Page 35 of Resurrection (Daemons & Lumens #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Andras

I flew through the sky with my brothers beside me.

This new daemon was fast as hell and clearly more adept in the sky than we were.

But I was fast, and there was no way in hell I’d let him get far enough away from us that I’d lose sight of Seraphina in his arms. She passed out, her hair blowing in the wind, and clung to him in her sleep.

I snarled, unable to leash my daemon at the sight of her cradled in the arms of a stranger.

Everything happened so fast, I was barely able to process it.

When Seraphina became engulfed in the flames, my heart stopped.

I thought she was truly dead, burned to death before us.

But we could feel her. The ritual connected us.

There was a new thread, a bond, connecting her to me, and to the others.

Even now, I could feel her. It was faint but still pulsing.

As if the power of it was asleep, waiting for something. What, I didn’t know.

As the flames grew higher we could hear her talking to someone in the fire.

I didn’t see another being, but she was clearly having a conversation with someone as the flames incinerated her clothing.

The shadows of wings appeared for the shortest of moments; I almost missed them.

But they were there. Her wings looked similar to the tattoos on her back, almost as if she knew they were coming.

I would’ve scoffed at the absurdity, but knowing what I did about this world of magic we were embroiled in, anything was possible.

Seraphina stood in the flames, a living goddess. Her clothes were gone, and her hair had returned to its natural red color. She was born anew in that fire. Resurrected into what, exactly, was still up for debate.

When the new daemon arrived, I knew our fathers had not planned for it. Laszlo looked positively livid. Samuel was frowning, his eyebrows practically becoming one as he gazed at the daemon. Then all hell broke loose.

Daemons and lumens appeared around us, using their various powers to blast the cloaked Obscuritas away.

Laszlo and Samuel were protected, their own guards taking the brunt of the power.

Several daemons and lumens under my father’s command stepped forward to fight back.

It was chaos. I saw members of the Umbra Noctis, our people, join the fray.

But there was no time for us to fight. With Seraphina so vulnerable, we had to leave.

Levi grabbed Joseph Bronwen’s burnt body, and we took to the skies with our relics, leaving everything else behind.

We had been flying for hours, and my adrenaline was fading. Did this crazy asshole think we would fly all the way to Boston? I sped up to catch him, flying at his side.

“Do you know where you’re going?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

The asshole suddenly dove toward the earth.

We followed, soaring through the clouds until the glittering lights of a city lit up beneath us.

I looked around, trying to place our whereabouts.

Based on the mountains surrounding the area, it looks like we were in Roanoke, Virginia.

We descended swiftly. Phenex landed on the roof of the tallest building, and we followed him.

“Is she alright?” Dev asked first, his face filled with concern. He quickly took off his suit coat and tucked it around Seraphina’s naked body.

Phenex growled possessively but stopped when Seraphina sighed contentedly in his arms. He smirked at us, his dark hair blowing in the breeze and his silver eyes glowing in the darkness. It was unnerving.

“She’s just a little exhausted from all the power rapidly filling her veins. She can handle it.”

Typhon snarled, stalking toward the daemon. “How would you fucking know? Give her to me.”

He stood tall and massive before the daemon, but Phenex towered over him by a few inches.

The daemon growled, the sound deep and commanding. His fangs descended and his skin glowed with a silver hue. “She is my mate. The only reason I haven’t blasted you to the stars is because of her. She requested your presence. But don’t fucking test me.”

“What are we doing here, Phenex?” I snapped, stepping between the two monsters before blood was spilled.

Phenex continued to narrow his eyes at Typhon. “Waiting for Mor. I can’t transport you all. Not after the amount of energy it took to come to this world.”

I was about to ask what the fuck he was talking about when Morax snapped into existence. One moment there were shadows, and the next he was standing beside his brother.

He nodded to each of us. “Gentlemen.” Morax squeezed his brother’s arm, relief in his golden eyes. “Good to see you, brother.”

Phenex grinned, cradling Seraphina in his arms as if she weighed no more than a feather. “You too. Things were getting dicey in Caligo.”

Morax frowned. “Father?”

Phenex shook his head. “Father is in a magical coma, locked down by witches. But Belial...”

“Fuck.” Morax ran a hand through his dark hair.

Phenex nodded. “Indeed. Bel is coming here. He may be here already. He found me just before I said the words to accept her summons. I could feel him. But I think I was able to send him away. How far, I don’t know.”

Morax nodded. “Good. Let’s go then, before he tries to sense us.” The daemon turned to us. “Grasp hands and form a circle.”

I glanced at the others, giving a curt nod, and we did as he asked. I stood next to Morax, and Ty growled low as he gripped Phenex’s shoulder, since he refused to let go of our girl.

Morax and Phenex closed their eyes, whispering a few words in unison.

The air tightened around our bodies. It felt like my lungs were being squeezed together.

My body jerked, and I nearly let go of the daemon’s hand, but he held tight.

My heels slammed into the earth a few moments later, and I opened my eyes, seeing Vespertine Hall before us.

Without speaking, several came forward and took Joseph Bronwen’s body from Levi. They walked solemnly around the back of the mansion. We didn’t follow, waiting before the front doors with Morax.

“No one else can transpose through the barrier,” Morax stated, as if we knew what he meant.

I glanced around, squinting in the darkness. I wasn’t sure, but there seemed to be something surrounding the manor. It was barely distinguishable to the naked eye, more of a feeling.

Morax turned and walked to the front doors, Phenex close behind with Seraphina still asleep in his arms. My brothers and I followed the daemons.

We were no longer tethered to our fathers, I realized, grasping the relic in my hand.

Walking into the manor felt like the start of something, a new life, perhaps.

A new beginning had arrived for us all. The uncertainty of it bothered me, but I held my head high, watching the woman I loved and knowing I would walk through any unknowns as long as she was beside me.