Forever (Descendants of Ra: Book 4.5)

by Tmonique Stephens

  “I know you. I see you. And I love you more. Your complexities are beyond my meager understanding, but you have my oath: I will spend my existence discovering the woman who has captured my heart. Your faith in me renews my strength. Your touch delights me. I am yours in every way. Without you, I am incomplete. Between us, we find the echo of the love that has filled the universe since the dawn of creation.”

  Roman nudged Reign and handed him Alexis’s ring. Reign took her hand and slid it onto her finger. “I give you my body to do with as you please, my heart to love or destroy at your whim, my soul, though it is already yours. With this vow, I, Reign Nicolis, son of Desakenthos Helios Nicoli Gaidres and the Goddess Nu, bind myself to you...Forever.”

  “Damn. I’m stealing that.” EJ did not whisper.

  “With no power invested in me, except the privilege of being her father, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

  Bride. I have a bride. No. I have a wife. Alexis Nicolis.

  “Are you going to kiss her or stand here all night?” Roman nudged Reign’s shoulder.

  Alexis took the decision away from him and launched herself into his arms. Reign molded her lips to his. He swallowed her groan and gave one of his own. He drowned in her scent, and never wanted to leave.

  Her mouth on his, her hands in his hair, she licked into his mouth. She tasted of the future, of home and hearth, of unborn children, of light and hope. She tasted of all the adventures to come.

  Catcalls broke them apart and then the cheers of the family separated them. Yet, they only had eyes for each other.

  “Hello, husband.”

  His chest expanded with pleasure. “Hello, wife.”

  ◆◆◆

  Thank you for reading Forever. I hope you enjoyed the novel and would consider leaving a review. More reviews mean more discoverability which enables me to write more stories I hope you will enjoy. The Descendants of Ra series isn’t over. A new book and boxset with new material will be out soon.

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  Meanwhile, check out my new UnHallowed Series!

  Banned from Heaven.

  Escaped from Hell.

  They are UnHallowed.

  Fallen angels given a chance for atonement, though not all desire returning to the Celestial Army and their Father’s benevolence. Some have embraced their shadowed existence.

  After all, Heaven is in the eye of the beholder...And Hell is what you make of it.

  http://amzn.to/2wUEaDA

  http://amzn.to/2zvIJsU

  Only The Fallen

  Gideon has one shot at redemption. Close the portal to Hell forever and return to Heaven, leaving behind millennia of darkness. Nothing means more than restoring his grace, until the one person he vowed never to see again places herself in his direct path. He has to resist her, but she is his Heaven—and his Hell.

  Risking her life to shut Hell’s gateway, the last person Dina ever expected to encounter was the one she had lost forever. Duty, not desire, is what he instilled in her and what she will follow, regardless of how he makes her ache...Until the unthinkable happens and she must choose between honor, and the only love she will ever have.

  Torn between what they want and cannot have, Gideon and Dina must decide whether to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of humanity or let passion take them to where angels fear to tread.

  CHAPTER ONE

  The battle horn sounded and the reverberation settled in Dina’s bones, along with a quiet panic she dare not show. A Captain in the Celestial Army did not panic. Not even when the Cruor had opened at the same time the Darklings massed for an attack.

  “I am not coming with you,” Dina said to her subordinate.

  Clad in full armor, sword in hand, surprise transformed Gemma’s face from its normal stoic mask. “Battle approaches. We are about to leave to engage the Darklings. What do you mean you are not coming with us?”

  “There is something I must do.”

  Anger flashed across Gemma’s features. “Nothing is more important than the destruction of the Darklings.”

  Closing the portal to Hell ranked higher. Could she not feel the sizzle spiking the grace flowing beneath her skin? The effect had Dina’s insides roiling. Maybe Gemma confused the presence of the Cruor with the presence of the Darklings? And Dina could not explain.

  Maybe it was just her with the strange link to the Cruor, the portal to Hell. She’d felt the first pull of it eons ago when she was a Comfort Angel, and could do nothing except shout a warning everyone ignored. This time would be different. This time she would achieve what had defeated all others.

  A legion of angels crowded the gray sky. Clouds never reached this far into Heaven, bringing lightning and the rumble of thunder. A change had occurred to cause this turn in the weather and her ability to lead her company. The change could only be the Cruor. Its presence affected Heaven, Earth, and Hell.

  Beta, Epsilon, Sigma, Delta, and Zeta, the five companies waited. Dina’s gaze returned to her company. Behind Gemma, two hundred members of Omega waited for her command, all ready to do their duty. Lightning glinting off their armor competed with the spectrum of colors from their wings. A glorious sight that never failed to fill her with pride.

  The wind kicked up and tugged at her wings before stirring the folds of her myst gown and ruffling her feathers. Another flash of lightning dissected the sky and rain scented the air. Along with charred ozone. A few of her warriors broke formation to glance at the spectacle.

  “I have spoken, Gemma.”

  Her subordinate bristled. Heat flashed in her lilac eyes. “The largest contingent of Darklings ever discovered is in Flint, Michigan and you leave us now?” The censure in Gemma’s voice mimicked the hostile glare of the company at her back.

  I am not abandoning you, Dina wanted to explain. But she couldn’t. Not until she returned victorious, or disgraced.

  “Corporeal Illian. Step forward.” Dina ordered the angel standing in the front line of the formation. Illian, third in command, separated from the men and stepped forward. His wings tucked tight to his body, his silver Empyreal helmet vanished, and he stiffened at full attention.

  “Are you prepared to lead the company into battle in my stead?”

  Gemma gasped and Illian’s azure gold rimmed gaze darted her way, then shifted back to Dina. “Yes, Captain. I will do my duty.”

  A horn sounded. Dina nodded, though dread filled her heart. “Go with my bless—”

  “That will not be necessary. I will assume command in your stead…Captain” Gemma gave a clipped bow and stood at attention for Dina’s approval.

  Blessed be. Dina stifled a relieved sigh. Gemma was a brilliant tactician. The company would not fall under her leadership. “Then go.”

  Illian returned to the formation while Gemma glared at Dina. Another horn sounded and Gemma’s bi-level lavender wings extended. Battle ready and angry, she raised her sword and shouted, “Omega Company. Follow me to victory.”

  In unison, their wings unfurled, and in a great wave, they took to the air. Dina moved to the edge of the stone platform and watched as her company joined two more ten warrior teams. Gemma winged her way to the other Captains in front of the forces. There was a moment when the three looked her way. Their scorn reached across the distance.

  No more time to waste, Dina spun and returned to her room. Quickly, she attached the greaves
to her arms and the cuisses to shield her lower legs and thighs. She adjusted her breasts as she fitted the chest plate, trying to find comfort where there wasn’t any.

  The instability of the Cruor was well documented. Five hours was the longest recorded duration the conduit to the bowels of Hell had remained open. Thankfully, only the weakest Darklings escaped, but those were enough to cause havoc. If a Demoni Lord ever fought their way free of the chains binding them to the lower pits, the entire landscape of Heaven, Hell, and Earth would change. If they could find the Cruor, the doorway to the Darkling underworld, and a way to close it, the war would land at the Darkling’s doorstep, instead of theirs.

  Lastly, she attached her black and crimson cloak, and glanced at the sword resting in the corner of her room, another relic that didn’t belong to her. It was a ritual she couldn’t break. One glance at the weapon and the burden of the responsibilities balanced on her shoulders registered yet again.

  Dina left through her window, in the opposite direction of the departing troops. She winged her way over the training field and over the heads of the recruits. Swords clanged as they practiced with double-edged cavalry swords, katanas for the more cultured, broadswords for the more brutish. All made from Empyreal steel.

  In another section, the recruits worked with pikes, wooden staffs tipped with razor-sharp Empyreal steel. Another section, with mace. And a fourth, hand-to-hand combat. To complete one section meant to master that discipline.

  Only a handful. So few righteous among the newly deceased. She thought of her company and the coming battle…and possible deaths. She couldn’t let the danger they faced affect her. Their duty, as with every angel, was to give all in the service in the Celestial Army. Wasting an opportunity to find the portal to Hell couldn’t be borne.

  Train well my brethren. For you will need every skill at your disposal if I fail.

  Dina landed in the atrium outside the chancellor’s office and strode past several of her counterparts. None offered her a greeting, as was the norm. Though she did garner several glares and a low snarl. All ceased to affect her anymore.

  She chalked it up to the distaste for the previous owner of her borrowed armor, but the disdain and disrespect extended to her. Pride and prejudice weren’t exclusively human. Angels had an abundance of both. It’s what led to the Great Cleansing.

  The alabaster door to the chancellor’s suite didn’t swing open as she approached, as it always had for all the Captains. A snicker sounded behind her. She wouldn’t turn and give in to the human temptation to call a fellow warrior a gossiping quim. Instead, Dina knocked, waited for the door to soundlessly open, and the single word, “Enter.”

  Dina flew the length of the gilded reception area. Aron, assistant to the Chancellor, did not move from his seated position, though he did watch her cross the expanse. The sound of recruits singing a different cadence mixed with the heavy thud of padded maces striking shields filled the shrinking space between them.

  “I seek an audience with the chancellor.” She landed in front of Aron.

  He rose, his plain robes swaying, and looked down at her from his impressive height. “You should be leading your warriors into battle.”

  “I have a matter of greater importance.” She didn’t back down.

  “The chancellor is not receiving.” His evasive tone an affront to her urgency.

  She didn’t have time for his pettiness, a human trait unbecoming an angel. The chancellor had never rejected her request for an audience and today would not be the day he started.

  She leaned closer. “For what I have to say, he will receive me.”

  His cold, pale eyes didn’t blink as he said, “I repeat. The chancellor is not receiving.”

  Which could only mean, the chancellor was not here. None were privy to the chancellor’s grand designs, but usually, he gave her a warning when he would be away, even though their camaraderie had gained censure. After the Great Cleansing, when her mentor fell following Metatron, the chancellor’s kindness buoyed her through the darkest hours. His circumspect protection was a buffer from the contempt of all, except for the most stalwart warriors.

  She studied Aron. Angels couldn’t lie, so she didn’t doubt his word but…Aron wasn’t the most animated warrior with his usually blank face and condescending demeanor. However, unease radiated from his stiff body and grim lips. The chancellor’s absences were becoming more common. Aron had to know the reason, but she didn’t have the time to press him for answers.

  “The Cruor has opened,” she whispered. “I detected its presence in Flint, not far from where the Darklings mass. This couldn’t be a coincidence.”

  “How did you detect it?”

  She caught the subtle meaning. Why could she detect the portal and not someone else, like him? Dina nearly snorted. Only the chancellor and she knew of her gift. For so long she’d scoured the Earth searching for the tell-tale burning of her grace, but only the largest openings have ever caused a reaction. By the time she’d pinpoint the location, the portal had closed, leaving her filled with impotent rage.

  “How is not important. I’m going to find the Cruor, Aron.”

  “And leave your troops without a leader? Captain, it is your duty—”

  “Do not lecture me on duty, Aron. Not when you warm a chair while I wield a sword.”

  His lip curled and his hands fisted. The final battle horn blared mixed with the battle cry of the army.

  Dina ignored both as the burning beneath her skin increased. The Cruor must be massive if she could feel it so strongly. “You know what is at risk. This is a duty we cannot ignore.” She turned to leave.

  “Warrior,” his voice echoed. “You are forbidden—”

  She pivoted, and with an arched brow asked, “Why?” A question none in her position would dare put forth to a superior. Obedience, not obstinacy was one of the primary rules. The other primary rule: Destroy all Darklings. But again, why was she forbidden from performing her duty?

  “The chancellor’s orders were none were permitted to leave until he returns.”

  “Except Darklings are massing, and couldn’t be ignored. How many, Aron?”

  Not a trace of emotion showed on his face, though his voice lowered. “Enough to circumvent the chancellor’s order.”

  That chilled her burning grace. “Destruction of the Darklings and their Demoni overlords are our governing principles. I follow that principle. Nothing supplants the directive to locate the Cru—”

  “So now you know how to close the Cruor.” He smirked and returned to his seat.

  No one knew how to close the portal to Hell. But if it could be anchored and guarded, the war would end. The army would have a chance to replenish their ranks. “You scorn me when so many angels have been lost after the Great Cleansing and the battles with the Darklings. Our brethren are dying. We are losing the war, Aron!”

  Dina dematerialized and swept from the protective enclave of the academy and descended through the dense clouds. Lightning chased her and turned night to day for snippets of time.

  The warm rain buffering her body, the crisp air streaming beneath and over her wings…paradise. She tucked her wings close and dove. Now wasn’t the time for a nighttime stretch. She’d disobeyed a direct order from the chancellor, no less. Though not an order that fell directly from his lips. Maybe that would grant her clemency.

  Not likely if the Council of Archangels had any say in the disciplinary actions handed down, and they would have plenty to say. Regardless of his status as a founding member of the council, the chancellor would follow their lead. If she discovered something more useful than the location of the Cruor and its duration she would bargain for clemency.

  One thousand feet from her destination, her wings snapped open. Air tugged at her feathers, muscles, and tendons, slowing her descent. She adjusted her wings and the air streamed around her in a gentle caress. Never had she felt more alive than when she took to the skies. The absolute freedom momentarily erased millenni
a of rules and restrictions, doctrine, and sacrifice. In the air, despite the dire situation, she’d close her eyes in rapture for a few precious seconds. So few things gave her joy.

  Dina hovered over the city, confused as to the location. There were little discernible landmarks. It shouldn’t matter, one city was just as good. Just as evil and infested as the others. Cities, states, nations, countries, all appeared the same from the clouds. The thread led her here. She would find the portal and then call for reinforcements. Without free passage to traverse the world, the Darkling scourge would end.

  Were her actions pointless? Possibly. But she’d keep that truth to herself.

  Though late, people milled about a square in the cool May night. She angled lower, not worrying about someone spotting her. Her black armor and deep blue wings blended perfectly with the night sky.

  Ignoring the lovers, the friends, the singles seeking a connection, she searched for Darklings hidden amongst the unknowing sheep. This could be a trap. Darklings were cunning, not the brainless demons the Council of Archangels wanted all to believe since Lucifer fell.

  She was tempted to walk amongst the humans, something that was forbidden. Protect them. Talking to, mingling with, understanding their myriad of desires belonged to the Comfort Angels. She was a warrior, and a warrior knew one thing—war.

  A thread yanked her attention away from the crowd. She banked left toward an area of populated row houses. This was a new tactic. The Cruor usually appeared in abandoned, out of the way places. Why here? Why so near humans when the portal to Hell could appear, disappear, and randomly move all over the world?

  Dina made herself invisible and dropped to the sidewalk. She walked with a quartet of humans as they ambled down the street, laughter traded between them. Dina didn’t sense any Darklings. That didn’t mean they weren’t near, cloaking their evil intent.

  As the humans passed her intended destination, a wave of malice hammered her. Darklings. Inside the Cruor’s temporary home. Dina swept through the outer wall and into the dwelling. She freed her sword from the scabbard and paused between the sofa and coffee table, absorbing the auras permeating the structure. Two humans slept upstairs. A third human…rounded a corner leading to the kitchen.