthur—walk away. Jason didn’t know what was more unbelievable. Zombies, vampires, and werewolves, or that the very men—vampires—who had been protecting him and his family were none other than the knights from legends he didn’t believe in.

  He rubbed his tired eyes before glancing back to where Jane was with David. Gawain had removed the divider when the plane hit some turbulence, and that was when he saw something he still didn’t wish to see: his wife asleep in David’s arms.

  Arthur had told him Jane was feeding David. He had confirmed that his wife, and the rest of these men, were creatures Jason had thought only existed in myths and movies. Vampires. That was only the beginning of the fucked-up situation. He was told his wife and David, her maker, were unable to be separated—that they’d need each other for the rest of their immortal lives.

  Dagonet had told him Jane and David were destined, that they would love each other. Jason was certain David already did, and seeing Jane curled up with him, he believed she was well on her way there. Hell, she probably did love him. She pr
obably told him every chance she got, and that bastard likely did the same to win her over. Jane would eat it up, too. She was a sucker for sweet shit, and Jason didn’t have time for that. He had a family to take care of. She was an adult, a mother. She shouldn’t need the pampering he had witnessed these men give her.

  Across the plane, Jane suddenly whined as she tensed up in her sleep. Jason had seen her do this often. It wasn’t like he could stop her from having bad dreams, so he had always done all he could do—put his back to her and block out her dramatics. It would do no good if he lost sleep. After all, he was the one who went to work while she stayed home.

  His jaw clenched as he watched David—still asleep—reach out and rub her arm until she stopped breathing fast and rolled closer to him. Worse, David slid his hand to her lower back and pulled her to him before he started massaging her back. All the rigidness in Jane’s posture vanished. She put one hand over David’s heart, then nuzzled her face there until they both seemed to fall into a deeper, more peaceful sleep.

  This wasn’t something Jason was willing to just stand by and watch. He didn’t care if David loved Jane or that he was her maker, or that he was some powerful immortal who could snap his neck without even trying. Jane was his wife. Not David’s. But he knew better than to rush over there and cause a scene. He had seen what she could do, and Jane had a volatile personality. David did as well, from the way he reacted when they met.

  Jason sighed. He would wait until they were both better before he confronted her. She would have to choose, and he knew she’d pick him. She may like David, maybe even love him, but she would do anything for their kids.

  If these other men—who Jason couldn’t believe were from Arthurian legends, could function without their Others then Jane and David could get along without clinging to each other like a couple of lovesick teenagers. He’d make her say goodbye to David, and she’d do it because she was his wife.

  “Daddy?”

  Jason snapped his head around and found Nathan staring at him. “I’m here, buddy.” He caressed his head, wincing when his shoulder burned.

  “David okay?” Nathan mumbled sleepily.