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

  “You used us.” Erin’s eyes widened and fixed on Veiron.

  “No need to make it sound so crass. I had seen that you were destined to end up with this disgusting creature and decided to... give you a nudge towards each other.”

  “A nudge?” Erin struggled against the Devil and he tightened his grip on her. “Did you make us do things?”

  He laughed. “No. Always so concerned about the things you care about, aren’t you, Daughter? I did not make you love Veiron, and did not make Veiron love you. That sickening emotion was destined to bloom between you. I merely gave you both a helping hand. I admit that sending my men after you to keep you together was not my finest hour, and neither was allowing one of them to harm you, but it was necessary. I needed your feelings to develop more quickly.”

  Veiron glared at him. “You were impatient. You had a daughter but you wanted a son, so you forced us to remain together. You put your own daughter at risk. What sort of sick—”

  The Devil held up his hand and Veiron bit his tongue. He was regaining his strength but hadn’t healed enough to withstand another blast of the Devil’s power.

  “I was impatient,” the Devil said and stroked Erin’s bare arm. “I realised I had gone too far that night and backed off to allow things to progress naturally. They did. Erin entered the right stage of her cycle on the island and you sired a child with her.”

  Erin’s cheeks paled again and she covered her mouth with her hand. Amelia gasped.

  “Erin?” Veiron whispered and she looked at him, her amber eyes swimming with tears. “I will get you out of here. I swear it.”

  “And how will you do that, Maggot?” The Devil grinned over her shoulder at him. “You failed last time... and witnessing your death was just the catalyst Erin needed to awaken. Not only that, but I removed you from the equation, leaving Erin desperate enough to turn to me... but there seems to have been a complication.”

  “You bastard,” Erin screamed and stamped on the Devil’s foot, elbowed him in the chest, and then flicked her hand over her shoulder and cracked his nose. He snarled and released her and she stumbled forwards.

  Veiron reached for her but she didn’t come to him.

  She turned on her father, bright orange flames caressing her hands and dancing over her bare arms.

  Black blood poured over the Devil’s lip and he rubbed the back of his hand over it, smudging it across his face. The blood instantly stopped flowing and disappeared, leaving his appearance perfect again.

  “Where was that spirit when I held you captive?” He flicked the blood off his hand. “If you had displayed the rage and hunger for violence you have shown at times in these past few weeks perhaps I would not have needed to go through so much trouble. I could have used you as my vessel after all.”

  “I will never be your vessel and neither will my child!” She threw her hands forwards and unleashed a crackling orb of golden energy. The Devil held his hand up and the blast exploded against an invisible barrier surrounding him. “This wasn’t part of our deal. It’s off.”

  She released another bolt of golden fire and the Devil disappeared.

  Veiron’s neck prickled and two strong hands grasped his shoulders. He cried out as sharp claws dug into his flesh and burned him, eating into him like acid.

  Erin spun on her heel to face them.

  The Devil stepped up behind Veiron and he twisted at the waist and beat his wings, trying to free himself. The man pressed his fingers deeper into Veiron’s flesh and he burned hotter, the heat stealing his strength, rendering his arms immobile.

  “Don’t,” Erin said and shook her head.

  “Obey me, or I will destroy the man you love,” the Devil hissed over Veiron’s shoulder and Veiron snarled and tried to dislodge him again. He couldn’t move. The acid burning through his veins had spread to his flesh, scalding every inch of him. He gritted his teeth against the pain and held Erin’s gaze, silently trying to tell her to leave while she had the chance. It didn’t matter if he died again. He would be reborn as he was now and he would come back for her. They would finish this somehow.

  She couldn’t risk her life or that of their child for his sake.

  “Don’t, please.” Erin lowered her hands.

  Veiron swallowed several times and mustered all of his strength. He had to convince her to go.

  “Do not, Erin,” he whispered and swallowed again to wet his dry throat. “Leave while you can. Do not do this for me.”

  Her eyes flickered between his and the man’s behind him, her expression turning uncertain.

  “We could amend the deal,” the Devil said and Veiron shook his head, silently cursing him for tempting her, his own daughter. “In exchange for your son, I will revive Veiron’s memories by accepting him as my servant. I will not inhabit your child or you, but he and you will stand at the head of my army and the child will serve as my destroyer. A small price to pay in exchange for your lover. You could be together again. A happy family. It is what you desire most, is it not?”

  Veiron snarled and focused so his wings disappeared. He unleashed them again, so fast that they smashed into the Devil and caught him by surprise. His claws tore out of Veiron’s shoulders and Veiron propelled himself forwards and hit the black ground a few metres from Erin.

  She looked down at him and then beyond him to her father.

  “Come, Daughter. Make your decision.”

  CHAPTER 37

  Erin’s gaze danced between Veiron where he knelt on the ground, covered in blood and black dust, and the man who called himself her father. She placed her hand over her stomach, torn between accepting his offer and fighting him.

  She had thought her sickness had been due to the increase in her power caused by her awakening and her grief over losing Veiron. What if she was pregnant though?

  Her skin prickled, coldest across the back of her neck and down her spine, and her stomach somersaulted. When she had awoken, and times after that, she had seen her claws and had felt the shift of horns beneath her flesh. Would her baby be like that and like Veiron had been during the time they had conceived it? Would it come out with fangs and claws, and black skin, with glowing red eyes? Her insides flipped again. There was no point in asking whether it would. She knew in her heart that it would be like her and Veiron, and it frightened her. She only hoped that like them it would appear human most of the time too. She didn’t fear the baby and she wouldn’t fear its demonic appearance if it had one. She was frightened that it would never be able to lead a normal life in the mortal world and that would drive it to become evil, like her father.

  Her eyes flicked to Veiron and he pushed himself up onto unsteady legs.

  “Come to me, Erin.” Veiron held his hand out to her and she wanted to go to him more than anything but she feared that if she took a single step towards him that the Devil would attack him. She had to find a solution, one that didn’t involve making deals with her father and placing those she loved at risk.

  Veiron wanted to remember her and had been willing to fall to achieve that but she wasn’t willing to let him go down that route. In the time she had known Veiron, she had discovered the depth of the hatred he felt towards the game that Hell and Heaven played with him and the two beings that used him as their pawn. She wouldn’t let him go through that again.

  She looked over her shoulder at Amelia. The look in her grey eyes gave Erin strength. Whatever happened, her sister would be there for her. They weren’t sisters by blood but that didn’t matter. Amelia was her family. They had grown up together and had always been each other’s best friend. She would do anything for Amelia and she knew that Amelia felt the same way.

  “If you’re scared that Veiron will fall foul of Heaven’s commands, then let him contract with me. Let him become like Marcus and be free, not a servant of the Devil,” Amelia said and while Erin was grateful for the offer, she could never accept it and Veiron would never accept it either.

  He wanted his memories back.

&n
bsp; The Devil could give that to him.

  If he fell, he would remember everything, but it would pull him back into the game again. If he pledged himself to Amelia, he would be free of it, but Heaven and Hell would seek to kill him in order to reset the game, just as they desired to kill Amelia and Marcus.

  “I don’t want anyone to come to harm,” Erin said to no one in particular and looked back at Veiron. He shook his head and she glanced down at her feet. She couldn’t make a decision while everyone was looking at her, waiting to hear what she would do. She needed time to think about it but the Devil wasn’t going to give it to her. He had been pressuring her to agree to a deal since she had appeared before him and she had a feeling that this would be the last time he changed the one he was offering.

  She frowned.

  He did keep changing it.

  Whenever she looked as though she would bolt and leave, or fight him, he sweetened the deal. He wanted her to agree to it. He needed her child.

  Did that mean that if she chose to leave right now, he wouldn’t harm her?

  Her gaze shifted to Veiron again. He wouldn’t harm her but he would hurt Veiron and those she cared about in order to force her to agree.

  “Erin,” Amelia said and she closed her eyes. “I swear I will keep us safe. I will protect us all. We can do it together. You can learn about your power and discover everything there is to know about it and we can do this together. Please, Erin.”

  “Do not listen to your sister or the Devil, Erin.” Veiron’s deep voice forced her eyes open and she looked into his. They pleaded with her, their dark depths full of affection and despair. “I know what happened to me now. I have seen everything. I saw what happened that night between us. I remember it. You must too. You promised me forever.”

  A chill slid down her spine and arms.

  “Silence!” the Devil shouted and Veiron’s mouth moved but no sound came out. He glared at the Devil.

  “Erin, that’s the—” Amelia’s voice cut off and Erin looked over her shoulder. Her sister and Marcus were gone. She faced the Devil.

  “I am growing bored of these interferences. It’s all so touching, so sweet, so sickening. Make your decision. The fate of this disgusting creature is in your hands.”

  Erin glared at her father, searching his eyes. They showed no hint of fear but she could feel it in him. He had silenced Veiron, and had sent Amelia and Marcus away because they had tried to tell her something vital.

  “Decide, Erin.” The Devil disappeared and reappeared right in front of her.

  She stared at him, letting the jumbled panicked thoughts flooding her mind unravel and sort themselves out into order.

  Her DNA was a perfect match for the man’s in front of her.

  Meaning, she had all the same powers that he possessed.

  She had the Devil’s dark power in her veins. His blood flowing through her.

  In the eyes of God, was she the same as the Devil?

  If an angel fell and pledged himself to her, would it be the same as pledging himself to the Devil?

  Her heart accelerated.

  Could she accept Veiron as her servant?

  Her eyes widened.

  That was what he had been telling her. She had promised him forever.

  Erin kept her eyes locked with her father’s.

  “I want that forever that I promised you,” she said and saw Veiron smile out of the corner of her eye. “And I will do anything to achieve it.”

  The Devil’s eyes narrowed. “Have you made your decision?”

  Erin nodded. She focused and recalled everything she had seen the Devil do. He stepped towards her and Erin threw her hands forwards, unleashing a blast of fire. He blocked it as he had before and she willed herself to disappear. Fiery darkness engulfed her and when it disappeared, she was standing next to Veiron. He jumped and opened his mouth, but still no words came out. She grabbed his hand and focused on making them both disappear.

  The darkness swept over her once more and receded to reveal the plateau they had landed on when Apollyon had helped them come to Hell to save Veiron, Marcus and Einar.

  Apollyon was sitting on a rock a few metres away, bloodied and beaten.

  He raised a hand in greeting and sighed. “Not my finest hour. I had hoped no one would see this.”

  Veiron mouthed something.

  Erin frowned and hoped it would work. “Speak.”

  “He got away?” Veiron said, his voice hoarse, and then rubbed his throat.

  “Who got away?” Erin frowned at both of them and a black voice boomed out of the glowing landscape hundreds of feet below. “It’ll have to wait.”

  She turned to Veiron. “I can contract with you, can’t I?”

  “Not contract, no. Your power is that of the Devil. We formed a bond because I chose to pledge myself to you and you accepted it. It is the reason I was not reborn as I should have been. This appearance is false. Heaven killed me five times over in an attempt to undo what you had done, but it did not work. They couldn’t break the bond between us. It is waiting to be sealed. You are powerful enough now.” He caught her hands and held them together in both of his.

  A shiver raced over her. “How do I seal it?”

  “We exchanged a vow, Erin.” He squeezed her hands and stared down into her eyes, threads of crimson and gold shining in his. “We must exchange it again.”

  She nodded and then froze. “Wait... you mean you’re going to fall?”

  “I already am fallen. I was never reborn as an angel of Heaven. I remained as I was, your servant in part.” Veiron released her hands, drew his spear and knelt before her. He rested his spear across both of his upturned palms and bowed his head, and raised the weapon towards her. “I swear fealty to you, Erin. I am yours and only yours to command until the end of time.”

  Erin hesitated, unsure what to do. She glanced across the bumpy black ground to Apollyon. He motioned for her to touch the spear. She smiled her thanks and laid her hands on the black rod.

  “I accept you as my knight and as mine, and I swear to you that I am yours and only yours, now and forever, until the end of time.” Erin almost laughed at how silly she sounded, and then shrugged and decided to go all the way. “I accept you as my servant, Veiron. Do you accept me as your master?”

  “I do.”

  Red light blazed from the engravings along the black rod of the spear and shone across the twin crimson blades. It swept down Veiron’s arms and the colour of his armour changed as it passed over it, darkening to black with metallic red edging. The light raced up his arms and his tattoos appeared, curling around his biceps. His chest armour switched colour and she gasped as the light shot over his wings and the feathers bled from pale silvery-blue and lilac to darkest crimson.

  She wrinkled her nose up when the magic light failed to change one aspect of him.

  Veiron rose to his feet, immense and imposing, a grin tugging at his sexy mouth. He rolled his shoulders, flexed his fingers and then lunged for her. She shrieked as he swept her up into his arms and he silenced her with a deep kiss that melted her right down to her core and brought out her own smile.

  The black voice curled from the pit again and the ground shook.

  Veiron released her mouth and drew back, still grinning.

  “Remember me now?” she said with a smile of her own.

  “You bet your arse, Sweetheart.” He wrapped his wings around her and kissed her breathless again. Erin melted into him, moaning as she returned his kiss, battling his tongue with her own and losing herself in him. She had missed this so much.

  There was one thing she still missed though.

  She braced her hands against his black armour and broke free of his kiss.

  Her nose wrinkled again. “Your hair is still short.”

  Veiron scrubbed a hand over the longer lengths on top, easily holding her up with just one thick muscular arm. “It’ll grow back. You can’t have everything, you know.”

  The ground trembl
ed again.

  “I think you pissed dear old daddy off.” Veiron set her down on the ground and she wanted to burrow back into his arms and order him not to say what she could feel coming.

  Instead, she tipped her chin up and faced the edge of the plateau, waiting.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Veiron moved in front of her, shielding her with his glossy red wings.

  “Getting ready to fight.” Admittedly, she had never fought a battle before. She didn’t count the last time they were in Hell because no one had wanted to fight her then. She didn’t think the Devil would be so kind this time.

  “I don’t bloody think so.”

  “You’re my servant. Do as you’re ordered.” Erin grinned when he cast a dirty look over his shoulder at her. Yes, she was going to play that card often so he might as well get used to hearing it. “We’re in this together, Veiron.”

  “You need to take care of yourself,” he whispered and looked so beautifully concerned that she wanted to kiss him.

  “This is me taking care of myself. You can’t fight him alone. If we’re going to stand a chance of getting out of here, we need to work together. Besides... I’m the Devil’s daughter and you’re the father.”

  His look softened and then he shrugged his broad shoulders. “I guess you’re right. It’s going to take more than a scrap with his granddaddy to hurt him... but I want you to fall back if you’re in any danger. Understood?”

  Erin nodded, stepped up beside him and slipped her hand into his.

  The Devil appeared in a flash of black smoke.

  He ran his gaze over Veiron and curled his lip, and then looked beyond them.

  His eyes narrowed. “Great Destroyer.”

  “Pain in my backside,” Apollyon said, so close to Erin that she jumped. She hadn’t noticed him move.

  He stopped beside her and stared at the Devil.

  “It is still many years until our next battle.” The Devil dismissed him with a regal wave of his hand. “Do not interfere.”

  “You left the pit.”