having it all. Elation flowed through him like a dam breaking its walls. He would find the right mortal psychic this time and all would be his.
“Bael!”
The demon came in a few seconds later, his dark gaze wary. He wasn’t a demonii, which made it easy for him to procure souls.
“Did you find me an oracle?” Andras demanded.
Bael shifted on his feet. “No, my lord. If there are any in the human city, they’ve covered their tracks—”
A blast from Andras’s hand and Bael hit the wall behind him. The acrid smell of burning hair and bubbling skin filled the chambers. The blisters erupted. Slimy yellow pus trailed down Bael’s face.
“See what you made me do,” Andras reprimanded him. He stalked to his armchair and sprawled on it, his face tight in annoyance. “You’re a bunch of incompetent fools. If I weren’t bound here, I’d have found both the oracle and the psychic female already. Get me an oracle, now!”
Bael stepped back, the sores on his face oozing faster.
“I need a damn soul first. Then find Lazaar.” Andras eyed Bael’s ruined face in distaste and waved him away. “Go, clean yourself. You’re a mess.”
Andras drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair in contemplation. When he had dominion over all, the Ancients would bow to him. A’Damiel could go burn in Hellfire. And all the fuckers who guarded the mortal realm would cower in fear of him!
CHAPTER 10
Aethan materialized in front of the oracle’s house. His body may have taken form, but his mind was in complete chaos, struggling to accept the truth. The horror of the reality staggered him, as he tried to fit in pieces of a conversation that had faded over the three millennia.
After his violent initiation into a Guardian’s life, Gaia had held out several obsidian daggers with a swirling pattern on the hilts. They could never be stolen, taken, or lost, she’d told him. They’d always return to their rightful owner. Then she’d asked him to choose one.
One look and he’d hated them on sight. Something eerie had skated across his skin just looking at them.
He’d refused.
She’d insisted. ‘ Your dagger is an embodiment of your one weakness and your ultimate strength. When it fails to return to you, you have found your salvation .’
He hadn’t understood her meaning at the time, but Gaia’s last words haunted him now.
Only with Echo had he experienced fear, and he damn well knew she was his weakness.
His destiny.
His mate.
The one person who mattered to him for the first time in over three thousand years and she could very well die by his hands—
Aethan broke free of his paralysis and paced down the sidewalk, pinching the bridge of his nose. Then he strode back again. Shit, he didn’t do headaches!
‘ Where are you ?’
At the mind-link connection, Aethan growled. ‘ Can’t talk—later. ’
‘ Make the time ,’Blaéz ordered.
Dammit! ‘ I’m at the oracle’s. ’
He shut down the connection, promptly dismissing Blaéz. Hands planted on his hip, he glared up at the brownstone.
What the hell was he supposed to do?
He’d waited centuries for his mate. But after his banishment to Earth, he no longer cared. Why should he? This fragile race of humans was the last species he would have thought to find her.
But to discover his mate was the tempestuous female he desired...blood rushed to his crotch. At the thought of sliding into her silky heat, he hardened further.
Gods, he’d give his life to make love to her, but the fact was, she’d be the one to pay the ultimate price.
Already his power prowled in him, a dark reminder of what he was. The females from the pantheons chased him for the same reason, the rush of power that surged through them when sex was involved. They were immortal, their bodies repairable. But Echo, dying the way Hannah did—
His brain disconnected on the thought, unable to handle it.
The breeze picked up and snagged at his unbound hair. Reaching into his
“Bael!”
The demon came in a few seconds later, his dark gaze wary. He wasn’t a demonii, which made it easy for him to procure souls.
“Did you find me an oracle?” Andras demanded.
Bael shifted on his feet. “No, my lord. If there are any in the human city, they’ve covered their tracks—”
A blast from Andras’s hand and Bael hit the wall behind him. The acrid smell of burning hair and bubbling skin filled the chambers. The blisters erupted. Slimy yellow pus trailed down Bael’s face.
“See what you made me do,” Andras reprimanded him. He stalked to his armchair and sprawled on it, his face tight in annoyance. “You’re a bunch of incompetent fools. If I weren’t bound here, I’d have found both the oracle and the psychic female already. Get me an oracle, now!”
Bael stepped back, the sores on his face oozing faster.
“I need a damn soul first. Then find Lazaar.” Andras eyed Bael’s ruined face in distaste and waved him away. “Go, clean yourself. You’re a mess.”
Andras drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair in contemplation. When he had dominion over all, the Ancients would bow to him. A’Damiel could go burn in Hellfire. And all the fuckers who guarded the mortal realm would cower in fear of him!
CHAPTER 10
Aethan materialized in front of the oracle’s house. His body may have taken form, but his mind was in complete chaos, struggling to accept the truth. The horror of the reality staggered him, as he tried to fit in pieces of a conversation that had faded over the three millennia.
After his violent initiation into a Guardian’s life, Gaia had held out several obsidian daggers with a swirling pattern on the hilts. They could never be stolen, taken, or lost, she’d told him. They’d always return to their rightful owner. Then she’d asked him to choose one.
One look and he’d hated them on sight. Something eerie had skated across his skin just looking at them.
He’d refused.
She’d insisted. ‘ Your dagger is an embodiment of your one weakness and your ultimate strength. When it fails to return to you, you have found your salvation .’
He hadn’t understood her meaning at the time, but Gaia’s last words haunted him now.
Only with Echo had he experienced fear, and he damn well knew she was his weakness.
His destiny.
His mate.
The one person who mattered to him for the first time in over three thousand years and she could very well die by his hands—
Aethan broke free of his paralysis and paced down the sidewalk, pinching the bridge of his nose. Then he strode back again. Shit, he didn’t do headaches!
‘ Where are you ?’
At the mind-link connection, Aethan growled. ‘ Can’t talk—later. ’
‘ Make the time ,’Blaéz ordered.
Dammit! ‘ I’m at the oracle’s. ’
He shut down the connection, promptly dismissing Blaéz. Hands planted on his hip, he glared up at the brownstone.
What the hell was he supposed to do?
He’d waited centuries for his mate. But after his banishment to Earth, he no longer cared. Why should he? This fragile race of humans was the last species he would have thought to find her.
But to discover his mate was the tempestuous female he desired...blood rushed to his crotch. At the thought of sliding into her silky heat, he hardened further.
Gods, he’d give his life to make love to her, but the fact was, she’d be the one to pay the ultimate price.
Already his power prowled in him, a dark reminder of what he was. The females from the pantheons chased him for the same reason, the rush of power that surged through them when sex was involved. They were immortal, their bodies repairable. But Echo, dying the way Hannah did—
His brain disconnected on the thought, unable to handle it.
The breeze picked up and snagged at his unbound hair. Reaching into his
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