Mate to the Demon Kings by Lacey Carter Andersen
20
Kade had doneeverything he could to reach Sharen before the shapeshifter. But it hadn’t been enough. He’d run until he couldn’t run anymore. He’d walked until he could only crawl. And then he crawled without stopping.
Just on the edges of the forest he’d felt her magic sweep over him and felt confused when the wings had sprouted on his back. But still, he hadn’t slowed. He needed to warn Sharen.
But even after everything, I was too late.
He and his brothers held their wife, their tiny human wife. She didn't breathe. She didn't have a heartbeat.
The others said she was dead.
They wouldn’t hear them. There was no way that the woman they loved with every ounce of their hearts could no longer be alive.
It was impossible.
And so, they held her, not caring as the day faded to evening. They held her.
The others moved about them, but Kade couldn’t see anything except her face. Her pale, expressionless face.
Her blood cooled. Her body was like ice. And yet, they couldn’t let her go.
“What—what now?” Ryder whispered, breaking their shocked silence.
After several moments of silence, Alec answered. “She wasn’t human. I don’t know if she was part angel or demon, or witch… I don’t know. And without Caine to pass judgment on souls, I don’t know where she’ll go either.”
“But we’ll get her back.” Ryder said, the words filled with certainty.
And they would. If they had to pluck her from the heavens, or from the pits of the demon-realm, they would save her. They wouldn’t stop searching until she was with them again.
A strange feeling overtook Kade.
He stiffened. Looking up. His brothers had the same look. It was if a jingling was filling their ears. A calling.
The demons… who now wore angel wings, stopped in their tasks.
“We need to go,” someone said.
And then, everyone began to flap their wings.
He had the urge too. The overwhelming urge to go. To follow the call.
Looking to his brothers, he asked the question without words.
“Let’s go,” Alec whispered.
Kade gathered Sharen in his arms. And although his body ached, it was nothing in comparison to his soul or his heart.
They lifted into the air, dozens of dark-winged angels. They flew toward the horizon, and then like an instinct, they teleported. In a new place, far from where they started, they rushed forward and passed through a magical barrier that shimmered like Sharen’s golden magic. They traveled down toward the earth until they hovered just above a small temple hidden in an ancient woods.
“Where are we? And why did we come here?” Ryder asked.
They settled upon the ground around it, and the instant Kade’s feet touched the ground the building began to glow. A golden light, so like Sharen’s magic, spread out covering the building, the ground, and running over the angels. When it reached Sharen, the magic shuddered.
And then, her eyes opened.
Kade gasped and watched as the golden light streamed into her wounds, through her eyes, her mouth, her ears, and her nose. And then, in shock, he watched her take a breath.
The light vanished.
And they all stood staring at Sharen.
She blinked. She reached forward and touched where her wounds were no longer visible.
“This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen,” she said.
Kade choked back tears. “How what’s supposed to happen?”
She frowned. “I should have been reborn in another body.”
“Reborn?” he repeated, confused.
She looked up at him, holding his gaze. “I don’t know everything, but I know this. I’m one of the Immortals. The Goddess of Hope… and this was not what was supposed to happen.”
For some reason, he laughed and gathered her to him. “I don’t care how it was supposed to happen, just that you’re alive!”
Alec and Ryder were there in an instant, and they held her between them. There was a lot of kissing and touching and more laughter. It was as if every step they’d taken since meeting Sharen had been meant to lead to this.
When at last she insisted they put her on the ground, she stared at the temple, frowning. “It’s like my dream… but why are we here?”
The others looked at her.
Elle spoke, cradling her angel baby in her arms. “We thought you might know.”
After a second, Sharen’s mouth curled into a smile. “It’s because things are not ready for us yet. I can’t take my place as a judge of mankind yet, for some reason. And you guys can’t join the angels because they’re still corrupt. This is a place we will be safe, for a time, until it’s ready for us.”
Kade expected the others to have questions. To have fears, but instead, they started to walk into the temple like her answer made all the sense in the world.
He frowned. They were just supposed to accept this?
He squeezed his fist and felt his dark wings curl around him. And then, it struck him. None of this felt strange.
“We were always supposed to be angels?”
Sharen smiled beside him. “Caine has screwed the whole system up, but yes, none of you were meant to be demons. Things won’t change overnight, but this is the first step toward setting the world right.”
Kade shook his head, feeling a wave of exhaustion come over him. “If Caine’s dead, why can’t we just put things right?”
Her smile faded. “I don’t know. I have pieces of my memories… but not enough. I just know the world isn’t safe yet.”
He nodded. I guess that has to be enough for now.
They moved into the temple and were met by druids who welcomed them with confused, but open arms. The temple ran deep underground and had been created as a safe place for immortals in trouble.
It was strange. Kade had more questions than answers, but he also felt safe for the first time in longer than he could remember.
