Page 33 of The Rowan's Stone
Callyx blinks a few times, then shouts, “It’s about fucking time your princely ass got here. Took your sweet time. Playing soldier again, huh?”
“I’m not sure I’m needed, since it looks like you’ve got things covered. And I’m not here to help you. If it wasn’t for Vargas, I’d happily leave your ass here to be a snack,” I growl at him. I can’t believe he’s Arden’s brother. No wonder she’s so damn headstrong. “Vargas, I’ll close from the left, and you work on the right. We’ll meet in the middle. Let’s hope to hell someone takes out Alain.”
Astor creates a stronger ward around both Vargas and me. Once cocooned, we pool our powers and work toward closing the portal. Slowly, it starts shrinking, but not fast enough, as several creatures slip through the opening. One is tough to kill. Several, and we’re dead. I brace myself for their impact, but suddenly, I see Alain’s army step up beside us to fight the creatures. Apparently, nobody wants these creatures in the Underworld. Relieved, I focus on closing the portal.
We’ve got it halfway closed when I start hearing Lucifer’s and Alain’s voices rising behind me. I guess Lucifer knows about his betrayal. The portal would have given it away. Besides Lucifer, only Vargas, Alain, and myself have the power to open a portal large enough for an army.
Alain’s control of the portal rises and falls while he fights Lucifer. When it falls, Vargas and I double up our efforts and gain significant ground. We’re straining to close the last few feet when Alain’s power drops and it slams closed.
Vargas slumps to the ground, his body alternating between his demon form and his human form, showing his depleted power state. Callyx moves to stand over him, protecting him from anyone approaching, but none do. The battle is over.
I turn around just in time to see something drag Alain’s body into a hole. Astonished, I blink and glance at Lucifer. Fear for his safety rises, and I grab Astor and signal for my men to follow. We use our vampiric speed to get across the battlefield to him. When we get closer, I spot Arden standing at his side, frozen, her gaze locked on the spot where Alain disappeared.
I motion to Valerian to get the cadre. He turns and heads to the back of the now quiet battlefield, which I notice isn’t that far. We’d taken more ground than I’d thought.
A blur on my left catches my eye. It’s a vampire, heading toward Lucifer and Arden at full speed. I roar and point. Both look around, but they can’t see what I’m seeing because they’re up on a ridge. My eyes dart around for a solution, but even Valerian is too far away to reach her now.
Astor taps my arm, his eyes on Arden, and shouts, “You need to let me go or you’ll never make it.”
Realizing he’s right, I let go of his arm. I hear him curse, but I don’t turn back. Without Astor, I pick up speed, pushing myself hard, but I’m still too far away. I’m not going to make it.
The blur tops the ridge, grabs Arden, hits her hard on the head, and throws her so high into the air, I can barely see her. For a split second, I pause, my mind sifting through the options, but my body has already made the decision and is turning to help Arden. My wings break free, and with the power of wind, I arrow forward and catch her mid-flight. I pull her tightly into my arms, needing to feel her against me.
“I’ve got you,” I murmur. “It’s okay. You’re okay,” I croon softly to her, adrenaline coursing through my body. My body curves protectively around her, while my wings flap softly, allowing us to hover in one spot. I pass my hand over her head and heal the spot where Solange hit her.
“Daire?” she gasps, flinging her arms around my neck and squeezing me tight. “What the hell is going on? One minute, I’m standing there watching something drag Alain into the ground, and the next, I’m flying through the air.” She eyes my wings. “And you can fly? Where did you get the pretty wings?”
Chuckling, I drop my head to her neck and breathe in the mouthwatering mixture of her unique scent. My lips skim her cheek before settling a hard kiss on her lips. “And thank the fuck I have wings. I’ve never been so happy to be able to fly in my life. But let’s get one thing straight—they’re magnificent, not pretty. Picked up a bit of something extra from my father’s genes.” Looking around, I turn to face the ridge. “We need to get to Lucifer, but we’ll talk later.”
Making a hard turn in the air, we fly back to Lucifer. The roar of the crowd watching below makes me nervous. I guess my secret’s out now. Glancing down at Arden in my arms, I don’t regret it. She wouldn’t have died, but it would have hurt like hell and there’s no way I’d allow that to happen.
We glide onto the ridge and land where we see Lucifer patting a sobbing Solange, who’s kneeling on the ground next to where Alain disappeared. Tears roll down Lucifer’s face too. They’re united in their grief for a man they both loved, so I stand back with Arden, respecting the moment.
Solange raises her head to find me standing nearby, and her unstable mind flips from grief to hatred to bewilderment in a nanosecond. “It’s your fault,” she accuses before continuing, “I don’t understand. Why couldn’t you just love me? I did everything I was supposed to do. I spent hours learning all your likes and dislikes, from food to sex. Every single kernel of information we could scrounge or buy from servants to lovers, we used it to mold me into your perfect match. I stood by for years while you treated me like a little sister, until finally, you woke up and saw the woman and not a girl. Everything was perfect. We were perfect. Until she came along.” She points to Arden without looking at her. “And then you walked away as if I were nothing.” Her hands curl into claws. “Now he’s gone. My father, the only person who loved me.” She slowly stands, and I tense, ready to defend Arden.
“But you’re going to pay,” she continues in a singsong voice. She glances from Arden and me to the cadre standing behind me, and finally, to Lucifer. “You’re all going to pay. The Prime doesn’t allow anyone to get in her way.” A deranged sort of laugh escapes her.
Lucifer grips her arms. “Tell me, you fool. I can protect you,” he urges.
She shakes her head, an expression of sadness on her face. “Nobody can protect me,” she replies softly. “Not even you.” With a few steps, she stands on the same ground where Alain disappeared. “I wonder if I’ll see my father. You want to know who the Prime is…” The same phantom hand reaches up and grabs Solange’s ankle. “But I want her to win.” And with those final words, she’s gone.
Arden is standing in my arms, shaking. She reaches up and grabs my hand as if it’s the anchor keeping her from falling apart. Alarmed, I look over to the cadre. I’ve never seen Arden fearful of anything. “It’s okay, she’s gone.” I squeeze her hand tightly. “She’ll never bother us again.”
After waving a hand to cut off the amplifier, she whispers, “This is the third time I’ve seen someone disappear in a hole because of a damn phantom hand. I don’t want to be next.”
20
ARDEN
Although I whispered it to Daire, Lucifer clearly hears me and stalks over. “What do you know about the…” He stops and glances around before continuing, “The person? Who was the first person you saw disappear?”
“Perhaps The Abbey would be the best place for this discussion,” Theron suggests quietly by my side. “The wards and protections given to sanctuary were established by a primal source long ago.”
Realizing we have little protection here, I agree with Theron’s suggestion.
Lucifer dips his head in agreement, then pulls me into his arms for a hug. “Thank you, Arden, for your warning.” His voice is raw and full of anguish. “I’d have never believed it from anyone else, but you’ve never lied to me. Not even as a child.”
“I’m so sorry,” I say inadequately. I can’t even imagine having a friend for thousands of years, much less a betrayal of this magnitude. After all, Meri is my first friend.
