Olivia craves fun. She needs to have fun.
Before the last word had left Aerons mouth, Lysander had begun shaking his head. Such a need stemmed from her association with you. Once you are gone
Vow it or the fight continues! On this, too, he would not bend.
Lysander scowled at him. I will do my best.
That isnt good enough, he gritted out. You live with Bianka, a Harpy. I know the little witch is fun incarnate.
Yes, Lysander said, and there was pride in his tone. Pride Aeron probably exhibited himself when he spoke of Olivia. Very well. I will make certain they spend time together.
All the details were taken care of, then.
Death, he thought next. Here it was, staring him in the eye. It had finally caught up with him, and he was willing. There was no resistance on his part. Again, he waited for emotions to consume him but again, they remained absent.
He would have liked to say goodbye to Olivia, to remind her that he loved her. But she would try and talk him out of this. He knew it, just as he knew he would crumble. This had to happen now.
Aeron drew in a deep breath, held itheld itThen, as he slowly released it, he splayed his arms. Do it. Take my head.
Lysander merely looked at him, head tilting to the side curiously, as if he hadnt expected Aeron to comply. You are sure?
Yes.
The angel stretched out his arm and the fiery sword once more appeared.
No! Olivia screamed from below them. No! Aeron! Lysander! Please, no!
Aeron didnt want her to see this, but it was too late to ask Lysander to whisk them to another location. That sword of fire was already arcing toward him.
Goodbye, Aeron, Wrath said softly.
He felt the first sizzle of contact, and then he knew nothing more.
OLIVIA SCREAMED and screamed and screamed. Aeron. Dead. Gone forever. His beautiful warriors body had gone limp, had fallen from the sky. A fall that had seemed to last forever, slow and agonizing, taunting her and making her hope that maybe, maybe, he would land softly, and he would be okay. She had only to reach him
Please, she sobbed, racing out of his bedroom and heading outside. But deep down, she knew. Reaching him wouldnt make a difference. Aeron. Dead. Gone forever.
LEGION HAD JUST FLASHED BACK to the fortress to tell Aeron what shed done when she felt her bond to him break. And she knew. Knew. Only one thing would break a bond like theirs.
Death.
She was alive, so that meant No. No! Never. She shook her head violently. Aeron! Aeron! Without their bond, she couldnt remain here. She would
No, she screamed, even as she was tugged from the fortress and back into hell.
As the flames enveloped her, she heard Lucifers scream echo her own. No!
CHAPTER THIRTY
OLIVIA CRIED until she had no more tears left, Aerons body clutched in her arms. She barely noticed as the sun fell and rose again. Barely noticed as Aerons friends descended. Upon seeing what had become of the warrior, Strider had dropped to his knees and howled. Torin had wept. Lucien had waited to escort his soul, but was never summoned, and no one knew why. Maddox had raged for answers, and most of the others had stood staring in shock and disbelief, pallid, shaking. Even Gideon had stumbled his way outside, and oh, his tears had destroyed her. But the reaction that had slayed her most, the one that had torn her up and left her raw, was Sabins.
Not him, the warrior had uttered brokenly. Not this man. Take me instead.
A sentiment she, too, wallowed in.
Like her, they refused to leave the hill. Cameo tried to convince her to rise, to let Aeron go, so that others could hold him and say their goodbyes. She refused. Even slapped those strong arms away from her. Finally, they left her alone, but she knew they waited nearby, watching, wanting their turn.
This couldnt be the end, she thought, dazed. It simply couldnt be. No immortal could recover from decapitation. She knew that. But this just couldnt be the end.
Aeron couldnt die alone.
The words drifted through her mind once, then a second and third time. Aeron couldnt die alone.
Aeron couldnt die alone.
On every level, this death was wrong. Needless, senseless.
Aeron couldnt die aloneand he wouldnt.
Hope suddenly bloomed from the darkness of her soul, and though it required every ounce of strength she possessed, Olivia at last released the warriorno, hold him, never let goand picked herself up off the ground. Oh, no. He wouldnt die alone, she vowed.
Olivia, one of his waiting friends said, closing in on her, projecting so much sorrow, so much regret, so much pain.
Ignore. Closing her eyes, she splayed her arms and lifted her head to the gleaming sun. Act. Im ready to return home. To claim my rightful place in the sky. To be the angel I was created to be.
Instantly she was caught up in the sky, wings sprouting from her back in one glorious wave. She curled them around herself and looked them over, shocked to see no threads of gold. No longer a warrior, then. Funny. No longer a warrior, yet never in her life had she been more intent on fighting for something.
Aeron wouldnt die alone.
Lysander was beside her a second later, his expression so tortured he looked as if he were in physical pain. Im sorry, Olivia, but it had to be done. It was the only way.
There was true remorse in his voice, and she nodded to acknowledge it. You did what you had to do, just as I will. She didnt give him time to question her. No, she marched toward the tribunal chamber, ready to face the Council.
AERON SLOWLY OPENED HIS EYES. The first thought to hit him: how was he able to do so? Frowning, he reached up, and wonder of wonders, he had eyes, a nose and a mouth. His head was attached to his body, but strangely enough, there were no scabs on his neckor tattoos on his arms, he realized with shock when he spotted smooth, tanned skin.
Frown intensifying, he sat up. He experienced no dizziness, no pain, just a cool breeze that wrapped around him as if hugging him in welcome. His gaze moved over his body. Intact. Unharmed. He was lying on a marble dais, and he was wearing a white robe, much like Olivias. His legs were also devoid of tattoos.
How was that possible? How was any of it possible?
Lysander hadnt missed. Hed felt the burn.
So what had happened? And where was he? He studied his surroundings. There was a mistlike quality to the air, as if he were trapped inside a dream. There were no houses, no streets, only alabaster column after alabaster column with dewy ivy that climbed the sides.
Heaven? Had he somehow been made into an angel? He reached around and felt his back. No. No wings. Disappointment rocked him. As an angel, he would have been able to search for Olivia, to be with her.
Olivia. Sweet, sweet Olivia. His chest ached and his hands itched to touch her. He would miss her every day of hislife? Death? Utterly and without waning. Where was she now? What was she doing?
Aeron.
The deep voice hit him, and he shook in recognition and shock.
Though thousands of years had passed since hed heard that raspy timbre, he knew who it belonged to instantly. Baden. Once his best friend, but centuries deceased. Aeron pushed to his feet and turned, unsure of what hed find. How?
Baden stood only a few feet away.
Aeron battled through the shock. His friend looked the same as when hed been alive. Tall, muscled, bright red hair that shagged around his face. Brown eyes, sun-darkened skin. Like Aeron, he wore a white robe.
How are youhow are we? Still the questions wouldnt form, so great was his astonishment.
Youve changed. A lot. Baden grinned, revealing straight white teeth, and rather than answer, he raked Aeron with his gaze. But gods, Ive missed you.
And then they were running toward each other, wrapping their arms around each other. Aeron held tight. Hed never thought to see this man again. Yet here he was, holding his best friend close.
Ive missed you, too, he managed to choke past the hard lump in his throat.
A long while passed before they pulled back. Aeron still couldnt believe this was happening. That he was here, with Baden. Touching him, seeing him.
Last time theyd been together, before Badens beheading, Aeron had wanted to set the man on fire. Or rather, Wrath had wanted him to do so. Baden had torched an entire village, certain they plotted his murder, and Aerons demon had yearned to repay him in kind, fire for fire, even though guilt had ravaged Baden, perhaps even leading to his trust in Hadiee, the Bait whod led him to his slaughter.
Now Aeron feltnothing but kinship. No menace of any kind. No urge to grab a match. There were no images inside his head, either. No screams in his ears. Actually, he didnt sense Wrath at all.
That made no sense. He still had his head, so Wrath had to be inside him. Right?
Where are we? he asked. And how are we here?
Welcome to the afterlife, my friend. Created by Zeus after our possession, just in case our demons killed us. He didnt want our tainted souls able to reach him. And yeah, I know it would have been nice to know we had a place to stay, but the old bastard never breathed a word. Baden pivoted and waved his hand over their surroundings. I call it Bads Land. Get it? Baden.
Yes, I get it.
Still no sense of humor, I see. Well have to work on that. Anyway, I know its not much to look at and the place is boring as shit, but its better than the alternative.
The alternative? So I really am dead?
Afraid so.
His shoulders slumped, a paltry motion for the sense of crushing loss suddenly plaguing him. No chance to search for Olivia, then.
And no Wrath, he realized with a sharp inhalation. His demon had been taken from him, released when he died. He was alone. Truly alone, for the first time in centuries.
He wassaddened. Yes, saddened. There at the end, theyd reached an accord.
Are you and I the only ones here?
No. There are a few others, but they keep their distance from me. I dont know why. Im as sweet as a sugar cookie. Not that Ive gotten to enjoy one lately, Baden grumbled. Pandora, though He shuddered. She also resides here and she does not keep her distance. Unfortunately.
Again Aeron battled back his shock. Pandora. The woman whod been given charge of dimOuniak, the box holding all the escaped demon High Lords captive. The woman who had taunted him and his friends with her elevated status, reminding them over and over again that the gods had overlooked them.
Once hed despised her. Nowso many years had passed since hed even thought of her, he couldnt dredge up the hate. Was he overjoyed to know she was here and nearby, however? Hell, no.
Why havent you killed her? he asked. Again.
Hes not strong enough, a female said from behind them.
In unison, they spun. Pandora rested against one of the columns, arms crossed over her chest.
Seeing her, even though hed been warned of her presence, was like being punched in the face with brass knuckles. Aeron looked her over. Like him and Baden, she was tall and muscled, though on a much smaller scale. Her brown hair hit her chin and trapped her face. A face too harsh to be pretty. Her eyes were gold. Too gold. Too bright. Otherworldly. And filled with disdain.
The same look shed always given him in the heavens.
Ah. There was his old sense of loathing, rising inside him, filling him. Even in death he was to have an enemy, it seemed.
Must be my birthday, she said with a cruel smile. One by one the men who sent me here have decided to join me.
Youre mistaken. The gift is mine. Now your eternal torment can be ensured.
She stepped toward himto attack?but stopped herself and offered another smile. So. Hows Maddox? Dying, I hope.
Maddox had been the one to kill her. The warrior had been lost to his demon, Violence, and had stabbed her, over and over again. Youll be disappointed to know hes well. Hes even expecting a child.
Breath hitched in her throat. Is he now? How wonderful. She exhaled, and with the release, a dam seemed to break inside her. That bastard! He doesnt deserve to be happy! He killed me, allowed my box to be stolen, and now no one knows where it is. Its our ticket out of here, but nooo. Even I cant find it. He ruined everything and now his dreams are coming true? You think I didnt know that he always wanted a family? I knew! But he was supposed to die! He was the one who
Oh, get over yourself already. Baden tossed Aeron a see-what-Ive-had-to-endure look. Gods. Youre just as much of a bitch now as you were then.
Silence. Panting. Her eyes narrowed on the redhead. Feeling invincible now that you have a friend to protect you?
Hardly. Im invincible either way.
They continued to bicker, but Aeron tuned them out, his attention locked on part of Pandoras impassioned speech. Finding the box, dimOuniak, would free them from this realm? Truth or lie, he didnt know. What he did know? If he could escape, he could search for Olivia, as hed wanted.
Would she be able to see him?
Yes or no, he didnt care. He would be able to see her.
That box is mine.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
OLIVIA STOOD in front of the Heavenly High Council, life and death in their hands for the second time. For days shed pleaded her case, refusing to give up or leave, but theyd continued to reject her, too satisfied with the outcome. Aeron was dead, as theyd wanted, and Legion returned to hell. Her home. Something Lysander hadnt fully explained to Aeron.
She splayed her arms, her wings, and turned, letting them see her. All of her. Aerons blood had been cleaned from her robe, but not her hands. She hadnt let her hands even graze the material. She wanted those in charge to see what they had wrought.
Her gaze locked with every member, perched as they were atop their thrones. They were beautiful, each of them. Strong and proud and pure. They felt justified. They felt exonerated. They did not flinch under her probing stare.