Angel of Fire - Chasing Destiny - Book Three ***COMPLETE!!!***

Immortal Temptations

Chapter 25

I didn't have time to wonder whether or not I was making the right decision. Didn't have the luxury of worrying about breaking my promise to save myself for Thomas. And I certainly didn't want to think about how much pain I would end up causing when he found out that I'd chosen Vycandor over him. Because, when it came right down to it, the Angels of War weren't giving me much of a choice.

"Duck!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Vycandor stared at me like I'd lost my marbles. "What?"

"Did I stutter? I said DUCK!"

When he didn't react, I lunged forward and tackled him to the ground. We landed in a sandy heap with me on top just as a giant mass of winged darkness swooped down upon us in synchrony, their massive talons outstretched in an attempt to seize Vycandor again.

The relentless noise from their beating wings was staggering. Somehow it managed to drown out my repeated cries of agony as wave after wave of sharp talons shredded the exposed skin on my back.

Thankfully, this time they came up empty. 

The Angels of War would have to pry Vycandor from my cold, dead hands before I'd give him up.

Slowly raising my head, I watched the creatures fly low across the horizon as if moving in one seamless formation. It didn't take long for them to cover the entire distance of the wide lake before soaring high into the air where they proceeded to circle menacingly - an obvious attempt at guarding us in case we tried to make an escape.

I'd almost forgotten about Chevauna, Chad, and Miguel as they gingerly stood up eyeballing the sky.

I cleared my throat to get their attention. "Do you believe me now? You can't fight these things."

Vycandor nodded in agreement, his deep voice a not so gentle command. "Chaos is right. Go back to the island with the others. You'll be safe there."

What was this island they kept talking about?

"But what about you?" Chevauna insisted lowering her voice, eyes flicking toward me skeptically. "Who's going to watch your back?"

The tension already brewing on the beach steadily increased. I had a feeling she wasn't used to backing down. But, then again, neither was Vycandor. His jaw clenched and I sensed that he was about to lose his carefully guarded patience. Chevauna was seriously testing his limits by questioning his judgement. Especially in front of me. Under normal circumstances I would have sat back, popped some popcorn, and enjoyed the show. But I knew if Vycandor lost his temper now, he might use up what little strength he had left. I didn't have a clue how much energy it was going to take for us to unite our powers. I also knew I couldn't allow him to waste it on arguing, no matter how much satisfaction I'd get from watching him put Chevauna in her place.

Before he had a chance to respond, I cut him off. "Don't worry, I got this." Focusing my attention on Chevauna, I lowered my voice to a warning. "You can either leave voluntarily, or I can make you leave." Without waiting for her reply, I yanked open the door to the truck from my seated position on the other side of the beach, and gave her a mental shove to get her feet moving in the right direction.

That seemed to work.

She continued to back away, never taking her huge chocolate brown eyes off mine. "Fine, we'll go. But know this, Fire-starter. If anything happens to him, you'll have to answer to me." She paused to point at me. "You and I are not finished yet."

I rolled my eyes at the threat. "Yeah, yeah. That's what you keep telling me."

She motioned for Chad and Miguel to get in the truck, before getting in herself and slamming the door. When she drove off, I didn't have to wonder why the Angels of War didn't attack. Like I said, the creatures weren't after them.

They only wanted Vycandor and I.

Or, more specifically, they wanted to keep us apart. As if to prove my theory, reinforcements continually flew in from all directions to join the ranks of the swarming army, until they covered the entire crimson sky from horizon to horizon. Flying so closely together, they literally blocked out the sun – turning day into night.

Vycandor whistled sarcastically. "Judging from what I know about you so far, I'd hate to get on your bad side."

I frowned up at him. "Eventually everyone ends up on my bad side." I started to stand and winced in pain.

"Are you okay?" Ever the gentleman, Vycandor swiftly checked me for injuries, hands skipping nervously over my entire body. After discovering that my back was already mostly healed from the deep gashes caused by the creatures talons, he wrapped me up in a loving embrace which only served to remind me of my disgrace. If we were ever going to get around to uniting our powers, I was going to have to get over feeling like I was cheating on my boyfriend by marrying my soul mate.

"I'm fine," I insisted wearily. "I should be asking you the same question."

Tormented by his closeness, I was once again reminded of that undeniable sense of attraction I'd felt the very first time I laid eyes on him. His otherworldly energy breathed along my skin, leaving me covered in goosebumps. My heart actually skipped a beat or two before it started beating even faster – a side effect of his strange ability to tinker with my pulse, no doubt.

"What do we do now?" he asked, gracefully folding his wings behind his back.

I shrugged. It was obvious neither of us wanted to make the first move. Swallowing hard, I could no longer deny the cravings he awakened in me, nor the knowledge that only I had the power to give him the one thing he needed most; a final end to his reliance on blood for survival.

My blood to be exact.

Despite my repeated resistance, I suddenly found myself wanting to be possessed by him. Not just because it was the fastest way to complete the bond that would ultimately unite our powers, but because it was also the most logical. Without Courtney's guidance, neither one of us had a freaking clue what we were doing.

I froze when he reached out a hand to touch me. Instead of pulling me closer like I expected, he carefully used the tips of his fingers to smooth my bangs out of my face. A familiar burst of cool energy engulfed me, leaving me feeling both exposed and oddly aroused at the same time. As his green eyes searched mine longingly, I glimpsed the depth of his love for me and sensed his obvious hesitation at having to take my life force when what he really wanted...no, scratch that...what he needed was for me to give it to him freely without suffering from my usual regret.

Courtney's words echoed eerily in my mind. "To gain more than you seek, you must be willing to lose everything."

I glanced up at the Angels of War circling overhead like vultures about to descend on their prey. Something told me they were waiting to strike at the very moment we let down our guard and attempted to bond.

It was now or never.

Eyes finally coming to rest on Vycandor, my gaze fell to his fangs that always seemed to lengthen in anticipation. Fresh out of options, I decided the best course of action was to throw caution to the wind and beat the creatures at their own game.

What came next was going to hurt. Like a lot.

Too impatient to wait any longer, my hand shot out, pulling him toward me. He hesitated momentarily, refusing to break eye contact as if trying to memorize every detail of my face.

Hunger won out in the end as he lowered his head the last few inches to claim my neck.