Iniquity (The Premonition Series Book 5) (4 page)

“Wait,” I breathe, stilling his hands before he can close the clasp. I work the ring off the necklace. It’s heavy in my hand. “Okay.”

Reed fastens the clasp. He leans forward, kissing me just behind my ear, causing every molecule in my body to come alive. His arms wrap around my waist. My hand covers his as I slip the ring on his finger.

“I missed my ring,” he murmurs as his hands move to my bottom. I find it hard to breathe; my wings shoot out of my back. They press against his chest, not to push him away, but more to seductively play against him. I’m not exactly aware of what they’re doing, they act in ways I can’t explain, but I think he likes it because it elicits a sexy groan from him. As soon as I hear it, I want to find a way to make him groan like that again.

His reflection in the mirror smiles temptingly, while his wings spread out around him to mimic what mine are doing. His arm wraps around my waist as he pulls me against him. The deep green eyes in the mirror have my pulse racing. My arms reach up to thread my fingers into his dark hair. He bends forward, nuzzling my neck. My heartbeat is spinning. I want no other life than the one I have with Reed.

Before I know that I’m saying it, I whisper, “Stay with me.” His threat earlier to leave me is still raw. I don’t know if he meant it, but it scares me.

Reed’s voice is sexy and soothing as he speaks to me in Angel. His mouth is so close to my ear that his warm breath does crazy things to me. The tip of his finger finds the binding mark on my heart: his wings. He traces the shape while he whispers something to me that I can’t understand, but it sounds like another vow.

“I could no more leave you than the earth could leave the sun. You’ll always draw me back to you,” Reed says as he switches from his language to mine. I close my eyes, savoring his words.

I turn in his arms and kiss him in a way that will let him know that he means everything to me. “You’re my one true love,” I whisper.

Reed picks me up and deposits me on the countertop. My legs wrap around his waist and we fit together as one. I lose myself in him and he in me, each completely vulnerable to the other’s cravings. My heart soars, all but the dark place between my heart and my soul; that place sorely rebels while it vows to make an enemy of me.

“
W
e need a strategy meeting
, Evie,” Reed says as I rifle through my clothes. Finding a pair of designer jeans and a t-shirt, I shrug into them. I pull on leather boots that reach my knees.

“Are you worried about our position now that Brennus knows we’re still in Crestwood?” I ask. I don’t want to leave here. This is the closest thing to home that I’ve had in a long time. We’ve only been here for a couple of days but we’ve been able to fortify it with spells that have kept evil at bay until Brennus hijacked me and took over.

“I’m not worried about him knowing our location. It’s moot,” he murmurs. “Geography is irrelevant. He’ll find you now as soon as you close your eyes.”

The reality of what he says sends chills through me. “What can our strategy possibly be? Assemble an army while we fight off Brennus so we can wait for the Fallen to attack? And that’s if Tau doesn’t find me first.”

“An army is where we start,” Reed says with a smile meant to reassure me. He takes my hand and leads me from the closet into our room. The mess has been cleaned up. Russell must’ve used magic to reassemble the shards of glass from the broken window. It still looks shattered, but now it’s all back and housed within its frame.

“You think we should bring them to Crestwood?” I lift my hand and murmur a spell, smoothing the glass of the window.

Reed watches with interest. “It’s a decent position...” he trails off when he sees my face growing pale. “What’s wrong?”

His eyes follow mine to the end of the long driveway, which happens to be where my barrier of magic that protects the house is located. Just beyond the closed gate is a parked car. Leaning against the vehicle with his arms crossed is Xavier. Snow falls on his bright, golden-blond hair. His deep-red Seraphim wings are hidden from sight. I can’t see his mismatched eyes very well from this distance, but the set of his jaw tells me that they’re stormy.

Had this been high school, my heart would’ve thrilled at seeing Xavier outside my bedroom window. But, this isn’t and I’m not that girl who thought she was in love with him. I never even really knew him.
He has been lying to me since the day we met.
I refuse to consider anything beyond that—no past lifetimes before I was born when Xavier was my guardian angel...when he was
my
angel. I don’t remember it.

I glance at Reed and see that he’s studying me. My frown deepens, “You knew he’d be here.” It’s a statement of fact.

“If we wanted to avoid him, we should’ve left almost the moment we arrived here.”

“I’d like to avoid him.” I look at Xavier again.

“I would’ve done the same thing just a little while ago.” My eyebrow arches in question so Reed clarifies, “I would’ve tried to stop you from facing Brennus.”

“And now?” I ask.

He reaches for me; his shoulders cave in towards me with an air of protection. “Now, I’ll always find a way to help you.”

“What’s changed?” I put my finger on his chest, absently tracing a heart over his heart.

“You. You’ve changed.”

“Me?” I lift my eyes to his.

Reed’s hand cups my cheek. “You’re extremely resourceful, love,” his lips are firm against mine as he kisses me, “resolute,” he breathes before kissing me again, “intrepid. I trust your instincts.”

“I couldn’t breathe without you. I had no other thought but to get you back.”

Reed smiles as he looks into my eyes. “And you did. Here I am.” He kisses me again. My heart beats harder as I blush with pleasure at his touch.

“What do I do about Xavier?” I glance out the window to see him still there watching the house.

“Nothing. He’ll challenge me soon and I’ll take care of him,” Reed says as if the expectation has been there all along. He sees the worry in my eyes. Leaning down, he kisses me again. His lips are gentle, meant to reassure me, but our kiss quickly turns into more. I want him to kiss me everywhere and feel his skin against mine. My arms wrap around the back of Reed’s neck as I press against him. The butterflies that stir when he’s near are rioting, insisting that I get closer.

Zephyr clears his throat. “Problem.” Reed reluctantly straightens and looks to Zee in the doorway with a questioning look. “The Reapers took it upon themselves to leave the house.”

“Buns and Brownie are gone?” Fear races through me.

Zephyr turns his icy-blue eyes on me. “They felt a soul in need of reaping.”

“So you just let them go?” I demand.

“
I
did not let them go.
I
told them
no
.” Zephyr answers. He turns to glare at Russell next to him who has managed not to say a word so far.

Shamefaced, Russell says, “Ahh, don’t be mad, Zee! They told me it hurts them to ignore a soul who needs help ascendin’.” When Zephyr just glowers at him, his expression turns desperate. “They ganged up on me—you’ve seen them!” His hands extend imploringly. “They’re relentless. I had to let them past the barrier. They’ll call when they’re done and I’ll let ‘em back in!” He holds up his cell phone.

Zephyr growls and it raises goose bumps on my arms. “That is
if
the Fallen haven’t set them up, Russell. You should’ve told me. I would’ve gone with them.” He’s seriously scary when he’s angry. I haven’t seen him like this since he tried to kill me when we first met.

“I know,” Russell admits, scrubbing his eyes in frustration. “They have this way of workin’ on me—I can’t think when they team up. It’s brutal.”

“Where’s Anya?” Reed asks, probably trying to lessen some of the tension in the air.

Russell points his thumb over his shoulder. “She’s in the library ignorin’ the
hell
outta me.”

Anya appears soundlessly behind Russell. “Now I’m here, continuing to ignore you,” Anya says with a slight raise of her eyebrow. “The hell is welcome to stay where it is.” She looks to Reed in question. “Do you need me?” Her long, black hair is swept back in a ponytail. Even in a pair of jeans and a loose sweater, she’s flawless. How she’ll pass as human, I don’t know. Her skin is luminous without one imperfection.

Startled, Russell scowls at Anya, “Gahh! Don’t sneak up on me! You’re like a cat!”

Anya’s eyes narrow to match Russell’s. “I’m a
Throne
. I sneak up on people—karmic retribution is what I do.
It’s my job
,” Anya replies with absolute sincerity, describing her angelic role in the universe.

Reed smiles at Anya; he has a soft spot for her: not only because she was integral in saving him from Brennus, but also because they understand one another on a very visceral level. They’re each in love with corresponding mated souls. “Have you heard from Buns or Brownie?”

Anya shakes her head. “No, but I know where they are.”

“You do?” Russell’s eyebrows rise while his shoulders sag in relief. “Where are they?”

Anya points toward the window. “They’re with Xavier.”

I take a shallow breath. Buns and Brownie are seated on the hood of Xavier’s car. Their hands and wings are restrained, but they look like they’re unharmed. Zephyr is out of our bedroom an instant later. Reed and Russell follow him immediately.

When I catch up to them, Zephyr’s standing just on our side of the barrier. Xavier is eye to eye with him on the other side. Zephyr growls low as his wings spread out menacingly. Xavier’s expression is blank. He doesn’t even display his wings.

We’re all right, sweetie,” Buns calls to Zephyr from her seat on the hood of Xavier’s black Aston Martin. The car looks like Xavier: ferocious and beautiful. “Xavier’s just being a jackhole.”

Snow falls lightly, covering us all in soft shapes of white. “Release them,” Zephyr says from between his teeth.

Xavier’s stoic gaze shifts to me. “I’m not here to hurt them. I need to speak to you.”

“Russell, let me out so he can speak to me,” Zephyr says, all business.

Xavier’s eyes lock with mine as his jaw tightens. Slowly, he pulls down the zipper of his black leather coat. Snow catches on his elegant scarf as he reaches into his coat and extracts spade-like blades; they don’t have handles, but notch-like finger grips. They look very much like the weapons Reed used to kill Pagan.

“Xavier!” I put out both my hands. My heavy breathing is evident by the white curls of smoky air coming from me. “I’ll talk to you. Just let Brownie and Buns go.”

Reed is next to me in a second. With his back to Xavier, he says in my ear, “You don’t need to do this. I can take care of him.”

I stiffen. My anger with Xavier is bone-deep. He crossed so many lines with me that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive him. Even with that, I’ll never welcome his death. I loved him in high school; a part of me knows I loved him way before that. “We have to try to sway the Seraphim to our side, right? If I can convince Xavier to help me with Tau, then we can build our army quicker.” Reed studies my eyes. “I’ve learned from the Gancanagh to never hold a grudge. Your enemy one day will be your ally the next.”

“Evil will always betray you, Evie. Remember that.” A sexy smile develops on Reed’s lips. “Xavier isn’t your enemy.” Using his finger he brushes the auburn tendril of my hair away from my face. “He’s mine.”

“He’s ours. We’re one. That makes us on the same side. Always.”

“It does.” Reed agrees and kisses me. “If he attempts anything, use your power. Fry him. Give no quarter.”

I straighten my shoulders. Reed steps aside for me and I approach the barrier, the energy from which sways back and forth within its dry riverbed like a swing of a pendulum. Zephyr is at my side; his fingers twitch in anticipation. He has every intention of joining me on the other side of the barrier.

“Zee, I got this,” I say softly.

Zephyr frowns. “That is
my
angel he has threatened. Twice.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, I feel a rush of warmth over Zephyr’s need to protect Buns. “I know.” I lay my hand on his shoulder. “We need him alive. He has my father’s trust.” I need to build an army so that what Brennus said this morning doesn’t happen. I won’t survive losing a member of my family. I have to protect us.

The war is in his eyes. Finally, he says, “He lives...for now. Do not kill him. I want the pleasure.”

I breathe a small sigh. “I promise I won’t kill Xavier.”

I face Xavier. “I’ll come out after they’re in.”

Xavier studies me for a moment, and then he nods, trusting my word. He lifts Brownie down from the hood. Moving behind her, he unties the angel hair ropes around her wings and hands. It’s a good thing that Preben isn’t here to see this, but left the night we returned to begin recruiting angels for our cause. I’m not sure I could’ve reasoned with him like I had with Zephyr.

“You’re a douche, Xavier,” Brownie says as she rubs her wrists where the rope has fallen away. She touches her hand to her white-blond hair smoothing it away from her face as her russet-colored, Monarch-like wings wave away the snow that collected on them.

“You’re a Reaper,” Xavier frowns, “you should’ve followed my orders.”

He moves on to untie Buns. “We don’t answer to you,” Buns says to him over her shoulder. Her golden butterfly wings give an uncharacteristic
snap
. “We pledged our loyalty to the Seraph over there.” She waves her hand in my direction. “You’re just static to us.” I think for a second that Buns is going to stick her tongue out at him, but instead, she waits for Xavier to turn his back before she flips him off.

Xavier just misses catching her when he glances over his shoulder to give her a poisonous look. “That Seraph over there answers to me.”

“Prove it,” Brownie says in a singsong voice.

“In time,” Xavier frowns.

“We need our—” Brownie says something in Angel as she glares at Xavier with hands on her hips. Xavier lifts the chrome handle of the passenger door. He extracts two golden field hockey-like sticks from his car, handing them to her. The sharp blades of their Reaper scythes gleam even in the gray, overcast light of winter.

Xavier’s expression turns dark, like he has no more patience for them. “Go,” he orders.

Buns locks arms with Brownie and they move Tweedledee and Tweedledum fashion toward us. Holding up my hand, I whisper words that softly blow from my lips to swirl around the energy that drizzles from my fingertips. The barrier glows, shimmering with a spectral light. Pieces of it break away, becoming iridescent, glass-like butterflies that float around in a haphazard flock while the girls slip through the opening it leaves in the wall.

They hug me. “Oh, sweetie, you need to run from that one. He has a caveman complex,” Buns says when her eyes meet mine. Then she points at Reed, “You. We’re upping your training regimen. You’re not losing that challenge!” A smile flickers on Reed’s lips as he tries to hide it.

“Evie,” Xavier says impatiently.

Taking my time, I walk through the break in my magic. The magical butterflies mesh back into the wall when I’m through. I approach him warily, wondering what his reaction to me will be.

Xavier’s eyes study my face, like he’s memorizing it. He frowns when I shiver as the frigid air stirs my hair. Shrugging off his coat he says, “Retract your wings.”