Page 28 of Soul Redeemed

It had to work. It’d worked for her. Why didn’t it work for this female?

Please. Gods. I need to make it right. Help me make this right.

A force from behind threw her backward, the burn skidding along her skin as she slid across the floor and crashed into the wall. Bullets of pain shot up her spine, and she set a hand to her lower back, trying to catch her breath.

Logan lurched toward her, his big, looming shadow a threat of hurt and misery as he inched closer.

He vanished behind a hulking figure that stepped between them. Calix pushed against his brother’s chest, sending the larger demon two steps back. “Killing her won’t make it go away!”

Their muscles shook as Calix fought to keep him away, and Logan pushed to get to her.

Ava should’ve been scared. Logan had fully intended to tear her to pieces, from the way his red eyes glowed with hatred and fury. And he should’ve. All she could summon were thoughts of failure. Of the unrelenting guilt, knowing that her own blood had ended not one life, but two. Whatever Oliver had done to her had changed her very bloodline.

“Logan?”

The soft voice cut through the room, and the incensed red in Logan’s eyes faded to the warm brown from before. His face morphed from fury to the vulnerable expression of a humble man, brows upturned as if that sound alone could destroy him right there.

“Calla?” He swung around, giving Ava a moment’s breath to tip her head toward the blonde who sat up against the pillows, clutching her belly.

“Ah, God, Logan! He’s coming!” She screamed, and her head shot back, slamming into the pillow behind her.

The elder had already positioned himself at the parting of her thighs.

“Oh, God! Please! Save him!”

Ava covered her ears and closed her eyes. She couldn’t bear to face the next few minutes. Or hours. However long the torment would last. She’d released the female of her binds, but may have put the baby in peril. The seconds it took for the chant to reach her may have determined the baby’s fate.

She could never live with herself. She could never face Logan. Or Calla. Or even Calix, for that matter. Ava would be better off in Stygius. She’d welcome Logan’s wrath, would let it cast her into the place she belonged, rotting away alongside her brother and all the other reprehensible souls there.

Her mother had once told her that her father would one day be sent to Stygius for all the unspeakable things he’d done throughout the years. Ava often wondered what her mother would’ve thought of her, had she stuck around. Would she have thought her bound for the same fate? Would she have thought her redeemable? Her mother’s faith dictated that she and Ryke were born creatures of the unholy, but somehow the woman still believed in the good of people. Had she stayed and not abandoned them, perhaps Ryke would’ve been a different being. Perhaps Ava wouldn’t be curled up on the floor, begging forgiveness for sins she couldn’t change, and praying to gods that she was certain no longer heard her.

Pressure hit her arms, attempting to pry them away from her ears, but she shook her head, clamped her eyes shut and bowed her head. “No. Please. I don’t want to.”

Against her resistance, her hands were tugged from her head, and she lifted her gaze to Calix, who knelt in front of her, a cross between sadness and a smile on his face. “Listen.”

Over the low commotion of others talking, one distinct sound reached her, forcing her to a stand.

The full-blown cry of a baby.

Ava covered her mouth, the tears slipping down her cheeks as she tried to hold back the hysterical burst of laughter that beat from her chest.

“He’s okay?”

“She,” Calix clarified. “She’s okay. Both of them are okay.” Holding her wrists together, he pulled her into him. “Because of you.”

Ava shook her head and watched from across the room as the redhead passed the tiny naked body to her mother. Even through the dimness of the room, Ava could make out the smile on Logan’s face. The tears in his eyes as he kissed the small crown of his baby girl. She could damn near feel the joy and relief that the male exuded in waves, as if the sun had shone for the first time in days. He leaned in and kissed the blonde, then kissed the baby once more.

With a sigh of contentment, Ava allowed Calix to lead her out of the room.

15

Boots kicked over the edge of the parapet, Xander stared down at the eighteen story drop below him, where the cars looked like little Hot Wheels vehicles tooling down Woodward Avenue.

His blood vibrated, skin prickled with goosebumps.

He allowed a hint of a smile, before unsheathing his blade in time to twist around and prop the knife beneath the female’s chin.

The sting of Karinna’s blade poked into Xander’s chest, as her lips slid into a smile. “I could gut you open right here.”