Her Demonic Angel (Her Angel Romance Series Book 5) Read online

  Erin’s tears fell, cutting down her cheeks, and hitting the Devil’s hand on her jaw. He huffed behind her and she half expected him to mention how weak she was, crying because she wasn’t strong enough to escape him and help her friends. She wanted to save them and hated that she couldn’t. She had failed them all.

  She reached for Veiron as an angel swept his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the black ground. Hot tears burned a constant path down her face. “Veiron!”

  Veiron rolled to avoid the golden sword of the angel as it came down hard, sending sparks showering upwards when it struck the basalt. He was on his feet and fighting again before she could blink, his eyes glowing as bright as coals and fixed on her, determination radiating from him.

  “Please,” she whispered again and leaned into the Devil. “Make it stop. Save my friends.”

  “Save your friends?” He sounded thoughtful and she dared to hope that he might do as she asked. “Well, this process is going more slowly than I had anticipated and if I do not do something dramatic soon, there is a chance these fools will make me their target too.”

  Erin’s heart leapt, the ache leaving her, and she almost smiled. He would help them. Relief poured through her, melting her bones, leaving her weak and trembling in the Devil’s arms.

  He released her jaw and waved his hand again.

  Amelia disappeared, followed by Marcus. Taylor was next, leaving Einar looking confused and panicked for a brief heartbeat of time until he too disappeared.

  Erin’s gaze shot to Veiron. He battled three dark angels, fending them off, one arm hanging limp at his side and drenched in blood.

  He didn’t disappear.

  Her heart squeezed. Heat blazed through her bones and erupted from her fingers in flickering red and black flames.

  “No,” she said and threw her hands forwards in an attempt to use her power. Nothing happened. She growled low in frustration, rage pouring like gasoline through her veins, igniting her blood, and elbowed the Devil with everything she had. He grunted. “You said you would save them all!”

  “I did not say any such thing.” The Devil caught her jaw again, pressing sharp fingernails into her cheeks, and forced her head around towards Veiron. She stared across the black landscape to him, fear reigniting within her. “You asked me to save your friends. I did so as an act of benevolence. You did not ask me to save your lover.”

  “Bastard!” Erin got one arm free and sent her elbow smashing into his head. He snarled, dark and unholy, grabbed her arm in a bruising grip and pulled it down, twisting it hard at the same time. She cried out.

  “Erin!” Veiron roared and hacked at the angels around him, swinging his spear to drive them away. The moment there was an opening, he ran towards her, one hand reaching for her, all his love for her in his eyes. She reached for him too, tears streaming down her cheeks, wishing that they were miles away from here, that she had never told him about her vision, and wanting nothing more than to touch him again.

  A black-winged angel barrelled into him and another two bundled on top, trying to pin him down. He growled and erupted from beneath them, sending them flying. His body shifted, black moving across his skin in a wave as his limbs grew and muscles expanded. The tattered crimson feathers on his wings fell away to reveal scarred leathery membrane.

  “Erin,” he called again, reaching for her once more. Erin reached for him with both hands, her heart shattering as heat seeped into it, burning her from the inside out, setting her every molecule on fire.

  “Please,” she whispered, broken and hoarse, and sniffed back her tears. “Save him. Please. He doesn’t want to die. Please, don’t let him die.”

  The Devil stroked her cheek and she flinched away as another angel tackled Veiron and punched him before he could get up, hammering away at his beautiful face. Erin’s heart burned hotter, fingers tingling and turning numb.

  “Please, don’t let them do this.” She sucked down a sharp breath and couldn’t watch as the angels tore at Veiron’s wings. The sounds of his screams made her ears ring and her body shake. Her blood rose to a thousand degrees, blazing within her, causing tendrils of red and black smoke to rise off her skin. Her shoulder blades itched and then the feeling shifted down her arms and torso, a slithering sensation under her skin that turned her stomach. “Please. He doesn’t want to die again.”

  “But he must,” the Devil said and a fresh wave of tears rolled down her cheeks.

  She shook her head, her eyebrows furrowing. “No. You don’t have to let them do this. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t let them kill him.”

  “I cannot do that. I need you to see this, Erin.” He held her again and forced her head around. Her eyes flicked open against her will and a terrible chill replaced the heat flowing through her, realisation that she was powerless to stop this from happening and that it was all her fault freezing her and stealing her breath. “I need you to watch your beloved die and feel the endless dark in your veins awaken. You can feel it, can you not?”

  She could. It was cold and fathomless, writhing beneath her skin, as black as Hell and as unforgiving and evil as the man at her back. It whispered to her, telling her to seize her desire for violence and destroy those who sought to destroy her love. It terrified her.

  “Good… good,” the Devil whispered into her ear. “Veiron has played his role in my plan to perfection. Now, I must lose one of my best men in order to gain my best woman.”

  Erin didn’t understand. His words swam in her head, a whisper far quieter than the roar for violence in her blood and her heart. The ringing in her ears grew louder, numbness sweeping over her, fogging her mind. The strange sickening sensation of darkness writhing beneath her skin grew more frantic and she ground her teeth as sharp daggers scraped over her skull.

  “Veiron,” she murmured and lifted a heavy hand, trying to reach for him.

  He broke through his enemies again, battling to reach her, still fighting despite his injuries.

  This time he left them behind.

  She smiled weakly, heart buoyed by the sight of him running towards her, coming within her reach. Just a few more metres and he would be with her again. They would be together and they would leave this place, and the Devil, and they would never return. He wouldn’t die.

  Erin stretched both arms out.

  Just a few more metres.

  Please.

  Veiron changed back, the darkness leaving his skin as he shrank to his normal broad immense form. His eyes met hers and she smiled at him. He smiled right back at her.

  And then stopped.

  Erin didn’t understand. Why would he stop?

  He looked down.

  Her gaze fell, her eyes widened, and she shook her head again. This wasn’t happening.

  “No,” she screamed.

  The bloodied golden tip of a blade protruded from his obsidian chest armour, right in the centre over his heart. Crimson spilled from beneath the armour, drenching his stomach and thighs. His scarlet eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at it and then up at her. Her eyes met his and she covered her mouth with one hand and still reached for him with the other.

  He reached for her as his knees gave out, sending him hard to the ground.

  Erin wrestled against the Devil, desperate to go to Veiron.

  “I love you, Erin. Always will,” he said and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. Tears burned her eyes, spilling down her cheeks. This was not goodbye. She refused to believe it. He wasn’t dying.

  “Veiron,” she said, desperate to tell him not to give up and that he would be fine. He smiled at her, that single look calming her and stealing away her pain, forcing her to accept what was happening. She nodded, knowing what he needed. Not her begging him to live and lying to him. Her throat closed, making it impossible to breathe, and she struggled to say the words without breaking down. “I love you too.”

  The angels descended on him. A bright white light exploded, blinding her. When it receded,
they were gone, and so was Veiron.

  “No!” Erin screamed, raw and hoarse. Pain blazed through her, turning her blood to liquid fire, and her skin itched. She scratched at it and the pain only grew worse, a thousand blades stabbing into her flesh. She looked down at her hands, past the curling ribbons of dark red flames that licked up her arms to the black claws that tipped her fingers.

  She shrieked and broke free of the Devil’s grasp but he caught her again, pinning her more firmly against his body, caging her in his arms.

  The darkness shifted under her skin, pushing at it, until she felt it would tear her apart. Her shoulder blades caught fire, burning so fiercely she arched forwards and screamed.

  “Do not fight it, Erin,” he murmured close to her ear, containing her as she struggled against him, his voice soothing and soft. “It will be over soon and you will feel so much better.”

  How could she feel better? Nothing could make her feel better. She wanted to die.

  The pain inside her increased until she couldn’t breathe and it felt as though something was wrenching her heart from her chest.

  Erin looked down and stared detachedly at the slick patch on her black t-shirt.

  “You said you didn’t want my soul,” she whispered, watching the wet area grow, feeling the blood leaking from her, cold against her burning skin.

  “I do not. It is broken and shattered by your loss. I had thought the death of Amelia may be your catalyst but this turn of events was not so unpleasant after all and it was certainly far easier than I had expected.”

  Erin swallowed and felt sick when a sharp metallic taste flooded her mouth. She tried to swallow again but couldn’t hold back the tide of blood and choked on it. It spilled from her lips and down her chin. The pain in her heart grew, so fierce that it consumed her and she couldn’t fight it. The darkness returned. The feel of claws scraping under her flesh, sharp pain lacerating her shoulders, and the grind of horns over her skull petrified her. Her bones ached and her body moved of its own accord, her joints cracking and limbs twisting into horrifying angles. Her teeth throbbed and sharpened, spilling more blood into her mouth, and her vision burned red.

  There was a demon inside her trying to get out.

  She wanted Veiron.

  She needed him to hold her in his arms, close to him, and needed to hear him husk in his beautiful baritone that everything was going to be okay as her world fell apart.

  Her gaze sought him but found only a dark pool of his blood.

  She snarled, the unholy sound shredding the last of her nerves.

  Her heart faltered, missing beat after beat. Was she going to die after all? Was the demon inside her going to destroy her?

  “You said I didn’t have to die. You lied.” Erin found peace with that thought. Dying wasn’t such a frightening experience after all. “Veiron cannot be dead… but if he is… then I will find him on the other side.”

  She touched the bleeding spot over her heart and felt him there, always within her, a part of her forever. The darkness inside her settled, as though her thoughts of Veiron calmed it too.

  “I did not lie, Erin. You are not dying. You merely bleed because of your lost love. It will end soon, when you awaken.”

  Cold chased away the final remnants of her heat and her legs gave out, no longer strong enough to support her. The Devil held her, stopping her from collapsing, and lifted her. He cradled her gently in his arms and turned with her, carrying her to his black throne. He settled on it with her on his lap and stroked her hair. Horns shifted beneath her scalp again and she flung her head back and cried out.

  The Devil cooed soft words and held her closer. He clumsily petted her head, as though he didn’t know how to comfort. He probably didn’t. She couldn’t imagine the twisted bastard caring about anyone enough to worry about their welfare. He was incredibly gentle with her though. Could he sense that she was fragile and would break from the slightest touch? Erin grimaced and squeezed her eyes shut against the pain that tore through her, ripping down her arms like razor-sharp claws. The Devil cooed again.

  He could coo all he damned well wanted but he would never ease the pain in her heart. He was the one who had done this to her and she had played right into his hands.

  “What have you done to me?” Erin shivered, icy cold and fighting for air. “You’ve put something terrible inside me.”

  “No... Erin. I have put nothing inside you. I have done nothing to you.” The Devil held her closer, wrapping her in his embrace, and wiped away her tears and the blood on her chin.

  There was no comfort in his words and she didn’t believe them anyway. He must have done something to her, placed some vile creature inside her, because she could feel it lurking in her heart and slithering through her veins. Pure darkness. Pure evil.

  The only thing that gave her comfort was that she was dying. When the Devil had abducted her, she had feared that she would die in Hell, surrounded by fire and darkness. Now she feared nothing.

  “Shh, Erin. I will not let you die. I will never let you die.” He rocked with her and she frowned as her weakness began to leave her, strength returning slowly but not quickly enough to stop her from succumbing to the cold in her heart and the darkness conquering her mind.

  Erin forced her eyes open and looked up at him. She croaked, “Because you need me alive to do your bidding?”

  “No.” He smiled, warm, cruel and evil all at the same time. “For the same reason that I have searched for you for most of your life, dearest Erin.”

  She shivered again, moaned and writhed as new pain tore through her, so hot this time that she felt as though her bones really would melt and her flesh would char. Darkness encroached and she fought it, afraid of what would happen if she succumbed to it.

  She held the Devil’s gaze, battling to keep her eyes open. “Why?”

  Her eyes slipped shut and she didn’t have the strength to open them again.

  His voice drifted around her, soft and compassionate, strangely affectionate.

  “Because you are my daughter.”

  CHAPTER 27

  A soft swishing sound was the first thing Erin grew aware of, shortly followed by heat on her skin that warmed her right down to her bones but did nothing to alleviate the ice in her veins and her heart. Other noises punctured the gentler one and shattered the numbing peace flowing through her, reawakening her pain and dragging her back up to consciousness.

  “Erin!”

  She frowned and tried to burrow into whatever was beneath her. It was hard and unyielding, but warm against her belly and breasts.

  “Erin!”

  Erin didn’t want to wake. She wanted to stay in the darkness, wanted to drift through her remaining days unaware of the world that awaited her so she didn’t have to feel the pain that came with it. It was hollow now and she wanted no part in it. She didn’t belong there.

  Warm liquid rushed over her feet and up to her knees and then rolled back again, leaving her legs wet. The air cooled them and it was bliss. She sighed, welcoming the relief from the heat on her skin.

  “Erin, wake up.”

  Something shook her and the motion sent her spinning back to a time not so long ago when someone else had tried to rouse her like this. She hadn’t wanted to wake then either, but that time it had been because she had discovered that the man she had been falling in love with was a Hell’s angel.

  Veiron.

  Tears slipped down from the corner of her eyes and hissed as they hit whatever was beneath her.

  She didn’t want to wake because this time it was a female voice calling her and she couldn’t face the questions and the pain, the heartache and the misery. It wasn’t the person she desperately wanted to wake to and see.

  The soft hands on her shoulders shook her again, drawing her into full consciousness, so she was laying face down pretending to be asleep. If she pretended for long enough, would they leave her alone? She wanted to be alone if she couldn’t be with Veiron.

  �
�Erin, please?”

  How many times had she said that word to the Devil? It had no meaning now. She had struck it from her vocabulary and refused to respond to it. It was a powerless ineffectual word. Pathetic.

  “Erin.” It was a male voice this time, stern and hard, and not voicing a question. It was a command for her to give up her act and face the world. She had never realised until now how similar Veiron and Marcus sounded. It brought new tears to her eyes.

  “Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Amelia must have seen her tears. She laid her hand on Erin’s shoulder. “You’re burning up. Where’s Veiron?”

  Erin couldn’t bear to hear his name. She covered her head with her arms and wished everyone would go away. She needed to be alone. She didn’t know how to cope with everything. Not just what had happened to Veiron but what had happened to her too.

  She felt different and it scared her, left her feeling weak and sick. She could feel the darkness flowing through her, just as the Devil had said she could, polluting her body. His evil in her veins. How was that even possible?

  Unless.

  Erin sucked in a steadying breath and pushed herself up. She was on the island but it wasn’t sand beneath her. It was glass. Scorched patches dotted her black trousers and it felt as though the back of her t-shirt was missing completely. A thick crust of blood covered the material across her chest.

  She raised her head and looked into Amelia’s eyes, and then at her face, and then ran her gaze over all of her.

  She had never noticed before now how different they were to each other. Amelia with her grey eyes, ample breasts and soft mouth that completed classical features. Erin had smaller breasts, was shorter, and had often been told she looked cheeky and like a bad fairy.

  And she had amber eyes.

  Like her father.

  Her stomach turned and she swallowed against her desire to be sick.

  “Where is Veiron?” Marcus said and she hated him for saying those words.

  She couldn’t look at Amelia, not now that she had realised that the Devil hadn’t been lying to her, but Amelia had. There was no way the two of them could be siblings. Her entire life had been a lie.