Evermore, an Arotas Novella (The Arotas Series) by Amy Miles Page A

Nicolae
is worth fighting for.
    She
watches for any sign of life. A beat of his heart, a twitch of his
finger, a flutter of an eye. She works on him for what feels like an
eternity before she sinks back and wraps her arms about her knees.
She lowers her head as tears spill from her eyes, curling down her
cheeks to patter against her knees.
    A
footstep behind her alerts her to a presence. “It didn’t
work,” she whispers.
    “That
is because you are no longer a child of the shadows,” a strange
voice calls from behind her.
    Roseline
leaps to her feet, crouching low for an attack that never comes. When
she lifts her gaze to the towering man standing before her, she wipes
her tears away and rises. “Ashir.”
    The
great giant smiles. “You did not think we would come?”
    Her
breath catches. “We?”
    His
teeth seem to shine with the light of the sun as he grins. “Elias
is here too.”
    Despite
having just lost a dear friend, Roseline takes a small amount of
comfort in knowing Gabriel’s mentor is here. But just as
swiftly as that relief comes, it is tainted by something darker.
“These hounds that attacked us… they breached the gap
between our worlds, didn’t they?”
    “Yes,”
Ashir says, folding his wings tightly behind his back as he
approaches. His long steps carry him to her side with amazing grace,
despite the body-strewn path between them.
    “Are
they the ones who have been killing our men?”
    He
nods. “Among other things. These beasts are from the Shadow
Lands. The in-between world where darkness has reign. I warned you
the war was coming.”
    Roseline
nods and swipes her hand across her forehead to shove a matted clump
of hair out of her eye. The trail of blood that paints her forehead
gives her reason to pause. She glances back at Nicolae and feels her
throat clamp off.
    Ashir
places a hand upon her shoulder. It feels solid, warm, and filled
with life. “Can you heal him?”
    She
feels a tiny tremble in his hand and looks up into his eyes,
realizing with a start there is a glow building behind his irises. It
is not blue, like she has seen emit from Gabriel, but something
infinitely brighter and far more beautiful. It reminds her of the
sea, crystal in clarity and depthless in beauty.
    His
ebony hand begins to warm against her shoulder, but she doesn’t
pull away. It doesn’t burn or scald. It has a distinctive
comforting quality that she can’t quite place her finger on.
    The
warmth seeps into her shoulder and she gasps, realizing that the claw
wounds in her flesh have sealed over. The warmth travels through her
with terrifying speed, healing every sore muscle, cracked rib, or
wound it comes in contact with.
    She
gasps as he pulls away, staring up at him in sheer awe. “What
was that?”
    Ashir
smiles. “It is called Baliem Alorak. In your common tongue,
that means angel magic.”
    “But
I’m not—”
    Ashir
silences her as he raises his hand. “You are. You all are.
Angel blood runs in your veins, Roseline Marston.” She inhales
at the use of Gabriel’s surname. “Lucien’s magic
didn’t just taint your blood. It inserted darkness into your
soul, like a poison. Some give in to their cravings and all light is
lost, but some, like yourself, fight it.”
    Roseline
lowers her gaze. “I was evil once. I killed for the pleasure of
it.”
    Ashir
gently lifts her chin, forcing her to meet his soft gaze. “And
you changed, didn’t you?”
    She
nods with great reluctance. That is a part of her life that she tries
very hard not to think upon. The years when she became exactly who
Vladimir wanted most. A killer. A murderer. A savage… And she
liked it.
    “That
proves that you were never truly lost.” He places two hands
upon her shoulders. “I do not possess the ability to remove the
enchantments that created you, but I can tip the balance enough to
save your friend.”
    Roseline
glances down at Nicolae. “You can save him?”
    “No.”
She lifts her gaze to watch as Ashir moves away.