Iridescent (Ember 2) (20 page)

Sebastian launched himself off the wall, past Ananchel, and landed squatting on the ground several feet away. His body quivered, as if someone had struck a match inside his stomach and lit a charge that powered through his entire body. He stayed in his crouch, twisting slowly to face Ananchel, skimming his fingertips over dirty concrete.

It happened fast—a fraction of a second. He caught Ananchel with one hand under her jaw and the other at her shoulder, forcing her backward. Both their bodies shuddered on impact against the decaying brick wall. Sebastian slammed Ananchel against it again for good measure, while snarling like an animal up to her face in the mist of putrid dust.

“Then why haven’t we?” Sebastian roared. Rage coursed through his whole body until his limbs shook.

Ananchel’s smile made Sebastian’s stomach twist into a knot so violent, it almost folded him in two. He let her go, clutching his arms across his midsection and hoping the pressure would somehow relieve the sensation. He looked up to her, panting through puffy clouds of condensation, and felt warm sweat trickle down his clammy skin.

She swished her long hair over her shoulder and released a breath. “My plans have changed. Before Lilith destroyed the Arch, Candra was created to act against her. He knew Lilith wouldn’t stop at heaven. Candra’s creation was…unexpected. She’s unique, like us but not—Draven deserves someone as special as her. I believe he is in love with Candra, though he would never admit it. Not even to himself.”

“You say that like it should be an epiphany for me.” Sebastian sneered up to her. He had walked straight into a trap. Ananchel had him precisely where she wanted him, crumpled over at the feet of the real monster—the puppet master. “Well, I’m sorry, but it isn’t.”

He forced himself to stand while her eyes traveled lazily up and down his body, as if he was a tasty morsel she contemplated consuming, before she locked her fierce gaze on his face. Her tongue flicked out across her top lip, leaving a moist trail. He heard his heart inside his skull beating out a thunderous rhythm and working steadily toward a crescendo before it halted, and his eyes grew wide. Sebastian predicted what her next words would be before she spoke them.

“She plans to take Candra.”

“Take?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow, questioning her use of words. For as much as he wanted to walk away and rethink his plans to exclude the vile piece of trash in front of him, he knew that would be counterproductive. He couldn’t just walk away without allowing Ananchel’s narcissism to betray her plans. Then he would let Draven deal with her. Punishment would be swift for consorting with Lilith and plotting to destroy the Arch. Retribution would be immeasurably exacting when handed down by the only person in this world she cared for.

“She wants to possess Candra’s body, force her soul so far down that the Candra you and I know will never see the light of day again. She will exist in an endless torment, senseless and with no concept of time, inside a body she cannot control. When she is joined with Lilith, she will float in utter blackness for eternity.”

Ananchel paused, and Sebastian held his tongue, guessing there was more. Ananchel was nothing if not dramatic.

“I guess you would call it hell.”

And there it was. Sebastian realized instinctually that she wasn’t sharing this information for the good of her health. Ananchel had a plan. He wondered if she ever truly expected him to come to her or if this meeting had been a boon falling into her lap. What would she have done if he hadn’t made a decision regarding his existence? Did she have a back-up plan? Was he so transparent, or was it simply Ananchel attempting to convince herself of her own importance?

“You have to realize that the moment I leave here, I will go straight to Draven with this. We will find a way to stop Lilith with or without the blade.”

Ananchel smiled smugly, drumming her fingers on the inside of her elbow again. “No, you won’t.”

Sebastian turned from her in a move he hoped would show her he didn’t fear her. She might control his body and infiltrate his mind…to a point. He would not give her the satisfaction of fear. Even with his back turned and several paces away, Sebastian could tell where she stood still, watching. If she moved, he would hear the soft clicking of her heels, the caress of her leather-clad thighs against each other with every step. Even the way dust particles swirled around them when Ananchel moved to tilt her head and the barely audible ruffle of her wings gave her away. Sebastian could move just as fast if he needed to, regardless of what she threw at him.

“I believe you overestimate your seduction prowess, Ananchel. The only reason I don’t kill you now is I suspect Draven will want that pleasure for himself. How much sweeter it will be for me to watch you die by his hand.”

Ananchel didn’t appear to be in the least bit phased. “You won’t tell Draven, because if you do, you will never get the Creation Blade, and you will never be able to stop Lilith. She’ll corrupt those precious humans you love so much until she gets what she wants. You know Candra—always happy to sacrifice herself.”

“I will find a way,” Sebastian spat. His wings bore down heavily on his body once again. He wanted to allow them to fade away and pretend he was a human man. However, he couldn’t. Another battle loomed on the horizon, and apparently, he was to shoulder the blame.

“How?” she asked. “The only way to trap her now is with the Creation Blade. She wants Candra because she is stronger than any human. She will never stop pursuing her, and once Candra realizes exactly what Lilith is capable of, she will give in. Maybe she will trade herself for the blade to give you a chance to defeat Lilith or return to heaven. Of course, she will be lost in the process.”

Sebastian barked a wry laugh. “You think I’m going to tell you how I plan to stop this? You’re crazier than a box of cats.”

Ananchel slithered up to him and ran her long fingers across his shoulder. “Meow,” she breathed across his ear, dragging out the sound. “You don’t have a plan because you know Lilith will never surrender the Creation Blade, not unless I convince her to.”

“Do it then,” he ordered.

“Tut, tut, Sebastian. Don’t think you can make demands of me. If you want me to help you save Candra, I will need something from you.” She stopped in front of him.

Sebastian took a step back. “As long as it doesn’t involve skin to skin contact.”

“No.” She snorted a laugh. “I want you to give her up.”

“No.” The words left his mouth before his brain consciously registered her statement.

“You are going to lose her either way, and at least this way, she will live. Quite a conundrum to be in, isn’t it?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“You know why,” she seethed. “For Draven. He loves her. She will be my gift to him.”

The choice wasn’t the problem at all. There was no question Sebastian would do whatever he had to do to keep Candra safe, even at cost to himself. The price of peace, the price of getting rid of Lilith…this was it. Then again, there was no chance he would walk away if he could find any other way.

“Candra isn’t some trinket to be bartered. Draven will never stand for this.”

Her eyebrows arched, and her lips curved upward on one side. “Are you sure about that, Sebastian? Can you wager Candra’s life? You and he have been at odds for so long, and now one of the few things you have in common is that you both love the same woman. Are you really so sure he won’t do everything in his power to save her, even forgiving me my little indiscretion?”

Sebastian glared at her incredulously.
An indiscretion!
Ananchel had him, and they both knew it. How could he trust Draven now? What would he give for his chance with Candra? It dawned on him that he didn’t trust Draven as much as he had come to think. He couldn’t be entirely sure Draven wouldn’t side with Ananchel as a means to an end. Draven would get everything he wanted after all…the human life he abandoned heaven for would be his. If Draven retrieved the blade quickly and cleanly, saved Candra and at the same time eliminated Lilith from this world, how would it make Sebastian look? How could he face Candra if she knew he would cling to her at the cost of everything she had almost given up her freedom to save?

Terror raced through his heart and threatened to crack it wide open as the hopelessness of his situation registered with him. His fingers trembled.
It’s over,
he told himself.
I can’t win
. He’d already as good as lost Candra.

He had made his decision. Nevertheless, he dithered, arguing back and forth with himself about how to avert this disaster. Ultimately, he had to be sure Candra would be safe and Lilith would never return. Ananchel was offering that up on a plate, and Sebastian knew he had to take it. The revelations didn’t feel real to him. Lilith had been the enemy all along, but the entire sick situation had been designed by one of his own—a Watcher. Ananchel had given up heaven’s most powerful trophy and dangerous weapon because she felt rejected.

He had come here to strike a completely different deal. He wanted his freedom when this was over. He wanted to fall. He should have guessed his punishment for past sins would never be over. Nothing would ever be enough. Even as Sebastian nodded in agreement, his heart finally cracked open, and his vision of the future narrowed to a pinhole.

Chapter Seventeen

C
ANDRA
F
OUND
S
EBASTIAN
L
OUNGING
against the wall at the side of the school building, a place he never waited for her. Normally, Sebastian waited across the street. However, here he was, his knee bent, his foot to the wall and tapping a slow rhythmic beat. The back of his head rested against the brickwork. Candra shivered when his Adam’s apple moved, drawing her gaze to the pale golden flesh of his long throat under his sharp jawline. She wanted to feel his skin under her fingers. She even considered reaching out briefly as she stood, quietly watching him. Candra couldn’t shift the feeling this could be her last chance.

Something had dramatically shifted between them, and she didn’t know how to repair it. Did he know she’d lied? If he did, why didn’t he just say so? Why the silent treatment? Still, she thought of running her fingers from the soft hairless flesh behind his ear, along the roughness of his jaw, and down his neck to the hollow of his throat. A chill rushed across her skin, and her heartbeat increased exponentially. She’d missed him over the previous few days, and the apparent fracture in their relationship had never been so obvious as it was standing so close to him.

His eyes remained closed as if he didn’t hear her approach, and it struck Candra as unusual, since he was always on high alert lately. Sebastian took another long draw on his cigarette, holding the smoke in his lungs before blowing it upward, while humming to himself.

He seemed more peaceful than she had seen since the night of the ball. The night the relief of knowing they could be together seemed to float in a cushion of happiness around them.

He was a beautiful sight, one Candra didn’t want to disturb, especially since it had the curious effect of calming her. She could have stood listening to his voice forever…but that would’ve defeated the purpose of meeting.

Candra took another step closer; immediately his frame became rigid and the melody ceased. Although he didn’t open his eyes, tension appeared to rocket through his body at warp speed, and he gulped audibly. She took another step toward the wall, keeping a distance between them. His reactions made every muscle in her body ready to fight or flee, and adrenaline rushed into her blood stream. It was as though she was approaching a stranger.

He turned his head a little without shifting from the wall and peeked out of one eye before he closed it again, returning to his previous position. She recognized the action as a pretense of looking casual when his shoulder flinched as if an invisible hand shoved him roughly. Candra had spent enough time with Sebastian to sense when he was lying, and his entire body screamed it at her right now.

He took another drag and flicked the tip of his cigarette to knock some ash from the end. If not for the fact that he’d looked directly at her, she wouldn’t have been sure he’d seen her at all. A few students passed through the quiet side street and huddled together in whispered conversations. No doubt wondering about the guy they had seen waiting for Candra so many times but never so close, never right beside the building. She found herself blushing with sheer frustration, suspecting the students may be thinking they had come across a lovers’ quarrel. Candra’s heart thumped faster, annoyed at herself for caring what any of them thought.

A few minutes passed, and aside from finishing his cigarette, Sebastian didn’t move. His demeanor eased marginally, and it surprised Candra, given her annoyance, to feel her own responses mimic his. His scent hung thick in the cool air, and she tasted it with every breath, recalling the unanswered texts and the ignored calls. She’d even stopped by the brownstone twice. Both times, he was out.

She leaned against the wall at his side, watching him openly, studying his strong profile and the way his hair was just a little too long and beginning to curl toward the ends of the golden strands. His long, dark eyelashes settled against a clear golden complexion any model would envy. Sebastian wasn’t the type of person who needed to work to look good. It was part of who he was. He never combed his hair with anything other than his fingers, and Candra wondered if he even owned a comb. She had a sudden flash of a memory: Sebastian holding her against the wall in the ballroom. He’d kissed her without any reservation, adoring her with his soft mouth while her fingers clutched his hair, pulling him closer, wanting him to devour her.