Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“Breathe,” he says gently, fingers pressing over the bite on my thigh. He hasn’t drank that much of my blood since before Juliet was conceived. Losing this much blood that fast would have made me weak and dizzy before, though I always recovered fast. Now that all my angel powers are unlocked, I should heal even faster. Still, I let my eyes fall shut and take in a slow breath, heart still racing. Exhaustion almost instantly takes over, but it’s not solely from the blood loss.
Lucas holds his fingers against the bite for a few more seconds before pulling them away. I slit my eyes open and look down, seeing that the two little bite marks are already scabbed over.
“That was fast, right?”
“Much faster than before.”
“How do I, uh, taste?”
He licks his fingers. “Both your blood and your pussy taste fucking fantastic.”
A bit of heat rushes to my cheeks and I smile. “I meant my blood. There’s nothing holding back the angelic side of me.”
“You didn’t seem too angelic when my cock was hitting the back of your throat.”
“Lucas King,” I say, trying to sound offended. Instead, I laugh and feebly reach a hand up, magically pulling him to me. Lucas grins and lays down next to me, covering us both up. I stay there for a few minutes, not wanting to get up but finally do, to use the bathroom. I put my nightgown back on and get in bed. Yawning, I roll over and slideClick here to enter text. my leg over his as he wraps me in his arms. “I made a deal,” I breathe. “With Osiris.”
He kisses the top of my head. “I know.”
“How?”
“It’s not that hard to figure out, my love.”
“Oh. Right. I just…I…” Tears sting the corners of my eyes. “I did what I had to do. It’s my turn to protect our family.”
“We’ll figure it out,” he promises. “Together.”
“I love you,” I say, voice thin with emotion.
“And I love you,” he tells me. “Get some sleep, my love.”
“Okay,” I reply and snuggle closer in his arms, peeClick here to enter text.king at Juliet before closing my eyes. She’s sound asleep and Freya shadowed back in the room and is laying stretched out next to her in the swing. Wrapped in Lucas’s cool embrace, I drift to sleep rather quickly only to be startled awake byClick here to enter text. something.
I sit up, blinking rapidly, and look around. Everything is deathly still and the sounds of the night have silenced.
“Marco,” I call into the quiet.
“Polo,” Lucifer replies, stepping out of the shadows. “We need to talk, kiddo.”
Chapter
Nine
“Why are we here?” I ask as my feet hit the floor without making a sound. I’m in that weird astral projection, dream state that was always a little confusing. I thought Lucifer was summoning me to him, but it turned out to be the other way around, yet I hadn’t realized it at the time.
“The others have noticed Uriel’s gone missing,” Lucifer explains. “Now everyone is on the lookout for each other and want to activate what’s basically angel Find My Friends.”
“Will they find you?” I rush out, knowing what will happen to Lucifer if the others find him. It won’t end well.
“No. I’m cloaked. But my brother has to play the role of His Royal Holiness and act concerned.”
“Right,” I say. “So you’re saying I won’t be able to talk to him for a while.”
“Yep.” He makes a face. “Best not reach out at all.”
“Alona?”
“She’d be a safer bet, but you might want to avoid any of our kind. Two archangels have gone missing from this spot, Callista.”
I swallow hard, feeling my heart beat in my throat. My uncle hardly ever calls me my nickname, let alone my real name. Shit is all too real right now.
“What the hell happened out there?” I ask. “Someone sent you away on purpose.”
Lucifer chuckles. “What the hell,” he repeats. “Funny how that caught on. You know, I never did find out who coined that phrase. When hell freezes over…now that one I get. Because of hellfire and fire is hot and ice is cold.” He laughs again and I just stare, thinking he’s just as close to losing it as I am. He continues, “Right before the spell was cast, I was able to sense a demon.”
“We kind of maybe found it,” I start, slowly shaking my head. “Or at least the body it was possessing. Do you think—”
“A demon cast the spell to get rid of us? Yes. What I sensed was powerful. Old. One of the originals.”
A shiver goes down my spine. “Original like Paimon-original?”
“Not quite as powerful, though it did lead me to question something. Something I needed to warn you about.”
“That’s why you’re here.”
“Yup.” He takes another step forward, crossing through a beam of light shining through the window. For a split second, I can see the shadow of great wings behind him. “Paimon isn’t the only demon one could consider Hell’s royalty.”