14
The Angel

 

 

 

“Nightshades can’t have my blood,” I said, my wing tucking tightly behind my shoulders.

Marrok glared at me. “She bled every drop of her blood to get you out!”

I arched an eyebrow, which seemed to enrage him more. “It’s not that I don’t want to donate some of my superior angelic blood,” I said good-naturedly. “Ask my mate, I’m not a stingy man.”

Fiammetta regarded me. “I have no reference. You’ve never given me any of your riches, even though you claim you’re one of the richest men in the universe. I don’t even know where you hide your investments. All you told me is that they’re safe in some far galaxy.”

“They are,” I said. “After we get out of here, all I have will be yours. But we’ll have to make our relationship official.”

She frowned. “What do you mean official?”

Marrok cleared his throat.

We couldn’t help it. Whenever my mate and I were around each other, we often forgot the others and the dire situation. The mating frenzy kept driving our minds half mad with constant need for mating.  

“I have flame in my blood,” I said. “It burned the vampires when they tried to drink from me. I like Kaara Nightshades. Both my mate and I owe her big. The last thing I want is to toast her.”

“I’m not convinced about the toasting part,” Fiammetta said. “I bit you and tasted the flame in your blood. I did not recall any burning.”

“I don’t blame you for biting him at all, Lady Fiammetta,” Marrok said. “The Archangel can be annoying, and he enjoys riling people up.”

I ignored his ignorant comments and focused on my witch. “You’re my mate, so naturally, my flame won’t harm you.”

“My blood flows in Kaara’s vein,” Fiammetta said. “She’s part of me. Will your flame burn that part of me?”

“An excellent question,” I said. “However, I feel no attraction to your captain at all, even though your blood flows in her.”

Marrok growled. “You don’t need to be attracted to my mate. She’s mine!”

“No one is arguing with you on that, Marrok. Chill,” I said exasperatedly. “I was just making a point that my flame might act differently toward her than to my mate.”

“Your flame won’t burn anything related to me,” Fiammetta said.

“You’re going to mess with three types of blood from three different species,” I said. “You and I can always work things out between us, but when Marrok joins us, he might screw up. Our blood might attack his alien one. Don’t forget he’s a shifter—half-man and half-wolf.”

Marrok glared at me. I nodded at him knowingly. Truth is hard to swallow, and few can truly handle it.

“My blood is fine!” the shifter said. “When I claimed my mate, we became one. Kaara can take my blood.”

“Marrok is right,” Fiammetta said. “Kaara is bonded to him. She’s bonded to me as well in a different way. And we’re bonded as well. All I need is to connect us all with a blood ritual. When Kaara gets enough blood from both of you, I’ll take back what’s mine.”

Marrok looked uncertain. “But if you withdraw your blood—”

“I’ll only extract my blood when she can sustain herself,” Fiammetta said. “I won’t take all of it. I just need some back so that I’ll be strong enough to handle the portal.”

“Do it,” Marrok said, dipping his head and brushing a kiss over Kaara’s pale lips.

“We’ll need a blood transfusion kit, if you have one,” I said.  

“I’ll have Antonio fetch it,” Marrok said. “He once used it to give blood to Bella when she was a vampire.”

“No needle can pierce my skin,” I said. “I’ll have to cut my vein open with my blade, which is fine.” I locked my gaze with Fia. “Or you can bite me.”

She flushed, then rolled her eyes. “Why do I need needle, blade, or teeth, when I have my magic?”

Two columns of fire materialized on her palms. Marrok stared at the flame, mesmerized, until a cord of fire sprouted from the column and dashed toward Kaara in an arc.

Marrok acted instinctively, throwing himself over his mate to shield her, but Fiammetta’s darkness had slammed into him, pinning him back against the chair. Marrok snarled. And I narrowed my eyes at him in a warning. I don’t like anyone hissing or snapping at my witch.

The cord of fire divided into three strings. Two of them punctured Kaara’s wrists.

Marrok’s irises dilated at the sight, and before they resumed to normal, the third cord of fire stabbed into his thick neck, latching to his vein, all in one swift, smooth act.

Pride swelled at my chest. Look how awesome my mate was. She knew her stuff.

Marrok sat still, obviously afraid he’d fuck it up if he did so much as blink.

I grinned. “I don’t even need to count down this time—the benefit of being the witch’s mate—”

A yarn of flame landed on my arm, licking me all the way until it slithered up my neck. It hesitated, as if asking me if I was ready.

Pleased with my mate’s tenderness and consideration, I angled my neck for the fire cord. It sank into my vein. My flame came to meet it, and they mingled in a secret language. Then I felt a stream of my blood flowing through the cord of fire.

My witch had used her fire as the blood transfusion conduit.

Mine and Marrok’s blood infused into Kaara’s veins.

Marrok fixed his intense gaze on Kaara, fear, hope, and pleading filling his eyes. I sympathized with him. If my mate lay there like that, I wouldn’t know what to do, either. And Kaara Nightshades had given all for us.

The blood transfusion went on for a while, but Kaara still didn’t respond. 

“It’s not working,” Marrok choked. “She isn’t waking up.”

Fiammetta looked exhausted. “I have to reach her deep in another realm. Do not interrupt me again while I’m searching for her.”

Marrok clamped his mouth shut and held his breath.

Half a minute later, color slowly returned to Kaara’s face.

Then her eyes fluttered.

“Love,” Marrok called, “I’m here. Come back to me, to us, my love.”

Kaara Nightshades opened her eyes—they were the color of the violet sea on the planet where I would take Fia to live with me.

An ember of fire sparked in the girl’s eyes before it vanished.

Fiammetta’s cord of fire in my neck gave me a lick before fading off. And the fire of thread between Marrok and Kaara also disconnected. Only the link of fire between her and her captain lingered a little longer.

She was pulling out her blood from Kaara.

“Don’t take back too much, please,” Marrok pleaded.

Fiammetta flicked him an icy glance, flames glowing in her silvery eyes.

Her whole being radiated while her darkness swirled around her, making her the sole star in deep space.

Lust punched my soul. How I could ever tell her that she was my whole universe.

Fiammetta cut the last fire cord between her and Kaara, and her eyes returned to a piercing, icy gray. 

Kaara gazed at Marrok as he pulled her into his arms and choked.

“Marrok,” Kaara whispered.

“I’m here, love,” Marrok said. “I’ve never left. I’ll never leave.”

“Athena,” Kaara said, then glanced at me. “Gabriel.”

Fiammetta beamed at her loyal captain—there wasn’t the slightest iciness in my mate—and bent down to kiss Kaara on the forehead.

“See you later, Kaara,” she said.

I held out a hand, my mate putting hers in mine, and we left the room for Marrok and his mate.