Page 6 of Into the Abyss
Cradled against his chest, Wren’s pale hairfell over his arm. Her matching earring to Corson’s twirled aroundbefore coming to a halt. The anguished look on Corson’s face wasone I’d never seen before. As an adhene demon, Corson lived forlaughs and to fight, but once he claimed Wren as his Chosen, healso started living for her. Her death, if it happened, woulddevastate him.
I wouldnotallow that to happen.Love wasn’t something I ever planned to experience in my life, butI wouldn’t lose one of the few friends I had, or his Chosen.
“What did you do to those in our camp?”Corson demanded.
Beneath me, the woman sagged, and most ofthe fight went out of her as she gazed from Corson to Wren and backagain. Sadness crept over her features, but I knew better than tothink a jinni would ever regret their actions. I may not have dealtwith them before, but their ruthlessness and trickery werelegendary.
“I didn’t do anything to them,” the womanmurmured.
“Liar!” Corson accused. “Whatever you did,fix it!”
The woman glanced at me and nervously lickedher lips. My gaze fastened on the glistening wetness she left onher full bottom lip. Despite this horrible situation, I foundmyself growing aroused as I inhaled her scent. She held the fieryaroma of Hell, but also something else…
Then, it hit me. She smelled of the promiseof spring, a warm, cloudless day on Earth, and better things tocome, and I wantedmoreof her.
CHAPTER 3
Amalia
I refused to let them see my apprehension as Iglanced from the striking demon perched on my chest to thegrief-stricken one holding the woman in his arms. Though the womanlooked entirely human, I sensed something more powerful beneath hersurface.
I was tempted to fight against the demon onmy chest again but exhausting myself further wasn’t going to helpme in this situation. If the fallen angel hadn’t gotten in the way,I could have outrun him, but now that he had me, there would be noescape. He was stronger than I was.
Besides, I wasn’t much of a fighter. It wentagainst who I was, but if I got the chance, I would fight for mylife.
To get out of this, I had to keep my witsabout me, and I didn’t think they’d let me go anytime soon, notwhile their brethren remained trapped in the Abyss.
I’d finally experienced freedom from theseal, and already it was being yanked away from me. I should neverhave gone near the encampment, but though they didn’t tell me whatthey planned, I’d known the jinn were up to something there today.I had to see what they’d done, even if I hated their actions.
And seen I had, but then I’d alsobeenseen. I hadn’t expected to discover anyone here free ofthe Abyss, but I still would have gone to see what the jinn haddone; I just would have been more careful about my approach.
Grinding my teeth, I steadied myself as,behind the man sitting on me, one of the angels moved. He was asgolden as the sun, and the one who landed beside him was as blackas the raven he assumed the form of when he attacked me. I’d heardstories of the golden angel, Raphael, who descended from Heavenrecently. Raphael left Heaven, but he wasn’t considered one of thefallen angels, unlike his brother, Caim, who’d been evicted fromHeaven six thousand years ago with the rest of the fallen.
I’d believed the stories of the angels to benothing more than rumors. How could a fallen angel and a golden onework together without trying to kill each other? And how could theybe working with the palitons?
A golden angel and a fallen one followingthe king of Hell sounded ludicrous, but there they stood asopposite as they could get from each other, but both magnificent,powerful, and terrifying in their own way.
Until the seal fell, I’d never dealt withany demons outside of the jinn, and I most certainly hadn’tencountered any humans, horsemen, or angels. Since being freed, Istill hadn’t met any of the fallen angels or horsemen. I’d met onlya few humans, and the demons I encountered, I got away from asquickly as I could.
But at least those I’d met wouldn’t considerme their enemy; I couldn’t say the same about those gathered aroundme. I’d fallen into the hands of the palitons, and I didn’t see itgoing well for me.
The jinn were locked behind the seal yearsbefore the fallen angels entered Hell and the newest varcolacdemon, Kobal, rose from the Hellfires to become the king of Hell.Before we were freed, we knew nothing of who ruled Hell, theangels, or what was happening within Hell. What the jinn learned ofKobal and his followers came from other craetons on Earth.
Once freed from the seal, we’d learned fastthat things had changed alotover the years. And now, thevarcolac who’d sealed the jinn away was dead. Hell was in ruins,and the fallen angel Astaroth, some demons, seal creatures, and thehorsemen had aligned to become a threat to the newest varcolac’srule. My parents and most of the jinn had chosen to align withthose craetons, leaving me… lost.
I didn’t want to be a craeton, but I didn’twant to leave my family either, especially while I was still mortaland therefore susceptible to death more than most demons. Once Istopped aging, became immortal, and my empath ability strengthenedfurther, I might have no choice but to leave them as I feared theirpenchant for cruelty might ultimately destroy me.
Behind the seals, there wasn’t anyone forthe jinn to persecute; on Earth, there were so many they coulddestroy, and I couldn’t stand by and watch it happen.
But that was a problem for another day; Ihad a far larger one looming over me. What had I gotten myselfmixed up in here with these palitons? Most of their allies weretrapped in the Abyss, but these were still some of the mostpowerful creatures on the planet, and they hadme. I cursedmy curiosity and empathy as I tried and failed to plot anescape.
Why wasn’t I faster?But I knew theanswer. Jinn were extremely fast, but I wasn’t immortal yet, and Ihadn’t fully come into my abilities.
Cursing my inability to outrun them, Iglared at the demon restraining me. His smile didn’t falter. I’dnever seen a demon quite like him before. Even the jinn, who weresome of the best-looking demons, couldn’t boast one as sculpted asthis man.
His ice blond hair and dark blond eyebrowsemphasized the chiseled planes of his face and silver eyes. Hishair mostly covered the black horns curving back against the sidesof his head, but the polished, sharp tips poked out, and I guessedthem to be about six inches in length.
I bit my lip as I wondered what it would belike to run my fingers over those horns. I’d love to discover ifthey were as smooth as they appeared. Lithe in build, I couldn’tstop my eyes from raking over his broad shoulders and tapered waistas desire spread through me. I’d experienced desire before, ofcourse, but not toward a man who would probably prefer to kill mejust because of my jinni status.
