by Anna Santos
I glanced at Cedric and surveyed the whole room. Everything seemed like a big and scary nightmare, and I had no idea how to stop it.
“Open the gate, Aria. Philippe will be unharmed. Jo will be released, and you can be happy like one big, happy family.”
My heart clenched, my throat became dry, and I eagerly looked at Philippe's eyes to understand what I should do. I wanted to save him, but I had to do a bad thing for that to happen. Plus, I wasn’t even sure that I could open portals or that Kayden would stay true to his word.
Philippe shook his head. The specter squeezed his shoulder and he whimpered in pain.
Tears prickled my eyes. I didn’t want Philippe dead.
“He'll live if you open the portal, Aria,” Kayden reiterated his promise as he gripped Philippe’s neck harder. “But if you don't do what I want, I’ll kill him. Then, he’ll be lost in Hell because you haven't restored your bond. When you ascend, you will be alone forever. Can you live with the remorse? Can you live without him?”
“Just do it,” Cedric urged me. “We will deal with the consequences later.”
“Cedric, you can't!” Jacob protested. “There are dangerous creatures that will cross over.”
I gazed at Cedric and then at Camille who was protected behind her mate's body while holding him by his arms. She had her shield around them. At least, they were safe. I just had to worry about Jo and Philippe.
Cedric uttered to the specter, “If I have your word that you won't hurt Jo then Aria will do it. But I want you to control your gargoyle. She's clearly not in charge of her emotions.”
Kayden loosened the dagger on Philippe's throat and placed the weapon behind Philippe’s back. “You have to go inside and bring Maurice. If you do that, Lilly won't do anything to your lover, Cedric.”
Cedric narrowed his eyes. “You want me to go in?”
“We need angels to protect us and use their ability to track down our lovers faster,” Kayden explained. “You can take blondie and the big scary angel there to help you. They are making me nervous.”
“They are not a threat,” Cedric assured.
My eyes were on Philippe and Kayden’s arm. He held a dagger against my mate’s back. I was sure that it was placed against his heart and ready to move if I did something foolish. Cedric was negotiating with the specter. Jo’s life was important to him.
“I hope not, or they will ascend a lot faster than they should,” Kayden threatened.
“If you do something to our friends, I'll take you all with me to Hell and leave you there!” I threatened back.
“There she is! The fire in her eyes and the courage in her voice. Now use that to open a portal for us,” Kayden said, apparently undaunted by my words.
“She will not. You will not,” Philippe shouted.
“I must,” I told him as tears rushed to my eyes. “To save you.”
“His master will…”
“Shut up!” Kayden ordered as he moved his arm and the blade must have hurt Philippe because he gasped in pain.
I screamed, “Stop hurting him!”
“You will not put our world at risk. You have no idea of what’s on the other side or who they want to bring here,” Philippe reasoned as he stared at me.
I looked at the specter. “If you promise me that nothing bad will happen to Philippe, I’ll do everything I can to open the gate.”
“I don’t wish to kill him. Once you help me, you can be together again.”
“I’ll do it. We’ll deal with the consequences later.”
“I’ll help,” Cedric agreed.
Philippe tried to move forward. “Aria, you can’t…”
“Be still,” Kayden grumbled.
“She will not open the gate,” Philippe muttered.
Gasping, I watched in horror as he pushed his body against the dagger that pierced through him as if he was butter. Philippe’s heart stopped and whatever magic that allowed the existence of vampires ceased to be. Philippe’s chocolate eyes glazed over and his body crumbled on the marble floor.
“No! No!” I yelled after losing my voice.
The dagger fell from Kayden’s hand as he stepped back and looked at the lifeless body. His shoes were covered with Philippe’s blood.
I saw red.
“He’s gone, and it’s all your fault,” I shouted. My voice echoed with the power of a thunder. “He’s gone!”
My body burst into fire, and I opened my arms wide as I aimed all of my anger at Kayden. “I will destroy you.”
I unleashed my power in that room and didn’t care about the consequences.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
PHILIPPE
I blinked several times as my mouth tasted the sand against my lips. There was something crushing me, preventing me from moving. I was covered in sweat and a sharp pain on my back warned me that I was wounded. The heat was suffocating.
I panicked as I forced my eyes open and noticed that I was under the blistering sun. After looking around, my heartbeat slowed down, and I pondered about my situation. I should be dead, burned to ashes. Yet I was not.
The last thing I remembered was…dying. The horror in Aria’s eyes haunted my memory. The specter killed me. No. I killed myself, so she wouldn’t open the portal and free Kayden’s master.
Wherever I was, this was the afterlife.
It took all my strength to sit up as I pushed away from the sand and moved my sore body. Gulping, I looked at the never-ending desert where I was alone. Apparently, Hell was a suffocating wasteland and my new home.
The pressure on my back was uncomfortable as was the heat. At least, I wasn’t blistering under the UV rays. Attempting to scratch my back, I felt them—the soft sensation of feathers. I snapped my neck only to scrunch my eyelids together because of the intense pain in my muscles. Peeling my eyes open, I looked back and saw the white and reddish feathers that were part of two wings.
Where did they come from and why are they on my back?
I tensed my back and tried to understand if they were a part of me or an illusion. Only angels had wings, not vampires like me, especially not in Hell.
I died and my energy was transferred to another dimension. That was my original form. Kayden had said that I was an angel in a previous life. Apparently, I had been a Red Angel like Aria. I guess it was not as far-fetched as I had thought.
Gasping, I secured my hands on the sand as an excruciating pain exploded in my head. Images flashed behind my eyelids and hammered me with the cold sensation of horror and guilt. So many had died by our hands. So many of us had fallen in a pointless war.
Aria.
She was the only thing that mattered. My heart hurt from being apart.
Again.I lost her again.
A soft breeze circled around me, playing with the sand.
I gazed up. The heat danced like an invisible layer. I was stuck there for all eternity. Aria was alone with a mad specter.
What have I done?
What could I have done? I couldn’t let her open the portal to Hell. Yet, looking around, it seemed rather deserted. Where were the scary monsters and demons?
The wings felt heavy on my back. I couldn’t stay still. I was an angel. I had wings. I must have powers. Discovering how to master my abilities was essential.
Red Angels are powerful Archangels, are they not?
Another sharp pain in my head hit me and flashes of what seemed to be memories punched me in my guts. The angels were fighting among themselves. The carnage was gruesome. Yet all I could think about was the safety of the tall female angel with red hair fighting a few meters away from me. Fire flew from her hand against their shields as her sword pierced and defended against the blows of the other angels and their weapons.
Gasping for air, the images stopped. I kneeled and tried to control my wings, so I could get up.
CEDRIC
Aria had gone mad with the loss of Philippe. She had burst into flames, and we would all be gone if Camille hadn’t used her power
s to contain the deadly fire.
“I won’t be able to hold her for much longer. I need your help, Cedric,” Camille shouted.
Granted, I could use my powers to freeze Camille’s bubble and give us more time to run. Yet Aria’s demonstration of power had scared both the specter and Lilly. I wasn’t going to lose this chance of saving Josephine now that my sister had lowered her guard.
Teleporting behind Lilly, I held the blade she had in her hand and froze it until it shattered. I heard her gasp before I twisted her arm and shoved her against the wall. Aiming my hands at her, I froze her body and only left her head and neck unarmed. It wasn’t my intention to kill her, only to imprison her.
Breathless, I muttered to my sister, “I have no idea what lies you’ve been told, but I didn’t kill our parents our Maurice.”
“Liar,” she spat out.
“I mourned your death…”
“I’ll kill you once I break free…”
I recoiled with sadness. My attention sharpened with Jo’s voice.
“Aria, stand down,” Jo yelled with her hands on the floor. Snapping her head back, she added, “Cedric, you need to do something before she kills us.”
Clenching my teeth, I fought the urge to hold Josephine and make sure she was safe.
The specter yelled as he moved his hands in a soothing movement. “Aria, listen to me! You can still save Philippe. All you have to do is open the gate to Hell and get him. I’ll guide you. We can both look for him and bring him back.”
The sound of her powers and the increase of gravity made it seem as if we were underwater. It was hard to move my limbs.
Camille kneeled, close to exhaustion.
“Aria, stop this! We’ll find a solution,” I yelled at her.
Closing my eyes, I teleported closer. I put myself in front of her, hoping that she could see me. “Control your fire.”
The force field burst and I barely had time to aim my hands forward and fight her fire with my ice.
Her voice sounded like thunder. “You dare protect him after what he’s done?”
I shouted back. “You will destroy everyone if you don’t contain your powers.”
“Aria, please. Listen to Cedric,” Jo yelled.
Suddenly, the fire I was fighting against stopped. Blinking, I noticed that Aria was no longer in front of me. I turned around and saw that she was in front of the specter with her hand on his neck. With Philippe on the other side, Aria needed to be stopped before she opened the gate. She had the sacred orb in her hand, and it was glowing as if she was controlling its powers.
“Aria, you will not open the gate,” I said to her.
“It’s your only chance to get him back,” the specter spoke as his hands were held up in surrender. “Open it, and I can guide you.”
“Aria!”
I couldn’t see her face, but I was sure that she was beyond mad and her eyes were glowing.
Her next words left me speechless. “I don’t need to open the gate to Hell to go there.”
With that said, they both disappeared and a sudden darkness took over the room.
I looked at the balcony doors. The moonlight that had been shining upon my kingdom had dimmed until it faded completely. Rushing to the doors, I opened them wide and stepped onto the balcony. The night was pitch-black. It wasn’t surprising since the opening to Paris was closed, and we were left trapped inside our world with an endless night. The only light came from the castle and the artificial lamps.
I could still teleport, but my other subjects, the gargoyles, couldn’t.
“Cedric, what will happen now?”
I turned around and saw Jo behind me as her face gazed upon the dark sky. Her eyes were wide and her hands were trembling.
“Now, we pray she will come back and free us from this prison. Without the sun from the other side, the plants won’t survive and this world will freeze until nothing can grow and live here.”
“Angels can still teleport, can’t they?”
I nodded. “But we will lose our home.”
Gazing into the room, I saw Jacob holding Camille as she recovered. My sister was trapped, and I had to do something important before taking care of her betrayal.
My throat was dry when I spoke. If this didn’t work, I was back to be alone and mateless despite having my wings and angel powers intact.
“Jo, with your permission, I want to kiss you. Waiting longer is pointless…”
Her eyes narrowed in what seemed to be a sad expression.
“Don’t you believe we are meant to be?” I questioned her.
She placed a hand against her heart. “Were you willing to let Aria open the gate to keep me safe?”
Her voice came out as a whisper, and I didn’t know if she was feeling gratitude or disappointment.
“I would. I would go to Hell and get you if I had to.”
Shortening the distance between us, she laced her arms around my neck and her lips crashed against mine. I deepened the kiss until she gasped against my mouth and tilted her head back.
Opening her eyes, she said, “That would be an irresponsible thing to do. I don’t deserve your—”
“Devotion?”
She nodded.
“I love you.”
“Yet, nothing happened after the kiss,” her voice came out shattered. “We—I can’t move my legs.”
“What?”
Stepping back and letting her go, I noticed that her body was turning into stone despite it being dark around us.
I reached for her hands and her eyes showed how scared she was.
“No, no.”
“Cedric… Ce…”
“No!” I yelled as she turned to stone and her face stopped moving. Her beautiful lips stayed immortalized, and she became a statue before my eyes.
I lost my mind. “Take me instead. Not her! Why do you have to be so cruel?”
I heard laughter coming from inside the room. Lilly shouted, “It suits you well. No one will ever love a monster like you.”
I ignored her insane accusations and tried to understand why that had happened.
Cupping her face, I vowed, “I’ll save you, Josephine. I’ll change places with you, so you can be happy. I’m so sorry, baby. I didn’t know you would be cursed. I thought you could find someone else if we didn’t match.”
I kissed her cold and lifeless lips as pain numbed my limbs and made tears sting my eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
An explosion sent me back and my wings flapped and prevented me from falling from the balcony.
Coughing, I dusted off the small particles of rock that hit me. My brain only had a few seconds to process what had happened. Once the cloud of dust dissipated, I saw Josephine.
She was shining as white as the wings behind her back. Her black hair fell about her shoulders and her eyes aimed at me. “Cedric?”
“Jo…”
She was a vision of perfection and the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
“You are mine.” It started as an affirmation and it turned into me bursting into laughter and rushing to her. I hugged her against my chest and inhaled her scent. “You are mine. You are my queen, my mate.” My chest constricted. “I don’t deserve you.”
Jo managed to cup my face between her hands. “I’ll be the judge of that,” she said before planting a kiss on my lips.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
ARIA
I materialized with the specter in an endless desert with two burning suns in the sky and far away mountains. The air was heavy and dry. The heat was suffocating.
Letting go of Kayden, his hands flew to his throat as if he couldn’t breathe. With a confused gaze, he stumbled and removed his tunic. Wearing pants and a shirt, his once fleshless body gained meat, muscles, and skin as if he was becoming human again.
Whatever magic was doing that, it wasn’t mine.
Once the transformation stopped, Kayden looked at his hands and asked hoarsely, “Where are we?”
“
Hell,” I replied, shadowing my eyes with my hand as I looked at the horizon. “How can I find Philippe?”
“We need to find my master first. Then, I’ll teach you how to find your mate. But we need to move soon. I’m sure that whoever lives here has noticed our arrival and will be looking for us.”
“And?” I asked, turning to face Kayden. He looked young with brown eyes and hair. Harmless, if I didn’t know better.
Kayden picked up his tunic and dusted it off. “There are powerful beings in this place that prey on the energy of new arrivals. You don’t want to be here when they come. They are too many, and we can’t fight them all. We need to find my master. He’ll know where your lover is.”
Folding my arms, I counteroffered, “What if I leave you here by yourself and look for Philippe on my own?”
“It’s not a wise decision since you have no idea how to travel around this land. Plus, you still have the sacred orb to get us out of here, so I won’t trick you. I get that you are powerful, but you don’t use your wings to fly, do you? Teleporting won’t work here. You need my help.”
I clenched my teeth.
Kayden added, “By my calculations, Philippe has been here for a day now. He may be hurt and beaten.”
“He just died!”
“Time works differently here. A few minutes can be hours in this place.”
“I will kill you if something happens to Philippe.”
Kayden’s lips curled into a smile. “I’m already dead. I’ve been that way since the moment we arrived here. Now, put this over your shoulders to conceal your red wings. I was hoping we would bring more angels to do this, but since you snapped and decided to come alone, we can’t draw attention to your wings. Use your pocket to conceal the orb.”
It had been a rash decision, and I had no idea what to do to find Philippe. Holding the orb calmed me down and made me feel secure.
Kayden said, “I should warn you. Memories from past lives will rush to your mind and it can be painful.”
