Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Ophaniel sighed. “You are far too stubborn.”
“It’s not a matter of being stubborn. It’s a matter of my being content where I am.”
“I will never believe you could be content being a walking leech. What are you holding out for? Why delay your return? If you’re expecting them to beg—”
“All I expect is for them to leave me and my brothers be. Nothing the Uppers ever say, do, or offer will tempt me to return. You be sure to communicate that,” he said, a silken menace woven around the words.
Exhaling heavily, Ophaniel stood. “Fine. But I will be surprised if this makes a difference. As I’ve already pointed out, they don’t care what you want. This is about so much more than just you. You’re a fool if you think otherwise.” With that, he teleported away.
Viper’s entity slumped its shoulders in disappointment. It had hoped to ‘play’ with the archangel a little. Mostly by slicing into his skin over and over. Yeah, the entity with whom Viper shared his soul was no one’s idea of pleasant.
“He’s right, you know,” said Omen, taking a slow step forward. “No amount of clear statements from you will make the Uppers back off. Your refusal will continue to fall on deaf ears.”
To say that heaven’s higher-ups loathed when angels fell would be an understatement. They detested it more if angels bred with humans. Though what really got under their skin was when angels reproduced with demons, particularly since no one from heaven could afford to go round slaughtering the hybrid children—it would spark a war between the light and the dark. Their disinclination to start such a war was one of the reasons Viper had been intent on securing alliances with very powerful demons.
Viper shrugged. “There ain’t much I can do about that.” He crossed to the open door, where Jester waited.
“What did the angel want?” asked the Sgt at Arms, though he didn’t sound all that interested.
“The angel was just a puppet. It was Ophaniel who wanted to speak with me.” Viper gave Jester a quick recap of the conversation as they walked along the hallway side by side, their other two brothers trailing close behind.
“It has to piss some of the celestials off that they’re sent to talk to you over and over,” mused Jester. “Most will have accepted that you won’t go back on your choice. The Uppers, though? They seem determined to ignore that.”
“That’s pretty much what I said,” Omen chipped in.
“Part of it is they’re so used to being able to order us around, they find it hard to believe they’ve lost all hold on us,” said Dice. “The other part is that they simply can’t just let one of the Seven fall.”
“They’ll eventually have to face that you won’t willingly return,” said Jester. “At that point, they’ll either send more slayers … or they’ll just tell their people you’re dead and proceed to act as though you are.”
While Viper would prefer the latter, his entity rather hoped it would have the chance to butcher more slayers.
Just then, Darko’s mind touched Viper’s as he telepathically spoke … She’s here.
CHAPTER TWO
Viper’s pulse did a little jump as both relief and anticipation seeped into him. Reaching the door that separated the private area from the public section, he shoved it open. His gaze roamed over the space. And there she was. His woman. A beautiful, sensual, willowy sight.
She walked to her usual table on those long legs, moving with the grace and lightness of a dancer. She’d pulled her striking hair back into an intricate knot and wound little white flowers into it—they stood out against the rich ruby red mass. A mass he wanted to stroke. Fist. Toy with. Bury his fingers in.
As Everleigh, she’d been brunette. Small and curvy. A default-smiler. But no less beautiful than she was now.
Or any less fierce.
In terms of her soul’s core character, she made him think of a swan. She was smart. Elegant. Calm. But she could be vicious if the situation called for it.
Even as he made his way back to his other brothers, Viper continued to watch her. Recognizing her, his entity sat up straight, its mood instantly improving. Even before falling, it had never seen those in this realm as equals. Merely toys. Ella was no exception, just as she hadn’t been in her past life. But the entity didn’t view her as an interchangeable toy the way it did others.
Even now, despite being twisted from the fall, it didn’t consider her disposable. It didn’t want to hurt or break Ella. She was its favorite.
It wanted to keep her. Hog her. Squirrel her away. Ensure that no one else played with her.
There was no denying that the woman had marked both him and his entity. Not physically, but inside. She’d left some part of herself there, buried so deep they’d never get her out.