The Angels of Paris Chronicles Books 1-3: Boxed Set Bonus Edition

by Anna Santos

  Narrowing my eyes, I stared at the men. Despite being quiet, they didn’t appear to regret what they had done. I stepped forward and slapped the one who had tried to harm Aria. I sent him to his knees, slashing his face with my claws.

  “We don’t harm innocent girls!” I growled at him. “You aren’t worth the blood you drink!”

  “I’m sorry, master!” He shook out of fear as he lowered his eyes to the ground.

  I was mad at him and at life. I didn’t want to hear his excuses. The harm was done and she…fell and was probably dead. Gone. And it was my fault.

  “You need to leave. I’ll take care of the tourists,” Gerard said as he put his hand on my shoulder.

  “Gargoyle!” one of the vampires screamed, pointing at the sky.

  I turned around, alarmed.

  Gargoyles looked almost exactly the same, but I knew that that one was Cedric. He was bigger and paler than the rest. His warriors were following far behind him as he flew fast in our direction. Was he coming to attack us because they saw my men attacking an innocent girl?

  “Evacuate!” I ordered Gerard. “Go inside and warn the others. Enthrall the girls to not remember anything. Take two men and take care of the guests who heard the girl scream. I want everybody out of the boat in two minutes.”

  “And me?” the big one asked. I didn’t even know his name nor who turned him. I really didn’t care. I smiled at him, pretending I was calmer, but I was not. “Go inside and warn the others.”

  I stared at the sky, waiting for Cedric. The fool wasn’t waiting for his men. Suddenly, I couldn’t see him anymore. He was gone. I ran upstairs and glimpsed him flying away with something in his arms. He must have found Aria. Was she alive? Did he save her? I hadn’t compelled her to forget what happened. All was ruined!

  I growled, upset, and sped my way downstairs. I was focused on a certain individual who ruined my night and put the peace treaty at stake. I found him, sucking some girl’s neck instead of making sure every one of his brothers was out. I didn’t need this type of ignorant and selfish bastard in my ranks.

  I pulled him from the girl, enjoying the look of terror in his eyes. Ignoring the lames excuses he was babbling, I bit him, ripping his jugular and tearing the soft muscles of his neck apart. The blood flowed freely as he gasped for air. I laughed as he choked in his own blood. Then I pulled his head off, decapitating him. The useless bastard rolled his eyes before taking his final breath. They say the brain remains alive for a few seconds after the head is taken off. Who knows? All I knew was that vampires die without their heads as much as humans do, and I wanted that jerk dead!

  I stared at the body as it made rhythmic contractions and smirked at the sight of it. I would have inflicted more pain if I had more time, but I didn’t. I would take care of the other one as soon as we left the boat. I had to diminish the damages with the police and the media. It wasn’t good for my image to have a suicidal jumper from my boat, but it would be worse to have an attempted rape.

  “Master, we need to go!” one of my men arrived behind me.

  I cleaned my hands on my jacket and wiped my mouth on my sleeve. Another perfect suit ruined! I breathed deeply before I voiced, “Leave his body behind. Everybody else, let’s leave before the gargoyles find the boat. The giant rats will arrive soon, and I don’t want anyone here for them to blame.”

  I couldn’t shake the sensation of emptiness inside my heart. It had always been there, but now it stung even more. Aria was alive. I had hoped she was. But what would happen if she was saved? Would she tell what happened here? Did I want to see her? I wanted her gone. Safe from the supernatural creatures. I should have taken her home myself. But…I couldn’t. Her tears… Her eyes. I needed to stay away from her. She was making me feel vulnerable. Human. Pity was for the weak.

  I needed to be rational. Even if Cedric saved her and she was found by the police, they wouldn’t believe her story of being attacked by vampires. I had contacts in the police, I could always find out where she was and what she had reported. For now, I had to make sure that the girls didn’t remember what happened and that there were no vampires on my boat for the gargoyles to behead.

  CEDRIC

  The process had begun. I no longer turned to stone when the sun came up. I’d found my mate, and I had thirty-one days to make her fall in love with me. I had left her unaccompanied for a while, and she woke up weak and scared. She slept almost all of the night and when it was day, she still slept. It was normal. The transformation drained her. She needed to sleep, but I couldn’t help my impatience. I tried to go outside to the gardens and enjoy the sunlight. It’s been decades since I felt the sun on my skin. When I turned eighteen, I became a gargoyle and my curse was triggered. For now, it was in a dormant state. I was allowed to be awake during the day until my soul-mate and I became mates for eternity, or until she failed to love me and I turned into a stone statue forever.

  As enticing as the sun and the flowers were, I’d rather stare at her. It wasn’t a creepy obsession. It was just that she looked beautiful while sleeping, and I wanted to be there when she opened her eyes again. I didn’t believe that it was possible to fall in love at first sight. I knew nothing about her. Okay, that wasn’t true. I knew she had a beautiful and kind soul, and she had tried to explain logically all that happened to her. She had a beautiful name, too. She was brave. Other than that, I didn’t know if she liked roses, lilies, or any other flower. If she liked pink more than blue. What was her favorite song? Yet, she was meant to be mine from now on.

  I was restless. The war was imminent. The vampires broke the rules. A meeting was arranged to discuss the events of the previous night. By the time my gargoyles found the boat, where my soul-mate had been, there weren’t any vampires there. There were only humans confused by what had happened, and a dead body of a beheaded vampire. We weren’t the ones who decapitated him. His own kind had done that. There were claw marks. My men also found the girls in the basement. They had their memories erased and didn’t know what they were doing there, but there were bite marks on their necks and signs of abuse. Sexually molesting their victims was against the rules. But we couldn’t start a war without hearing the other side. Therefore, I had arranged a meeting with the king of the vampires.

  I needed the girl’s testimony as proof of the vampire’s actions. I also needed her to recognize the dead vampire as the one who tried to hurt her and rejected her. I wasn’t sure about what happened. But he was the only one found dead and left behind. I was assuming that some other vampire took care of him.

  The news about the suicide of a girl in the Seine was in all the newspapers. No one knew who she was. Maybe they would have more information in the afternoon newspaper. The fact that she was presumed dead and they were draining the river for her body was really good for my plans. She wasn’t going to go back to her old life. She was mine from now on. At least, for the next thirty-one days. After that, if I disappeared, she could do whatever she wanted with her life. Still, I wasn’t planning to let her go. I wanted her to fall in love with me, so we could become angels. She was going to experience her transformation harder than me. I have to be next to her to make the pain go away. I also need to help her understand and practice her new abilities.

  I held her hand, placing it against my lips. Closing my eyes, I inhaled her scent. My body was experiencing yearning and desire. My heart was beating fast and my skin was quivering with pleasure just from touching her.

  “You better wake up soon, darling, or I’ll have to wake you up with a kiss,” I whispered in her ear, smiling at this thought.

  There was a fairy tale that ended with a prince kissing a princess and waking her up. My fairy tale could start like that.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ARIA

  My head was killing me! It was like someone had knocked me out cold and then left an alarm clock next to my ear to cripple me even more. I was feeling so much pain that when I opened my eyes and saw the same bedroom with luxurious decor
ations, I thought that the drugs they were giving me were really strong, and I was probably in a really bad shape.

  What happened to me? I remembered falling into the river, fighting for my life. Then, I was rescued by a mythical being while escaping from freaking vampires! So I was probably in a hospital or locked up in a mental institution. That could explain the hallucinations of white rooms with golden features. It was a good guess. I was in a house for the insane. Ridiculous since I was seeing vampires, gargoyles, and imaginary playmates from horror stories. What next? Would I dream of fairies and Neverland?

  Maybe I had this all wrong and this was heaven. Yes, it must be heaven since, in the balcony’s doorway, I could see a tall and breathtaking angel coming in my direction. The wind was playing with the curtains, shoving them away to show me the view. Behind him was a garden, but I couldn’t care less about it. I just had eyes for him. You think that Marilyn having her skirt lifted by fabricated wind is sexy? Well, that piece of heaven, walking in slow motion towards me, was way sexier, and he was fully clothed. Eat your heart out Marilyn Monroe!

  Damn, I liked those drugs. I was barely recognizing my thoughts, but it was my dream, my fantasy, so I could pretend to be someone else that was staring at a gorgeous man who by chance just sat on my bed next to me and held my hand between his. I should have a big dumbass expression right about then, totally caught in his eyes. I stood quietly, waiting for him to speak and praying that no one dared to wake me up.

  I guess that if I was aware that I was dreaming, it was because I was in the fifth stage of sleep since I was having the most vivid dream ever! REM state is when dreams are vivid and they feel real, but it was also when I could drop to stage number one and wake up, leaving that gorgeous angel behind in my fantasies. Please, brain, be a good friend and keep dreaming!

  “I’m glad you woke up. You must have a lot of questions,” he said to me.

  “Not really,” I whispered, blushing when his fingers rubbed mine, and he stared at our hands. “What kind of dream is this?” I questioned, unsure about what was supposed to happen. Was I going to be kissed for the first time ever, even if in a dream? Would I be okay with that? I was overthinking it too much! I should be less rational in my dreams. Rational part of me, shut the hell up!

  “This is not a dream.”

  “A hallucination, then?”

  “No, this is reality. You have been asleep for fourteen hours now. I was hoping you would wake up before night came. I’m glad you did.”

  “Hum,” I replied eloquently.

  If I was in a dream, the created characters wouldn’t know they weren’t real. I could always find out if I pinched myself. Maybe that just worked in movies. I had no intention of trying, though. It was a good dream, best dream ever!

  “I can assure you this is not a dream. You had a bad experience. Someone tried to hurt you and you are probably experiencing some light amnesia. Do you know your name? Who you are?”

  “My name is Aria,” I whispered.

  “That’s right!” he exclaimed, smiling at me and making me blush harder.

  “What is your name?”

  “Don’t you remember?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t remember seeing you before.”

  “I was the one who saved you yesterday.”

  Widening my eyes, I recalled what had happened. “No, you weren’t. Someone flew, and he looked like…”

  “A monster?”

  “He wasn’t a monster. Monsters are evil. This gargoyle was nice to me.”

  He smiled wider. “I’m glad you thought I was nice.”

  I frowned. “You look nothing like him.”

  “I told you my name. Do you remember?”

  I pursed my lips and then shook my head. All was a blur.

  He pointed his hand at his chest. “I’m Cedric.”

  “That’s a beautiful name,” I whispered, feeling tiny and silly. That was such a lame answer! He could call himself feather and it would still be a cool name for him. I bet many girls would be eager to say his name with a sensual sigh of lust whenever he would walk by them, whatever name he had.

  “Thank you. Do you remember what happened before you ended up in the river?”

  “The sane version or the crazy version?”

  “The crazy version.”

  “Good, because I don’t have a sane one,” I confessed and rolled my eyes to the ceiling, pondering on how to start. That was almost funny coming out of my mouth, but I don’t think he was in the mood to laugh. He had caring eyes but a serious expression. “So, I went to a party on a boat with my cousin. I need to mention that I had just arrived in Paris. So, I went to a party, where I was feeling really uncomfortable. A ridiculously gorgeous man took me to a creepy place, where I found out he was a vampire. Then, he said the meanest things. After, I was attacked...” I decorated the narrative with a less scary word. “I jumped into the river, thinking it was a good idea, and then realized it was not. To make things weirder, I was saved by…you, apparently. I remember I was flying and that’s about it. Nothing more. I just know I woke up here. I don’t know where I am.”

  “Your memory is fine,” he claimed as he rubbed my hand with a serious expression.

  “Huh!” I verbalized, baffled by his acceptance of my story. I was expecting a smile because I thought I was able to tell it with a bit of humor, even if it had a teaspoon of sarcasm.

  “So, I’m in a mental institution, right? Even if I doubt that my parents can afford this place. Are we in an ancient palace or some big old fashioned property?”

  “We are at my home, outside the city. I thought it was better to take you here, instead of my palace. You need to face the transformation, and I don’t want the distraction of my subjects around you.”

  “What?” I asked, totally confused with his words. Was he claiming to be royalty? Was he one of the patients? Maybe he was as disturbed as I was.

  “We need to have a serious conversation. Maybe I should begin by explaining what really happened to you and how you ended up here.”

  “Maybe you should,” I confirmed, unsure of what he meant by that. However, I wanted to know where I was and why I was there. So, I was ready to listen to what he had to say.

  CEDRIC

  It started with a nervous giggle. Then it turned into laughter as she held her hands against her chest, unable to control herself. I knew it is a nervous laughter. She was reluctant in accepting all I had told her. She was extremely logical. She didn’t believe in the existence of other realms, vampires, gargoyles, and other beings that, until now, were part of an imaginary world.

  I let her laugh and calm down. I waited patiently for her to stop, and I could talk again. She needed to listen and follow me inside the house where I could show her the angels. Maybe she would believe it faster if she saw them now that she was able to see the supernatural beings, their wings, and their glow. Showing her the angels wouldn’t terrify her as much as showing her the gargoyles. Though, they were asleep since it wasn’t night yet. After she knew that angels, demons, gargoyles, vampires, and all sorts of beings were true, I could tell her the most important thing about what happened the night before. The part where she belonged to me and I belonged to her, and we needed to fall in love, so I could break my curse.

  “Please, Aria,” I begged, holding her face.

  Those big brown eyes were going to be the death of me. Her soft hair was tangled between my fingers. I caressed her face, lost in her features. I had never wanted to kiss a girl as badly as I wanted to kiss her. They said it was magical to kiss one’s mate. But I was aware that it was too soon for that. I didn’t want to scare her more than she already was.

  Aria’s expression became serious as she evaded my touch. “You make no sense at all. Is this a prank? Did Gabby decide to send one of her friends to trick me so she could laugh at my insecurities? I’m afraid I’m too smart to believe in fairy tales. There is no way in hell that I believe vampires exist, and that gargoyles are flying freely
in the skies of Paris! And another realm? Where you are the prince? Please, at least, you could be original and say that you are the prince of a small and unknown country in some forsaken continent. But I know a lot of geography, so give it your best shot.”

  I sighed. I knew it would be hard. She was more accepting the previous night. Guess sleep made her think it had been a hallucination or a really bad dream.

  Looking around, she asked, “Where is the camera?”

  I ruffled my hair. “There is no camera. I wouldn’t make up something serious like this. Vampires are real, gargoyles exist, and you need to prepare yourself because there is a lot more that you don’t know.”

  “So…you saved me from drowning in the river. Vampires tried to… And no one knows that I’m here?” This time her voice trembled with fear. “Do my parents think I’m dead? You kidnapped me! Someone else saved me from that river, or I was able to get to the shore and fainted. You found me and brought me here. Now you are messing with my head! I have a family. They must be worried sick!”

  “Aria, everybody thinks that you’re dead,” I informed her, noticing that tears were running down her cheeks. “Please don’t cry,” I begged, wiping her tears with my thumbs. “It is better for them to think that you are dead.”

  “How could that be better?” she shouted as she pushed my hands away from her. “I want to see my parents. I demand that you call my family and tell them I’m alive!”

  I gazed at her, shocked by her tone and demands. She folded her arms over her chest and stared at me, cold and serious eyes, making my heart hurt with what I was going to say. “I can’t.”

  “What do you mean, you can’t?” she asked, anger shining in her eyes.

  “I need you to stay with me. We are bound together now.”

  “Bound together. What do you mean by that?” she asked, frowning at me.

  “You and I are meant to stay together. You are my mate.”