Destroyed by Onyx (A Dance with Destiny Book 4)

by JK Ensley

  “Exactly,” Tenshi continued. “Don’t you see? She was thriving, minus whatever may be contained within that blade. And that is why I say Uriel erred.” He turned toward Munenori. “Mama was already living. She was already growing and laughing and loving while she remained with the one who found her. Daichi has already attested to this fact. She was more when we arrived than when he left… more. Is it not obvious to you all?” He met each man with a level glare. “There’s no way her entire essence is contained within that blade. Some of her remained. Some of my mama, an especially precious part, was left within the vessel. Nurtured by the loving heart which found her, and the friends she made whilst here… that precious part blossomed and grew once more.”

  Vittorio’s gaze remained locked with Tenshi’s. “Aye, but the one who stole her away, the one who has her now… that one possesses a dark an’ ravenous soul. He’s the one now filling her precious vessel, snuffing oot her lovely light. My wee lass is fast becoming a spawn of evil, is she nae?”

  Tenshi only nodded at the worried Guardian his mama loved so true.

  “We must find her,” Daichi roared. “We must help her break these shackles of darkness and heal her wounds from the past.”

  “Yes,” Vareilious whispered. “Before Jenevier is but a fleeting memory… fading away like the night mists at dawn.”

  Tenshi scanned the forest again. “I won’t let that happen, Brothers. I know Mama… was… somewhere… over…”

  “Aye, wee Angel boy, point me in the direction ye last felt her.” Vittorio’s pulse quickened as he expanded his glorious wings, concentrating on nothing but her. “I cannae stand idle a moment more. Point me the way an’ let hell just try an’ stop me.”

  “There!” Both Guardian and Angel spoke in unison.

  Without another word, Tenshi and Vittorio dove into the trees.

  The sound of heavenly wings was deafening, as the others immediately gave chase.

  *****

  A single stone rolled across the cave floor, stopping near Daichi’s foot. His steel blue eyes followed the rock’s lonesome path, coming to rest upon his brother’s slumped form.

  “Her blood is here.” Tenshi choked his hoarse words out with great effort. “My mama bled on these stones, the crimson puddle has not yet dried in the middle.”

  “Here. Tenshi, Daichi, come here.”

  The sapphire twins approached Munenori as he squatted near the doused campfire. “She sat here.” He pointed as he spoke. “See where her claws tore the ground, just there?”

  “Aye, an’ I can smell her clearly for aboot twenty feet, in that direction.” Vittorio tilted his head. “Then her scent grows weaker, dramatically so, an’ just vanishes altogether. I cannae explain it, Brother.”

  Everyone looked up as Vareilious yelled down from the skies above them. “The castle lies just south of here. From what you say, looks like she was heading straight towards it.”

  “Or was being led, more like,” Daichi grumbled.

  Munenori stood then, inhaling the slight breeze as it swirled through the trees and passed over them.

  He gasped. “By all that’s holy…” Obvious fear washed over him. “She may have stood a chance, if it were anyone but him.”

  At the mossy lavender Angel’s declaration, Tenshi tasted the wind as well. “Who is that? I’ve never come across one such as him.”

  “You should thank your stars for that, little Angel,” Munenori said.

  “Dammit, Angel. Just spill it,” Daichi roared.

  “He is fallen. A dark Angel with incredible talents… one of the first to leave heaven.” Munenori locked glares with the sapphire Blessing before him. “He is Hand to Apollyon, Sage of the Underworld, and the only being who could pull Naga back from the darkness.”

  “You mean the soul-eater?” Tenshi asked. “The one who met Mama at hell’s gate? The one who took care of her?”

  “Yes, that’s the one,” Munenori whispered. “I knew he was here, felt him with our arrival. We could have defeated him… but not now, not with her at his side.” He visibly shuddered.

  “But I thought he loved Mama.”

  Munenori only cut his eyes toward her questioning blue son. He did not speak.

  “Dammit to hell,” Daichi growled. “Yes, Tenshi. Ahriman loves her. Almost as much as your forever-damned father does.”

  “At least as much,” Munenori added. “I have warned you time and again. This is her life, Daichi. Wherever those pink curls go… black wings soon follow.”

  Daichi glared at the Guardian Angel of Jinn for several heartbeats. “Just… shut it, Munenori,” he grumbled as he walked off.

  *****

  “Who… Who are you?”

  The smaller demon hopped down from her window perch, smiling coolly at the battered Silver Queen. “Who am I?” Her voice was icy, wintry as death’s cold kiss. “Or… who is he?” She jabbed her thumb toward her now silent partner.

  “Who are you?” Valencia repeated.

  Drostan tucked his Queen behind him, placing himself between the two women.

  “Me?” Jenevier tilted her head to the side. “You mean… you don’t recognize me?” She turned to Ahriman and snorted out a laugh before her vicious gaze went back to the trembling woman. “Why don’t you take a guess, sweet sister? Perhaps I will come to mind if you but try.”

  “My Queen knows you not, Demoness,” Drostan spat. “She’s not like you.” He searched for strength he did not truly possess. “Your Highness, these two creatures are so devoid of hope and love and good, there’s nothing left in them but pain and misery. A wretched, debilitating pain they now wish to bestow upon others. A well-deserved misery they wish only to inflict upon the unsuspecting innocents, inflict upon you, my Queen.”

  “Oh, there’s no stopping that, little warrior.” Ahriman laughed. “I’ve already inflicted her pain…” He nodded toward Jenevier, his colorless counterpart. “…onto your good Queen, there. What Valencia once eagerly wrought upon another, so has she been dealt likewise.” His smile was vicious; his eyes, lethal. “Tell him, Guardian. Tell your valiant protector exactly what it was I inflicted upon you. Tell him how you begged for it, begged for me.”

  Drostan was completely unnerved by the advancing dark Angel’s looks alone. He pulled Valencia close against his back, always facing the encircling demons, never letting them get near his beloved.

  As Valencia listened to Ahriman’s taunts, her eyes grew wide with the unbelievable realization. She stared at the pale creature who was now slowly, methodically circling them.

  “…Jenevier?” Her whisper was thick, full of fear.

  “The one you speak of, she no longer exists,” the colorless woman hissed.

  “Then… what stands before me?” Valencia’s voice quivered, as did her soul.

  Jenevier snorted her amusement. “A monster.” She chuckled. “A little roughhewn by… umm… shall we say, rather unfortunate events. And then given breath by relentless, merciless necessity, sweetest sister.” She smiled mockingly.

  Drostan backed away, pushing Valencia through the chamber door and out into the Great Hall.

  Ahriman casually followed the retreating couple as Jenevier stalked the she-Guardian like a feral cat.

  “Ahh, can you smell that, my love?” Ahriman inhaled deeply. “It smells like shattered souls, ones longing for a peace they will never find.” His silver eyes flashed wildly. “That, I can personally guarantee.”

  “Does your master know you’ve escaped your leash?” Valencia felt the burning hate kindle within her, rise up. She mustered her courage. “Are you seriously making time with your Prince’s wife? Now that she lives, why is she coddled in your dark arms, not his?”

  At the she-Guardian’s careless words, the darkness Ahriman had only just gifted Jenevier, mixed violently with shards of pain from her lost past. They coursed through the tiny colorless Angel like molten black lava.

  Unseen tremors fractured the very air around them, like invisibl
e lightning. It caused them to stagger backward, losing their balance, effectively replacing their heated anger with raw fear. Even Ahriman stepped away from the tiny pulsing creature beside him, as electricity popped from the tips of her curls and actual flames leapt within her black eyes… almost like her snowflakes had caught fire.

  “I would die for you,” Ahriman whispered under his breath, awe-stricken.

  Her forgotten wings burst forth from her sides in a blinding explosion of diamond light. Breathtakingly beautiful and terrifyingly lethal—they hummed with vengeance, vibrated with a deep lust for blood.

  “Valencia,” she roared out the name. “There is something to be said for defiance. It has a certain, umm… nobility to it, one might say.” Her claws slowly extended from her fingertips. “Yet it comes with an exorbitant price tag. Continue to speak thusly, and I shall demand payment forthwith.”

  “Gealach.” The trembling, pleading word bounced off the stone walls as the door to the Great Hall burst open.

  Jenevier swayed when she turned, finding the white-haired warrior who had claimed her as his own standing gloriously before her. She nearly swooned.

  Her wings fell limp at her sides. “…Finnean,” she whispered. Her voice was so tiny now, so frail.

  At the sight of the beautiful man who now owned her heart, Jenevier’s darkness melted away, removing the fire from her black eyes and leaving nothing but brilliantly sparkling snowflakes.

  His smile beamed back at her, visible relief washed over him. “Aye, my wee moon. I’ve come for my precious wife.” He spread his welcoming arms wide.

  She started toward him, building tears blurring out his handsome face. Ahriman halted her advance with an outstretched arm.

  Although she could have easily pushed past the barrier now at her chest, this amethyst Angel held sway over her. Somehow, he pulled at her internally, claimed her freewill, robbed the flames from her desire.

  “You must be mistaken, little human soldier boy.” The soul-eater’s voice was condescending, mockingly so. “This enchanting woman belongs to the Prince of Hell, and always will. His desire for her is supernatural. His need, unfathomable. No, my tiny snow-crowned mortal, there will be no wife taking this day.”

  “No. There won’t be.” A deep, ethereal voice filled the hall as Daichi spread his magnificent wings, gliding down from the highest window to land only an arm’s length from the astonished Hand of Hell.

  Ahriman gasped. “Apollyon?”

  The sapphire Angel’s sarcastic laugh filled the entire room. “I am not your pathetic Prince, oh fallen one. Look closer. Can you not see? I am all he wishes he could be… yet never can.”

  “You’re the child.” Ahriman staggered with his whispered realization.

  “No.” Tenshi came from the opposite window, landing lightly in the center of the hall, eyes fixed on his blessed mother. “I’m the son. He’s the Blessing.”

  Ahriman gaped at the majestic twins.

  Tenshi ran to her, scooping her up in his arms. “Mama, look at you. Even though your lovely color was stolen, you’re still the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.” He nuzzled her to him. “You take my breath away, Mama. I love you too much.”

  She stared, dumbfounded, at the gentle Angel holding her, rubbing his nose against her cheek.

  “Tenshi.” Munenori’s voice was full of warning, drawing everyone’s nervous attention. “Set her down and come to me, boy.”

  “No way,” the gentle Angel responded. “Now that I’ve found her, I’ll never let her go again.” He buried his smile in the mound of curls on the side of her head. “Isn’t that right, Mama?”

  Tenshi felt the rumbling growl start deep within her chest, and heard her venomous hiss a split second before her claws slashed at his lovely face. He closed his eyes, flinching. But the blow never landed. Timidly peeking, he beheld Vareilious standing before them, holding her tiny wrist in his massive hand, the lethal claws a mere fraction from her son’s angelic throat.

  “Set her down, boy,” Vareilious sadly whispered. “This is not your mother.”

  Tenshi did as he was told, not trying to hide the silent tears now flooding his perfect cheeks.

  Vareilious released her and quickly joined his ethereal brethren a safe distance from the wild-eyed, tiny Angel.

  “Naga, look at me.” Munenori spoke softly. “I can clearly see you are the commander of your heavenly vessel, but not your will. How can wings as glorious as those ever be dominated by one as dark and vile as the fallen abomination you now stand with? No matter what lie he’s whispered in your ear, Kagi Naga, Ahriman is not your friend. He is not your loving Vybius, blood brother of your fragile heart. He never was. All this creature has said to you, every word that’s passed his lips since the moment you first looked upon him, has been false. It’s what he does. It’s who he is—a bottom-feeding, soul-eating liar. If you stand with him, Madam Empress, he will devour you completely. Oh, I’m certain his desire for you is real. But it’s not rooted in happiness and love.” He stared hard at the fallen Angel he’d once counted as brother. “He will slowly consume you, all that you are, every tiny piece. Nothing will remain. He will leave you broken, drained, horribly shattered. You will awake in some dark little forgotten corner of the universe, utterly alone and irrecoverably destroyed.” Munenori’s teary gaze drifted back to her. “Trust me in this, my child. I have witnessed it with my own eyes, countless times.”

  Jenevier slowly stepped away from Ahriman, her uncertain gaze locking with each unknown creature before her, undeniable panic obvious in her dark eyes.

  Munenori whispered, “Daichi, this is what you were made for.”

  Her sapphire Blessing withdrew the seraph blade and took one step toward her.

  “No!” Finnean yelled. “Don’t touch her! Don’t you dare lay a single finger on my beloved moon. Come to me, Gealach,” he coaxed. “Come. Let me put that lovely smile back on your glorious face. Ignore them, Lass. I swear I will die before I let them harm you.”

  She looked at her snow warrior, relief washing over her face as he started toward her. She met him halfway, leaping into his open arms.

  “I’m so sorry, Finnean,” she cried against his neck. “I’m sorry I let myself get captured. I’m sorry I worried you and Father. And I am so horribly sorry I hit you, my love. Can you ever forgive me?”

  His relieved laugh was music to her ears.

  “Aye, Lass. I crave the sound of your voice more than you could ever possibly imagine.” He chuckled and pulled back to look her in the eye. “There’s nothing to forgive, wee rabbit. I have you safely in my arms once more. And that’s all that matters.” He tenderly kissed the tears from her cheeks as he spoke. “I’m horribly sorry I hit you, too,” he whispered. “I feared you now hated me.”

  “Hated you? How could I possibly ever hate my perfect snow angel?” She kissed him, gently tugging his lower lip with her teeth as they parted. “You are my light in a dark place, Finnean, my only bringer of bliss in a dreary world. You claimed me. I can scarce believe it, yet you did. That’s all the joy I will ever need, all I will ever want.”

  “Oh, Gealach, my love, I feared for your life.” He hugged her tightly, burying his face in her curls. “We followed your blood… there was so much blood. My only wish was to find you yet breathing. Anything more would be a blessing undeserved.”

  She giggled softly, nuzzling his neck. “So… you missed me, then? Perhaps you need me, valiant knight. Is that it? Mayhap you even love me.”

  “Aye, wee lamb, with my whole heart and for my whole life, I love you. I have found the only one my heart beats for, the woman my soul craves.” He kissed her again.

  “Never let me go, Finnean. Swear it. Keep one hand upon me, always. I am hopelessly lost without you.” She pressed her forehead against his chest. “You’re the most precious thing in the world to me.”

  “Aye, Lass. Then we’re of like-mind.” He tucked some of her curls back. “Tell me, wee lamb. Where’d you
get those enchanting wings?”

  “I know not.” She giggled shyly. “Do you like them?” She spread them wide for his adoring inspection.

  “Aye, that I do.” He winked at her. “If we were alone, I’d show you just how much.” He gazed at her lovingly, smiling as he stroked her soft cheek.

  She only giggled again.

  Vareilious turned to his brother Vanir, one suspicious brow cocked. “And just who the hell is that?”

  Vittorio didn’t answer him. He was staring at the happy couple, oblivious to all else.

  “He’s the one I told you about,” Daichi growled.

  Tenshi laughed softly. “Just look at them. They’re so cute.” He elbowed his brother. “Don’t look so mad, Daichi. Try to see past your jealousy. Look closely, Brother. Do you see?”

  Daichi only growled.

  “Yes, you see.” Tenshi chuckled. “Seems you aren’t the only one blessed with the power to heal her. Isn’t it amazing? His touch erases her anger, his kiss soothes her fears. And look… they match.” He laughed.

  Daichi snarled, “Just… shut it, Tenshi.”

  “Why is she minus her color?”

  The heavenly beings turned their attention toward Valencia when she spoke.

  At the sound of her nemesis’s voice, Jenevier’s anger was rekindled. But Finnean held her fast, whispering in her ear. She melted back against him.

  “Did you see that?” Tenshi whispered.

  “Dammit, Tenshi. I said shut it,” Daichi roared.

  His older, more timid brother only chuckled in response.

  Jenevier balled Finnean’s tunic up in her fists, leaning against his chest, feeding off the strength of his pure heart. She didn’t fight against his loving embrace. She would never fight with him again. No one else in this room mattered. She was whole in the arms of her white warrior and she would never seek freedom, even to hurt the only woman she hated.

  “Who are you?” Tenshi asked the she-Guardian.

  “That would be Valencia,” Vareilious snorted as he sent a knowing smirk toward his long lost sister.