“No, he’s not okay.” Zayfeer snarled from somewhere on my right. “They’ve turned him! Look at his eyes.”
Turned him into what? Lucifer and his red eyes glared down at me. Anger, determination, and a heavy dose of retribution shone in those unnatural orbs.
Not an ounce of compassion or love. None of the vulnerability I’d seen earlier.
Not good. I struggled to gain my footing, my flight or fight instincts kicking in hard. I glanced at Gabriel as I stood up. “What have you done to him?”
Gabe looked at his feet.
Luc ignored me and spoke to the others. “She is mine.”
He reached out as if to touch my forehead. As big as he was, his hand completely encompassed my head. “I will send her to Heaven.”
Once on Earth, he’d touched me on the forehead and it was lights out. This might have been my purgatory, but this wasn’t my Luc and I wasn’t going to let whatever version of him this was send me anywhere.
I snatched his hand and held it between both of mine, pouring my magic at him. “Luc, it’s me, Amy. Um…” I thought about my angel name. Maybe that would trigger his memory. “Amo. Remember? You don’t want to send me to Heaven. We can’t be together if I’m up there.”
He stared at my hands. Hesitating.
A ripple of power flashed through his body, his muscles undulating and swelling. The tips of his wings flared to life. They spread in a huge arc, red-orange flames shooting from them. His skin grew taut, stretching as his body began to morph.
Oh, boy.
Zayfeer’s voice edged closer. “Way to go, witch.”
The other archangels ran for cover as the dragon burst forth. A beast grew where my lover had been. Bones snapped, skin became scales, hair disappeared.
One minute, he was Luc. The next, he wasn’t.
The shift complete, Luc leaned his elongated, horned head down so we were face to face.
And then he bellowed like the dragon he was.
Hot air licked my face and blew back my hair. I braced, refusing to run.
“Here.” Zayfeer’s sword flew at me. “Slay the dragon, Amo.”
I caught the sword without thought, simply reacting. The handle was cold and alien in my hand, but as my body warmed it, the blade glowed with a faint pink light.
My light. The light of love.
A surge of power ran up my arm and danced with my magic. It felt good. Felt right.
Until I looked in the dragon’s eyes.
The red pupils were dilated, smoke issued from his nose. His body tensed, straining forward. He sniffed me.
“Slay the damn dragon!” Zayfeer yelled.
The red-eyed gaze dropped to the sword, then rose to meet mine.
My heart broke a little. There was no recognition there. No desire or caring.
Only hate.
Luc hated me.
My knees went weak.
No, I told myself. This isn’t really Luc. He’s locked away somewhere deep inside.
And then he lunged.
Two tons of dragon lunged for my throat.
I ran with all my might, forcing my poor human legs to carry me back to the Tree of Knowledge. That tree was my only hope. Get the dragon there and force him to touch it. To remember.
It was the only thing I could think of to bring Luc back to me.
Shouts erupted and I heard a loud swishing noise. The dragon taking flight.
On the way to the Tree, he swooped over me a dozen times. Why he didn’t land or clutch me in his giant claws, I don’t know. I was the mouse; he was the cat toying with me.
My lungs burned and my limbs shook. Still, I pressed on through the burnt forest, carrying Zayfeer’s sword. The pink light grew brighter, illuminating my way.
As I drew close to the Tree of Knowledge, I gripped the hilt like a mad woman. Could I really use it against Luc? Against his beast?
If this plan didn’t work, I might have to.
A shadow passed overhead and fire rained down. Out of breath, I found the Tree and sagged against it, raising the sword to light the forest around me.
Taking a fortifying breath, I called to the night. “I’m here, dragon.”
The ground vibrated. In the distance, a trail of fire emerged, racing in my direction. The souls of the lost angels hovered near me. I secured my back to the Tree and tried to come up with an easy way to get Luc to touch it.
Just touching it wouldn’t be enough. For the Tree to work, I’d have to hold him against it long enough for the memories to surface.
Piece of cake, right?
The dragon emerged from the ruined forest and all logical thought evaporated. He strolled up to me and once again stuck his head in front of my face.
Every puff of his breath released pain and confusion. My magic reached out to him, but he reared back as if it hurt.
He eyed the sword.
I lowered it, then let it fall at my feet. “Do what you will to me, Lucifer.” I sent a wave of comforting magic his way. “I love you more than Heaven or Earth or any god. I will not fight you.”