Curse of the Fallen by Eve Archer

Chapter Twenty-Five

Dominick

I stood rooted to the spot as Ella’s shoulders shook with sobs. Her friend, who’d been so full of life and determined to challenge me at every turn, lay dead on a dirt road overlooking Marbella. Her red top was stained with blood that blackened the fabric and pooled beneath her body. Rami cradled her shoulders, his head bowed over her motionless body.

I’d called for an ambulance, but it was already too late. Even from where I stood, it was clear that life had left her body. Impotent rage stormed through me as my heart squeezed for Ella, her sorrow seeping into me and making my skin cold.

I tipped my head back to peer up into the night sky. Clouds moved over the midnight blue, the moonlight bright and stars faint. I didn’t see any flash of angel wings dark against the sky, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t out there.

I turned to Tamiel, who stood beside me in stunned silence. “If this was Dan, we need to find him.”

Tamiel nodded, turning and motioning to two other Fallen who were part of his club staff. “Find him.”

The two deputies unfurled their wings again and burst up into the night sky, beating their wings once before gliding even higher. Part of me wanted to join them in the hunt, flying on silent wings through the night and tracking the disloyal Fallen.

I turned my attention back to Ella and Rami, knowing I couldn’t leave them. Dan would be brought to me soon enough. In that I had faith.

Kneeling, I put an arm around Ella’s trembling shoulders.

“It’s my fault,” she said, through heaving sobs. “She pushed me out of the way, and that’s why she got shot. She was trying to save me.”

I gazed down at the woman, her face now so peaceful that I had to look away. I hadn’t known her for long, but I’d never seen her when her face wasn’t animated with anger, irritation, or amusement. It seemed impossible that the loud female who had something to say about everything was now quiet.

Rami lifted his hands off her stomach, and they were soaked in her blood. He looked up at me, his face twisted by grief. As my most trusted friend and fiercest warrior angel, he’d seen plenty of battles and more than his share of death. He was no stranger to human blood, or to the fragility of their mortal lives. But it was clear this death touched him more than any other in a long time.

“This was Dan?” His voice broke on the name of our fellow Fallen, as if it pained him to utter the word.

Ella nodded. “He helped them abduct me, and he wanted me dead.”

I was almost too numb to comprehend the level of his betrayal, but fury stoked a flame deep within me—first a flicker that grew into a blazing inferno as I thought about him turning against his own. He’d lied to me and all of us, he’d kidnapped my mate, and now he’d shot her friend in an attempt to murder her.

“Why?” Rami asked, his gaze on Ella.

“The prophecy,” she whispered. “He said I was going to ruin everything you’ve built.”

Rami shook his head. “That fucking prophecy probably isn’t even real.” He raised his gaze to mine, his eyes wet. “It was only ever another way for the archangels to punish us—and now Sara has paid the price for their arrogant cruelty.”

“Well, Dan believed it.” Ella brushed a loose strand of hair off Sara’s forehead. “And he was willing to kill over it.”

“He’ll pay for this,” I said, my voice vibrating with rage as I looked down on the two people closest to me, both wracked by grief.

Rami clenched his jaw. “I want to be a part of it. When you capture him, I want to be involved in his punishment.”

I gave him a single nod. I would never deprive my friend of his vengeance.

“It’s not fair,” Ella said, shifting her hands so that they covered the wound. “Sara didn’t deserve this. She shouldn’t even have been here.”

Regret twisted my gut. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have let her come.”

Ella peered up at me, her expression tender. “If I know Sara, she didn’t give you much choice. She wouldn’t have wanted to stay on the sidelines. She never did.”

“Still,” I said. “She was my responsibility, and I failed you both.”

“She was our responsibility,” Rami corrected.

I’d suspected that he’d been attracted to Sara, but I’d been too caught up in my own obsession to find Ella to see that his feelings went beyond simple desire. I’d seen Rami go through multitudes of women, but I’d never seen him mourn one. At least, not for thousands of years.

Ella turned back to her friend’s body and closed her eyes, holding her hands over the bullet hole to staunch the blood, even though it didn’t matter anymore. “I’m so sorry, Sara. I’m going to miss you so much.”

I uncurled my arm from Ella’s shoulder and put my hands over hers—my tattoo of outstretched angel wings unfurled on top—and was startled by the heat from them. The moment our flesh connected, more heat sizzled across my skin. Holding my larger hands over hers, I let the energy of our joining pulse through me.

After a few moments, light began to emanate from beneath my hands and Ella’s. Her eyes remained tightly closed, almost as if she were praying. Both of our hands glowed gold, shards of light seeping from beneath our fingers. Even the black wings of my tattoo glinted with light, as if the ebony tips were on fire.

“Dom?” Rami whispered, staring from our hands to my face.

I didn’t respond, my energy focused on keeping my hands over Ella’s, as heat buzzed through them, and they trembled slightly. I didn’t know what was happening, but it felt inevitable, as if this moment was always destined to happen, and Ella and I were pre-ordained to be holding our hands together over her dead friend on a deserted mountain road in Marbella.

The first faint twitch could have been my own hands, but the second time Sara moved beneath us, I couldn’t discount it as a muscle spasm. Keeping my hands firmly locked on Ella’s, I watched as Sara drew a breath and then slowly opened her eyes.

Rami gasped, drawing Sara’s gaze to him.

“Hey there, handsome,” she said, her voice drowsy. “What am I doing on the ground?”

Ella’s eyes snapped open, and the glow beneath her hands flickered. “Sara?”

“Hey, girl.” Sara gave her a weak smile. “I feel like I was hit by a truck.” Then her eyes went wide. “Was I hit by a truck?”

Ella stifled a sob. “Not exactly.”

“That’s good.” Sara blinked heavily. “I still don’t know why I’m on the ground, and why all of you are crouched around me.”

I moved my hands off Ella’s and then she slowly lifted her hands off Sara’s stomach. The wound no longer pumped out bright blood to stain the pavement. Actually, the wound was no longer there.

Ella twisted her head around to meet my eyes. “Dominick?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what happened.”

“You’re an angel. You must have used your powers to heal her.”

“We’re fallen angels,” Rami said. “Emphasis on the fallen. We’re powerful, but we don’t have the power to perform miracles anymore.”

“He just did,” Ella said.

Sara attempted to sit up on her elbows. “Someone performed a miracle?”

Rami helped her up so that she could lean against his chest.

“I don’t think that was me.” I straightened, peering at my own hands. “At least, not entirely.”

“It was both of your hands together,” Rami said in an almost reverent tone. “What does this mean?”

“I don’t know.” I glanced around, glad that most of the Fallen had dispersed to deal with the demons or hunt down Dan.

Only Tamiel remained, and he looked as stunned as I felt.

“This stays between us,” I said, locking my eyes with his.

“Of course,” he said, his gaze drifting back to Sara. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen someone raised from the dead.”

Sara looked up at Rami. “Someone died?”

I pulled Ella up from the pavement as the siren wails grew closer. “First, we need to get you both away from here.”

Rami helped Sara stand, wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her upright. “The fortress will be the safest place.”

“Agreed.”

I turned to Ella as Rami got Sara into the SUV, holding her hands in my own. “Once I’m sure you and Sara are safe, we’re going to have a talk about your godfather.”