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“Stop fighting. You’re making me feel bad, but this has to be done. It’s going to be okay, Elias. Trust me.” Raven manages to get him closer to the circle despite his fighting. “You can go to Hell just fine. Zade has done it a bunch of times. Use my soul. Please. I can’t watch you die. I can’t.”
“Listen to your soulmate, Elias,” I snap, my voice deep and growly. Frustration courses through me that he doesn’t make it easy for our soul. “You are acting like a little bastard. Devil up and let us do what we need to. I will kick your ass if you bleed out before you get to Hell. And you don’t want that. I will use my devil form. You won’t be able to sit for eternity.”
Raven jerks her attention to me, her face a mixture of awe and shock at my words. It stops Elias from resisting just long enough for her to pull him into the summoning circle.
He hollers as I wrap my fingers around him, and Raven jumps on me, clinging to my side. I drop from the Mortal Realm and land in the middle of my palace near my throne. The ground rumbles and shakes at the force. My devil form breaks through, sending fire over my skin. Raven falls off me and lands on her ass, her eyes wide with shock. Agony licks across my skin, and I squeeze my eyes shut because of Elias’s blinding light. I don’t know if he’s doing it on purpose, but he somehow manages to tap into Heaven even here in Hell.
“Elias! Elias, stop!” Raven yells, scrambling to her feet. It’s in my very nature to get between her and Elias as she tries to plow into him to get him to stop. Raven dodges around me and crawls through my legs. The feisty heathen launches from the ground and crashes into Elias, knocking him on his back. His light engulfs her, and I surround myself with Hell power, easing the sting of Heaven sneaking into my level of Hell.
“Elias! Control yourself. Stop it! You’re going to end up hurting him. We’re just trying to help you. Stop acting like a bastard angel. It’s not you. This isn’t you.” Raven shakes Elias’s shoulders, straddling his waist.
His light finally dims, leaving shadows in my vision. Raven clenches the fabric of his shirt in her fingers and pins him to the ground, making sure he doesn’t fight or try to get back up.
“See? It’s okay. You’re okay.” Raven releases him only to cup his face between her palms. Going forward, she presses her lips to his, kissing him softly yet desperately. My mind and body go to war at the sight of her kissing an angel that I’m not used to. While I recognize Elias’s being, it still bothers me because he doesn’t look as he had before. I’m not sure I can get used to him possessing this body.
But I might not have a choice. The only way he will return to the form that he desires is if he takes a throne. Right now? He’s not going to do it. His heavenly light is far too strong and powerful.
Elias groans and massages his fingers into Raven’s back, working his hands up to her neck until he combs them into her hair and brings her even closer as if he’s not going to let her go. Jealousy sneaks through me, and I can’t stop from stepping forward. My close presence is enough to get Elias to break the kiss. Raven clutches him tighter, practically smothering him with her breasts to stop him from trying to get up to fight me.
“We have to go back, Raven. We don’t belong here. It’s taking everything in me not to blow this place apart with my heavenly light. It feels deep-seated and instinctual. I know that you don’t want it to happen. I know you love Micah. It’s just so hard for me to focus on anything else except for the need to escape.” Elias manages to sit up but keeps Raven on his lap. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s like my rationale is fucked up. Why don’t you just have Micah send me back? You can stay here. I’m not sure I’m so good for you right now.”
“Like fucking hell am I letting you abandon me. We are going to work through this and figure it out. Do you understand?” Fire lights from Raven’s palms, and she shrieks and jerks her hands back in fear.
Elias freezes, the skin on his cheek blistering from her burns. I’ve never seen her do that before. She manages to tap into my Hell power. I’m listening to her thoughts, desperate to know what’s going through her head. Her mind races, and I can’t even make out anything. It’s too much. She’s scared. All she wants to do is kiss Elias and make him chill out.
I want that too.
Striding the rest of the way to him, I grab Elias, hoist him up, and toss him toward my throne. Dozens of souls creep from the onyx walls and lace around his angelic body, securing him in place for me. They can’t resist being near an angel. I’m sure they’re whispering for salvation. They’re begging him for mercy. It’s enough to get him to just stop and focus on them. He will hear them out. It’s in his nature as an angel.
Raven swivels her torso and turns to me. “What’s going on? Does this mean he’s claiming a throne in Hell?”
I shake my head, hearing the sorrow flitting through her mind as my gesture sinks in. “No, but we will have a couple of minutes to think things through. The souls will keep him busy. He can’t help it. As an angel, he will want to save them even if he can’t.”
“I don’t know what happened. He was fine when he took me from the hotel. It was his idea to summon you. We even went somewhere that the angels wouldn’t look for a devil to do so. But something changed, and now he’s acting like a fucking asshole. I’m scared that I’m going to lose him. What if he does try to go to Heaven? What then?” Raven moves closer until she tucks herself under my arm, silently begging for a hug.
I pull her in closer and kiss her temple. My human façade finally takes hold and suppresses my devil form. We stand in silence together, watching Elias as his light begins to grow brighter and brighter. It won’t be long until he manages to bless the souls away and reject them.
“I can keep him here. That way, we can make sure he doesn’t go. But I think it’s best if you leave. I think your presence makes him fight harder, and he can’t think clearly, especially feeling his soulmate in Hell. It probably hurts him at his very being.” It’s the only thing that makes sense. Raven said he changed so suddenly, and I bet it’s because his angelic being recognized that Raven was swaying toward Hell. He will want to do everything he can to ensure she doesn’t end up here, even if he knows that’s what she wants. It’s strange. I remember what it was like until I finally realized that she deserves more than being rejected by Heaven in the first place. And now that they want her and can’t have her, it’ll be even harder on the angels.
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe if he’s here and I’m not, you can talk some sense into him. You can remind him of the plan and why it’s important.” Pain crosses Raven’s face at the thought. I know she doesn’t want to leave him, and I can’t blame her. It’s the same feeling I have thinking about her leaving me.
“I promise you that I will take good care of him. I won’t hurt him, and I will remind him of our companionship. I’ll remind him what you really need in this life is for him to be on the same page as the rest of us. I will also remind him that Hell isn’t bad, and it’s not going to destroy you. It’ll only make you more powerful.” I stroke my fingers across her cheek, pulling her dark hair from her face.
She licks her pouty lips and stretches up a bit until I close the space and kiss her softly, sweetly, reminding her that I love her and will always stand beside her.
“Thank you, Micah. You are so good to me. I don’t know what I would ever do without you. I just wish that you weren’t stuck here.” Raven kisses me once more, gliding her tongue into my mouth and deepening our kiss, knowing it’s what I crave.
If Elias didn’t groan, I’d keep kissing her. I’d do more. I would help her forget everything that’s happening and drown her in desire and love.
“I should get you out of here. I think Andre is closest and should be here any moment. Let’s wait outside.” I lace my fingers through hers, guiding her toward the arched hallway that will lead us from my palace.
Raven bobs her head and glances behind us at Elias once more. She takes the chance to drink in the sight of his glowing body, his groans turning into an impressive guttural, growling sound. He’s resisting the souls and trying to get them back.
I pull her harder, practically dragging her. I know if I don’t get her out of there now, she’ll want to stay. If she stays, then Elias might not listen to me. I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but his being plays on her soul. Their connection will be what pushes him to fight as hard as he can to take her.
And I can’t allow it.
“Hurry. He’s tapping into Heaven. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Instead of dragging Raven, I scoop her up in my arms and rush away from the throne room and Elias. My heart hammers in my chest, the strange discomfort brought on from his light turning painful.
