But seeing a Guardian after a separation was more than I could bear.
Each angel stood still and unseeing. They seemed excruciatingly empty — ripped from their responsibilities. They were mere shells now.
Panic stirred inside as I wondered where Hadrian could be. Where was the one who silenced these remarkable beings into submission?
As though hearing my thoughts aloud, the shadows in the corners stirred to life, sending the all-too-familiar scent of fear across the room to me.
“Garreth!” I pleaded in an urgent whisper.
I pulled at his cold hands but they wouldn’t yield. I threw my arms around his neck but my efforts fell short. All I could think of was his warm scent, that thin thread of a lifeline that had reeled me in to this place, connecting us again; but, it was nowhere to be found and I was confounded that the trail should suddenly run cold when it should be at its strongest.
I stood on my tiptoes, looking into his eyes that were lifeless now. He was here, I was here. How could this possibly be so wrong? I kissed his face over and over.
Was I too late, then? Was there any chance of breaking this awful trance he was in? Then, to my horror, I realized he appeared just as vacant as the others.
“What has he done to you?” I stepped back, confused.
“Garreth, please. You have to come with me.” Why couldn’t he snap out of it and realize this was our chance? It was here! This was all he had warned me about! It had come!
I tried whispering into his neck, but his warmth was gone. The scent that was always with him was replaced by something cold and empty.
“You risked everything to come to me in my world and now I’ve done the same to find you.” I didn’t hear the silent retreat of the other angels, never noticed their sudden absence. We were alone now.
Something in the corners moved again, and just as quickly something in Garreth sprang to life. His hands broke free and tightly grabbed my shoulders, as if he were suddenly in pain. There was acknowledgment in his eyes that I had come for him.
“You love me?” Garreth’s voice rattled.
“Yes,” I nodded my head, tears blurring his beautiful face before me. “I love you.” I looked around. The urge to flee this stone chamber was unbearable. “Where is Hadrian?”
A new fear grew inside me. My gaze darted around the empty room. In taking Garreth, Hadrian had to know I wouldn’t be far behind. He had to be here, waiting to spring from the shadows, but there was no sign of him and Garreth wouldn’t budge. Instead, he stared at me with eyes now deep and black and that’s when the familiar chill traveled down my spine, weakening my legs.
Garreth’s entire body quivered and I jumped back, not knowing what was happening. I stood frozen as his stunning wings snapped and cracked like breaking bones, caving in on themselves to fit behind his shoulders. He moaned and slumped to the stone floor, as if being tortured by an unseen assailant.
“What’s happening?” I went to my knees and reached for him, torn between the urge to run or spend moments we couldn’t afford cradling him in my arms.
“Garreth, please! I don’t know what to do!”
Within seconds, the room became a frosty tomb, despite the welcoming glow of the candles. The chill around me whispered his name. Hadrian.
My heart screamed inside me to run but I couldn’t as the world and everything in it slowed down to a pace only felt in dreams, and the stones around me began to pitch.
Garreth was motionless, lying on the floor at my knees.
I felt a presence behind me and I closed my eyes, knowing once I turned around what I would see. I tightened my grip around the golden handle of the dagger I now held in my sleeve, afraid it might slip from my sweaty hand. Now that I was here, now that I was about to place myself in front of the one I feared, to save the one I loved, I couldn’t think properly. I wrapped my fingers tighter around the beautiful knife, feeling its chill through the cloth, like the cold hard truth of what was behind me now.
Very slowly and deliberately, I stood. Each inch that my body distanced me from the inert form of my beloved Garreth felt painful and wrong.
Hadrian’s breath whispered on the back of my neck. I knew he was waiting; he knew he was winning. The question was, would I allow him to? Was this all for nothing?
The cold steel in my grasp pulled my senses back to the surface. I had brought myself here by placing it through my heart. Was that what I had to do to Hadrian? How on earth would someone defeat a dark angel? My mind raced, sorting through possibilities and coming up empty. This wasn’t like any place I was used to. In the stolen seconds, I allowed myself to think of the safety of home. I realized how alien home had been to me and that I had merely waded through life until now, never really living it. It was Garreth who had brought me to life. He had shown me what I was missing by revealing himself to me.
My blood coursed through my veins at lightning speed; and, with it a fire, something brewing inside me along with the last of what Garreth had given to me, sacrificed for me.
Light.
It was white and hot, like new blood brought to life, and running through me like the night Garreth first gave it to me, only stronger now that it was mixed with my own.
My inheritance. The blood essence of an Archangel.
That essence was derived from Hadrian’s own existence and now I was going to use it against him.
I spun around to face him. “What have you done to him?” I demanded.
Hadrian was silent. Towering over me, his dark wings quivered tensely as he stared down at me in an obvious attempt to intimidate me, but I stepped forward, welcoming the threat. His dark eyes reflected amusement at my resolution. To my surprise, he backed off a little, eyeing me curiously as he paced back and forth across the stone floor, carefully choosing his words.
“Your Guardian, Garreth, was found in violation of—”
“I asked what you’ve done to him.” I felt shaky, as if I might collapse at any second, but thankfully, my voice didn’t betray me. To my surprise, I found myself ready to use the dagger that was so carefully hidden in my sleeve, ready to start and end this war.
“My, my, aren’t we agitated today? If I may continue?”
Hadrian seemed to take pleasure in my endeavor to appear fearless. “As a Guardian he was not permitted to enter the human world and cavort as if he were like the very one he was responsible for. It is unheard of and places the entire society in danger. Your Garreth broke many rules because of his selfishness.”
Hadrian’s black eyes settled on me, keeping me locked to him.
“Garreth said he had permission. It was never done before, that he was the first. He was allowed to.” I looked away, hiding the fresh tears forming that would give away my crumbling resolve.
“And no other will dare make his mistake in the future.
I’ll see to that myself.”
“You don’t care about violations! That’s not why you’re doing this! Haven’t you done enough?” I trembled, knowing Garreth lay as still as death behind me. “You’ll never have your army. You’re no match for your brother,” I spat, clutching at straws with which to wound him.
“Ahhh, Lucifer. Garreth was very informative. I may still have my chance; you see, I have a sizeable army already. But I can’t risk the naïve emotions of another Guardian such as Garreth. May he be a lesson to us all, for he is no more.”
My heart plummeted to my feet at his words. No more?
The ripping pain inside my heart mimicked what I saw in Hadrian’s eyes.
He can’t be…
But I felt the pain endured by Garreth as if it were my own. I was too late. My heart was being ripped out of my chest.
Hadrian stepped closer, placing his wickedly perfect face close to mine. “Remember this, Teagan. I am stronger than my brother. I am smarter than the great Dark Prince and I always get what I want.”
I was momentarily dizzy, blinded by a light that unexpectedly appeared in the room. Hadrian’s breath was still on my face, warm and soothing, and I leaned into it away from the chill of the stone chamber.