Page 49 of Queen of Ashes and Scars
A joyless sneer deforms her face. “I guess you of all people should understand what it feels like to be used by the men in your life, but it doesn’t give you a free pass. Your family has always been the problem. As long as one Delacroix remains in this world, it will never change. When you’re all dead, I will put a new regime in place. Vampires should live for themselves. We’ve got rules to protect the humans, rules to protect the endangered demon species… Where are the rules forus? For our children? We’re better than humans and other demons. We should be free to do what we want and not answer to anyone.” Her eyes fall to Leo’s neck. “Like him, for example. You clearly care for him more than you should, but what is he, really? Just a body for us to enjoy, and there’s enough of them now for us not to be so fucking careful with our food. That’s all humans will ever be.” She flashes her fangs and leans toward Leo’s artery. If she tears into the carotid, he’ll die in less than a minute.
And I will be powerless to stop it.
“Let him go!” I scurry down the altar only to freeze in place near Alec. Leo’s blood perfumes the air, small trickles of red gliding down from every nick Adele made with her nails. Alec digs the balls of his feet into the ground, but before he moves, Keenan clears his throat.
Up until this point, the angel had muted his powers almost completely. Peter hadn’t even glanced twice at him when he’d entered the chapel, probably assuming he was under Alec’s command. Adele hadn’t asked about him, either.
I expect him to blink behind Adele and take advantage of her surprise to try and save Leo’s life. Instead, the angel engulfs the room in his magic, and a unstoppable sense of peace rams into me like a tsunami, my balled fists falling at my sides.
A bright, golden halo shines above his chestnut curls, and enormous black wings sprout from his back, tearing through his shirt. His skin gleams from within, almost blinding, as though we’re staring directly into a forbidden piece of heaven.
So beautiful…
Alec, Peter, Sebastian and I… we’re all staring at him.
Adele, too.
He approaches her with a sad smile, his brows raised with compassion. “You’ve been unhappy, luv.”
“I have.” She says slowly, her entire body trembling.
“You don’t have to carry it alone, ye know.”
Her voice breaks with a thousand different cracks. It brims with a bottomless sorrow that bares every broken part of her blackened soul. “Who are you?”
“I’m here for you, luv. Come to me.”
I hold my breath as she obeys, inching toward the angel with small steps, leaving Leo behind like she doesn’t even remember he’s there.
Keenan gathers her in his arms and tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “What about the third fellow…” Keenan trails off, not breaking eye contact with her.
“Garrett,” I clarify. Alec meets my gaze, and I give him an encouraging nod.
“Tell me, luv. Was Garrett involved in your plans to kill the queen?”
I invade Adele’s mind once more, but her thoughts are too fragmented for me to make sense of them.
She gives a small, cooing sound, and her lids drop like she wants to curl into Keenan’s embrace and sleep there forever. “No.”
“Who’s the father of yer unborn child?”
“Jasper is the father.” She chokes up, her head nestled in Keenan’s chest. “But he’s dead. They killed him.” Tears stream down her face, red streaks quickly coloring her alabaster cheeks.
The golden glow bathing the room dims, and sweat shines over the angel’s brow as he pats the woman’s back in a soothing manner. “There. You can rest now.”
I swallow hard, the weight of the last few minutes crashing into me, my muscles sore despite the non-violent resolution. For a moment, I wish I was the one cocooned in Keenan’s magic, feeling nothing but peace.
A splash of weirdly scented water splashes at her feet, and Adele presses her lips tight together, a strangled growl popping out of her clenched jaw. The strange magic that was pacifying her wavers, Keenan’s golden-white aura fading even more.
“Fuck… She’s in labor.” Sebastian grinds out, his face whiter than the roses decorating the altar.
“Now?”
“Yes, now. Go and wake the doctor,” he orders Leo, my first-blood standing stock-still by the door.
“It’s a trick,” Peter hisses under his breath.
Alec squints at the pool of liquid on the stones, his nostrils flaring. “I don’t think so.”
