“I could no more leave you than the earth could leave the sun. You’ll always draw me back to you,” Reed says as he switches from his language to mine. I close my eyes, savoring his words.
I turn in his arms and kiss him in a way that will let him know that he means everything to me. “You’re my one true love,” I whisper.
Reed picks me up and deposits me on the countertop. My legs wrap around his waist and we fit together as one. I lose myself in him and he in me, each completely vulnerable to the other’s cravings. My heart soars, all but the dark place between my heart and my soul; that place sorely rebels while it vows to make an enemy of me.
“We need a strategy meeting, Evie,” Reed says as I rifle through my clothes. Finding a pair of designer jeans and a t-shirt, I shrug into them. I pull on leather boots that reach my knees.
“Are you worried about our position now that Brennus knows we’re still in Crestwood?” I ask. I don’t want to leave here. This is the closest thing to home that I’ve had in a long time. We’ve only been here for a couple of days but we’ve been able to fortify it with spells that have kept evil at bay until Brennus hijacked me and took over.
“I’m not worried about him knowing our location. It’s moot,” he murmurs. “Geography is irrelevant. He’ll find you now as soon as you close your eyes.”
The reality of what he says sends chills through me. “What can our strategy possibly be? Assemble an army while we fight off Brennus so we can wait for the Fallen to attack? And that’s if Tau doesn’t find me first.”
“An army is where we start,” Reed says with a smile meant to reassure me. He takes my hand and leads me from the closet into our room. The mess has been cleaned up. Russell must’ve used magic to reassemble the shards of glass from the broken window. It still looks shattered, but now it’s all back and housed within its frame.
“You think we should bring them to Crestwood?” I lift my hand and murmur a spell, smoothing the glass of the window.
Reed watches with interest. “It’s a decent position...” he trails off when he sees my face growing pale. “What’s wrong?”
His eyes follow mine to the end of the long driveway, which happens to be where my barrier of magic that protects the house is located. Just beyond the closed gate is a parked car. Leaning against the vehicle with his arms crossed is Xavier. Snow falls on his bright, golden-blond hair. His deep-red Seraphim wings are hidden from sight. I can’t see his mismatched eyes very well from this distance, but the set of his jaw tells me that they’re stormy.
Had this been high school, my heart would’ve thrilled at seeing Xavier outside my bedroom window. But, this isn’t and I’m not that girl who thought she was in love with him. I never even really knew him. He has been lying to me since the day we met. I refuse to consider anything beyond that—no past lifetimes before I was born when Xavier was my guardian angel...when he was my angel. I don’t remember it.
I glance at Reed and see that he’s studying me. My frown deepens, “You knew he’d be here.” It’s a statement of fact.
“If we wanted to avoid him, we should’ve left almost the moment we arrived here.”
“I’d like to avoid him.” I look at Xavier again.
“I would’ve done the same thing just a little while ago.” My eyebrow arches in question so Reed clarifies, “I would’ve tried to stop you from facing Brennus.”
“And now?” I ask.
He reaches for me; his shoulders cave in towards me with an air of protection. “Now, I’ll always find a way to help you.”
“What’s changed?” I put my finger on his chest, absently tracing a heart over his heart.
“You. You’ve changed.”
“Me?” I lift my eyes to his.
Reed’s hand cups my cheek. “You’re extremely resourceful, love,” his lips are firm against mine as he kisses me, “resolute,” he breathes before kissing me again, “intrepid. I trust your instincts.”
“I couldn’t breathe without you. I had no other thought but to get you back.”
Reed smiles as he looks into my eyes. “And you did. Here I am.” He kisses me again. My heart beats harder as I blush with pleasure at his touch.
“What do I do about Xavier?” I glance out the window to see him still there watching the house.
“Nothing. He’ll challenge me soon and I’ll take care of him,” Reed says as if the expectation has been there all along. He sees the worry in my eyes. Leaning down, he kisses me again. His lips are gentle, meant to reassure me, but our kiss quickly turns into more. I want him to kiss me everywhere and feel his skin against mine. My arms wrap around the back of Reed’s neck as I press against him. The butterflies that stir when he’s near are rioting, insisting that I get closer.
Zephyr clears his throat. “Problem.” Reed reluctantly straightens and looks to Zee in the doorway with a questioning look. “The Reapers took it upon themselves to leave the house.”
“Buns and Brownie are gone?” Fear races through me.
Zephyr turns his icy-blue eyes on me. “They felt a soul in need of reaping.”
“So you just let them go?” I demand.
“I did not let them go. I told them no.” Zephyr answers. He turns to glare at Russell next to him who has managed not to say a word so far.
Shamefaced, Russell says, “Ahh, don’t be mad, Zee! They told me it hurts them to ignore a soul who needs help ascendin’.” When Zephyr just glowers at him, his expression turns desperate. “They ganged up on me—you’ve seen them!” His hands extend imploringly. “They’re relentless. I had to let them past the barrier. They’ll call when they’re done and I’ll let ‘em back in!” He holds up his cell phone.
Zephyr growls and it raises goose bumps on my arms. “That is if the Fallen haven’t set them up, Russell. You should’ve told me. I would’ve gone with them.” He’s seriously scary when he’s angry. I haven’t seen him like this since he tried to kill me when we first met.
“I know,” Russell admits, scrubbing his eyes in frustration. “They have this way of workin’ on me—I can’t think when they team up. It’s brutal.”
“Where’s Anya?” Reed asks, probably trying to lessen some of the tension in the air.
Russell points his thumb over his shoulder. “She’s in the library ignorin’ the hell outta me.”
Anya appears soundlessly behind Russell. “Now I’m here, continuing to ignore you,” Anya says with a slight raise of her eyebrow. “The hell is welcome to stay where it is.” She looks to Reed in question. “Do you need me?” Her long, black hair is swept back in a ponytail. Even in a pair of jeans and a loose sweater, she’s flawless. How she’ll pass as human, I don’t know. Her skin is luminous without one imperfection.
Startled, Russell scowls at Anya, “Gahh! Don’t sneak up on me! You’re like a cat!”
Anya’s eyes narrow to match Russell’s. “I’m a Throne. I sneak up on people—karmic retribution is what I do. It’s my job,” Anya replies with absolute sincerity, describing her angelic role in the universe.