Page 21 of Light

Gabriel waited till her breathing slowed and she was truly asleep before he solidified in her room.

Where a human woman’s nakedness would have chased him away before, he had slipped into her room only to be struck speechless by the exquisiteness of her lithe body.

Caught in her magical pull for just a moment, he’d reveled in the sensation of her fingers lovingly caressing his insubstantial form as she wove the particles of dust that made him between her fingers before allowing him to settle on her new scar.

It was healed. Some part of his being settled into a deep calm seeing her made right by Dina’s hand. For that, he would be infinitely grateful.

When she stirred his being into the air, giving him a more breathtaking view of her perfect form, it was all he could do to stop himself from forming and claiming her then and there.

But moments after their intimate dance, she had rolled into her blankets, a look of absolute contentment on her serene face, and some broken part of his soul had mended just a little.

How could this perfect creature have been made just for him?

In the darkest parts of his mind, he balked at the idea that it could ever end well. He was undeserving. If he sought to capture this bit of happiness for himself, the universe would conspire to take it from him.

Adalaide mumbled something, turning onto her side. He opened his mind, letting her jumbled, incoherent dream thoughts in.

He started. Though they had only met once, her thoughts were consumed with images of him. He was smiling, then frowning. He ran a finger up her arm as heat blazed in his gaze. He was on his knees, agony painted across his face, and she reached out to him tentatively as she laid a hand on his arm. Everything inside her bloomed, lighting up. The dark corners of her mind were illuminated, casting all her fears into harsh clarity.

She backed up, closing her eyes as all her dark emotions crowded out of the shadows. Suddenly, the dream took a turn; Adalaide was standing in the kitchen holding up both arms. A woman was behind her, and a man wielding fire stood in front of them.

“You’re nothing. Who do you think made you? I can destroy you just as easily.”

The man lifted his hands in the air, waving them theatrically, and red flames danced along his fingers. Black tinted the edges of his flame’s red glow, speaking of the dark magic corrupting him from within.

Even inside her dream, Gabriel could feel Adalaide waver. She didn’t want to hurt her father. She was stronger than him, but she knew he would never stop if she let him live.

The woman behind her, her mother, let out a small cry. “He’s your father, Adalaide. Don’t hurt him.”

Gabriel knew this wasn’t what she’d really said. It was Adalaide’s guilt speaking. The woman in her mind blamed Adalaide for what came next.

The man, her father, sent a streak of fire running across the counter. It wasn’t meant to kill but to distract. He wasn’t planning to do it himself.

He was waiting.

A dark figure darted into the room. Astaroth. Gabriel knew him well. One of the Fallen’s lieutenants, trusted to carry out many of his very dark deeds. That he was here could mean only one thing: the Fallen was personally invested in the outcome. Astaroth would not have been sent for anything less.

Pieces clicked into place in Gabriel’s mind. How had he not seen it sooner? Sanura wasn’t acting alone. Her mate was pulling strings of his own to ensure she got her revenge. How had none of them seen this was the reason she’d never failed?

With the help of her lover and his army of demons, along with her nasdaqu-ush, they were virtually unstoppable.

Adalaide’s father shot a quick sequence of fireballs at her, two hitting her mother as she dodged. It was a distraction. Astaroth dived, sinking his teeth into her neck. She screamed, pressing two blue-tinged palms into his chest, and he released her, hissing.

The pair circled her, Astaroth moving behind while her father remained in her direct line of sight. He raised both hands, shooting ball after ball of flame at her. She threw up a shield blocking him, but while she was distracted, Astaroth dived for her mother, spearing her with poison-tipped claws.

Adalaide screamed, sinking to the floor beside her mother. In that same moment, something inside her detonated, a blue flame exploding through the room. Astaroth winked out of the room, leaving Adalaide’s mother and father to be obliterated by the blow.

Gabriel pulled himself from her mind, shaking the emotions riding her dream from his head.

Adalaide tossed and turned, fighting her blankets until she was uncovered, the silhouette of her pale skin luminous in the soft light of the morning sun. Her nails dug into the comforter, tearing fabric, and soon, a light plume of feathers exploded into the space, hovering erratically.

Trapped in her nightmare dreamscape, they whirled madly above her.

She screamed.

Gabriel lurched forward, wrapping her in the blankets and settling onto the bed beside her, tucking her against his chest. She calmed, relaxing easily into his embrace. Something in his chest settled, too, soothing the ache that had not subsided since he’d felt her nearly die.

She sighed contentedly, and he let himself slip into her mind again.

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