Chapter 21 #4
He shook his head. “It was damned confusing because I remembered loving you. It was like I was two different people. Then Ferro appeared, and I slipped into that Vega role I’ve been in for most of my life.
That felt more familiar than being a husband, further confirming that you were lying to me.
But as Ferro was about to finish you, it was the devastation I felt at the thought of you dying that started snapping everything together.
You reached into my dark shattered mind because of what I meant to you.
And I pulled the shards back together because of what you meant to me. ”
He braced his hand against her cheek. “So no matter the lies and illusions, what we feel for each other is real.” He planted another of those devastatingly tender kisses on her mouth. “That’s real, Violet Castanega.”
* * *
The Tryah closed the window between their dimension and the Earthly plane. Drakos sagged into the chair. He had been so close to escaping this place of gray hopelessness.
“Don’t give up yet,” Demis said, looking smug. “My Caido minions are powerful and dedicated, and they have been working on gathering power in their own way. They’ll have enough to see our plan through.”
Fallon huffed out an impatient breath. “But they’re using children. How much power can they really gain from them?”
“They may not possess the power of a Breathed Dragon, but they hold the purity of their emotions: love, hate, fear. My minions have been harnessing and storing these emotions for just this time.”
“And they too have hit snags before,” Drakos said, taking some gratification in that. “When the two young Caidos escaped many years ago, nearly exposing the whole operation.”
“And the woman who escaped and accused your minion of kidnapping her,” Fallon reminded him. “I’ve had to intervene twice to save your godly asses, giving Purcell Black Bore Orbs.”
Demis raised his eyebrow at the usage of Earth plane language. “We work toward a common goal. Let us not nitpick. In the end, I will be the one to carry the plan to fruition. Then you will both give me the respect I deserve.”
Drakos would never respect one of the fallen angels. But he would play along, if it meant their freedom at long last.
* * *
Violet lay cradled in Kade’s arms. They’d figured out how much was real, like the way their bodies fit each other’s so perfectly and how right it felt making love now that they were in a place of truth. She lay next to him, her leg slung over his thighs, tracing her fingers over his stomach.
“Purcell!” he said, sitting up abruptly.
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t call out someone else’s name while we were making love.”
He chuckled. “Silly girl, Purcell is a man.”
She furrowed her eyebrows. “Still.”
He shook his head, but his smile faded as he obviously returned to whatever thought had made him spoil the mood. “Purcell is the son of a bitch who put the Black Bore Orb in my head.”
“And you’re thinking of him now…why?” But now that she was thinking of him, she wanted to sink her talons into his throat.
Kade’s Crescent mist darkened in his eyes.
“Right before you went to the Guard, an old Vega buddy called me out of the blue, asking who could create a star orb. That’s an orb like an intelligent missile, remote controlled by the Deuce who created it.
And only a very powerful, very old Deuce can create such an orb.
The same kind of someone who could create a Black Bore Orb.
Cyntag and a woman brought me a book to decipher, and they were obviously involved in something big. ”
He leaned down to the floor and fished his phone out of his pants pocket, affording her an exquisite view of his bare ass.
But she could hardly enjoy it, as Kade sat right back and dialed, putting the phone on speaker.
“Hey, Cyntag, it’s Kade. I think I know who’s behind that star orb. A Deuce named Purcell—”
“Way ahead of you, bro. Purcell is dead, as of this morning. He was involved in a plot to manipulate the Deus Vis and starve us of the energy we need. But according to Brom, there’s more to it than that.”
“A hell of a lot more. Like the Tryah.”
“The Tryah? But they’ve been dormant for centuries.”
“Not anymore. Drakos was working with my boss. He and a female were killing Dragons and stockpiling their power. I thought that’s all there was to it until I realized Purcell was powerful enough to produce your star orb.”
“The Tryah,” Cyntag said, as though absorbing the implications. “The three-headed monster Brom saw in his prophetic vision. We fought and defeated one head, and Brom said there were others fighting the remaining two heads. You’re one of those others, obviously. Need help?”
“We stopped Drakos’s plan. Ferro and his cohort are dead. How do we find the third head?”
“Unfortunately, Brom doesn’t know, though he assures me that the ones fighting are capable.
I felt one of the gods trying to help Purcell.
Probably the Deuce god. Can’t remember his name.
So, the third is Demis, the angel who was supposed to watch over Lucifera.
Whatever it is that they’re trying to do involves the solar storm and how it’ll affect the Deus Vis.
And I have a bad feeling it involves a lot of Crescents dying. ”
Kade put his arm around Violet. “We have to find a way to help. Standing by doing nothing is unacceptable.” His Vega was talking now. “Going to the Concilium or the Guard is too risky. There’s obviously corruption in the system.”
“Let’s get together and see what we can figure out.”
“Sounds good. I’ve got a lot to fill you in on. Will I finally find out why you left the Guard?”
“Yeah, but I can tell you now that it has everything to do with the woman I brought to your boat.”
“I thought so.” He squeezed Violet closer. “I have a feeling I’m going to understand your motives a lot more than you think.”
The magick settles, the shadows stir—and the story waits to be awakened again.
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