Dark Phoenix (From the Ashes Trilogy Book 3) Page 2

  “We cannot kill Lucifer.” I was going to interrupt, but he held up a finger to stop me. “It is not because we don’t want to, it is because Lucifer is the Prince of hell and must remain so. Our only option is to send him back to hell … permanently.”

  I didn’t give a damn about sending him to time-out; I wanted to kill Lucifer for everything he’d done, but most importantly for the deaths of my family. He deserved death and so much more.

  “Brother,” Michael whispered behind me. “What are you thinking?”

  Gavri'el’s eyes flickered from me to Michael. “She wants mercy for you, so you shall have it. If she can send Lucifer back to hell and banish this threat to our kind, it will make this … indiscretion of yours worth it.”

  “That’s too dangerous, Gavri'el.” Michael stepped forward to stand beside me. “I won’t allow it!”

  “I’ll do it,” I said, diminishing my flames. “What do I have to do to send him back?”

  Gavri'el gave me a small smirk. “There’s a knife called the Morningstar. Plunge it into his heart and it’ll send him back to hell.”

  “That knife hasn’t been seen in centuries!” Michael shouted. “It’s a fool’s errand!”

  Tristan came to my other side. “You don’t have to do this, Octavia. Think this through first,” he implored, glaring at the angels.

  But I did have to do this. I owed Michael. He’d saved my life multiple times now. I couldn’t turn my back on him. I had to do this for him, but for me, too. Lucifer had already promised he would be coming for me soon. I didn’t want to live the rest of my very long life peering over my shoulder, waiting for the devil to snatch me up. If this knife was the way to get rid of Lucifer, I had to take the chance. No matter how farfetched it may be.

  I looked around at Maverick and Echo who wore matching looks of concern, then at Michael who was urging me with his eyes not to make this deal. I seemed to always make deals with celestial beings that he didn’t want me to make.

  “My decision is made.” I turned back to Gavri'el. “I will find the Morningstar knife and send Lucifer back to hell. In exchange, you will show mercy to Michael and forgive him for what he’s done. If I succeed, there will be no consequences for his actions.”

  Gavri'el grinned at my specific wording. “You have yourself a deal, phoenix.” He looked at the other angels and nodded. With that motion, the others unfurled their wings and took to the sky, buffeting our faces with a roaring gust of wind. Gavri'el stepped toward me. “You have a difficult journey ahead of you. May the angels be with you.” With an enigmatic smile, he ascended to the sky and left the rest of us behind.

  2

  We returned to Tristan’s penthouse and I swept my eyes over the place I considered as close to home as I was going to get any time soon. The living room was an open, airy space that greeted you upon entering, and just beyond was the dining room and the kitchen. Off to the right was the hallway that led to the bedrooms and bathrooms.

  Echo headed straight to the kitchen to get some blood bags, but Maverick stayed riveted to my side as we all waited for Michael’s reaction. His entire body trembled with the force of his silent anger.

  “Just say what you want to say, Michael,” Tristan prodded him with a sigh.

  Michael ran an agitated hand through his curls. “I was ready to fall,” he whispered, barely containing his fury, though it leaked out around the edges of his words.

  “Well, I wasn’t,” I retorted. “You don’t deserve it. After all you’ve been through and all you’ve done, you deserve better.”

  “It’s not your decision to make, Camila!” he shouted. “Now you’ve made another deal you won’t be able to accomplish!”

  “And how do you know that?” I quirked a brow.

  His hazel eyes narrowed. “The Morningstar knife hasn’t been seen in centuries. Some say it doesn’t even exist anymore. You don’t know the first thing about where to start!” he said, exhausted.

  Well, that could be a problem. I bit my lip and contemplated Michael’s words. Sure, the quest sounded impossible, but I just couldn’t believe someone could truly be immortal. We all had a weakness, and surely Lucifer had his. I just needed to find it. No one was invincible.

  I scrubbed my hands over my face, finally feeling the day’s events and wanting nothing more than to lay down. Maverick put his arm around me and pulled me against his side. “We’ll figure this out, Red,” he muttered.

  My eyes had just drifted closed when I heard the front door slam. When I opened my eyes, Michael was gone. He was pissed.

  I leaned into Maverick. “I won’t keep you guys up any longer. It’s almost sunrise,” I said. He kissed me on top of my head.

  “We’ll see you tonight.” Echo gave me a weak smile and I trudged out of the living room and down the hallway to Tristan’s bedroom.

  Once inside, I stripped off my clothes and dropped them in a pile beside Tristan’s king-sized bed before padding over to the bathroom. I turned on the shower valve and adjusted the water temperature until it was toasty and warm. Stepping into the spray, I closed my eyes and thought through the events of the day. I stood under the stream for so long, the water turned cold and I began to shiver. Shaking out of my stupor, I washed and hurried out of the shower.

  I exited the bathroom wrapped in a fluffy white towel to find Tristan sitting on the edge of the bed. His elbows were on his knees and his head was lowered. I’d never seen him look so defeated. Tristan never looked defeated. Something was wrong.

  I went over and stood before him. “Tristan?”

  He lifted his head and those emerald eyes pierced me. A multitude of emotions raced across them so fast, I couldn’t get a read on his feelings.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” He shook his head.

  I stepped closer and cradled his face. “That look is not nothing,” I chided.

  Tristan blew out a breath and then took my hand that was on his face. A hesitant smile swept across his anguished features. “What if we left? Grabbed the essentials and took off? We could go where no one could find us. Not Lucifer or the angels. You’d be safe, Octavia.”

  I bit my lip. I knew he was worried, but running wasn’t the answer. If we did that, we’d be running for an eternity. For supernatural beings like us, eternity was a long time. This had to end.

  I placed my forehead against his and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and inhaling his scent. “We can’t, Tristan.”

  “Why not?” He said against my lips.

  “Running is not the answer … I can do this alone if you don’t want to—”

  “It’s not me I’m worried about!” He jumped up from the bed and pushed me back a few steps. “I can’t …” He cut himself off and looked away, his face awash with despair.

  “You can’t what, Tristan?”

  Before I could register what was happening, he reached for me and grabbed me behind my neck, pulling me toward him until our lips crashed into one another. His full lips were so soft as they pressed insistently against mine. My eyes were squeezed shut and then he coaxed my lips open with gentle nibbles. I was lost in him as he cradled my face with both his hands and held me like he was afraid I was going to be taken away from him at any moment. His kiss was filled with pent-up longing, urgent and completely intoxicating. I’d never felt this kind of emotion coming from Tristan. He was usually so reserved and detached. I clutched the front of his shirt to hold myself up because if I didn’t, I would surely fall.

  We pulled away, gasping for air, both of us wide eyed like we couldn’t believe what just happened.

  My relationship with Tristan had always been complicated. We didn’t like each other at first. Truthfully, he was sort of an asshole. If I was being honest with myself, I’d admit to being one, too. But circumstances brought us closer together … maybe too close. Echo warned me about getting involved with Tristan and there I was, breaking all the rules. Not that there were any. He wasn’t off limits and neither was I, but with all the other bullshit going on, it was better to keep things between us platonic.

  Wasn’t it?

  I looked down at myself and realized I was still wrapped in only a towel. If I could blush, I would be completely red. Now the nights we’d slept in the same bed were starting to feel more scandalous than they were.

  “Octavia—”

  “I need to get dressed,” I interrupted, stumbling to the closet and away from him. I hid in the closet for some time after I dressed in pajama shorts and a t-shirt. My frazzled nerves were on overdrive and I didn’t want to discuss what just happened. I didn’t want to be an adult about it. I just wanted to pretend it didn’t happen.

  When I heard the shower in the bathroom start to run, I poked my head out of the closet and crept into the bedroom. I hurried to my side of the bed and crawled in under the blankets, facing the wall and giving him my back.

  Deny and avoid. That was the plan. It would all work out … right?

  When I woke up the next morning, both Tristan and I were practically falling off the edges of the bed trying to stay as far away from each other as possible, while still lying in the same bed. Even in our sleep we were avoiding one another.

  Denial and avoidance wasn’t going to work. It would just make things even more awkward, which was saying a lot because this was already awkward as hell.

  I sat up on the bed and pulled my knees to my chest as I waited for Tristan to wake up. I didn’t have to wait long. He probably felt me staring at him.

  Tristan turned his head, squinting from sleep, and ran a hand through his tousled hair. “Everything okay?” he mumbled.

  “We should talk,” I said, breaking the ice. “About last night.”

  His green eyes opened wider and he was suddenly alert an
d awake. He rolled over onto his back and sat up. Tristan’s impeccably smooth, marbled chest was shirtless, which did even more to rattle my already shaky composure. He wore pajama pants slung low on his hips and the talisman was around his neck, a russet necklace with a ruby pendant that allowed him to walk in the sunlight.

  “I figured you didn’t want to discuss what happened since you went to bed last night without saying a peep,” he snorted as he leaned against the headboard.

  I swallowed. “Well, you sort of took me by surprise,” I mumbled.

  “Did I really?” He looked over at me with a slightly bemused expression.

  I peered at him and took a moment to really think about it. Was this a long time coming? Yeah, probably. If so, why was I overthinking it?

  “What are you scared of, Octavia?”

  “Everything,” I whispered without hesitation. Nowadays, everything frightened me. “But I’m not afraid of you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” I clarified. “I just don’t want to ruin what we have.”

  He nodded, understanding my train of thought. Tristan, Maverick, and Echo were all I had left in this world. I couldn’t lose them. If I started something with Tristan and it didn’t work out, that could mess it all up.

  “Let’s take it slow,” he said, reaching for my hand across the bed. “Believe it or not, I can’t lose you, either.”

  We sat in companionable silence for a while, holding hands, before we decided to leave the bedroom. Slow was good. I could do slow. Because right now, I had too much on my plate to worry about a blossoming romance with an insanely attractive and kind vampire. I couldn’t add more to my already shaky house of cards.

  Tristan and I had breakfast and then took turns showering and getting dressed before heading out. We decided while Echo and Maverick were down during the sun, we may as well start doing some research of our own on the Morningstar knife.

  Our first stop was Killian. Since his pack revered their history and stories, they might be a good resource to tap into.

  When we arrived on pack land, we drove down the winding trail that led to the clearing in the woods, approaching several pack members who were already there, hanging out. When they saw us, particularly Tristan, everyone went on high alert. It wasn’t every day a vampire came onto their property, especially uninvited.

  We exited the SUV and walked toward Gideon, the pack’s third-in-command who happened to be one of the ones in the clearing.

  “Firecracker!” His eyes ping-ponged between me and Tristan, obviously confused about our unannounced arrival. “What are you doing here?” Even though all the shifters knew what happened with Tobias and that his fate wasn’t my fault, I hadn’t been invited back on pack land since it all went down.

  “Hey, Gideon, how are you?” I asked warmly as I stopped before him, my hands in my back pockets as I tried to appear as unassuming as possible.

  He frowned. “I’m well … Can I help you with something?”

  Tristan stepped closer. “We would like to see Killian,” he clipped out, his tone more demanding then requesting.

  Gideon tensed as he looked at Tristan. “My Alpha is unavailable,” he answered tightly. “You seem to have wasted a trip.”

  “Please,” I pleaded, trying to step between them to avoid the obvious escalation. Shifters and vampires didn’t see eye-to-eye, even though they’d managed to work together to rescue me from Lucifer’s mansion when he held me captive. Why couldn’t they lean on that partnership all the time?

  Gideon’s gaze trailed over to me and he deflated a bit. “I’m sorry, Firecracker, but Killian isn’t here.”

  “When will he be back?” I asked urgently.

  “I can’t answer that.” His eyes flicked over to Tristan momentarily before landing back on me. “What do you need?”

  I scanned the clearing, not wanting to discuss our particular situation in front of everyone. When Gideon caught on to my hesitation, he whistled and told everyone to head back. Once the clearing was empty of pack members, he waited for me to speak.

  “I need to find an item. It’s been lost for some time now, but I thought the pack may have some information on it since you keep such detailed histories,” I started.

  He raised a brow. “What item are you looking for?”

  “The Morningstar knife,” I said, never breaking eye contact.

  Gideon blew out a breath. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard of it, but I know someone who might.” He eyed me for a moment, contemplating whether to tell me or not. “You’re not going to like it,” he grimaced.

  My brows furrowed. “Who?”

  “Jude,” he replied with a wince. “She knows more about our history than anyone in the pack.”

  My face fell. Jude was the pack’s beta—Killian’s second-in-command—who for some reason wasn’t a big fan of mine. Asking her for a favor seemed like a bad idea, and not one she would grant. She reluctantly helped when we went searching for Tobias, but that was under Killian’s orders. Since he wasn’t there, it meant she was in charge. It would be well within her rights to turn me away.

  “Is there anyone else?”

  Gideon shook his head. “She’s your best shot.”

  I looked to Tristan and he shrugged as if to say What do we have to lose?

  What was the worst that could happen? She’d just tell me no.

  “Can you arrange an audience with Jude?” I asked Gideon respectfully.

  He nodded. “I’ll give you a call and let you know what she says.”

  “Thank you, Gideon.”

  Our business concluded, we left pack land with a speck of hope and a possible chance at finding a starting point for the Morningstar knife.

  3

  The moment nighttime dropped like a curtain across the horizon, Tristan and Maverick left in a hurry, muttering something about having to deal with an issue in the vampire clan. Sometimes I forgot Tristan was their leader. It reminded me how self-centered I was at times. They’d been so wrapped up in my life and problems, they hadn’t been dealing with their own.

  In a pair of leather leggings and a crop top, her fuchsia hair in a messy bun atop her head, Echo leaned against the doorway of Tristan’s bedroom, sucking on a blood bag. “What’s going on?” she asked, staring at me with a raised brow.

  I was laying in the middle of the bed staring at the ceiling. “Nothing,” I muttered.

  “Oh, no.” She shook her head, pushing off the frame and walking toward me. “You’re one pint of ice cream away from a spiraling depression. Is this about the knife?”

  I sighed. “It’s about Tristan,” I confessed.

  Echo jerked to a stop. “You didn’t …” she muttered.

  I frowned. “Didn’t what?”

  “You guys slept together?” she gasped.

  I sat up from the bed quickly. “What? No! We kissed. Just kissed. Once.”

  Her shoulders relaxed a fraction, but I could tell she was still wound tight. “Octavia, I told you to be careful.”

  I exhaled. “I know, Echo, but this wasn’t my fault … technically. He kissed me and it took me off guard,” I began, then looked away guiltily. “But I kissed him back.”

  We stared at one another and let the implication of the kiss settle. I knew Echo wouldn’t be mad at me, but she was obviously disappointed. If things ended badly – which was a huge possibility – it would mess up the dynamic of our tightly-knit group, which was the point I made to Tristan.

  Echo sighed. “Well, have you two talked about it?” She came over and sat at the edge of the bed.

  “He said we could take it slow.” I played with the frayed edge of the comforter and groaned. “This wasn’t supposed to happen!” I flung myself back on the bed and sighed dramatically.

  She chuckled. “It’s never supposed to happen, it just does, often when you least expect it. The question you need to ask yourself is whether Tristan is worth it. You’re both immortal, and that means he’s not looking for a fling, he’s in it for the long haul. Is that something you want?”

  I tensed. Did I want that? How did it get so serious all of a sudden? We were supposed to take it slow. I lifted my head and fixed her with an incredulous look. “Slow. Remember?”