by Nina Croft
Chapter Seven
Day Five
Phoebe bolted upright in the hard plastic chair. She searched frantically around her. She was in the departure lounge at Heathrow airport. Everything appeared normal—no one had screamed her name. It was just a dream.
She must have dozed off—it would be the first time she had slept since she’d left Cade. Rubbing her gritty eyes, she glanced at her watch. Not long now and she would be boarding. At the thought, the grief she had been holding at bay rose up inside her, engulfing her, squeezing her heart in a vise-like grip.
She closed her eyes and she was back in her dream.
This time when she opened her mouth, it was Cade’s name she cried out. It was Cade who was torn from her arms, and her soul ripped from her body because he was gone.
She blinked, and she was back in the airport, but it had seemed so real, and in that moment, she knew there was no point in running. It was already too late.
Go back.
The words whispered through her tortured mind.
The feeling was so familiar; the same pain had haunted her all her life. Except this was different. In her dream, she’d had no choice—she’d been bound to a stake, and unable to go to the one she loved. Now there was nothing binding her except her own fear. But what was the point in running away if she carried the pain within her? What was the point in denying her love? It didn’t diminish that love in any way.
And she did love him.
Maybe he had only come after her because she looked like his wife. That didn’t mean that was all he saw. She would make him see her. Make him love her. And if she failed, she could hardly feel worse than she did now.
Her cell phone rang. Her heart leapt. Was it Cade? She fumbled as she pulled the phone from her bag. But the caller ID showed her sister and disappointment washed over her.
“Susie?”
“It’s Dad, Phoebe—he’s had a heart attack—they’ve taken him to hospital. He’s asking for you.”
Susie wouldn’t give her the details over the phone, just told her to come. Phoebe raced out of the airport and got a taxi to the hospital. She sat in the back, gnawing on her lower lip, silently urging the driver to go faster. She’d messed up her whole life with her cowardice. If her father died before she got there, before she told him she loved him, she would never forgive herself.
Susie met her at the door and led her to a private room. “He’s going to be fine. He’s sleepy now, but he won’t settle until he’s seen you.”
Some of the tension drained from her. Phoebe crossed the room to where her father lay on the hospital bed. He appeared frail, but he turned his head and smiled as she came to a halt beside him.
She gripped his hand. “I love you.”
And she knew the words were true. She’s always loved him. She’d believed herself incapable of love but it had been there all the time. Fear couldn’t stop you from loving; it could only stop you admitting that love to yourself and to the people in your life.
“I know. I’ve always known.”
She held his hand until his grip loosened and then she sat beside him, watching him sleep. Closing her eyes, she whispered a silent prayer of thanks. And behind her closed lids, she saw a vision of Cade. He stood on a rooftop and called her name.
Her eyes flew open.
Go back.
This time the words screamed through her mind.
There was something important she needed to do. She had to see Cade.
Now.
Soon it would be too late.
Phoebe cast one last glance at her father. He slept peacefully, and she leaned over kissed him, then hurried from the room. She raced down the corridors, some inner voice driving her on.
She slammed into something. A solid wall of muscle.
Looking up, she stared into crimson eyes. She opened her mouth to scream, and everything went black.
***
Cade stood poised on the edge of the rooftop, gazing down at the city far below, trying to fight the despair threatening to overwhelm him. Was it only two days ago that he had stood here with Phoebe? It seemed like a lifetime.
Time was nearly over.
He flexed his wings. Maybe he should take off, just head upward, and keep going. Or maybe he should go find her, force her to stay with him. At the thought, the dark powers that slumbered inside him stirred.
A door slammed, and he turned slowly. Torr stood facing him and Cade couldn’t bear to look into his face and see the pity. Instead, he spoke into the night. “I’m going to go get her. She’s mine, and I’ll make her remember.”
“You’ll damn your soul for eternity.”
“I don’t care about my soul.”
“You care about hers, though. Will you drag her down with you?”
Something broke inside him, as he finally acknowledged the fact that he had lost her. He slammed his fist into the concrete wall, then collapsed to his knees.
“You need to be strong,” Torr said.
Cade peered up and shook his head. How many times had they said those same words to Bryce? Had it done any good? But he could pretend. He rose to his feet. Torr held out a hand but he ignored it. He stood for a moment. “If things go wrong, you’ll kill me. Promise.”
“I’ll give you the same offer I made Bryce,” Torr said, then turned and walked away.
Cade knew he would continue—what choice did he have? He suspected redemption was beyond him, and he would never atone for the things he had done. But he could try, and one day maybe his soul would be released, and he would find her again.
Her beautiful face flashed before his eyes and pain rolled over him.
“Phoebe!” he screamed her name to the night.
In the deep corners of his mind, he heard her answer. Heard her panicked cry.
Torr had paused in the doorway to answer his phone. Now he turned back to Cade, his expression grim. “That was Finn. They’ve lost Phoebe. He thinks Lilith has her.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in. Then Cade roared with rage. Without thinking, he smashed open a portal and hurled himself into the Abyss. His wings formed as he fell, ripping his shirt, and he wrenched off the tattered remains.
Far below him, flames flickered in the darkness. Cade headed toward them, instinct telling him that was where he would find Lilith and Phoebe. He prayed he wouldn’t be too late.
He landed hard and rolled, coming up on his feet. At first, all he could see was fire, and panic and fury raged inside him. But he’d know if she were already dead, and for the first time since Torr had spoken, he forced his mind to function.
Lilith wouldn’t kill her, at least not before the time was up, and there were minutes remaining.
He stood on the sandy bank where he’d brought Phoebe that first time. To his right a huge bonfire blazed, blue and orange tongues of flames intertwined. The crackle and roar of the fire filled his ears, but when he breathed in the air was fresh.
No smoke. This was spell fire. Magic.
“Cade!”
The panicked scream came from inside the flames. He stepped closer, so the heat seared his skin, and looked beyond the conflagration. Phoebe stood very still at the center of a ring of fire. Her arms wrapped around her middle, her eyes wide with fear. He reached out to her, but some invisible barrier prevented him from getting nearer.
“You’re too late. You can’t save her.” Lilith spoke from behind him, and he spun around.
“Release her,” he growled.
Lilith pursed her lips. “Her own fear locks her in, not me. The circle is closing. When your time is done, she will burn. Again.”
Hatred poured through his veins like molten metal, but he couldn’t waste his last minutes on Lilith. One day, her time would come. He returned to the flames, fighting to get to Phoebe, but the magic held him back. “Phoebe!”
He couldn’t bear the thought of her dying alone.
Taking a small step toward him, she peered through the curtain of fire. When sh
e caught sight of him, the panic cleared from her eyes. “Cade,” she whispered.
Despair clawed at his guts. Phoebe trusted him to save her, and he was about to fail her for a second time. She took another step, halting as the flames licked at her skin. Stretching out her hand, she reached for him.
“Remember me,” he urged, hearing the desperation in his voice.
She shook her head, the pain and fear smoothing from her face. “I don’t need to remember. I love you.”
Epilogue
Eternity
The flames flickered and died, and the fire vanished as though it had never been. Cade stood before her, and the last of her fear washed away. Phoebe gazed up at him, watching the expressions flash across his face. Awe. Wonder. Love.
“Say it again,” he whispered.
“I love you.”
As the words left her mouth, it was as though a curtain drew back in her mind, and she almost staggered under the blast of memories.
She was Eleni.
In another life, Cade had loved her, married her, promised her eternity. Then he’d left her. An image of Cade as he had been in that other life filled her mind. The first time she had ever seen him, she thought she’d gone to Heaven. He’d been the most beautiful thing she’d ever encountered, his eyes the deep blue of the sky above the desert, his wings silver in the sunlight. Oh God, she’d fallen in love with an angel, and she’d paid the price.
But so had he.
“I remember you. You’re an angel.”
His face filled with a fierce satisfaction, and he threw back his head, roaring his triumph to the sky. Without giving her warning, he scooped her up in his arms, pulling her tight against him, and they were flying. She clung to his broad shoulders, wrapped her legs around his waist as they rose higher, until at last they burst free of the darkness, and they were standing on the rooftop in London under a star-filled sky.
For a few seconds, she continued to cling, but then she slid down his body and stood, her forehead resting against his chest, breathing in the remembered scent of him.
Cade loosened his hold and stepped back, his hand coming up to cup her face. “I love you,” he said. “I’ve always loved you. But I’m no longer an angel. Can you accept me as I am now?”
She examined him, swallowing down her fear as she took in the blood red wings, the wildness in his eyes. She had a sudden inkling of what he had become. A shaft of fear pierced her, but she forced it down. “It doesn’t matter. I didn’t love you because you were an angel.”
He lowered his head, and his lips slanted over hers. For many long minutes, she lost herself in his kiss. Finally, she pulled away, pressed her hand to his chest, and felt the steady thud of his heart beneath her palm. “Tell me you’ll never leave me again.”
“I’ll never leave.”
Never was such a long time. “You promised me eternity.”
He leaned in close, kissed her again, and she felt the words against her lips. “It’s yours.”
The End
I hope you enjoyed REMEMBER ME. Storm Lords Book 2, RETURN TO ME, (Torrin’s story) will be out soon.
About the Author
Nina Croft grew up in the north of England. After training as an accountant, she spent four years working as a volunteer in Zambia, which left her with a love of the sun and a dislike of nine-to-five work. She then spent a number of years mixing travel (whenever possible) with work (whenever necessary) but has now settled down to a life of writing and picking almonds on a remote farm in the mountains of southern Spain. Nina writes all types of romance, often mixed with elements of the paranormal and science fiction. www.ninacroft.com
And if you’d like to learn about new releases, sign up for Nina’s newsletter here, and get a free ecopy of Nina’s paranormal romance trilogy, Sisters of the Moon: http://eepurl.com/rZ5rz
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Also by Nina Croft…
Laws of Segregation
Chosen
The Calling
Enchantment
Exiled
Dark Desires Series
Break Out
Deadly Pursuit
Death Defying
Temporal Shift
Blood and Metal (coming soon)
The Order Series
Bittersweet Blood
Bittersweet Magic
Bittersweet Darkness
For others and more information go to:
All Nina’s Books
