Curse of the Fallen by Eve Archer

Chapter Nineteen

Dominick

“Should I ask if you’re unhurt?” Rami teased, as we stood together at the back of the plane. “The human appears to pack a punch. Or, in your case, a powerful slap.”

I glowered at him, cutting my eyes to where Sara sat near the front, her legs stretched out in front of her and propped on the facing seat. She faced away from us, but her pile of black hair poked over the top of the seat back, the jeweled ornaments embedded in it glittering.

“She might be tough for a human female,” I said, adding the words aggravating and infuriating in my head, “but she remains a human. Her slap did not bother me.”

“Her devotion to her friend is admirable.” Rami gazed at her, smiling.

I studied the expression on his face. “Be careful you do not admire her too much, friend.”

He cleared his throat and ripped his gaze away, shaking his head. “Like you said, she’s just another human. Intriguing, but for a fleeting time.”

“I hope you did not make a mistake in revealing all to her.”

Rami’s cheeks colored. “How else would you have explained it?”

“Not at all. Humans can’t handle the knowledge of our existence. They prefer to believe they exist on a fully human plane. If they actually knew of the demons, succubi, and incubi who roamed the Earth with them—not to mention immortal fallen angels—they would barricade themselves in their homes.”

“I made the call that Sara could handle it,” Rami said. “She didn’t seem to want the lies that usually work on humans.”

I grunted an acknowledgement. The woman had taken the news remarkably well, and had barely reacted, aside from slapping me. “We will see.”

The plane rumbled beneath my feet as we flew away from Marrakesh and toward our island fortress in the Aegean. My fellow Fallen who’d joined us in the mission and battled the demons during the ambush were either sleeping, reclined in the leather chairs of the jet, or spoke to each other in hushed voices. The experience had been harrowing and unexpected, and we were woefully out of practice.

That was what came from too many years of tenuous peace and garnering the veneer of respectability and civilization. I almost missed the days of gruesome wars fought with rudimentary weapons, fighters thrashing in hand-to-hand combat until the ground was slick with blood and the air sharp with the scent of copper. Now wars were won with remote drones, and missiles deployed by soldiers who would never lock eyes with their victims. It was at the same time more civilized and more barbaric.

The flight attendant lowered her gaze as she moved between us and slipped into the galley kitchen, pulling open metal drawers and retrieving petite bottles of top-shelf liquor. My mouth watered as I watched her pour gin over ice cubes and then add a splash of tonic water, topping it with a lime wedge. When she’d refilled her tray with drinks and returned to distribute them in the cabin, I sighed and scraped a hand through my hair.

“Any luck in tracking where Anthony Solano took Ella when he ran?” I couldn’t keep the derision from my voice that the man had fled in the face of confrontation.

Rami shook his head. “Again, no flight plan, although we do know his plane left Marrakesh before ours. Possibly before we arrived.”

I slammed a hand against the wall. I was not used to being frustrated and certainly not by a boy like Anthony Solano. Of course, he had Jaya working for him, and the succubus was nothing if not clever. “I will burn the Solanos to the ground for this.”

“First, let’s focus on finding Ella.” Rami stepped into the galley and opened the same drawers the flight attendant had, procuring a pair of small bottles of scotch. He tossed one to me. “Then we can turn our attention to the Solanos.”

I twisted off the cap of the mini bottle, raising it in salute to my friend. “Wise counsel, as always.” Then I slammed back the contents, savoring the well-aged whiskey.

Rami followed suit, downing his Glenlivet in a single gulp and gasping. “Now this is the true nectar of the gods.”

I allowed myself a laugh, content with the deep knowledge that I would find Ella, and I would enact my revenge on her captors. One advantage to immortality was that time was on my side. I had eternity to ensure that the right people paid for their duplicity. As the liquor warmed my stomach, I reminded myself that that included Jaya.

It no longer mattered to me that the succubus and I had once spent countless nights pleasuring each other, her feeding off my angelic energy and me indulging in the hedonistic pleasures that were the seductive demon’s talent. I didn’t care about our shared history, or how she’d helped me numb the pain of my fall from grace and pass the interminable time. Ours had been a diversion. There could never be a future for an angel and a demon—not even a fallen angel and a succubus. If she’d thought any different, she’d been fooling herself.

“Dom,” Rami’s voice snapped me from my dark thoughts.

Glancing down, I saw that I’d fisted my hands and the miniature bottle of Glenlivet was biting into the flesh of my palm. I released my grip and loosed a breath.

Rami’s forehead furrowed in concern. “I would suggest you take a walk, but…”

I let out a half laugh, eyeing the compact interior of the private jet. “If it was only filled with Fallen, I might try jumping out and flying to clear my head.”

Rami put a hand on my arm. “Let’s not depressurize the plane. Seeing all of us jump out without chutes and start flying might push Sara over the edge.”

I closed my own hand over his. “Trust me, I have no intention of doing anything to provoke that woman’s temper again.”

One of the Fallen who’d been sitting and scrolling on his phone jumped up and walked swiftly to the back of the plane, his gaze locked on mine.

“What is it, Armaras?” I asked, before he’d reached us.

“I just got a text from Tamiel.” He waved his phone.

“He returned to Marbella to talk to his demon contacts along the coast of Spain,” Rami reminded me. The posh Spanish city was a playground for succubi and incubi, since it attracted the beautiful and the young who were looking for a good time. If there was one thing the seductive demons were experts as, it was pleasure, especially since they required sex with humans in order to survive.

“What has he discovered?” I asked.

“More like what just fell into his lap.” Armaras grinned, and his hazel eyes flashed with amusement. “Both Solano sons just walked into his club with a pretty redhead on their arms.”

Rami’s mouth fell open. “They’re flaunting her in one of our clubs?”

Both fury and satisfaction flared inside me, and I emitted a throaty growl. Anthony and Mateo Solano thought they could pull a power play, by showing off that they’d successfully taken Ella from me? I hoped they were enjoying their evening at Epicurus Marbella, because they were about to learn what happened when you crossed one of the Fallen. Correction—when you crossed the leader of the Fallen.

“Good.” I clapped Armaras on the shoulder. “Their arrogance is our advantage. Tell the pilot to change course. We’re going to Marbella.”