Her Demonic Angel (Her Angel Romance Series Book 5) (36 page)

The heat in Erin’s veins slowly subsided, draining from her chest and then down her arms with each step she took, until it finally bled from her fingers, leaving her calm and then numb. She drifted along the shore, the warm water lapping over her bare feet, unsure where she was going and knowing that at some point she would run out of beach and have to turn back.

She wished she had wings like Amelia. If she did, she would fly up to Heaven and see for herself whether Veiron was dead or alive. Either way it would end the torment of not knowing. Apollyon had only said that angels could die. A fact she had already known. It was possible that Veiron had survived and needed her help.

As the sun rose higher, the villas on the island came to life, people opening the doors and heading out onto the decks and the beach. Erin walked to the strip of rocks that speared out into the ocean and sat on a large flat one, staring back along the shore towards the villa where the others awaited her and beyond it to the one she had shared with Veiron.

A couple came out onto the deck of the villa nearest her and glanced her way. Erin looked down at her chest and the dried blood there. If people saw her like this, they would ask questions. She removed her tattered black top to reveal her bikini and frowned. There was no blood on her chest, but there was a scar between her breasts, a single vertical line, as though the sword that had pierced Veiron’s chest had pierced hers too.

Erin touched it, her thoughts with him and everything that had happened. It all seemed like a terrible nightmare when it had once been the sweetest dream. It was so hard to process the events and revelations of the past twenty-four hours. They threatened to overwhelm her whenever she tried, made her want to bury her face in her knees and hide there until the world no longer existed.

She wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged them to her chest. Her hair fluttered forwards in the cool morning breeze that blew against her back and she frowned and raised one hand, catching the strands that made up the coloured stripe down one side of her black bob. It was supposed to be lilac.

Now it was scarlet.

As red as Veiron’s hair.

Had the Devil changed it during her awakening? Had he done so to torment her with what she had lost?

She hated him. She hated everyone right now and she wasn’t sure if that feeling would pass. The darkness that flowed in her veins fed on her feelings, growing stronger whenever she felt something negative and making it difficult to let go of that emotion. She could feel it burning inside her, corrupting her, changing her. The Devil had called her compassionate and that it was a weakness and her sentimentality would be her failing. She felt as though the poison now flowing in her veins had already killed that side of her.

Families began to fill the beach, playing in the water and laughing with each other. Couples strolled along it, smiling and talking. All people who didn’t deserve to get dragged into the fight she could feel was coming.

Perhaps her compassion wasn’t dead after all, but merely numbed by everything that had happened and the changes to her that had taken place. Erin tried to shut out the darkness, the memories of the scrape of horns beneath her skin and the feeling that she held another form within her, just as Veiron did.

Veiron.

She needed to stay here and wait for him, regardless of the fact that she would place everyone in danger by doing so. The others could leave. She didn’t want to see Amelia anyway. She hated her.

Erin sighed.

She didn’t hate her.

She wanted to though. She wanted to be angry with her but she knew in her heart that she was only clinging to feelings that weren’t really hers. She wanted to blame all her pain on Amelia when in reality it was all because of the Devil.

Why had he returned her to the island?

He had sent her back for a reason. Something told her that it was because he wanted her to suffer and be alone. He wanted everyone to find out what she was and leave her, so all her ties to this world were broken and she lost hope and every shred of positive emotions she possessed. He wanted to break her and rid her of her compassion and sentimentality.

He wanted her to embrace the darkness inside her and then return to him of her own accord, accepting him as her father.

It wasn’t going to happen.

She would never do such a thing.

She would never be alone.

Erin touched the scar between her breasts and stared at it.

No matter what happened, Veiron would always be with her.

Erin sighed again. She was confused and hurt, and being alone was only worsening those feelings, allowing doubt to grow in her mind and fear to spread poisoned tendrils around her heart. She was already on her way to doing just what the Devil wanted. She couldn’t let that happen.

She stood and brushed down her backside.

She had to leave with the others.

When Veiron returned, he would find her wherever she was. He would come for her and he would be fine, and she would feel like a fool for doubting him and believing that he had been killed. Together they would laugh about how silly she had been and what a close call it was, and they would tease everyone for leading her astray.

Erin sighed. He would. They would. She was sure of it.

She tipped her head back and looked up at the endless blue sky, hoping that everyone was wrong about Veiron and that he wasn’t up there now, an angel again.

And that he hadn’t forgotten her.

CHAPTER 28

V
eiron beat his wings and couldn’t contain the smile that curved his lips. Hot sun streamed down on him from high above, warming his skin, his armour and his feathers, relaxing every muscle in his body and imbuing him with a sense of peace. Endless sea stretched below him, glittering in the strong light, a beautiful reflection of the cobalt canvas above. The warm air teased his scarlet hair and flowed over his feathers, tickling them as he glided a short distance. He beat them again, a stronger flap this time, taking himself higher above the world.

It was so quiet.

He had never realised before leaving Heaven that it was noisy there. Wherever he went, there were fellow angels talking, discussing everything from their last mission to the latest inventions in the mortal realm. He didn’t miss the constant background noise. He liked this silence. It soothed him as much as the gentle wind and the warm sun.

A bubble of excitement rose up in him and popped, birthing more bubbles that widened his smile.

A tiny green dot marred the sea ahead of him, embraced by turquoise waters.

His first mission.

Veiron looked down at the guardian angel below him. The pale-haired male’s silvery-blue wings beat the air at a steady pace and his rich blue armour reflected the sun, the silver edging dazzling Veiron. Nevar had spoken barely a handful of words since their superiors had introduced them at the gates of Heaven and given them their mission.

Veiron couldn’t believe that they had sent him out on his first mission so soon after his rebirth. He had only been back for a few months and had barely completed the first round of retraining. It was unusual for Heaven to send a newly reborn angel on such an important mission too, but his superiors had told him that he was perfectly capable of handling this and that they had every faith that the mission would be a success. Pride swelled his heart and he grinned. He would prove their faith in him was correct. He would see this mission through and it would be a success.

Veiron banked left and spun in the air, rolling down in an arc until he was flying next to the angel assisting him on the mission.

Nevar didn’t even look at him. They weren’t from the same division of guardians but Veiron had expected him to be civil at the very least. The angel seemed to detest him. Veiron had questioned him during their long flight but Nevar had shrugged and said he had no reason to hate him or anyone. Maybe he just wasn’t talkative. Maybe it was because his superiors had reassigned him from another mission to this one with Veiron and he was angry about it. Either way, Veiron wasn’t going to let it get him down. This was his chance to prove himself strong and capable, worthy of his superiors’ belief in him.

“There is no sign of mortals on the island,” Nevar said, deep voice battling the wind. “We are good to go.”

Veiron nodded and swept lower, gaze scouring the white beaches skirting the small island. He spotted their target on the far side, in a curved shallow bay. She walked the shore, and she was alone.

Without a word to his companion, Veiron beat his wings and shot down. Wind buffeted him but he held his course, his wings pinned back to speed his descent. He landed hard in a crouch on the beach, sending white sand exploding upwards and shaking the island.

His target turned to face him, her short black hair swaying with the speed of her reaction. She stood before him dressed in only small black shorts and a tight t-shirt. Red flames licked over her hands. They stuttered and banked, and then died completely.

Veiron rose and straightened to his full height.

Her eyes widened, her shock rippling through him, and then tears filled them. She was afraid. Veiron smiled. This was going to be easier than he had thought.

Her hand covered her mouth.

“No… it can’t be. No!” Her fingers shook and the tears in her eyes spilled onto her cheeks.

It wasn’t fear that she felt after all. Veiron frowned, confused by the threads of emotion that he could sense in her. Her distress seemed genuine, as did her pain. It wasn’t an act, and something wasn’t right. He should only be able to sense hints of her feelings, detect them and pinpoint them. He could feel her pain. How?

It didn’t matter how. He had a mission to complete.

Veiron held his hand out and called one of his curved silver swords to him. He grasped the blue and silver hilt and swept the blade downwards, slicing through the air. Her amber eyes widened further and she took a step back.

“Veiron?” she whispered and he faltered, pain tearing through his heart as though that word was a blade and she had cut him with it.

How did she know his name?

He hesitated and it cost him. The original angel came out of nowhere, her silver mutated wings beating fiercely, and crashed into him, sending him down with her on top of him. She smashed her fist into his face and her eyes flashed silver, as bright as her long hair.

Veiron growled and rolled with her, intent on pinning her beneath him and taking her life too. It would be a bonus and he was sure his master would be proud of him. She was gone before he could manoeuvre her, leaving him facing the sand, his back wide open to attack. She landed a hard kick on his spine between his blue chest armour and the strips that protected his hips, sending him face first into the sand.

“Amelia, no!” The target. Why was she stopping the original angel from fighting him? Did she fear for her comrade’s life?

A wise woman. Veiron snarled, pressed his palms into the damp sand and shoved himself upwards, knocking the abomination off him.

He found his feet and turned on her. His blade clashed with that of the traitor, Marcus. Heaven had warned Veiron about him. Other voices called across the beach and Veiron silently thanked Nevar when he landed behind him, providing much-needed back up.

Veiron drew a deep breath and attacked Marcus and the original angel as Nevar fought the other traitors.

The sight of Marcus in armour so similar to his own disgusted Veiron. The man had no right to wear the armour of an angel. He was as much an abomination as his master. She didn’t wear armour at all. A small pale cream dress was her only defence against his blade.

Veiron drove Marcus back and called his second blade, evening the odds. They clashed hard again, the dark-haired traitor wielding his twin blades with expertise that Veiron found difficult to match. He didn’t have the battle experience of this former angel but he wouldn’t be defeated here.

Veiron ducked to avoid one of Marcus’s blades and launched his fist up, catching the man hard under his jaw. Marcus flew backwards and beat his wings to right himself in the air. Before he could attack again, Veiron turned on the one his target had called Amelia. She blocked his path to his target, a blade in her hand and a steely look in her eyes.

Why wasn’t the target defending herself?

She stood a short distance away, eyes wide, frozen in time.

He could still feel her hurting. Perhaps it was a power of hers. She intended to weaken his resolve to capture her and present her to his superiors. That would never happen.

Veiron battled Amelia, driving her backwards, towards his target. When she realised what he was doing, she fought harder but she wasn’t skilled enough with a blade to beat him. He slashed at her, keeping her occupied with defending herself. He could feel Nevar behind him, the angel now battling Marcus. The demon female lay injured on the beach, the fallen angel tending to her.

The tide was turning in his favour.

Veiron swung hard with both swords. Amelia leapt to dodge the blades, giving him the opening he had been waiting for. He sent one of his swords away, grabbed her leg, and spun with her. She screamed as he sent her flying and then hit the sand hard, sending a plume into the air as she tumbled across it.

Veiron turned to face his target.

The female lowered her hand to her side, swallowed, and looked him straight in the eye. A brave if foolish woman. Did she think she could intimidate him?

“You may come peacefully, Devil spawn, or you may fight me. Either way, I am taking you in.” He called his second sword back to him and swept both blades through the air.

She tipped her chin up.

“I’ll fight you. I don’t want to… but I will. I will not let you hurt my friends.”

He snorted. “Such evil cannot know true friendship. You have poisoned their minds with your darkness, just as your master poisons this realm.”

Tears lined her lashes again. “How can you say such cruel things?”

“Cruel? Strange words from the lips of the antichrist. Do you intend to poison my mind too?” He cut through the air with his swords again and advanced on her. “I will not let you.”