Winged Passion, page 19
part #3 of Heaven's Heart Series
“Stabbed you a little? You were dead!”
“Way to avoid answering.”
She pressed a kiss against his lips, hot and needy and demanding all at once. “Does that answer your question?”
“No, I don’t think it does.”
“Stubborn archangel.”
“Vengeful guild master.”
They kissed again, long and slow and passionate.
“Do you mind that I made you my heir?” He asked, pulling away. He had to know she wasn’t angry at him for it.
“It came as a surprise. Why did you do it?”
“I figured you would make a great leader. And you didn’t try and kill my assassins when you first met them. You’d be fair. Level-headed. What the guild needed.”
“When did you do it? After we slept together?”
“Before. The day after you joined.”
He’d seen her potential from the start. Had known the decision was right. “I knew that you’d look after them if I died.”
“Enough talk of death. How about we both live? For each other?” She licked water from her lips, drawing his eyes back to the lush contours.
“For each other.”
Chapter 37
Yael glared at the Djinn.
“I don’t give a fuck if you’re Lucifer himself, I know she’s here.” He could feel Dina’s presence at the Casa de los Condenados. Not in the tap room, which was filled with all kinds of demons, but somewhere in the building.
The giant Djinn on the other side of the bar ground his jaw. “Look, I don’t know what it is with you fallen angel types, but get the fuck out of my bar.”
Yael cracked his knuckles. He was dying for a good fight.
“That’s okay, Lamar. I will see him.”
He turned towards the clipped voice. There, just visible through a door that led into the kitchens, was Dina, so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her, with golden hair swept back, and crystalline eyes so pure they reminded him of endless blue skies.
“Go outside,” the Djinn grumbled.
“Thanks,” Yael muttered, then elbowed his way through the crowd to the front door.
I found her, I found her.
I fucking found her.
But why was she free, when Z had been tortured, mutilated?
Once outside, the sulfuric stink seeped into his lungs.
“Yael.” Dina’s voice reached him from the corner of the stone building.
Carefully, he headed over to where she stood, half-covered in shade. Her posture was regal and straight, her face set in its customary harsh lines. Behind her spread two dark appendages, their black so deep they appeared as nothing more than shadows.
“Dina, you’re alive.”
“You always were good at stating the obvious.” Her voice was flat, unwelcoming.
“We’ve been looking for you for months.” Using every contact they had.
“You obviously weren’t looking too hard. I’ve been here for months.”
He winced.
“Then why didn’t you try and contact us? Surely you heard...”
“I heard.”
“Then why stay here? In Hell?”
She stepped forward, out of the darkness. Her wings were horrifyingly beautiful. A black-winged angel. I have never seen such a thing.
“Because I want to be here. Go home. Leave. Don’t come back for me, Yael. You’ll just be wasting your time.”
But he wasn’t ready to give up. “What happened? Did they take you, too?”
“Go, Yael. And tell the others I’m done with the Darts.” Dina turned her back on him and walked away.
Foolish.
He reached forward to grab her shoulder, but she spun, lightning fast. “Last warning.” Something dangerous swirled to life within Dina’s gaze, malevolence shooting from her.
“Fine.” He ripped his hand from her hold and stalked toward the front of the Casa de los Condenados.
Dina doesn’t want to join us.
Fine.
We don’t need her.
Time to tell the others.
Chapter 38
Seraphina smiled at Trick, then Raze. They stood outside the recreation room at Raze’s mansion. “Raze, this is Trick. I’m not sure you’ve formally met before.”
“Raziel. Ex-scholar-turned-warrior. I’ve heard of you.” Trick held out his hand.
“And I you, Cassiel.” Raze clasped the new archangel’s hand in his.
“I prefer Trick.”
The dark-skinned angel with the storm-colored eyes nodded.
As they stepped into the room, a blade spun through the air to thwack into a wall. Seraphina glared. She’d had enough flying daggers to last her a lifetime.
This time, however, there was no threat, just Azrael engaged in a knife-throwing competition with Dru. According to Raze, they had been arguing over who was the better throw for the past month.
They clearly haven’t met Lucifer.
The recreation room at Raze’s mansion was huge, with a massive TV, sofa, pool table, and bar. There was even a target on one wall, for Azrael and Dru’s competition. Z was in the room, sitting on a backless sofa with a tumbler of whiskey in his hand. And in the center, Yale stood, brooding.
“You found Dina?” Seraphina asked.
“I did,” Yael said, then stopped as he spotted Trick. “Who the fuck is that?”
Dru dropped her dagger. “Trick!”
Azrael yelped and darted out the way. “Watch out!”
The female assassin dashed forward, coming to a stop bare inches from her former boss. “You’re a fucking archangel! Who did you kill for that to happen?”
“I didn’t kill anyone,” Trick answered.
“He died,” Seraphina said, her expression solemn.
Yael’s mental voice reached her. Tell me you didn’t…tell me you didn’t sleep with the guild master.
Seraphina shot him a glare. He gave his life for me.
Dru whooped. “You! It was you!” She was pointing at Seraphina.
“It was her what?” Azrael asked.
“There’s rumors someone almost cut off Lucifer’s head. Their description matches Seraphina. And look at her. She’s got an evil-type vibe going now.” The cambion’s gray eyes were almost glowing.
Seraphina bit her lip.
I give off an evil vibe? she asked Trick telepathically.
Comes with being a true fallen. It was how I could mask I was an angel, he replied.
“I can’t admit to anything,” Seraphina said, holding up her hands.
“Oh, yes! This is great. You have to tell me everything.” Dru grabbed her arm and tugged her toward the sofa.
“Most women act that way when they talk about lovers, not murdering people,” Trick muttered.
“I am not most women.” Dru sniffed.
“Hear, hear,” Azrael said.
Dru flipped Azrael the bird; he blew her a kiss.
They’re relationship is weird, Seraphina sent to Trick.
What? You put me in a headlock yesterday.
You deserved it.
True.
“Are you all fucking insane? Didn’t you hear me? I found Dina.” Yael’s voice growled through the room.
“Where is she?” Dru demanded.
“At the Casa de los Condenados,” Yael replied. “She has black wings. She looks healthy. Healthy and mean.”
“I knew it,” Seraphina muttered.
That black feather.
“Let’s go get her,” Z said, standing. He finished his whiskey in one large mouthful.
Yael scuffed his foot. “Ah, that’s the thing.”
“What?”
“She says to leave her alone, she’s done with the Darts.”
Silence.
“She’s what?”
“She said that?”
“What the fuck?”
It was hard to keep track of who said what.
Dina was a force to be reckoned with back when I was in Heaven, Trick said to her telepathically. If she doesn’t want to come join you, she won’t.
I know, Seraphina replied.
“Do you think she was part of it, then?” Dru asked.
“Part of what?” Yael snapped.
“Well, Z got tortured, you all fell, and she’s all fine and dandy.” Dru spun another knife through her fingers. “She has her wings, and she’s free. Do you think she helped the demons break into Heaven?”
Yael looked uncertain. “I—I have no idea.”
I can’t believe Dina would do that.
Then again, I didn’t think Paschar was a psychopath who tortured demons for fun. Her former lover had hated blood; he’d made her wash it off whenever she’d been in a battle.
Or maybe he’d done that because he liked it too much.
She still hadn’t come to terms with Paschar’s true nature. Or the fact he was Trick’s half-brother. That would take time.
“We still have to find two pieces of the Heart,” Raze said, pouring himself a whiskey. “In the meantime, let’s try and learn about Dina’s role in the whole affair.”
Azrael nodded. “Agreed.”
“I sure as Hell would like to know,” Z growled. “I still have some debts to pay back.” He cracked his knuckles, the poisonous jade-green filaments in his wings catching the light.
They broke off into groups, talking amongst themselves. Trick caught her hand, holding it tight. “Will you tell them?” That you can’t go back?
“Soon.” But for now, she would enjoy their company.
And she would take each day as it came.
“Do you think Lucifer will search for me?” she asked.
“Your Hades’ ward. He can’t.” Trick set his jaw. “And he’d have to get through me first.”
“You say the most romantic things.”
He laughed, the sound warm and vibrant, and wonderful. “I do. Want to put me in a headlock later?”
Epilogue
Dina stared at the incriminating feather in her hand. It was tiny, so tiny.
Like most people’s lives.
She crushed it in a strong grip, then threw it in the fire and watched it burn, curling in on itself, withering to nothing.
So, there was a new archangel in Tartarus. Meanwhile, Lucifer was said to be pissed beyond Hell after nearly being decapitated, Hades was gloating with some private victory, and Satan was being his usual diabolical self.
Dina barred her teeth in a mockery of a smile. “Look out boys, it’s my turn to play.”
The End
***
Dear Reader,
Firstly, thank you for reading Winged Passion! I hope you enjoyed Seraphina and Trick’s story—what an explosive couple they turned out to be!
But I bet you’re wondering, who’s next?
Well, I am currently working on book four, Ascending Passion, which will be due out mid-2019. It will feature our resident smartass, Yael, paired with our feisty magic-denier, Rowan. Oh, and Lucifer will be back…
I hope you enjoy the rest of the Heaven’s Heart series and thanks for your support. To find out more about the series, you can visit my website here.
Also, if you join my VIP Readers Newsletter, you’ll get an exclusive free short story, which is set in my Graced series world!
All the best,
Amanda Pillar
P.S. If you enjoy my work, please consider leaving a review. Even a few words is enough. It helps a lot.
Acknowledgements
Winged Passion was a fun book to write, done madly during my newborn daughter’s naps. As usual, there are plenty of people who deserve thanks. Firstly, I’d like to thank my husband Tom, who gave me the time to write this book, while we juggled our three-month-old daughter’s needs. I also want to thank my wonderful beta readers Joanne Danton and Kel Carpenter, and my eagle-eyed editor Pete Kempshall. As always, you are invaluable in the creation of my work.
More by Amanda Pillar
Heaven’s Heart
Book 1: Deadly Passion
Can two assassins outwit each other to claim the ultimate prize?
Dru is a blood-bound assassin, tied to Hell and her master for eternity — okay, not ‘eternity’, but it sure as Hell feels like it. She’s got a slight attitude problem, a strict no-touching rule and she has claws and knows how to use them. She’s also willing to earn her freedom at any cost, even if that means stealing from an angel.
Azrael was once a member of an elite unit in Heaven’s army, but after a priceless artifact was stolen on his watch, he was thrown out of Heaven. Now the fallen angel is on a mission: find Heaven’s Heart, save his missing comrades, and get even with the angel who took his wings.
The first time Azrael and Dru meet, she leaves him for dead. The second time, they’re tasked with the same mission — retrieve Odin’s Orb. Will their sparking passion derail their best-laid plans? Or will they play for keeps?
Book 2: benevolent Passion
Peony has traded one Hell for another.
As a qualified doctor who only ever dreamed of helping people, being kept as a slave and then sold as breeding stock for Mortus demons was never on the cards.
Freed from imprisonment, Zadkiel is an angel on a mission: find Heaven’s stolen Heart and save the demon who helped him when he was a captive. But Z is suffering from a mystical illness no one can cure... Can he stay alive long enough to achieve his goals?
Together, Peony and Z will need every ounce of their combined strength to survive the Mortus stronghold and find the key to Heaven’s Heart.
The Graced Series
Graced
Vampires suck.
Well, that's the nicest thing city guard Elle Brown can say about them. Her opinions of shifters aren't much better, either. And her second full time job—keeping her special little sister safe from either race—has just gotten harder, now that the vampire Dante Kipling, has taken an interest in Elle’s life.
Dante is a scientist fascinated by human anatomy. Despite his last two experiments failing, he is convinced that the answers to his questions lie within Elle Brown. Though he’s been told to stop his experiments, he’s convinced that humans with special eye colors are different, and he’s determined to find the proof—even if it means risking his and Elle’s lives.
Captive
Civilization has ended.
Vampires, werewolves, and the Graced are at war with their human creators, and humanity is losing. But Laney might hold the key to salvation. Held captive with her fellow humans by alpha Wolfgang and his pack of weres, Laney secretly inches ever closer to breaking were and vampire blood dependency forever.
But Laney doesn't have long. Their numbers decimated by plague, humans are being kidnapped and reduced to livestock. And when Laney and her sister are abducted by a neighboring vampire clan, their only hope lies in Wolf—who doesn't know the shocking secret Laney has gone to great lengths to conceal.
Survivor
Too stubborn to die.
Billie Young is a human city guard with a troubled past—she was kidnapped, tortured and almost killed by vampires. Though she survived, it’s left her scarred and damaged. Now, she trusts no one, and is focused on finding her attackers.
Vere Radcliffe is a vampire spy who answers directly to the king. Recently returned home from a year abroad, he’s at loose ends, waiting for his next mission. But trouble is brewing in the city, and Vere is asked to investigate the abduction of a city guard and the murder of several other humans. But as the hunt closes in, the killer takes someone close to Vere’s heart.
Bitten
Being the coroner has suddenly become the toughest job in town.
Doctor Alice Reive has more bodies and fewer answers than normal, so she’s determined to find the murderer responsible before another vampire ends up dead. With the help of the vampire Dante Kipling and city guard Elle Brown, she races to track down the killer.
Hannah Romanov has spent hundreds of years living on an isolated mountain. One of the only Graced vampires in existence, her quiet life is thrown into chaos after she discovers a baby left in the wilds to die. Hannah will do anything to ensure the infant’s survival, even if it means travelling to a city plagued by murderers and filled with vampires who’d want her dead.
Ashes
Aria Ash shouldn’t exist...
Born to a were mother and vampire father, Aria Ash is the perfect blend of two races, and in their world, that’s a death sentence. Hunted for as long as she can remember, she now hides in plain sight in the city of Skarva, and will do anything to keep her secret safe.
Sebastian Talien is an alpha were with a troubled past. Ever since his pack went rogue and tried to kill three innocent pups, he’s been dedicated to rescuing children in need. Now an invitation has him heading to Skarva, to help a child he thought he’d failed...
About Amanda
Amanda Pillar is an USA TODAY Bestselling Author and award-winning editor who lives in Victoria, Australia, with her husband, daughter, and two cats.
Amanda has had numerous short stories published and has co-edited the fiction anthologies Voices (2008), Grants Pass (2009), The Phantom Queen Awakes (2010), Scenes from the Second Storey (2010), Ishtar (2011) and Damnation and Dames (2012). Her first solo anthology, Bloodstones, was published by Ticonderoga Publications in 2012. The award-winning sequel, Bloodlines, was published in October 2015.
Amanda's first novel, Graced, was published by Momentum in 2015. The stories Captive and Survivor were also released in 2016, followed by Bitten and Ashes in 2017. She has also launched the Heaven’s Heart series, which will total six books.
In her day job, she works as an archaeologist.
You can go here to sign up to Amanda’s mailing list for future news and free reads, or visit www.amandapillar.com for regular writing updates.
