Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 70779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 354(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 354(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
“I asked you not to call me that,” she reminded me. “Er…would you like some wine?” she added.
I nodded.
“It’s been nearly a millennium since I last tasted the fruit of the vineyard. Yes, I would like some very much,” I told her.
She gave me a look and disappeared into the cottage. I heard the clinking of glasses and a moment later she came back and handed me a delicate crystal goblet half full of the pale golden wine.
I brought it to my nose and inhaled deeply—it smelled wonderful. I had been locked in stone for centuries—truly it was good to be out in the living world again, able to taste and feel instead of just observing from my stone pedestal.
I thought that Willow would leave me then and go back inside, but still she lingered in the doorway with her own wineglass in her hand.
“Goody Albright says you’re a fallen angel,” she offered, in a way that made me think she didn’t quite believe it.
“That’s true,” I said and took a sip.
The wine tasted as good as it smelled. I enjoyed the dry sweetness of it on my tongue, though what I really wanted to taste was my new Mistress. I wondered if she would ever allow me to worship between her thighs. My last Mistress had…but I tried not to think of her. Even after hundreds of years, the memory of losing her was still painful.
“So what’s Heaven like then?” Willow asked me, sounding genuinely curious and only a little skeptical.
“It is too beautiful to describe,” I told her truthfully. “Everything the Bible says—streets of gold and walls of pearl—that’s all true. But the true beauty of Heaven is being in the presence of the Almighty. His might and power are indescribable.”
“Then why did you want to leave? Why follow the Devil, er, Lucifer, in the first place?” she asked, taking a sip of her own wine.
I shrugged.
“Being in his presence for eternity is a joy, but I also found it overwhelming. I longed for something different—something new.” I sighed. “And I got it. When the overthrow of Heaven failed, I was cast down to Hell…and then sent to the Mortal Realm to become a protector of women.”
“So your punishment for the rebellion in Heaven was to watch over women?” She sounded skeptical. “Is that really so bad?”
“No,” I said. “It’s not. As long as I don’t allow myself to fall in love with the one I am protecting. Unfortunately, that is the mistake I made last time I was flesh instead of stone.”
“You fell in love with your, er, former Mistress?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
“I did,” I admitted. “Deeply. Her name was Alandra—she was beautiful. She had the same full shape you do yourself, Mistress,” I added, allowing my eyes to slip from her face down to her generous curves.
Her cheeks were pink with a blush when I looked back up at her face.
“That’s not…I don’t…” she started to say, and then shook her head. “What happened to her?” she asked instead.
“To Alandra? She died.” I could hear the sorrow in my own voice and I took another sip of wine, trying to swallow the lump that had risen in my throat. Even after all these years, her memory still burned me.
“How, though? What happened to her? I mean, if you don’t mind talking about it,” Willow added quickly.
Strangely, I found that I didn’t mind—though it still hurt, the pain was less when I shared it.
“Her husband was my key-holder,” I explained. “Meaning he had control over me.”
I saw her look down at the small golden key hanging around her neck but she only nodded.
“Go on.”
“He…he hit her.” My throat had gone thick again—it was difficult to talk about this. “I hated him for that. I wanted to stop him—to kill him for hurting her—but he held my key so I couldn’t touch him. Couldn’t do a thing.”
“Really?” Her eyes grew wide. “Not anything?”
I shook my head.
“I am bound from hurting my key-holder in any way. So I couldn’t punish him for hitting her—I could only heal her afterwards. Which I did, many times.”
I closed my eyes briefly, remembering the way Alandra had sobbed in my arms as I wrapped her in my wings and kissed her pain away. Healing was one of the angelic gifts I had been allowed to keep, due to my position as a Protector of Women.
“That’s awful!” Willow said indignantly. “Couldn’t she call anyone? Or try to run away?” She sighed. “I shouldn’t ask that—I know from experience how hard it is to leave an abuser.”
“Was the male who put those marks on you the one who abused you?” I asked, nodding at the bruises on her pale cheeks.
She nodded and looked away, taking another hasty sip of wine.
“Yeah—my husband, Carlo. Ex-husband now, thank the Goddess. My grandfather put a spell on him to make him lose interest in me but now he’s back.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”