They scurried into action, leaving him with Achlid and Dhur. He watched them in action, reassessing their previous records with a disappointed eye. His team needed updating, their training stepping up. Not one of his men should have moved an inch unless told otherwise, yet four had abandoned their posts and left their teammates to an undecided fate. If a fight had ensued, the loss of four warriors could have been detrimental.
Pain spiked through his shoulder, down his spine. Fucking Kian and his mating bite. If the Lord wanted him to go back to the realm, he could call him in the formal way. What Kian was sending through the connection was a tantrum of epic proportions, but there was no fear or grief.
Kian hadn’t gotten his own way, but Isla knew his treasure was safe. He didn’t know how he knew, but Allianna was out of Kian’s reach, and the Lord was not happy. As long as she remained so, Islador felt no compelling need to rush back to the realm and soothe his friend’s rage.
“Okay, Dhur, I need you to tell me more about this necromancer.”
*
If he didn’t need the backstabbing, vicious whore, he would roast her slowly over the fires of hell. She would look good spit-roasted over open flames, that flawless skin turning pink, then red, then blistering and splitting open while her screams died as slow a death as the rest of her.
As his demon went on the mother of all rampages, Kian watched the room whirl around him and things go flying. Bottles smashed and liquids exploded, decorating the bedchambers from walls to ceiling.
Antzel was beyond livid, he was the living embodiment of rage.
Allianna had humiliated the demon by tricking him, forging the link between their brains. Kian had done his best to guide her to the information in his head she would need, all but cheered when she had skillfully stripped him of anything useful.
He was so fucking proud of her.
Not only was she harnessing the power of linking her mind to others, she was becoming adept at sneaking thieving fingers into places they didn’t belong. The fact she’d had the forethought to access his magical capabilities and take what she required astounded him.
Fucking proud of her was an understatement.
Itzel and Antzel didn’t know what they’d unleashed with their goddamn ceremony, but Kian was looking forward to the ride. The chances of him surviving what Allianna brought down on the realm were slim, but if he had to fall to see Antzel’s reign wither and die, he was glad his little rose would be the one to end him.
Now she was married to him, once he died, she would be the new ruler of the realm, the Queen of Shadows, and with Islador by her side as advisor, she would be the best thing to happen to the realm and his people in a long time.
“Find the fucking whore!”
“Antzel, calm yourself. We will get her back, and ssshe will pay for this. The important thing is, the ceremony is complete and her belly is full of your ssseed. The prophecy is under way.”
“The cunt bit me, mother! During a marriage ritual. Now she has control over me instead of me possessing her!” Hands pressed to his head, Antzel tried to rub away the ache from where Allianna’s fingers had dug into his scalp. “How the hell did she figure out how to work the portal system? That should be beyond her capabilities!”
Kian smirked, trapped beneath the oppressive demon. Antzel rarely paid him any mind now; when a soul became hostage to a demon, it tended to fade into the background after a time, and Kian was nothing more than a discarded nuisance in a hijacked body. But he found it interesting that the demon was unaware of Allianna’s hunt through their brain, and what she had stolen.
Good.
Oh, the demon would eventually figure things out, but the confusion and annoyance raging through the bastard was worth being trapped under it. Front row seat to Antzel’s insecurities? Yes please. Let the fucker have its confidence undermined and paranoia kick in.
“Why hasn’t that fucking Second of mine answered the summons? I bit him, he should be here on his knees.” Pacing, Antzel snarled. “If anyone can find the slut, it’s him. He loves her, he’d travel to the Ninth Circle for her. And she trusts him, the pathetic little whore.”
Itzel chuckled lightly. “Islador was dealt with. You can’t trust a man who falls in love with a woman you’ve ssstaked a claim on, Antzel. I’ve told you this. The mission you sssent him on was his last.”
No. The horror of it struck Kian in the heart hard enough for it to resonate into Antzel’s consciousness. The demon pressed a hand to its chest as though clawing out the offending organ. “I didn’t tell you to do that. You were just supposed to keep him out of the fucking way so he didn’t interfere with Allianna and the ritual!”
“He would interfere with more than just that. Every time ssshe ssshouted for help, he would be there. He posed a threat in numerous ways, Antzel, and you cannot risk that ssso close to sssuccess.”
“So close to success? My fucking bride just vanished through a portal she shouldn’t know how to open!” The demon roared, slamming through the wall of the altar chamber and storming into his rooms. Furniture bore the brunt of his anger now, chairs sailing through the air and splintering against the wall. Mirrors smashed beneath petulant fists. Bed covers ripped in savage hands.
Kian prayed Allianna ran fast and far. Portals were her friend now, her escape route from one realm to the next. If she used them right, and she had the knowledge to do so, she could find the path to take her home. Her true home, where she belonged.
If she was captured, if the demons found her, she was done.
The necromancer had powers too many to name, magic that didn’t belong in this world or the next, and unimaginable resources to keep a defiant queen from raising her troublesome head again.
And Antzel...well, a fragile female body—half archangel or not—couldn’t survive too long against a vengeful psychotic demon with murder on its mind. He would make her suffer until she gave birth, torture her with the demise of her son, and ensure her last moments on earth were spread over eternity and the epitome of agony.
So she needed to run, to heal. She had to stay away until it was time.
Until it was time to kill him.
Chapter Nine
Soft, clean sheets beneath her back. Fragrant air that smelled lightly of lemons and mint and seemed so...clear. Warmth and comfort accompanied by a sublime sense of peace. It was heavenly.
Ah fuck, she was dead.
“Language, Allianna.” A throaty chuckle. “Dead you’re not, but not for lack of trying. That was a brave and stupid thing to do.”
Male laughter. “Your daughter to the bone, then, Remiel.”
Wary, certain she was hallucinating, Alli opened her eyes slowly, wincing against the pale light flooding the room. A room dominated by three vastly different men who exuded power like breath. Propped against a mountain of fluffy pillows, she silently studied each one with purpose, trying to determine who, if any, was a threat.
The man in the middle was easy enough. Six-three, skin like cream and stretched over a frame worthy of his rank. While she’d never seen an archangel before, something like him would have been her imagination’s best guess. Eyes the same color as hers yet with a more enlightened light in them, watched her with fondness. His hair was a braid that ran down his back between his wings, white-blond and not a strand out of place.
His wings, folded behind his back, seemed to be tainted the same color as his eyes. She wondered what they’d look like spread wide, ready to lift him into his Almighty’s skies. She imagined they would be glorious, catching the sunlight.
“No one here will harm you, Allianna.” Her father told her with a smile.
Alli slid her gaze over to the man leaning against the hearth just a few feet from the bed. He gave her a cocky wink, a grin that made white teeth pop against the darkness of his skin. Dark eyes watched her as keenly as she observed him, but he simply crossed his arms over his chest and said nothing.
Dressed in a black suit and combat boots, a white shirt a
nd midnight blue tie almost dark enough to be mistaken for black, he was the essence of ruthlessness and carried an air of brutality. A gold signet ring gleamed on his finger and a stud pierced his left ear. Black hair was shorn short over his scalp, giving him an edgy look.
“They won’t,” she agreed with a faint croak, her voice almost a whisper, “but that one there would like to.”
This was surreal. Allianna couldn’t take her eyes off the hunter staring at her with unashamed lust, certain she knew who he was and yet not quite believing it. But her father—the long-absent, never-had-a-visit-from Remiel—nodded slowly and confirmed the weirdest day of her life.
“We are on neutral territory, Allianna, for several reasons. Lucifer is not allowed above the mortal plane and, sadly, neither are you now that you’re bound to the demon, Antzel.” Remiel, eternal warrior for the Almighty inclined his head to the other man remaining silent. “The Almighty would be foolish to step below the mortal plane. You won’t be harmed by anyone in this room.”
The Almighty? How did she warrant an audience with God and the devil in the same room? Alli screwed her eyes up and opened them again, praying she was hallucinating. But there was still an archangel, the devil and the Al-freaking-mighty looking at her with various expressions.
She turned her attention to the third man, the one who scared her more than the other two put together. There was a gentleness in him, she sensed, but it was edged with a pulse of something she thought felt like wrath. This was the man responsible for everything in existence, and he was an enigma.
His eyes reminded of her Kian’s, green and vibrant with life, then they shimmered and became the blue of the deepest ocean. Shimmered again into the brown of an oak tree’s trunk, the gray of a snowy winter sky.
His mahogany hair was tied back in a queue, leaving his square face open and free so his emotions were unmistakable. He walked the line between youthful and weathered, exuberance and wisdom. And he was the most formidable presence Allianna had ever met.
Something Remiel said snagged her attention away from the ultimate creative artist, and she swallowed sickly. “I’m not allowed above the mortal plane? Does that mean...that means,” she corrected, “that if and when I die, I don’t...I won’t be welcome with you.” She looked at the Almighty, and sadness creased his eyes.
“If and when you die, you will come to me, little queen.” The sinfully sexy voice of Lucifer stroked her in all the right places, smooth as rich, dark chocolate melting over a hot flame. “Your sacrifice is applaudable, commendable, and might well save all our worlds as we know them, but your soul is bound to a demon and you carry an unearthly child. Heaven is not an option for you.”
It wasn’t a huge surprise to hear it said aloud—Alli had always suspected those pearly gates would be closed to her. But it still hurt to know that giving up her life, her soul, would not be rewarded if she lost the war. “So what is he doing here? If I’m not welcome in his arms when I die, why is he here now?”
“Allianna,” Remiel cautioned. “Watch your tone.”
Alli pushed herself up in the bed, groaning as aches and pains stirred to life. Her body was quickly remembering the trauma it suffered at the hands of Kian—no, no, at Antzel’s hands—and the result was not pleasant. “No, I want answers. I don’t know how many portals I pushed through, but I didn’t expect to wake up here in the presence of two of the most influential beings in history and a sperm donor I’ve never met.”
Lucifer laughed. “Nailed you, hasn’t she, Remiel? Sperm donor, nothing more. Just the archangel chosen to breed with a mortal to create a hybrid that would fit the demonic prophecy. Tailor-made is what you are, Allianna. A prime filly genetically designed to lure in the monster.”
Well, ouch. Alli scowled. “Think I don’t know that? I’ve been designed my whole life to be something for someone else. A sweet little puppet dancing to the tune of anyone who cares to put their fingers on my strings. But it worked, didn’t it? Hooked the monster real good. Drew the demon out and drowned the man I love.”
“Antzel was smart, finding a way into Kian. Not only did he give himself access to the Lord of Shadows, he gave himself access to you. This has been coming for eons, Allianna. Steps taken decades before you were born. That’s why preventative measures were instigated, and your conception choreographed.” Lucifer pushed away from the hearth.
She laughed bitterly and pressed a hand to her flat belly. “Preventative measures? You call being raped and impregnated by that fucker preventative measures?”
The devil grinned at her. “You are the preventative measure, little queen. You’ve surpassed every expectation we had for you, and spun Antzel’s game around on its head.”
“The three of you have been in on this from the start?” She glanced around at all three and received varying degrees of confirmation. “Why you, Remiel? Of the seven archangels, why were you chosen?”
Broad shoulders shrugged, his wings fluttered partially open, revealing feathers the color of his eyes on top, but gilded with gold beneath. “Gabriel was chosen initially. His reputation is impeccable, and it was believed his genetics would serve the project to the best possible outcome.”
“You’re not Gabriel,” she pointed out.
“No, that I am not. After several debates, it was decided his reputation was too sterling for anyone, particularly the astute Lord of Shadows, to believe he would abandon his principles and procreate with a mortal.” Remiel’s jaw tightened. “Raguel and Uriel refused to consider applying themselves to the project as sleeping with humans is below their standards.”
Alli snorted. “So it fell to you? Wow, should I be offended or take it as a compliment that not one of the higher beings in existence wanted any part in bringing me to life?”
The archangel’s features darkened until her heart faltered in her chest. Fists clenched, Remiel growled. This was the other side of the archangels, the warrior in them as savage as any demon. This was part of what she had inside her. “Not only did I want a hand in creating you, my daughter, but I would have kept you as my own. The day you were born, I petitioned the Almighty to spare you, offered to end my life in order for you to spend yours away from the reach of evil, but centuries of planning balanced on your head.”
Her head throbbed with too much information. Blowing out a calming breath, she gripped her hair and yanked to alleviate the pressure building in her skull. Her spine cracked, muscles whimpered, and she grimaced, remembering the impact of hitting the wall like a missile.
Lucifer approached the bed, his stride so smooth he seemed to glide an inch off the floor. Wisps of smoke drifted from beneath his feet as they lifted and fell yet left no scorch marks on the floor. “We need to send you back, little queen. We need you to finish the job you started.”
Yeah, she’d thought they would. Would have gone back herself in good time, when her broken body was healed, and her mental strength bolstered. Facing Antzel again promised to strain her confidence as a woman; killing Kian would shatter her. “And I will, in good time. I can’t fight him like this. He has his fucking mother, the necromancer, weaving her cursed magic at every turn—did you know she wants to eat my son? I don’t possess half the skill she does.”
“You do,” Remiel insisted. He spread his hands wide. “The data you stole from Antzel? Everything you took is what you need to destroy him. You have the smarts to figure it out, decipher it, use it. Gotta admit, siphoning off his magic was a brilliant move, Allianna.”
She frowned. “Doing what now?”
Lucifer laughed. “Oh, little queen. You have no idea what you did to the inside of that demon’s head, do you?” He threw back his head and roared with laughter that shook the foundations of their neutral territory. “I’d have you as my queen in an instant, Allianna; you are just delightful. What were you looking for when you stepped into the mystical side of Antzel’s brain?”
“Antzel’s? I didn’t need to hack into Antzel for what I needed. I copied Kian’s memories
on how to open and direct portals.”
The devil sat beside her and covered her hand with his. Heat pumped into her like a shot of lava to her vein just from that contact. “Dangerous little queen,” he purred seductively. “When you kill that pesky Antzel, I think I’ll claim you for my own. Kian still has his powers as Lord of Shadows, Allianna; you purloined nearly all of Antzel’s demonic faculties.”
She stared blankly at the devil smiling wolfishly at her, his words spinning through her stunned head. She tried to recall how she’d entered that side of Kian’s mind, but all she could remember was the distracting thrum of pain in her body while her mind searched for what it wanted, watchful of time ticking away by the second.
Her lips twitched, curved into a smile. The smile grew into a grin that matched Lucifer’s. A snort escaped her, morphed into giggles, then a belly-deep laugh that brought tears to her eyes. “Brilliant, fucking brilliant. So you’re saying I’m married and bred to a demon and now have all his demonic abilities? No wonder you don’t want me anywhere near heaven,” she said to the Almighty as she wiped her cheeks dry. “I’ve either just hung a noose around my neck or set a crown on my head.”
“When you kill the demon, the crown will be yours.”
“How long before you send someone to kill me?” she asked. It was a valid concern. Ending Antzel was set in stone, there was too much risk letting him live. “I can’t imagine any of you want a half-bred archangel wearing the crown of the Shadow realm for long, popping out an archangel-demon son destined to lead the realm when the time comes.”
“May I?” Remiel requested, his eyes reverent on his master. When he got the nod, he turned those eyes on Allianna, and they were full of love and pride she’d only seen in the eyes of the two men in her life. Kian and Islador had forever been giving her those looks, whenever she did something that pleased them beyond measure. “Before you were taken to the altar chamber, you put events in motion none of us had imagined, Allianna.”
King Of Shadows: The Shadowcrown Duet Page 12
