Fallen Angel Reclaimed: The Complete Series by Lacey Carter Andersen

14

Surcy lay on the grass,staring up at the bright moon. She’d left the warmth and comfort of the inner-sanctuary, where all the Immortals and druids lay sleeping amongst the magic plants, to take a quiet moment to herself. Tomorrow, they would attack Zudessa. They would take on Caine and his angels. Either the battle would destroy them all, along with all hope at a better world, or everything would change forever.

For some reason, both futures scared her.

This was everything that they’d been working toward, but now the unknown loomed in front of her, and for once, she felt empty when she imagined the future. Tristan had said he’d bought them three days before Mark’s soul was destroyed, but did he and Daniel have the same time?

Or had she already lost them?

And can the Immortals really bring them back if that’s where they were sent?For some reason, she couldn’t imagine it could be that simple. She didn’t want to think about what her demons might be facing in such a terrible place.

It’s possible they can’t survive there.

The moon blurred in her vision as her eyes filled with tears. She didn’t know the answers, but an emptiness clawed at her center, one she feared meant her demons were lost to her forever.

“Surcy?”

She shot up, and her gaze connected with Clarence’s. No, not Clarence, the God of the Earth. After dipping into the waters, he’d announced that he hated his human-name for this lifetime, and that everyone could call him Adan.

“Do you need something?” she asked, frowning.

He glanced down at something in his hand, a little vial that seemed to contain nothing but water. His expression was uncertain as he shifted it between his fingers.

“Yes, angel. I know that you don’t work for us… but I have need of you.”

His words vibrated through her in the strangest way. She touched her chest and frowned.

“You felt it didn’t you?” he asked.

“What was that?” she whispered.

“That, is how it feels when your ruler speaks to you. Once we’re in charge once more, that feeling will grow stronger when we give a command. When we wish something, you’ll all feel it deep within you. It isn’t in the forceful way that Caine commands you. It will be something more natural. Because that’s the way it was meant to be.” He moved a little closer, his gaze holding hers. “We trusted Caine. We never imagined he would be capable of what he did. But as much as he thinks he seamlessly rules in our place, he doesn’t. If anyone remembered what it was like before, they’d know how much was missing.”

She believed him, but that wasn’t what bothered her. “So, when all this is over, I’ll serve you?”

He nodded, lifting a brow. “Isn’t that what you desire most? Isn’t that why you’ve done all of this for?”

I did it because the world was wrong, because innocent people were suffering in the demon realm, and angels were mostly heartless thugs.

And because my demons convinced me to help them.

Not so I could serve a better leader.

Slowly, she shook her head. “No. I mean, I never thought about what things would be like for me if we restored the ten of you to power.”

He didn’t speak, just waited, watching her closely.

“After you're back on your thrones, will I be able to be with my demons?”

“We’ll judge souls fairly and place them where they should have been all along. Things will be very different, Surcy. Definitely more fair. But I can’t guarantee where you and your loved ones will end up.”

After all we’ve done! After all my demons sacrificed to help these people, they really won’t even give us this?Anger blossomed inside her, but she forced it down. Anger would get her nowhere.

And when her anger faded away, it was replaced with nothing but a painful emptiness in her chest.

“I understand,” she said.

Then both looked at the moon for a long minute, a sadness that seemed soul-deep stretching between them. She wanted to beg him for special treatment. She wanted to tell him, after all they’d done, they should be exempt from judgment. But she couldn’t.

“Love is complicated,” he said. “It goes against all reason. Believe me. Love led me to one of the greatest mistakes I could make. And yet, I don’t regret it.”

Tears pricked her eyes as she imagined the faces of her demons. Goose bumps rose on her flesh, as if they even her skin missed the touch of the men she loved.

“I need you to go to my human-wife and make her drink this.”

She looked at him and then down at the water he held. “Why?”

“It’s from the pool. Going in the water is deadly for any but Immortals, but there’s a legend about the water's ability to heal. If she doesn’t seem to be recovering on her own, I want you to make her drink it.” He held out the vial, but she didn’t take it.

“Are you sure?”

He sighed, noisily. “I know I should be above things like this. I know I shouldn’t care for one human female, but that’s why love is such a weakness. It defies all logic.”

Reaching out, she plucked the vial from his fingers. It wasn’t that she was looking forward to a long night when she’d be battling in the morning; it was that she felt she owed this man. It was her fault his wife was injured. Maybe if the woman lived, she would provide an anchor for him, to help him remember that humans had value.

So he could never end up like Caine.

Rising, she started walking, knowing that it would take a while to reach the edge of the sanctuary. But, his voice stopped her. “Just in case we can’t save your demons’ souls, it might be a good idea to mourn them tonight, so their deaths can’t be used against you.”

She felt every muscle in her body tense. Are these Immortals trying to drive me insane? Can they be saved or not? It felt… terrible not to know.

Without answering him, she kept moving, but tears ran down her cheeks. Maybe a plan like that would work for him. For her, if she didn't have hope, she wouldn’t be able to keep going.

So, she’d hold onto the belief that her demons could be saved, regardless of the odds against her.

The forest was quiet. With each step she took further from the sanctuary, she prayed for clarity. She prayed she would know what to do when the time came. When she finally felt the prickling as she crossed the protective barrier, she inhaled deeply. She prepared herself for the hospital, and for the truth of what happened to the human woman.

The hairs on the back of her neck prickled.

Turning, she stared into the darkness. There was a terrible feeling deep in her soul, a sense that she was being hunted by a bloodthirsty predator. Every instinct begged her to retreat to the sanctuary, but she was rooted in place.

In the shadows between trees, she saw two eyes staring at her. Dark eyes held death, but also something familiar. The creature moved closer into the light.

Daniel!She gasped when she recognized the crouching form. Daniel’s face was as familiar to her as her own. She knew his dark eyes, his blond hair, and his chiseled good looks that hid the vulnerable man inside. This time, however, his expression sent her blood racing.

“Daniel?” she whispered, inching closer. “Is that you?”

He rose from his crouched position, still mostly in shadows.

She longed to touch him, and the urge to throw herself into his arms was a need that burned through her.

“I thought you’d died. I thought I’d lost you.” Her fingers grew sweaty around the vial clenched between them.

And then, his voice came, familiar and yet strange. “I did die. And I was reborn.”

She froze, heart in her throat.

He stepped forward, his dark angel wings spread behind him. “And now, traitor, I’m here to end your life.”