She had never seen anything like it. It was nothing like the swords she had seen in her favorite movies or in the history books. This was an old and a savage thing, nearly as tall as a man and with a blade made of hammered black iron. It seemed like a clumsy thing for a man to wield, but the moment he lofted it into the air, the angels began to scream.
The sound of it echoed in the chamber, and it was loud and strident enough that Tara dropped the book, covering her ears tight.
She looked up just in time to see Mads strike the angel closest to him down, and with a single blow, it crumpled to the floor, going deathly still. The other two fled back into the tunnel, and Mads came to her, a look of victory on his face.
“Tara, we've done it,” he started, but she climbed to her feet, backing away from him.
“You lied to me,” she said, and there was a deadness to her tone that she thought might be there forever. “You told me you wouldn't, and you lied to me...”
Mads looked stricken, but she couldn't see anything except the sword he held in his hands.
“Is this what this was for?” she asked. “A sword?”
“Not any sword,” he said. “This is the sword of Fenrisulfir. It's the only thing on this earth that can kill angels. Tara, this can turn the tide of the war for us.”
“You didn't trust me,” she said, stuffing the book back into her bag. “You could have, but you didn't.”
Mads reached for her hand, but she pulled herself away. She didn't know if she could stand to let him touch her again.
“You sent me looking for a hero, and all I found for you was a bigger stick.”
There was rage and frustration, and yes, sorrow on his face as well, and he shook his head.
“You helped me find the thing that will let me save my people. With this, I can win this war,” he said, and she nodded.
“I hope so,” she said softly. “Just know that from now on, you will be doing it without me.”
He started to respond, and then he turned his head to the entrance of the tunnel, where the other two angels had disappeared.
“This isn't over,” he said. “I'll deal with those two, and Tara, we must talk.”
She stared at him until he broke their gaze, running into the darkness. Feeling as if every bone in her body was broken, she went to follow behind. She didn't care what he had to say. The humiliation of being lied to, of being used, rang in her head and through her heart, and if she hadn't thought that he would come right back to look for her, she would have lain down in the rubble to cry her heart out.
Instead, she knew that she did not want to be anywhere where he was, and she simply began to walk.
When she emerged into the ruins, it was full dark, and Mads and the other two angels were nowhere to be seen. On open ground, it would be a much more even fight, even if Mads had the sword, and though a part of her still ached to follow him, she knew that she could not, not and still be true to herself.
Feeling more tired than she ever had in her life, she started to walk, and as she did so, the memories of the last few weeks started to swirl around her. She realized she had left everything for this man, the one who had turned out to be little better than a killer and a liar. She remembered the tender way that he held her, and the promises they had exchanged, and she did not realize she was crying until the water dripped down her face.
Tara wiped at them furiously and made herself put one foot in front of the other. The area that they were in was relatively flat, but she knew that if she were not careful, she would go tumbling down among the rocks and weeds. If she were very unlucky, she would run right into Mads, and she knew that given his superior tracking abilities, he would be able to find her when he was done. Though she could still feel the deep need for him that she had in her heart and her body, she kept walking. She wanted more space between them. She couldn't look at him.
“Tara.”
She spun around, but even as she did, she knew that it was not Mads' tone.
Instead, the man facing her was beautiful in a way that Mads would never be. He was like a Greek statue, pale as ice, and a pair of broad white wings stretched toward the sky. The only thing that prevented him from being entirely naked was a white cloth kilt around his hips, and he gazed at her with gray eyes that were as gentle as morning sunlight.
She knew that she was in the presence of something different than the angels that she had met before. She knew that he had warned her as best he could of Mads' lies. Still, she was too tired to do more than stare at him.
“What do you want?” she asked, and he tilted his head at her.
“To see you safe, if you will let me,” he said simply, and her lips quirked in a bitter smile.
“Why would you want that? If you're an angel, you have every right to want me dead, given what I've helped Mads Magnussen do.”
“We are not all burned and fallen,” he said. “I stand apart from my brothers and their war, and once, long ago, I was the guardian of prophecies and fate. My gifts are gone from me almost entirely now, but I see well enough for some things, and I want you to be safe and protected.”
“And because I asked him to, daughter.”
Tara spun around, too tired for surprises, but she still blinked to see the woman who had been introduced to her as Millie and then revealed as Three in One. When last they had spoken, the woman had sent her on a hellish trip into her own mind and her own insecurities, but now she could sense that it was not the same woman at all.
Instead, there was a motherly grace that suffused her round face, and Tara, whose relationship with her own mother was shattered, felt a deep yearning need that she had never voiced. This on top of the stress and pain that she had already endured broke something inside her, and she clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a sob.
She could have stood firm until she felt warm arms wrap around her, and then she was weeping all of her fears and her pain into the woman's bosom, babbling words of loss and hurt.
“I know, I know, shh, my love,” the woman kept saying, and she sheltered Tara in her arms until Tara could stand.
“I need to go,” Tara said. “I need to keep walking, he'll find me, and...”
“He won't while I do not wish it,” the woman said peaceably, “and until you want him close, he will not come, this much I swear to you for your piece in what is to come.”
Tara wondered about what she meant, but the angel spoke again.
“You have a greater part to play in this,” he said solemnly. “You are blessed, and you are protected, and the Three in One is correct. You will not be taken until you wish it, and I will pledge myself to your cause. I stand apart from the war, and I will protect the one who ends it.”
Tara laughed, slightly hysterical. “You mean the one who escalated it, don't you?” she asked. “Have you seen what I have given Mads?”
The angel shook his head. “It is more important what he has given you, Tara,” the angel said earnestly, and his eyes dropped to her belly.
“No, oh no,” Tara whispered, but her hands flew to her still-flat stomach as if to cradle what was inside.
“Yes, I'm afraid so,” the woman said sympathetically. “Now you know what the stakes are, and now you know how far you must run.”
When Tara thought about it, she knew there was no choice for her. She couldn't give up the child, and she could never allow it to be given to Mads' people, to be raised at war with the angels. She needed to get free, she needed to get away, and she looked imploringly at the pair.
“Help me,” she said softly, and they nodded.
“That is what we are here for,” said the angel. “I am Lukas, and believe me when I say I will protect you as best I can.”
The woman nodded, a slight smile on her face. “Take his help, daughter,” she said. “It will be fine, you will see.”
With a hesitant nod, she stepped closer to Lukas, gazing up into his inhumanly perfect face. There was an ancient power there that she could not comprehend, bu
t there was compassion as well, and she nodded.
“I'll go with you,” she said, and with nothing more than that, he clasped her in his arms and launched them in the air.
The earth fell away at a dizzying rate, but when she relaxed, she realized that she felt safe. There was an indefinable sense of kindness to this man, and she allowed him to hold her close and take her away.
She didn't dare look down. It wasn't because she was afraid of heights, but she knew that if she saw Mads down there, howling after them, she would not be able to resist going to him. She loved him, she always would, and she realized that she might never see him again.
Tara wept softly as the angel carried her toward another dawn, cradling her belly would e the same.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Hunting Hearts (Trilogy Bundle) (Werewolf Romance - Paranormal Romance) Page 7
