Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
True enough. “I noticed that Ophaniel and the six archangels have wings. Did you ever have any?”
“Who says I don’t anymore?”
She blinked. “Well, I would think they were visible, and I don’t see any.”
“An archangel’s wings can be ‘tucked away’, as we call it.”
“So you can still call on them?”
He smoothed his hand up her back. “Yes.”
“Can I see them?”
He twisted his mouth and then teleported to the side of the bed, his back to her.
Propping herself up on one elbow, Ella watched as a set of glowing-white wings appeared out of nowhere. He fanned them out and, damn, he had one hell of a wingspan. “Oh, wow. Do you ever fly?”
Tucking them away again, he teleported back to the bed and was once more lying on his side next to her. “Can’t.”
“You can’t?”
“It’s part of the curse. You get to keep your wings, but they won’t work.”
Grimacing, she leaned into him, resting a hand on his chest. “That sucks. I hate that curse so much.”
He trailed a fingertip down the side of her face. “I’d rather have you than a pair of damn wings.”
Maybe, but it didn’t alter the fact that … “You gave up a lot for me.”
“I was drowning, Ella. Drowning in darkness. You pulled me out of it. There’s nothing I wouldn’t have given up to be with you.”
Oh, there he went hitting her in the feels again. “I love you.”
His face went all soft and warm. “I love you, too, baby. More than you’ll ever know.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Five months later
“The answer is still no,” Viper told the scruffily dressed fallen angel in front of him. “Go home.”
Lou—or Lucifer, as some called him—planted his hands on the compound gate. “Oh, come on. I thought we were friends.”
“Why?”
“We used to hang out once upon a time, remember? Back before we both fell?”
Viper hadn’t spent time with him willingly. Plus … “That was a long time ago.”
“Neither time nor space can impact the strength of true friendship.”
“We never had a friendship.” They’d been work associates, no more. “You were asocial then, and you’re still asocial now.”
Lou frowned. “Hey, I have lots of buds.”
“Your only real ‘bud’ is a six-year-old kid.” Knox Thorne’s son, Asher, to be more accurate.
“Age is just a number. Now come on, let me see her.”
Viper sighed, and his entity rolled its eyes. Three times a week since his daughter was born a month ago, Lou had turned up at the compound asking to see her. But Viper wasn’t really keen on having the devil anywhere near his baby girl.
Not that Lou was the pure-evil, all-powerful figure that humans imagined him to be. In fact, he was a mercurial, finicky, emotionally immature individual who—though on the psychopathic scale for sure—was more interested in getting high and annoying people than causing actual destruction.
“You don’t think I’m going to kidnap her and deliver her to the big G or something, do you?” asked Lou, incredulous. “Because that’d be dumb of you. And I never took you for dumb. Callous, vindictive, cynical, and devious, yes, but not stupid.”
“You sure have flattery down.”
“You want flattery? Let me in, you big sexy thing, you.”
“Jesus, Lou—”
“Don’t bring him into it.”
“—just go home.”
Lou pouted. “It’s not fair that everyone gets to see her but me.”
“Actually, barely anyone has seen her.” Neither he nor Ella had taken the baby off the compound yet, not even using teleportation. You could say they were a little paranoid for her safety, as were their inner entities, but it wasn’t without reason. They were only allowing Ella’s family and Luka access to the baby for now.
No celestials had come for the child, nor had any demons. But if they were going to, then now—while she was at her most vulnerable stage—would be the time to do it.
Ella’s kind hadn’t exactly welcomed the idea of another half-demon half-celestial, but they’d been more bothered by how the Uppers had targeted Ella, Mia, and Joe. So bothered, in fact, that they’d gone after Earth-bound angels in retaliation, just as Viper had predicted they would. All Earth-bounds had since then been called back to the upper realm for their own safety, which they were probably thrilled about, since most weren’t fans of Earth.
“This is the thanks I get for being courteous enough not to barrel right past all your security measures,” Lou huffed. “You know I could. But I pressed the buzzer, all polite and shit. That should earn me greenie points.”
“Brownie points.”
“Them, too.”
Door hinges behind Viper creaked, and then … “You’re here again?” asked Jester, his tone far from welcoming.
Viper peered over his shoulder to see Ella, Jester, and Darko filing out of the clubhouse.
“Hey, little bro,” Lou called out to Jester, grinning. “Still not a smiler, huh? That’s all right, I’m not taking the lack of warmth personally.”
“You should,” said Jester.