Dark Phoenix (From the Ashes Trilogy Book 3) Read online

  Dark Phoenix

  From the Ashes #3

  Karina Espinosa

  Copyright © 2020 by Karina Espinosa

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design by © Covers by Juan

  Edited by Stacy Sanford

  Copyright 2020 by Karina Espinosa

  * * *

  ISBN-13: 9798555431646

  ASIN: B08JH9QC51

  To Stephanie,

  The best writing partner I could have ever asked for.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Karina Espinosa

  About the Author

  1

  With sweaty palms and a leg that couldn’t stop bouncing, I sat on the bench dedicated to my family at the cemetery. I’d never been so nervous before in my life. My eyes darted all over the place, waiting for his arrival, but so far, nothing. Every gust of wind or barest rustle of leaves made me twitch. The suspense was killing me! We’d been waiting for hours and hadn’t heard a peep from him yet. I was starting to get worried. What if something happened? What if he got caught?

  “Relax.” Tristan placed a gentle hand on my erratic knee. “You look like someone jonesing for their next fix. Chill out.”

  I glared at him. “You’re not funny.” He might be calm, but I knew the gravity of the situation unfolding above us.

  He sighed and took a seat beside me. “I’m not trying to be funny, Octavia. I’m just saying you’re lucky we’re in a secluded area. Otherwise, you’d be drawing attention to us.”

  I huffed, “It’s been hours, Tristan. What’s taking him so long?” I looked over at him with pleading eyes. “Something’s wrong; I just know it.”

  Instead of answering right away, he reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze, sweeping his eyes over the cemetery. “I don’t know the answer to that, Octavia. Maybe something is wrong, I don’t know. But right now, all we can do is sit here and wait patiently like he said to do.”

  Tristan was right. Even if I wanted to do something, there was nothing we could do. It wasn’t like I could storm into heaven and demand answers. No. If Michael told us to stay put, that was what we had to do. We just had to hope that he returned safely … with heaven’s fire.

  By this point, I didn’t even care about the fire anymore. I just wanted him to return safely without getting into trouble. The mark of Lucifer on my hand wasn’t worth all this headache and turmoil. Even though heaven’s fire was the only way to remove the tattoo, it still wasn’t worth risking anyone’s life.

  Maverick suddenly came into view at the far corner of the cemetery, his golden mane glistening against the silvery light cast by the moon. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his worn leather jacket and he kicked rocks with his boots as he made his way over to us.

  “I’ve checked the perimeter. It’s clear,” Maverick announced as he came to stand before us. “Echo is still scouting the edges, but it looks like a ghost town.” Surprisingly, the vampire didn’t even crack a smile about his reference to a ghost town in a cemetery.

  Tristan ran a hand through his dark hair. “It’s too quiet. I don’t like it. Watch her, Rick.” He stood and was gone in a flash, my hair blowing against my face from the gust of wind caused by his hasty departure.

  Maverick took Tristan’s place beside me on the stone bench and nudged me with his shoulder. “I know you’re freakin’ out and all, but are you okay? We haven’t really had much of a chance to talk one-on-one lately since everything started going down.”

  I snorted. “Freakin’ out, huh? Is it that obvious?”

  “Very,” he deadpanned. “You’re quivering like a porn star at church.”

  I frowned. “For some reason, that analogy just doesn’t hit home.”

  He shrugged. “It makes perfect sense to me. Anyway, you’re shaking, Octavia. I don’t know the guy well, but I’m sure Michael knows what he’s doing. Don’t give yourself an ulcer by stressing out over him. You have more important things to worry about,” he said meaningfully, his eyes falling to the tattoo emblazoned on the back of my hand.

  I subconsciously covered my hand with the other and looked away, facing the headstones that belonged to my family.

  Maverick nudged me again and whispered, “When this is all over, I promise to make you a buffet of pancakes again. All the flavors.”

  I couldn’t hold in my laughter as I peered over at his smiling face. “You’re a nut, you know that?”

  “It’s not the worst thing I’ve been called,” he smirked.

  I rested my head on his cold shoulder and sighed. “I’ll be looking forward to that buffet.”

  “You got it, Red.”

  We sat there quietly in companionable silence, and that was how Tristan and Echo found us a couple minutes later after they’d already checked the cemetery multiple times for humans and any other threats—particularly Lucifer-type threats. He had been far too quiet recently. Ever since he captured Tobias two weeks ago, we hadn’t heard a peep from him. No dreams, no hand torments, no surprise visits, nothing. Silence.

  That was the scary part.

  Echo’s bubblegum pink hair had grown out considerably from where it normally brushed the tops of her shoulders. Tonight, it was rolled up into a messy bun atop her head, shining like a cotton candy beacon in the night. She smiled brightly as they approached and I knew then, everything was okay—for now.

  “Sunrise is in a couple hours,” Tristan said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “We should probably call it a night.”

  “Giving up so soon?”

  I shot up from the bench at the sound of Michael’s voice and saw him walking toward us with a black, granite urn in his hand. My heart hammered in my throat at the welcoming sound of his voice, but the angel looked a little worse for wear. His normally pristine clothes were torn and disheveled, and his curly brown hair and hazel eyes were wild and unkempt.

  “Michael!” I breathed a sigh of relief and then sized him up and down. “Are you okay?”

  He nodded.

  My words tumbled out in a rush. “What took so long? We were worried! You look like …” I cut off mid-tirade as I stared into his intense, mesmerizing eyes, the brown of his irises highlighted honey by the crystalline moonlight shining down upon him, seeming to favor him above all other creatures.

  “Everything is fine, Camila,” he answered smoothly. “I was able to get the heaven’s fire.” He looked over my shoulder and nodded to the others. “We might want to get started soon,” Michael urged insistently.

  I looked over my shoulder and found Tristan frowning before something clicked and he straightened. “Of course. What are we waiting for? Let’s remove that mark.”

  They had obviously shared some sort of silent message and I wished I knew what it was.

  Michael stood before me and the others surrounded me in a tight, protective circle. When the angel opened the urn I was spellbound by the quivering white and blue
flames nestled inside the dark vessel. I’d never seen anything like it before. Though it flickered, it gave off no heat.

  “All you have to do, Camila, is stick your hand inside,” Michael stated. “It will be painful. Excruciating. But you must keep your hand in the urn until the full mark is burned off, or it will just return.” He looked to the vampires who acted as my wards and fierce protectors. “I need each of you to hold her and prevent her from removing her hand. Does everyone understand what they must do?”

  “Yes,” I murmured, hypnotized by the undulating motion of the ethereal flames. I’d lost my fear of fire a while back, since I practically set myself on fire daily now. As a result, I was having a hard time feeling fear at Michael’s warning. That could either be really good, or really bad. Either way, I was determined to go through with this. I had to.

  Michael nodded to the others. “All right, let’s begin.”

  Snapping into position as if moving along with an orchestrated design, Maverick wrapped his arms under my armpits to hold me up, Echo gripped one side of my body, and Tristan held the hand that bore Lucifer’s mark.

  “Ready?” Tristan asked.

  “Ready,” I said confidently, trying not to shiver as we stood in the middle of an empty graveyard about to burn off a tattoo given to me by the devil.

  On the count of three, Tristan dipped my hand into the urn. As soon as my fingertips touched the flames, I tried to jerk back, but Maverick held me locked in place and Tristan pushed my hand further down into the dancing flames.

  I let out a shriek so loud, my ears popped from the force.

  It felt as if each layer of my flesh was being incinerated piece by piece, but a million times more intense. I screamed and fought with all my strength to remove my hand from the urn, my anguished cries echoing into the still night. I couldn’t handle this much pain, I knew I was about to fall over the edge, blackness already creeping into the edges of my vision. Unwanted tears streamed down my face and I heard Maverick’s whispered apologies behind me, the torment ringing in his voice.

  Tristan pushed my arm further down into the urn and my eyes shot open. An instant later, my eyes rolled to the back of my head and I passed out, falling limp in Maverick’s arms.

  “Not so pleasant, is it?”

  My eyes snapped open and I spun around to meet the voice, coming face-to-face with Lucifer. We were back in his maze garden at the mansion. The hedges were green and luscious, reaching high enough into the sky that I couldn’t see beyond them. Black flowers emerged from the hedges and he plucked one, moving to hand it to me, but I took a measured step back. His blue eyes sparkled with mischief as his blond hair glistened in the unearthly moonlight.

  “Why am I here? Why did you call me?” I backed away until I hit a hedge.

  “Why, because I heard your screams,” he said with mock concern. “My black dahlia was hurt. Your cries were like music to my ears.” He grinned teasingly and took a step toward me.

  I scowled. “My pain brings you joy. Of course, you sick bastard.”

  He lifted a shoulder. “What can I say? I’m the Prince of pain. It brings me a profound sense of pleasure,” he smirked. “Although I am saddened by what’s happening. I see my brother has done the unthinkable.”

  I gulped. He was talking about the heaven’s fire that Michael stole. Lucifer thought he’d never be able to do it. I never wanted Michael to do it. But there we were.

  “He’ll have hell to pay,” Lucifer chuckled. “All because of you, Camila. How selfish.”

  “Screw you!” I spat. He was preying on my weaknesses and he knew it. I did feel selfish.

  Lucifer stepped closer until he was only a foot away. He leaned forward, caging me in with his hands on either side of me. Those playful blue eyes scanned my face as I tried my damnedest to blend in with the hedges, but I couldn’t manage to get any further away from him.

  “My dearest Camila,” he whispered against my face. “I could never hurt you, now could I?” He said the words as if he wasn’t sure how true they were. “Once my mark has been removed from your skin, we will no longer be connected. I’ll miss you. I hope you’ll miss me, too. I’ve grown accustomed to your presence.”

  I held my breath and stared at him, wide-eyed with fear. No matter how kind his words sounded, there was nothing good about him.

  “You’ll miss torturing me, you mean,” I muttered.

  He grinned. “I’ll be coming for you, my black dahlia,” he whispered. “I have my weapon, thanks to your friend Tobias … and of course, your heart—”

  I pushed off the hedge and against Lucifer, pushing him back. “You stay the hell away from Michael!” I shouted. “Our deal was—”

  Lucifer grabbed me by my upper arms and slammed me against the hedges, making me wince as the sharp branches poked into my back painfully. “Our bargain is null and void!” His voice boomed in the vast garden, making the leaves rustle. “You are removing my mark, thus negating what you vowed to accomplish for me. My brother is fair game, Camila. I’ll be coming for him and the rest of them. And rest assured, I’ll be coming for you, too.”

  I tensed in his grasp. “Why? You already got what you wanted from me! What else could you possibly want?” I pleaded, hating how petulant and whiny my voice sounded.

  “You’re the ultimate prize. I worked so hard to get you; I deserve the spoils.” He rubbed his nose in the crook of my neck, making me shiver.

  “I’m gonna kill you,” I gritted between my teeth as his nose trailed up until his lips stopped at my ear.

  “I look forward to you trying,” he whispered. “See you later, my sweet black dahlia.” He pressed a kiss on my cheek and when I blinked, I was no longer in the garden.

  I blinked a few times more to make sure I had truly escaped his maze, then registered the agonizing pain in my hand and yanked it back. Michael was there, quickly putting out the fire that still licked across my skin. Once the flames were extinguished, I looked at my hand to see it was finally clear of any markings.

  I sniffled a few times and laughed from the absurdity of it all, along with the fact that I felt a little delirious. Maverick still held me, but I noticed Tristan and Echo had their backs to us and stood in a protective stance. Michael was tense as he stood before me, closing the urn and avoiding my eyes.

  I finally looked around the cemetery and saw we were surrounded.

  There were at least twelve of them in a circle around us, dressed in white and gold robes. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what they were. Their wings sort of gave them away.

  “What’s going on?” I mumbled to no one in particular. I was still weak and needed help to stand. I was drenched in sweat and my vision was blurred.

  Michael turned around to face the angel who stepped forward. “Gavri'el,” he greeted.

  “Brother,” the one called Gavri'el replied as he clasped his hands in front of him. He was golden haired and blue eyed, and he reminded me a lot of Lucifer. “What have you done?”

  “I’m sorry, brother. I only did what must be done. Even if it wasn’t the will of the angelic host.”

  “Judgement must be placed.” Gavri'el pulled a sword with a burnished gold hilt from behind his back and the moonlight glinted off the blade with an almost blinding flash.

  I realized if I didn’t think of a solution quick, something terrible would happen to Michael. I pushed off Maverick and stumbled toward them, stopping between Michael and Gavri'el. “Stop!” I held up a hand to shield my friend as if it would actually prevent the host of angels from doing whatever they wanted.

  “Camila,” Michael gasped. “Don’t …”

  I shook my head to get my bearings together. “You don’t know what’s going on,” I interrupted, a little out of breath. “I just spoke with Lucifer. He has the weapon.”

  “He called you?” Michael asked as he pulled me back gently to face him. “While we were removing the mark?”

  I nodded. “He told me he finished his weapon and will be com
ing for you all. It’s not safe. We shouldn’t be standing here facing off against one another; we should be helping to defeat him together!” I looked over at Gavri'el, who was stone faced.

  “Miyka’el must answer for his transgressions,” the angel said so coldly I shivered. “Heaven’s fire in the mortal realm is forbidden.”

  I furrowed my brows and then stepped a little closer to this Gavri'el guy. “I think you can show a little mercy, just this once.” I shrugged. “I mean, you did leave your brother for decades, maybe even over a century to rot in a cell and be tortured by a sadistic bastard while you were what? Prancing around in the clouds with your angel buddies?” I motioned to the others around us. “I’d say you owe him.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me. “I don’t take orders from a mortal.”

  I smirked. “Good thing I’m immortal.” I burst into flames from head to toe and released my phoenix to soar into the sky, her scarlet flames iridescent against the silvery moonlight. “Now, do we want to have this discussion again?”

  Gavri'el tilted his head, not amused. “I’m not afraid of you, little girl.”

  I snorted. “I’m not trying to invoke fear. I’m just letting you know that if you come after Michael, you’ll have to come through me first, and I’m not easy to put down.”

  “Easy, Octavia,” Tristan muttered behind me.

  I was tired of playing it safe. It was all I’d ever done. I had all this raw energy and power, and it was high time I used it.

  “You seek mercy for Miyka’el?” Gavri'el asked as he stepped closer to me.

  “Yes.” My flames were close enough to lick his robes, but the steely-eyed angel didn’t even flinch.