bargain, but right now I’m just too happy to instruct you on the proper way. You’ve got yourself a wife. Or a consort. Or a mate. Or whatever you want to call me!”
“You have been my wife since the beginning, I think. That very first day, you taught me how to feel. You saw me at my worst, and helped make me better. What we do next will be a much stronger bond.”
Cheers erupted around them, and he turned. His entire army now filled the room. Thane and Koldo must have summoned the rest of his men.
Thane dropped to his knee, head bowed.
Koldo did the same.
Bjorn and Xerxes, too, then Axel, and then, one by one, the others joined, until the twenty members of his army were showing their respect.
Zacharel pushed to his feet and helped Annabelle to hers. She pressed into his side, her head resting on his shoulder.
“Don’t you dare think about busting on Koldo,” she said. “He might have tricked me into…uh, I mean, he saved the day. And he and the troublesome trio saved Jamila, I think.”
Part of him wanted to throttle the man for daring to place Annabelle in such a dangerous position, but the other part of him recognized the desperate bid for victory. “Is this true?”
Koldo nodded, remained silent.
“He saved another angel, too, I think,” Annabelle added.
The warrior did not nod this time, nor did he maintain his silence. “She is no one else’s concern. I will see to her.”
Something about his tone…a hardness, a coldness Zacharel had once possessed. Like him, like Hadrenial, Koldo would end up on a path to destruction if he wasn’t careful.
His gaze swept over the sea of angelic bodies, white-and-gold wings, hair a kaleidoscope of colors, from the blackest of jets to the lightest of snows. All of these warriors were as he had once been. Adrift, lost. They needed a leader.
More of a leader than he had been.
From this moment on, he would be that leader. With Annabelle at his side, he could be anything, do anything.
“Rise,” he said, and they obeyed. “We are not like other armies, and so I will no longer treat you as such. We teeter on the edge of banishment, and I will allow none of you to fall. You are mine. Changes are coming, and I hope that you like them, but I won’t be bothered if you do not.”
Silence.
“You have all sensed the war brewing in the heavens. The greatest war we’ve ever known—and we’ve known plenty. When it will finally break, I’m not sure. I only know what has been whispered. The Deity’s angels will be fighting the Titans and Greeks—more and more have escaped from their immortal prison. All of this will happen despite the fact that a new queen sits on the Titan throne and she is on our side. Or maybe
“As for now, go home. Rest. Tomorrow I upend your entire world.”
Thane, Bjorn and Xerxes shared an uneasy look before flying out of the room. Koldo scowled. Then every member of the army was gone, and Zacharel was alone with Annabelle.
He misted her into another room, one that was clean. “You, I upend now.” He backed her into the bed.
Her knees hit and she fell to the mattress with a gasp and a chuckle. Blue-black hair spread around her shoulders. Her robe gaped open, revealing one of his favorite parts of her.
“So naughty, my angel,” she said. “And look! Your wings are solid gold now. And there’s no snow!”
He looked at the left, then the right. “I am now one of the Elite.” One knee on the mattress, two, he straddled her thighs. “That will be celebrated—later. Right now we have a melding to begin.”
She was a sensual feast for his eyes. He was so mesmerized, he missed the movement of her hands. She latched on to his shoulders and pushed him down, placing herself on top.
Her grin was languid. “We’ll get to the melding. After you’ve begged.” A vow.
A vow she made good on. Her hands roamed over him, stripping him, stroking him, and all too soon he was begging, unable to help himself.
Just before she collapsed over him, wings of white burst from between her shoulder blades.
She sat back up, gasping, and looked the wings over. “What the… I don’t… How did that…”
A genuine laugh shook him to his very depths. “When you held the demon essentia, your negative emotions brought forth the demon appearance. You now hold an angelic essentia, and so your positive emotions bring forth this appearance. Now, enough distractions. I want you again, Anna.”
“Well, it
Hours later, when they were both sated, she snuggled in his arms, resplendent and his, all his. This was the life he’d never dared dream for himself. One he would cherish forever, because he knew how close he’d come to losing it.
“So about this melding,” she said with a yawn. The wings had vanished, but they would be back.
“You had first to pledge your life to mine, and you did—when I made
“Took care of—so we’re melded?”
“Now and forever. As soon as I knew you were willing, and while you were distracted, I took a little piece of your spirit. It can be painful, and I did not want you hurting.” Not ever again.
“My sweet prince.” She kissed the beat of his heart. “Hey, your black spot is gone!”
“You saved me.”
“I guess that means you owe me. Which brings me to the second order of business, then. I want to help you fight demons.”
“I never doubted it.”
“Really? You’ll let me, without pouting like a baby?”
“First, I never pout. I ponder, and probably quite sexily. Second, as you’ve told me, you have already spent too much of your life in a cage. I will not put you in another.” But that did not mean he would sit back and let some demon harm her. Zacharel would do his utmost to guard her during every battle. Besides, when one of them died, the other would follow. He would never have to be without her.
“I think that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“I am a sweet man.”
She laughed with carefree abandon, and he loved the sound, was determined to make her laugh like that every day for the rest of their eternity.
“What’s so funny?” he teased. “I
“And what’s this sweet man’s plan for his army, hmm? What changes are you about to rain down on their heads?”
“Discipline, dominance and consequences. Of course.”
Another laugh. “You’re right.
“No, but then, my sweetness is reserved for you. Only, ever for you.”
