Free Embracing Eternity by Voirey Linger Page B

back to Meela. She hugged herself tightly, her tiny wings held tight against her back. The winter wind whipped her hair around her body and she shivered.
    She looked so frightened and helpless. The demonform, which should appear menacing, instead only heightened her fragility.
    More of those things could be in the brush, watching them, waiting for a chance to attack her. She didn’t have enough power to withstand an assault like the one he’d just experienced, nor was she strong enough to leave this place to seek more. Even now, his wounds were healing, nearly gone while her small scratches still bled. Meela didn’t have anywhere out here to get power she would need to heal except from him.
    And he’d been forbidden to offer it to her.
    In his ignorance, he’d managed to box them both in.
    He couldn’t leave her unprotected. Not until she’d asked him for power and fed.
    “I won’t leave. I can speak with him later,” he assured her. Rising to his feet once more, he crossed the clearing and took her into his arms. Her body felt chilled against his.
    “This…is not important then?”
    “No, this is very important. We never considered the possibility that these lesser demons could be destroyed. Being able to eliminate them will make a very big difference in how we guard and protect Creation.”
    “Then why aren’t you rushing the Pearly Gates with the news?”
    “Because right now, you need me more.”
    For a moment she simply stared at him, uncertainty in her eyes. “I’m nothing but a demon. How can I be more important than sharing this with the archangels?”
    “How can you think you’re not? Meela, you are everything to me. You always have been.”
    Huffing in irritation, she wriggled out of his arms and stalked back toward the opposite side of the clearing. “Sometimes I’m not sure if you are stubborn or a fool, Evan. Heaven is not my home, not anymore.”
    “But what if it could be?” he asked, following her. “Would you want to?”
    All she had to say was yes. All she had to do was ask and he’d move the Heavens for her.
    She stopped then, turning to look at him. The dull gray light of winter seemed to vanish against her scaled skin and her red eyes sparkled like rubies against the matte darkness of her flesh.
    “I used to wish that I’d never followed Lucifer, that when Renatus read the list of my sins that I had swallowed my pride and asked forgiveness. But wishing and regrets do no good. Thinking about what I’d lost only made the pain worse. What’s done is done and I can’t go back.”
    He didn’t want to accept that, didn’t want to give up hope after so many years of hopelessness.
    “You’re an angel. You belong in Heaven.”
    “I never realized you were so damn stubborn.” Her hands came up to hold his head still, to force him to look in her eyes. “Look at me, Evan. I’m a demon, and my place is in Hell. Don’t ask me to imagine or pretend there can be anything else, because when pretending is over, reality will come back and I’ll lose Heaven all over again.”
    The pain in her eyes was so stark it made his heart ache.
    “Meela—”
    A small bush near the edge of the clearing exploded with movement. Evan spun, prepared for another attack. Meela skittered away from him, her eyes wide and fearful.
    A dozen sparrows winged their way toward the mainland. Evan tried to calm his racing heart. Birds.
    He turned back to Meela and found her eyeing the tree line.
    “They could be anywhere.”
    “It was just birds.” He reached for her but she shied away. Ignoring the shaft of hurt, he stepped closer and took her in his arms. “The demons are gone.”
    “You can’t know that. They could be here now, watching. They’ll tell Lucifer.”
    “I’ll keep you safe.” He held her tight against him and surrounded her with a shielding cocoon. Lucifer wouldn’t touch her. No matter what Evan had to do, he’d protect her from the Devil.
    He let his power seep into her, warming