“Fair but merciless is the angels’ way,” he replied. “Perhaps Illias has learned a lesson.”
“Not to mess with an angel?”
He dipped his chin.
Fair but merciless. That was the way of Damiel Dragonsire, Angel Fury. The Spirit of Punishment.
“The next time he tries to manipulate me, I won’t be so lenient,” he told me.
“I hope there never is a next time.”
“There will be. The Magic Eaters, the Hive…their legacy and ours are linked. Our paths will cross again.”
He was watching me so closely. Like he was dissecting my body language, trying to interpret every flicker of movement.
“We have to tell Nyx something about what we’ve been up to,” I said, keeping my face calm under the Master Interrogator’s microscope.
“We’ll tell her the threat to the Earth has been neutralized. A rogue angel has been silenced, his plot thwarted. Colonel Spellstorm was not able to break the ward that defends the Earth from another demonic invasion. As far as the Legion cares, our mission was a success.”
He was right.
We’d learned a lot about the nature of magic and the original Immortals, but we couldn’t share that knowledge with anyone. Because people weren’t ready for this kind of magic. They feared what they didn’t understand. They hated anything that shook the foundation of their beliefs.
We both knew that the Legion would want very much to know about our growing stockpile of immortal weapons. I’d need to find a way to mask the new daggers’ true nature. Previously, Nyx had allowed each of us to possess one of the immortal daggers, but she would never permit us to have five. She’d want to redistribute them between her other angels—or maybe offer them up to the gods. After all, the Immortals had ruled before the gods, and they had been the far more powerful deities.
A shifting spell. That should hide the three new daggers. It would have to be a powerful spell, though. Masking something as potent as Immortal magic was…tricky. Most people would call such a task impossible, but I wasn’t most people. I was stubborn and optimistic. I refused to accept that anything was impossible.
I shifted my attention outward, back to Damiel. He was still watching me. I felt like I was caught in the Master Interrogator’s headlights.
I set my hands on the tabletop and leaned forward against my desk. “Is there anything else?” I asked him coolly.
“Why do you feel the need to keep a large desk between us? Afraid I might get too close?”
“If you get too close, I’ll let you know. With force, if necessary.”
He went quiet for a moment, then said, “You’re still upset with me.”
“What does it matter?” I sighed.
“It matters to me. I upset you. I need to fix that.”
“You can’t fix everything, Damiel.”
“Of course I can. Nothing is impossible. Of anyone, you should know that.”
“I feel I must amend my philosophy to: nothing is impossible, except for angels. Angels are extremely impossible.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I do.” I tapped my fingers against my desk. “Do you regret being pigheaded?”
“I was not pigheaded. I was firm.”
“You tried to keep me out of the fight.”
“I was trying to keep you safe. We were facing a highly dangerous battle. I didn’t want anything to happen to you.”
I believed him. He’d been looking out for me since our first mission together.
But that didn’t mean I wasn’t mad at him. His intentions might have been good, but his execution was downright lousy.
“It goes both ways,” I told him. “Did you ever stop to think that maybe I don’t want anything to happen to you?”
“You care.” An emotion I didn’t recognize flashed in his eyes.
“Of course I care, Colonel Hardhead. But when the going gets tough, I refuse to cower at the sidelines, powerless to help you. I won’t be that person, not for anyone, not even for the man I love. If you want to be with me, you need to accept that. You need to let me fight by your side. Can you do that?”
A happy smile spread his lips. “You love me.”
I realized that I’d indeed said that. The words had just slipped out.
He’d confessed his love to me, but I had not confessed my love for him, not even to myself. Not until now. Well, it was about time I owned up to it.
“Yes. I do. I love you, Damiel Dragonsire.”
Marking each other. It had been much more than a physical act. It was about more than mere possessiveness. It was all born from love. His love. And mine. The love we shared.
In one smooth, effortless motion, he jumped over my desk. His hands were on my back, pulling me close. My chest slammed against his. He kissed me. I kissed him back. And we just melted into each other.
“Damiel,” I said, breathless.
He kissed my lips softly. “Yes, my angel?”
“You haven’t…” I kissed his mouth. “…answered my question.” His cheek. “Can you accept me for who I am?” His jaw. “Are you able to let me fight by your side…” My lips trailed kisses down his neck. “…no matter what happens?”
He stroked his hands down my face. “Yes,” he said, meeting my eyes.
Surprise gripped me. That must have been the first time Damiel Dragonsire’s will had bent for anyone. That was the most romantic thing I’d ever seen. And the most irresistible. I grabbed him roughly and slammed him against the wall. It shook.
His fingers ran down my back, digging into my skin. They plunged lower to settle on my hips. “I couldn’t help but notice that you brought me to your office.”
I tore his shirt right off him. “I was mad at you.”
“And now?” His fingers slid the zipper of my sport top half way down; my breasts pushed against the strained top, threatening to burst out. “Have you forgiven me?” He unzipped my top the rest of the way down—and cast it aside.
“I haven’t decided yet,” I said with a sly smile, arching my back.
His eyes dipped to my breasts.
“I think you need to convince me.”
“Gladly,” he growled.
His hands gripped my hips, lifting me onto my desk. My neat cup of perfectly-sharpened pencils tipped over, sending them rolling in every direction.
“I am at your command, my angel,” Damiel said.
He pulled down my shorts.
“At your mercy.”
In a flash, he was inside of me.
“My heart is yours. Forever,” he declared fervently, staring into my eyes, gripping me like he was afraid to let go.
Everything but Damiel blurred, fading out of sight, until it no longer existed. Until there was nothing left in this world or any other but the two of us.
23
Immortal Legacy
I woke up in Damiel’s arms. We were in my bed. I didn’t remember how we’d gotten here from my office, which was in a whole other wing of Storm Castle.
I used the Diamond Tear to bring us here, Damiel said in my mind.
I blinked. He was watching me. From the looks of it, he’d been watching me sleep for a while.