Authors: Cheryl McIntyre
“Do you need any help?” Nick asks from the doorway.
“
I need another suitcase,” she says closing the now full one on her bed.
“It’s not permanent,
”
he says softly.
“You don’t know that.”
“When this war is over-
”
“The war hasn’t even begun. And what war do you know that only lasted a few days? These things go on for years, Nick.”
“Anglo—Zanzibar war.”
Keely stares at him. “What?”
“In 1896, the Anglo—Zanzibar war. It lasted exactly forty-five minutes. British won.”
“Fine. Name another.” Keely crosses her arms.
“The six day war. It latest six days, obviously.” He wraps his arms around her waist. “It’s not permanent.”
“Wasn’
t there
,
like
,
a hundred year war
or something?”
Nick smiles innocently. “Doesn’t sound familiar.”
“You are such a bad liar.”
“I will be there every day,
I promise. And Ambriel wants Lila to stay with you at night. You’ll never be alone.”
He says all the right words, but they make Keely feel worse somehow. She wouldn’t mind some time
alone. Needs it actually. A
nd
nowhere in that statement
did he mention when she could see Asmoday. She forces a smile. “That’s great.”
***
Keely finds them all sitting around the kitchen table casually sipping coffee. “I’m packed,” she murmurs.
“Please, Princess. Sit. There is one more thing I need to discuss with you.”
Keely suppresses a frustrated sigh and sits beside her dad. He takes her hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze.
“I figured while I was here, I could have that discussion with your brother. Guardian Wallac
e has brought something to
my attention
and I feel it’
s urgent to resolve this matter.”
Keely shoots a look at Nick. “What did you do?”
“He reported a significant change that c
ould affect the situation. It’
s his job,” Ambriel says.
“Asmoday
swore his
a
llegiance to
Apophis. It changes things. I had to tell them.”
“And what else did you
have
to tell them, Nick? Did you fill them in on the juicy bit about how I can light up just like my father?”
Nick lowers his head. “No, I di
dn’t. I thought Asmoday took precedence.”
“
And you were right,” Ambriel says as if this new information does not surprise her in the least. She turns to Keely. “
Are you able to use your connection to contact him? The sooner the better.”
“I have his number. I can just call him. I
f you’ll excuse me,” Keely says as calmly as she can manage.
“Certainly
.” Ambriel nods at her and folds her hands in her lap.
Keely
glares at Nic
k as she pushes in her chair. She
runs upstairs. Her heart hammers in her chest. A foreboding sense of dread fits itself into her stomach. She closes and loc
ks her bedroom door and dials
As
moday’s number
. Paces as it rings.
“What’s happened?”
Keely pitches her voice low. “I’m fine.
There are members
from t
he Hierarchy here. That wo
man I told you about, s
he wants to talk to you.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“NO
! You can’t, Asmoday. Nick tol
d them about your
allegiance to
Apophis. She said it’s urgent she talk to you tonight. I’m scared for you.
What does it mean? The allegiance? Why is it so important to them?
”
“
It’s an overreaction.
You do not need to be concerned for me.”
“They’re making me leave. They said I need to live at the Academy. I have a bad feeling, Asmoday. I feel like
they want to keep us apart. Didn’t you say there was a spell keeping you out of the school?”
“Yes. There is. I will not be able to see you while you are on the grounds, but they cannot hold you prisoner. You’ve done nothing wrong. Please do not worry yourself. I’m coming over.”
“Asmoday, no,” she pleads, but it’s already too late. The call is lost. A second later, the air shi
mmers like heat off of blacktop
and he’
s there. He pulls
Keely into his arms
immediately and kisses her. His lips meet hers eagerly, almost frantically at first. She melts
into his arms and feels him relax. A sensation, a warm tingling starts in her toes, makes its way throughout her entire body. It finds places she didn’t even know existed until this moment. Butterflies flip her stomach, churning it with something
stronger than want. An insatiable need raging inside of her.
The soft coolness of his tongue against hers makes her heart slam against her ribcage. Her knees feel rubbery, but he holds her up easily. His hands
push
on her back, pulling her against him tightly
. S
he feels his lips vibrate against hers as he moans with pleasure. The sound brings a fresh wave of
hunger through her body as goose bumps explode across her skin. She twists her fingers into his honey colored hair and presses her mouth firmly to his. His hands
move slowly up her back. F
ingers knot into her hair,
pulling gently and a low murmur
sounds in her throat
. Her
teeth nip gently on his tongue and he shivers.
His l
ips
slide over hers, teasing. S
he grips his neck tightly as he tries to pull away.
Asmoday
makes a sigh of surprise and moves his mouth against hers
eagerly
. He can taste her passion, sweet on her lip
s. It’
s everything he envisioned
it would be
and so much more. He never pictured her wanting him this m
uch. Was never able to imagine
the way she would taste, the way she would
feel, the way she would
make him feel inside.
This is far fr
om his first kiss, but never have
any been like this. No one has ever been
able to make him feel so complete. So human
. To make him crave the same person over and over. All he wants is Keely. More Keely. Forever.
She makes another noise
of enjoyment
and it’s like adding fuel to a fire. He has to fight against his desire to
strip her of her clothing and thrust them both into her bed. He slides his hands to her arms and pushes her gently away from him. Their bodies coming apart first followed finally by their lips.
Keely l
ooks up at him, her eyes blazing with a yearning appetite. “Just in case I do not get a
nother chance,” he whispers, as he
pulls her back to him once again. “I love you,” he murmurs as his lips meet hers quickly one last time.
He pulls away
and opens the door.
Keely stays where she is. Her entire body shakes violently. She had felt his desire. The way it collided and mixed with her own
was unlike anything she has ever experienced before. She runs trembling fingers over her
lips
and tries to compose herself. Before she goes d
ownstairs, she peers
in the mirror,
surpri
sed to see she hasn’t changed. B
ecause she feels so different. Awake. Alive. With a deep breath, she hurries after Asmoday.
M
ak
ing
it to the ki
tchen a second after he does, she notices the room goes quiet.
Ambriel stands and
offers him
her hand. “Prince Asmoday, it’
s nice to meet you. I am Ambriel
of t
he Hierarchy.”
Asmoday shakes her hand briefly. “What can I do to help?”
“Just sit and speak with me,” she explains.
Asmoday eyes the faces in the room and sits across from Ambriel. Keely stands back and watches him intently.
“Tell me about this bond you share with your sister.”
“Keely is not my sister.
The Demon King took me in and raised me as his own, but he is not my true father.”
Nick looks up at Keely with shock. She feels the weight of his stare and moves her eyes to his. She knows he sees. Knows that she already knew this. That she didn’t tell him. Her eyes dart back to Asmoday.
“And as far as our connection, the King ha
s betrothed us. That is as far as my knowledge goes.”
“You’re not her brother? You don’t even have Angel blood? Who are you?” Nick glares poison
ously
at Asmoday.
“Guardian, should I have you escorted outside?” Ambriel glances calmly at Nick. He tears his eyes away from Asmoday and shakes his head. Bites the inside of his cheek.
Asmoday leans casually
in the chair, one arm thrown over the back. An air of nonchalan
ce, b
ut Keely feels his nerves
wound too tightly.
“Can you explain the allegiance
you swore to Prince Apophis?”
“I made a choice that was vital at the time. I did
n
o
t want him to hurt her.”
“The Princess?”
Asmoday nods. “Yes.”
“I asked him to,” Keely says. “Bryon needed help
so I asked him to do whatever Apophis wanted. It’s my fault.”
Asmoday’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t turn to look at her. “I made my own
choice a
nd I would do it again. I will always do what is best for Keely,” he says and his voice is almost scary. Like
there i
s an underlying threat
hidden in his words.
“I see,” says Ambriel. “So you u
nderstand that if you are aligned
with
Prince Apophis then you cannot be allied with
the Descendants?”
He dips his head, keep
in
g his eyes on hers. “I pledged my allegiance to
Apophis, but I am only allied with Keely. Whatever she needs of me, I will offer her.”
“
You want no accord with
t
he Hierarchy or the Descendants?”
“Does it matter? You just inf
ormed me that was not an option,
”
Asmoday says, narrowing his eyes.
K
eely takes a step toward him
. Her heart thumps in her chest.
“You wi
ll need to come with us. You’
ll be treated hospitably, I give you my word. Until I
understand your intentions, it’
s the only safe option. We need to be certain y
ou are a friend to the Descendants. We can’t have you running off and plotting with Apophis.”
“You mean you are impri
soning me because I cannot ally
myself with you?”
“That is one way to look at it
,” Ambriel agrees.
“
I understand your commitment to the Princess, but that tells me very little concerning the safety of the rest of us. It would be better if you do not resist.”
“I will not.”
“Wait.
Wait
. What is happening?” Keely moves to take Asmoday’s arm. T
o touch him. To connect her body to his
in some way. Coach moves quickly to stand between them.
“He’s being placed under arrest. It’s best if you stay out of it.”
“No. He di
dn’t do anything wrong. Please,
”
Keely cries.
The two me
n Keely doesn’
t know stand
o
ne to each side of Asmoday. On
e places a necklace around his neck. It looks like
something you would get from the twenty-five cent machines in front of a discount store. Just a thin black rope with a small circular medallion, but A
smoday’s eyes flutter as if he’
s
been
drugged.
Keely struggles to get past Coach. “What did you do to him?” She looks at Nick desperately. He sits very still in his seat
,
watching her.