Her Darkest Devils by Ginna Moran
Chapter 3
RAVEN
Angelic Adventure
GOD, MY DEVILS are going to want to fuck my mouth until I quit whispering holy words that they want to spank from my vocabulary. Shit. I can’t help myself. An avenging angel is seriously glorious when their damn sword isn’t directed at me or anyone I’ve bonded with. And Zade is more than glorious. He’s fucking as hot as the burning world around us.
Swinging his sword, Zade cuts off the demon’s head, sending strange black goo squirting over him. His smiting turns his soft features hard and sexy, so broody and intimidating, that it takes me a good pep-talk not to crawl forward and climb his muscular legs to force myself into his protective arms.
He just destroyed a demon on my behalf. He saved me when he could’ve let the demon swallow me whole. It would’ve solved the saviors’ biggest problem of Hell trying to rise. Instead, he granted me mercy. As for his reason for it? I don’t even fucking care. I’m just so damn thankful.
Zade’s muscles ripple, his skin smoldering from getting splashed with the demon’s blood. Tugging his shirt off, he uses it to swipe away the residue. I can’t take my eyes off of him. His muscular chest rises and falls with his deep breaths as he gets himself under control. My breathing slows to match his, and I lick my lips, getting trapped by his startling blue gaze. He doesn’t move from his spot, drinking me in for what feels like a torturously long amount of time. The world seems to still around us. It takes everything in me to get myself together.
I should kick myself for having to be rescued by an angel.
I should be pissed off that I wasn’t capable of fighting off a demon.
But damn. Sometimes, I just want to be saved and protected. Taken care of after having to take care of myself.
If only it wasn’t Zade and instead Andre, Kase, Dante, or Micah.
“Raven, I’m so sorry,” Zade says, concealing his flaming sword and brilliant wings in a blink of my eyes.
Like breaking my eye contact gets him to act, he strides toward me. What if it wasn’t me trapped in his gaze and it was him frozen in mine? My heartbeat picks up speed as the thoughts swirl through my mind. I shouldn’t be feeling...excited? I can’t put my finger on it. It just feels so much better than the emotions beating me up only moments ago.
“Here, let me help you.” Zade kneels on one knee and uses a clean section of his shirt to wipe my face, carefully cleaning the demon guts I had no idea splashed me too.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, my whole body humming at his closeness. All I can do is remain utterly still and allow him to clean me off the best he can. Our eyes meet again, and I search his gaze, trying to find some answers. Why is he here? What is he doing?
Reaching his hand up, he brushes my frazzled hair out of my face with his fingers. “That’s better. Are you okay? I could feel how terrified you were.”
The closer he leans into me, the more I can smell the sweet toasted marshmallow fragrance of his skin.
Again, I can’t find my voice. All I can do is force myself to look from his eyes. My gaze travels to the pentagram brand burned into his cheek, and something inside me hypnotizes me. I find my hand an inch from his face and trace my finger along the circle and draw over the lines until he snatches my wrist.
“Raven? Say something.” Concern lines his voice. “I can’t decipher your feelings, but they’re making me anxious.”
He can feel my emotions?
A strange gurgle of a groan sounds through the air, snapping my attention away from Zade. I watch in shock as Joel claws his way out of the demon’s...nope. I can’t even think about it. It’s enough to make me gag.
And help me find my voice.
“Fuck, get me out of here,” I say, my voice rising in pitch, practically shrieking. “Take me home.”
Without thinking, I throw myself at him. Zade catches me in his arms and unfurls his wings, flapping them to stop us from crashing to the ground. Our chests meet. The sensation sends a zing of energy through me. It’s the strangest thing, feeling the soft thuds of his heartbeat on my breasts like I’ve kicked his body into overdrive. His eyes widen in surprise, and I half-expect him to shove me away, but all he does is straighten his back and stand tall.
“Ra-Raven.” The grumbly voice sounds from behind Zade as Joel gets to his knees.
I clutch Zade tighter. “Please. Please. I need to go home. I can’t be here. Fucking Lucian threw me into a portal.”
Zade bounces on his feet, adjusting me in his arms. “You’re afraid. I’m not sure I understand why. You’ve aligned with the devils. This is your eternity. How can you carry such fear when it was you who made the decision?”
I dig my fingers in Zade’s bare shoulders, keeping my eyes locked on Joel. “You are so oblivious. It kills me. Now let’s go. You’re wasting time. I just—fuck. Can’t you see the asshole behind you? That’s why I’m fucking afraid.”
Spinning, Zade whips around, leaving my back open and facing Joel. I turn my torso, fisting my hand. Joel stumbles closer like his sole purpose in Hell is to torment me. He doesn’t even care that I’m in the arms of an angel. Why would he? He doesn’t have anything to lose.
Joel clenches his jaw and stretches out his hand. “Ra—”
Zade finally reacts to Joel’s presence. His muscles bulge, and he reaches behind him and unsheathes his sword, setting the world aglow in heavenly light. Joel’s scream pierces my ears, and I squeeze Zade’s torso between my thighs, holding him with my legs to free my hands to cover my ears.
“I might not be a ruler of Hell but I am a vessel for the Higher Power and will seek justice where the devils have failed. If you step another inch closer or say Raven’s name again, you will face my holy vengeance.” Zade’s voice booms through the air, filling me up with something I can’t fathom. What is going on? Again, why is he doing this? Protecting me. Is it because of Andre? I have so many questions.
“No! Please!” Joel screams, smartening up. He stumbles away from us and trips over the demon’s remains.
No, not remains.
Oh shit. Zade might’ve decapitated the bastard, but the demon starts healing and putting himself together.
“Zade, please. We have to go,” I whisper. “Please.” My pleas come out so softly, but I pray the words, hoping that he’ll take me back to the Mortal Realm.
My heart jumps as Zade expands his wings. Whoa. He is going to answer my prayers again.
“My soul.” The guttural sound of the demon’s voice stakes into my very being.
“Angel, help! You can save—” Joel’s words snap off.
I don’t have a chance to look behind me. Bending his knees, Zade launches us into the air, sending my midnight hair flying around us. I cling to him tightly, burying my face in the crook of his neck to ease the sting of the hot wind whipping across my body. If it’s hot to me, I imagine it being even hotter for him. But he doesn’t complain or sweat, soaring with me higher and higher until...oh, fuck. We’re going back down. There is no portal or anything. All he does is relocate us, landing near a blood-filled river.
“Zade, what are you doing?” I ask, squeezing my eyes shut, praying that when I open them our surroundings will change.
“Getting you away from the soul who tried to consume your light. I felt his desire to destroy you. It was unpleasant.” Zade’s voice remains even, and he strokes one of his big hands along the length of my back.
It shouldn’t feel so good, but it’s like my body and soul just know that unless my devils find me that I might only have safety in Zade’s arms, no matter how annoyed I am by it. He got here, and he should be able to leave.
“No, I meant why aren’t we leaving? Let’s get out of here. Lucian—” My stomach flies to my throat, the sudden freefall stealing my words. I can only tense and hold on. I can’t even get myself to open my eyes to see what’s happening.
The rush of falling from the sky subsides, and I gasp, trying to catch my breath. I open my eyes and stare at the smoldering world around us. A red stone road, like it’s made of garnet, winds through an expansive burning landscape. Zade lands in the middle of it, touching his boots to the ground with a thump.
And then I see them.
There are souls everywhere.
Men and women fight monstrous demons in a horrendous battle. The hellish warzone goes on for miles, the yells and shouts of fury resonating through the air. Here, there aren’t guns or knives or any human-made weapons. These people are using their bodies, using each other, and even using the parts of bottom feeder demons trying to up their power in Hell.
Cool fingers touch my chin, and Zade guides my face to look at him instead of the war surrounding us. “Raven, you’re safe. Despite Andre abandoning his purpose on your behalf, I do not blame you and don’t want to see you hurt. He wouldn’t want that. I know it.”
I suck my bottom lip into my mouth and nod my head. I know it hurts him, knowing his eternal companion jumped from grace because of me but he’s too pure to place the blame on me. He empathizes on a soul-deep level unlike the rest of his brethren. He always stood by Andre’s side and would try to warn him, but he never truly did much to stop him. It’s like he only prayed or held his faith in Andre. He didn’t fight for Andre, which is why I’m surprised he’s now going through the effort.
“I don’t understand why you’re going through this trouble, but I think he would want you to do as I ask and take me out of here,” I finally say, covering his hands with my own. “He would want you to help me find Elias.”
I press gently, feeling the weight of his fingers against my cheeks. The exhilarating spark of being so close to him helps staunch the fear inside me. I don’t know if it’s his presence alone or something more, but whatever it is excites me. It feels as if it breathes life into me amid the fiery darkness around us.
Blinking a few times, Zade shakes his head. “I can’t. I’m sorry. I won’t risk my grace. I won’t betray the Higher Power or Cassius.”
My chest tightens. I should be used to angels giving me a blip of hope only to steal it away. “Zade, please. I’m scared. Elias could die and be lost forever. He was once part of your brethren. Can’t you summon an ounce of mercy to help him? He can’t end up in Hell and unable to claim a throne. This place will destroy him.”
Tears burn my eyes at the thought. He might not be bound by contract to a demon any longer, but he’s still destined for Hell—but it must be by my hands. No one told me exactly why, but I assume it has something to do with our shared soul and my contract with Lucian. Regardless, I already die inside thinking about it. But to not be there to do what must be done? I’ll let everyone down. I can’t stand the thought.
Zade releases a long breath and strokes his thumbs across my cheeks, smearing my tears. “You care about him.” He says it like the idea is impossible to comprehend. “You’ve asked for me to show him mercy instead of you.”
“He’s my soulmate,” I say, the words ringing more true than ever before.
“You’re too pure and light for all of this.” Tipping his head back, Zade closes his eyes. He remains silent as if he’s praying or thinking or just trying to process everything that happened involving me. “I wish you would accept Cassius’s terms and let us help you. I don’t understand why you fight so fiercely for a place that will consume you.”
Annoyance sizzles through me. He is as dense as Cassius to even think that I would humor such a bargain. Maybe if it were destroying only Lucian. But he wants Kase and Dante too. I’ll do anything to protect my psycho sweet devils, even if it means I’m lost here.
“Because it won’t. My devils won’t let it. It’s not about Hell, Zade. It’s about Kase and Dante. I’m sorry if you can’t get it through your thick, righteous head, but I...I love them. I want to spend eternity by their sides. By Micah and Andre’s. By Elias’s. We have a plan, and I don’t give a fuck about what Cassius thinks—or what you think—for that matter.” I tug myself away from him.
Zade tries to grab my hand but I cross my arms. “Raven—”
“I’m not done, Zade. You claim that you can’t help me out of here because you don’t want to risk losing your wings, but I think it’s something more. You wanted to use me to come here to see Andre. You’re not helping me leave because of it. You love him, don’t you? More than just as your companion.”
“It’s different than what your mortal brain tries to comprehend,” he snaps, his voice growing deeper. Heavenly light radiates from his skin, the holiness of it stinging my eyes.
I squint, remaining strong and stubborn, not letting his grace scare me. “Then explain it. I’m trying to understand why you’re putting yourself through all this. Why torture yourself? You could help us. I want nothing more than to reunite you with Andre, but right now? He doesn’t want to see you. He knows you don’t understand why he chose me. If you could—”
Blinding light engulfs me, zinging me through the core. Zade pulls me to him before I have a chance to process that his lips brush mine as he kisses me so softly it feels like a whisper of angelic grace.
His lips taste exactly how he smells, and they’re softer than I could’ve imagined. My body reacts to his closeness. Tingles burst between my legs to send goosebumps over my skin. I slide my fingers into his blond hair, guiding him to kiss me harder, more fiercely. I want my lips to sting and ache with passion, touched by his grace.
Fuck. I can almost imagine Dante and Kase joking about angel corruption now and how of course the fucker couldn’t resist me, even in Hell.
Zade moans deep in his throat, gliding his hands down my sides until his fingers dig into my hips, pulling me so close that I can feel the hard length of his massive boner flexing between us. Gasping, I jerk myself away, my good senses returning to me in a moment all is usually lost. Zade’s hand flies down to his cock, and he rubs it, trying to adjust it in his pants. He doesn’t have to say anything for me to know this might be his very first boner. And damn. For an angel who seems to rely on the universe to do shit for him, he really surprised me. In a good way. I hadn’t realized how attracted I was to him because of how infuriating he’s been.
I touch my buzzing lips. “What the hell was that for? I’d think an angel would ask me for permission before jabbing me with his cock.”
Heat flushes up Zade’s sun-kissed skin and into his cheeks, turning his turquoise eyes even brighter. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Forgive me. I only wanted to understand.”
“Understand what? Andre didn’t abandon Heaven to freely kiss me. He kissed me with all of his angelic glory beforehand. Hell, I even sucked his cock.” Damn my mouth. What is it about Zade that makes me not only want to overshare but also convince him that it’s more than about a devil’s lust.
Zade’s face reddens even more, and I’m nearly certain he will launch into the air and disappear, leaving me to fend for myself. “Oh,” he finally says, rubbing his hand over his smooth jaw. “I still think it helped him make the decision. He was so enthralled with your soul.”
“So why kiss me? Why risk your wings?” I can’t stop from asking him the questions. “It seems neither of us understands any of this.”
Zade unfurls his wings, expanding them out. “I think I do, but not only because of our intimacy.” Oh-fucking-God. Intimacy? He didn’t even use tongue. The sweet, innocent bastard. “It is more than that. The longer I’m with you, the more I—”
Zade’s face twists in agony, and he hollers as he unsheathes his sword and sets it ablaze. We were so focused on each other that the rest of the world disappeared, leaving us open for an attack.
A hot hand slaps over my mouth. “What a delicious soul.”
I can’t move or scream.
Zade hollers again.
Staring with wide eyes, I scream against the sweaty palm of...another soul, I think. Zade drops to his knees and bows forward. Blood pours from a wound on his upper back, just above his wings.
“Kill him!” a woman shouts.
Zade whips his head up and locks his gaze to mine. I watch several men charge him.
They aim their strange weapons at his wings.
“No!” I scream against the sweaty hand of the asshole pinning me to his chest. “Zade!”
The demon jerks me around, grabbing my shoulders. His sallow eyes rove over my face as he studies me. I struggle to yank away from him, but it’s like he has just as much Hell strength as I do.
Opening his mouth, the demon unrolls his strange white tongue and drags the disgusting thing from my chin to my forehead. Firelight flickers in his eyes, his pupils expanding within his yellow irises until his eyes turn black.
“Can’t let that angelic bastard take you. No one leaves Hell except the kings,” he says, slurping his tongue across my cheek next.
My skin stings, and I ram my knee as hard as I can into the fucker’s groin, but he doesn’t move. I’m not even sure he has a sensitive spot on his grotesque humanoid body. “He’s not taking me from Hell, you fucker. He’s taking me to Andre.”
“Andre? I better get you broken and ready then. The ruler of the lustful has his own desires to quench. Maybe I’ll find myself as part of his legion.” The demon wags his thick, black brows. Ugh. Nasty. “I wouldn’t doubt if he gives me you as a reward for taking care of the angel too.”
“Take me to him and find out,” I snap, grinding my teeth.
His pupils retract and he flicks his long tongue back out, gliding it along my neck. “Like I said, after I’ve had my fill.”
Oh-fucking-no.
Sweeping his leg, he knocks my feet out from under me, pushing me to the ground. I scrape my palms on the hot ground, trying to get away, to do anything, but his heavy body lands on top of me. Every goddamned horrible situation I can think of tumbles through my mind in my fit of panic. He’s going to rape me. He’s going to fucking rape me.
I scream, kicking and bucking my body, doing everything I can to get this evil, disgusting demon off me. His hot hand slams into my back, winding me. My shouts cut off, and the edges of my vision shadow. I pray to succumb to the darkness. I don’t know if I can survive this. If I can live past it.
“No!” The world around me erupts in blinding light with Zade’s holler.
The weight suffocating me vanishes. I gasp and rest my head on the ground, giving in to the shuddering relief coursing through me. Silence fills the air, the sounds of the battle, or the lost, wrathful souls no longer piercing my ears. A wave of tranquility covers me like a cozy blanket, calming my racing heart.
“Raven, can I pick you up?” Zade murmurs, his familiar sweet scent wafting around me from his closeness. “I need to make sure you’re unhurt.”
I’m so stunned by everything that happened that all I can do is nod. Zade lifts me from the ground and hugs me in his arms.
“That demon will never hurt you again. I promise.” Expanding his wings, he flaps them a few times but doesn’t launch us from the ground.
“Please, if you can’t get me out of here, help me find Andre. I’m afraid if I don’t, there won’t be anything else you can do. The demons won’t stop. They won’t acknowledge me as anything but a contracted soul until I fulfill my end of the bargain.” I lick my dry lips, my throat burning from my screams.
Zade sighs and nods his head. “Raven, I—”
“Now,” I say, my words sharper. “I don’t want you trying to give me hope. Because right now, seeing how much you resist and also not knowing what’s happening with Elias...I’m hopeless. I’m lost.”
All feels lost.
