The Darkest Passion

“You’d probably offer him condolences if you actually met Anya.”

Baden laughed. “A troublemaker, is she? But then, aren’t they all.” As his amusement faded, he slapped Aeron on the back. “I think I miss a woman’s softness most of all.”

Thinking of Hadiee? “Why did you do it?” Finally Aeron asked what he’d wondered for centuries. “Why did you allow the Hunters to take your head?”

His friend shrugged. “I was tired, so tired of constantly looking over my shoulder, suspicious about anything and everything. I’d even begun to doubt you.”

“Me?”

“All of you, really.” Baden sighed. “I hated it. I hated that I expected each of you to turn on me when I knew in my heart that it would never happen.”

“You’re right. We never would have hurt you.” They’d loved this man too fiercely. Despite his demon, Baden had been the one each man relied on. The one each man sought for guidance and support.

“And then the woman came,” his friend continued. “I suspected she was Bait, but what made it worse was that I hoped she was. So I did it. I escorted her home, let her seduce me, even though I knew the Hunters would show up. I was…relieved when they finally approached. I didn’t even fight them.”

Like he had ultimately refused to fight Lysander. “Are you happy with the way things ended?”

“To be honest, I don’t know. Pandora is all I have for amusement and as you saw, she isn’t very amusing.”

There was no denying that. “Speaking of Pandora, she seems to have disappeared. I’ve caught no glimpse of her since I first arrived.”

“That’s the way she works. She gives you a few days of peace, lulling you with a false sense of security, and then strikes. But enough of her. Why did you do it?” Baden asked, flicking him a glance. “Why did you allow yourself to be killed? And yes, I know you allowed yourself to die. You’re too good a soldier to have been taken any other way.”

Aeron sighed, the weary sound a mimic of Baden’s. “All these years I’ve feared death, but there at the end, you’re right. I, too, welcomed it. Not because I was tired but because I wanted to save my woman.”

“Ah, a woman. The downfall of us all. Tell me about her. I have yet to be given a glimpse.” Baden rubbed his hands together, ripe with anticipation. “I want to know what kind of creature captivated so leery a man.”

“Yes, Aeron, I want to hear this, too.”

Aeron stilled. “Did you hear that?” He spun, gaze searching wildly for the woman he craved more than life. He found no sign of her.

“I heard,” Baden said, frowning now. “A female voice, right?”

He wasn’t insane, then. “Olivia?” he shouted. He would have sworn his heart began pounding in his chest. “Olivia!”

Several yards away, the air began to shimmer, dappled glitter in a canvas of pearl, and a shape took form. Dark curls. Bright blue eyes. Flawless skin. Heart-shaped lips. Circles of rose painted her cheeks, and glorious white wings were stretched behind her.

Wings. Angel. She’d gone home.

“Can you see me?” Desperate, he kicked into motion. “Can you see the dead?”

“Oh, yes. I can see you.”

When he reached her, his arms banded around her and lifted her up. He held on to her as he’d never held on to another, spinning her. Here, she was here. With him. Never would he let her go.

Her head fell back and she laughed with carefree abandon. That laughter…how it soothed his soul.

“Olivia.” Desperate to taste her, he meshed their lips together. She opened willingly, eagerly, and he fed her kiss after kiss, savoring everything about her. The warmth of her body, the sweetness of her curves. His. And his alone.

“Aeron. There’s so much I have to tell you.”

Trembling, he set her down and cupped her face, never losing contact. “Sweetheart, what are you doing here? How are you here? And I see you’re an angel once again.” My angel.

“Yes. A joy-bringer, no longer a warrior.”

“You were always my joy-bringer, but how… I don’t understand.”

She beamed up at him and traced her fingers all over his face, as if she, too, couldn’t bear to let go. “My Deity is the creator of life, and He has offered you a new one. Just as the Heavenly High Council offered me my old job back—even though they say I’m now better suited for the warrior class. From now on, I will be your personal joy-bringer. They realized you couldn’t be happy without me, and I would have no joy without you.”

He still couldn’t wrap his head around the details. “Why would they care? They were the ones who wanted me dead in the first place.”

“You sacrificed everything. For me. My Deity acknowledged your sacrifice and sought to reward you. He will return you to your body, heal that body, and you may return to the fortress. We can be together.”

“Together.” He wanted to fall to his knees in thanks. He wanted to shout and to dance. He could only marvel. Olivia was his.

Her gaze became questioning, unsure. “Are you happy about this?”

“I’m happier than I’ve ever been, sweetheart. You are all I want, all I need.”

Another smile bloomed. “I feel the same.” That smile dimmed somewhat. “Wrath…your demon cannot be returned to you, I’m afraid. I tried. But he’s been given to another already.”

“Who?”

“A woman named Sienna Blackstone. Once a mortal, killed by gunshot. But Cronus saved her soul and has kept her with him.”

Paris’s Sienna. Of all the outcomes… What did that mean for poor Paris? He could have his female back, after all, it seemed, but she would be crazed by Wrath for many years to come. She would exist only to exact vengeance upon those who sinned.

Aeron would do everything he could to ease her transition. And hopefully, the demon would recognize him. They still had a job to do, after all. Stefano’s punishment. The demons who hurt her, too.

“Will I be mortal?” he asked. Not that he cared. He would be with Olivia. What did an aging body matter?

“No. You’ll be immortal, just as before. In fact, your body will be restored to what it was at its creation. You will be without your tattoos, without your butterflies. Without your wings.” Again she appeared unsure. “Is that okay?”

“Okay? That is magnificent.” Laughing now, he spun her a second time. Could life get any better? Maybe not. She didn’t look as happy as she should have. “What’s wrong?” he asked as he stilled.

“Legion. She’s back in hell, bound once more to its flames because her bond to you was destroyed.”

Ice crystallized in his veins—right along with realization. That’s what Lysander had meant by the words “she will return home.” He should have known, suspected at the very least.

“Lucifer is so angry with her, he’s left her in her human body and the demons are tormenting her ceaselessly. Galen’s looking for her, and I think…I think he’ll even venture into hell for her. He wants to kill her because apparently she tried to kill him.”

Aeron’s eyes widened. Legion had tried to kill Galen? So much had happened since his passing. “I can’t leave her there,” he said. Despite everything that had happened, he still loved the little demon.

“I know. Which is why I’ve spoken to the Council about my new duties. As your joy-bringer, I explained that you need the demon in your life or that life will not be complete. They have agreed that if you decide to go get her, they will let her stay with you, because what she is enduring now is a hell that will last her a thousand lifetimes. Upon her rescue, though, she will be assigned a guardian angel to ensure she harms no humans.”

“Yes, yes, I accept for her.” Legion hated angels, but she could deal. She’d have to get used to his Olivia, anyway. “Yes,” he said again. He didn’t even have to think about it. “You, Olivia, are even more amazing than I realized. You did this, and I can never thank you enough.” He rained little kisses all over her face. “You have given me everything.”

“Just as you have given me everything.”