MIDNIGHT DIVINE (The Helio Trilogy Book 1) (18 page)

I walk across the cold
tiles into the
open
shower and adjust the water temperature to hot
before turning it on. I let the water soak into my hair as I run my hands from
my face over my head and to my neck. The water taps against the brown marble
tile at my feet with sounds of a steady rain fall, and the steam begins to fill
the room. My eyes pass over the door to the bedroom, and I wonder what Jack's doing
while he waits for me. I lather shampoo through my hair and rinse it out,
following
it
with my conditioner. Picking up my razor to
shave my legs, I find my mind drifting back to Jack.
Jack. I wonder if he
feels as strongly about me as I do about him. Does the discovery of who my
mother is affect the way he feels about me? Jack, I need you. Don’t leave me. I
can’t do this without you.

The bathroom door creaks
open but no one comes in. Jack calls from the other side of the door, “Ivy? Are
you ok?”

I can’t respond. All of a
sudden, I'm overpowered with want for him.
I want him to come in. Do I
really want him to come in?
I'm confused, but my need for him disables
every other instinct.

“Ivy?”

“Yeah,” my voice cracks.

“Are you ok?”

Um….

“I’m coming in.” He steps
inside with his hands over his eyes, “You've been in here for a while. I didn’t
know if something was wrong. Are you ok? I know this is a lot of shit to be
happening all at once, I just... Will you talk to me? I don’t want to intrude, but
I need to know you’re ok.”

And like that, my world
melts away. There's only Jack. “Jack.” My body gravitates to him until I'm a
breath away. Jack’s breath hitches. I reach up and pull his hands away from his
eyes.

His gaze turns dark and
full of want. “Ivy,” he whispers and draws his hands down my arms. His lips
crush into mine, and his grip is strong on my biceps. I stagger backwards as he
pushes us forward to lead me back into the shower. The water streams over his
blonde hair and down the intense planes of his face. I run my fingers along his
cheekbone. He leans his forehead on mine, “
We should be careful
.”

“When have you ever known
me to be car
e
ful? ” Leaning against the wall, his hands
spread against the tile on either side of my face. Fully understanding he's in
the shower with me, I strip off his shirt, revealing his tight, defined torso.
The water falls in rivers across the hard ridges of muscle
s
forming
his abs. His eyes bore into mine as I run my hands up
the muscles of his flexed back. Watching his gaze go from dazed to hungry, his
want for me pours over my soul and mixes with my own needs. I comprehend I'm
feeling his emotions through our touch again.

“You’re so beautiful, Ivy,”
he whispers to me. Jack holds me tight against the wall. His mouth fits over
mine with a brutal, uncivilized kiss as he grips my hips. A surge of energy
courses through every nerve in my body. My world tilts on its axis. It's been a
long time since I've been with someone, and it's never felt this way
—
Intense. Raw. All consuming. The world drops away from
us as we finally give in to the desire between us.

gh

In the middle of the night,
Jack holds me close to him between the cool sheets of my bed. “I love you, Ivy.
I'll never let anything happen to you. I’m here.”

“Jack,” I caress his cheek
and lock eyes with him. “I love you.” He smiles and turns his head to kiss my
palm. Desire crashes over me again in a brutal wave, pulling me under the
surface. Jack's all I need. He ignites a fire in my soul I know will brand me
forever.

“Ivy?”

“Hmm?”

“You were in the shower for
forty minutes before I came in. Are you sure you're ok?”

I think about what I was
doing before he entered the bathroom with me. “I was just thinking."

"What about?"

"I was thinking about
you.” I pause. “Talking to you, really. In my head.”

A small grin spreads across
his face, “And what were you telling me?”

My cheeks flush with
embarrassment, “I was wondering if you felt the same way about me as I do about
you. And I hoped my parentage wouldn’t affect how you feel about me. Then, I
prayed you would never leave me, because I know I won’t be able to do this
without you.”

Jack brushes a wisp of hair
from my face, “I don’t think I could ever explain in words the intensity of
love I feel for you. I don’t care where you come from. You’ll always be you.
You’ll always have my heart. I would never willingly leave you, Ivy. I love
you.”

“I love you too, Jack. I
know it seems impossible because we’ve only known each other for a short time,
but I've never felt this intense towards anyone. And I know how much you love
me. I can feel it when you touch me. I don’t think we ever had a chance at
being just friends. It feels as if you're part of my destiny. A part of me I'll
never let go. I'll always be yours, Jack.”

“I think you’
re
right, Sunshine. It does feel like we're meant to be
together.” Jack kisses my forehead. “You are mine, and I am yours.”

I curl my body against his,
feeling the powerful beat of his heart as his fingers trace along my spine with
tingling gentleness.

I awake in the darkness of
my bedroom, wrapped in Jack’s embrace. My heart pounds from nightmares of
Beleth. I slip out from under the covers and try not to wake Jack. Sliding on
my robe and sneaking out to the terrace, I light a cigarette to calm my nerves
as I lean over the balcony. The moon is full and bright, kissing my face with
its glow. I still feel a little off kilter from Jack’s confession of love for
me. I find it odd I feel the same way about him because it happened faster than
a spreading wildfire. I’ve never felt this strong about anyone—not even Gideon.
I wonder if this is what happens when you find ‘the one’ you're meant to be
with for the rest of your life. And the immensity
that
my life will be, now
that I'll be immortally young, sends me for a loop. The love I contain in this
moment leaves butterflies in my stomach and a grin on my face. I want to live
in this moment for the eternity that will be mine. I take in a deep breath of
air through my nose expecting the crisp coolness of the night to fill my lungs.
Instead, I'm met with the scent of burning sewage. It makes me want to wretch.

“Hello there, young Lilim,”
a deep voice purrs from behind me. All contentment leaves me, and my face falls
in irritation. I recognize his scent and his deep voice. I decide not to give
him the satisfaction of turning around to face him.

“Hello, Beleth.”

“You reek of the warrior in
your bed.” His voice is deep and menacing, sending tremors through my body
which I refuse to show.

“And you reek of a foul
stench that burns my lungs like acid. Do you hear me complaining?” I take
another drag of my cigarette.

Beleth growls and steps
close to my backside. I feel the heat of his body radiating from behind me. His
breath sweeps over my ear, “I do apologize, Lilim. It has been a long time
since I have been to the surface. I have forgotten how pungent the smell can
be.” His fingertips graze down my arm, causing my robe to slide off of my
shoulder. His touch throws me off guard, but I still refuse to show him any
weakness.

“Jack will wake up soon.
You might want to be gone when he does.”

“Your warrior will sleep. I
have made sure of that. You on the other hand,
will
be gone when he
awakens.”

I turn on him with ferocious
assertiveness, taking in the red fire in his eyes with defiance. He smirks with
a slight twitch of his mouth. His chest is bare, and his pitch black wings are
spread wide behind him. His black suit pants are secured at his waist by a
leather belt with a long blade sheathed on his hip. “If you touch him, I’ll end
you. I promise you.”

I take him by surprise with
my threat, but he doesn’t move. Instead, he studies my face, which is close to
his own, with a slow tilt of his head. “You are threatening me?”

“Did I fucking stutter?” I
begin to shake with raw emotion.

“Settle down, sweet Lilim.
You misunderstand,” Beleth coos, trying to make me relax. “Your destiny is not
here with him. You are fated for something more. It will make you stronger and
more advance than any angel before you. It is your noble birthright. Do you not
want to live without bearing fear or pain? To have the power to defeat any
enemy you may come across?”

I grit my teeth, “This is
my
life.
I
get to choose what I do with it.”

“That is where you are
wrong. You are predestined. You do not get to choose. You do not belong to that
warrior, Lilim,” he testifies with calm tranquility.

“Stop calling me that. My
name's Ivy. And who do you think I belong to, Beleth?”

“Yes… Ivy… Like an exquisite
poison which sneaks up on you without warning. But that will change once I tame
you.”

I step back and flick my
cigarette in his face, “Fuck you!”

He spins me around and
squeezes my arms down to my sides. I’m not surprised by his strength, but the
pain I expect from the force of his hands never comes. My teeth grind together,
the furry inside me builds, and my skin grows hot in anger. I jerk to get away
from him and stomp his foot, but he doesn’t budge. “That is it, little one. Let
the rage consume you. You will need it when you release your inner demon upon
the world.” I struggle against him with more force. “As for the warrior in
which you
do
belong too… That would be me,” he growls.

I try to scream, hoping
Jack will wake up and save me. Beleth covers my nose and mouth with his
large
hand, and vaults the balcony into the sky with me
wrapped in his arms. I thrash against his grasp as we ascend higher into the
sky. “Stop fighting me, Lilim. You do not want me to drop you, do you?” He
spins me into his arms and cradles me against his chest.

“Fuck you!” I scream and
claw at his face. I don’t know how high up we are, but I figure it won’t
matter. I would rather die fighting than be taken by him. I grasp the sides of
his temples with both hands and push my thumbs as hard as I can into his eye
sockets. He screeches and releases me to cover his eyes. In slow motion, I fall
backwards as I watch him struggle to see again
through the blood dripping from his eyes
. My robe and my hair cascade around me as I fall. His
eyes burn bright with fire and rage. I flip him off with both hands, biting my
bottom lip so hard it bleeds. He dives for me, but I know I’m going to hit the
ground before he can reach me.

The hard ground knocks the
wind out of my lungs as the bones in my body splinter against sharp rocks. The
sky's filled with stars or maybe they’re behind my eyes from my body colliding
with the ground. My arm's twisted in an unnatural position, and my leg's turned
at an awkward angle under my back. I feel warm blood fill my throat and spill
out of the corner of my mouth. Beleth lands hard on the ground beside me,
causing the earth to quiver with thunder. My eyes flutter shut, and I listen to
my heartbeat fade. The world disappears.

Agonizing fire shoots through
my entire body. I’m surrounded by darkness and earth shattering screams. I know
I’ve died and gone to Hell.
The
pain subsides for an
instant. All is quiet. Then the torture arises again with the screams of pure
anguish and suffering echoing around me. I can’t take it and let the darkness
consume me again.

My mind stirs as my eyelids
quiver open. Reality slams me in the chest.
I’m not dead. Beleth kidnapped
me again. And he dropped me! I was dead! Wasn’t I? No. He picked me off the
ground. Shit. Jack. He’s got to be freaking out.
I try to lift my head and
it starts throbbing. I roll to my side and take in the red silk sheets covering
my naked body.
Where are my clothes?
I look around the
dim
room and coil the sheet around my body from the
enormous bed as I stand. The room spins, and my heartbeat speeds up.
Where
am I?
A gothic fireplace sits silently on the far wall, candlelight
illuminating the chamber. I’m surprised at the elegance and masculinity of the
space. The tapestries are dark, there's an expansive writing desk, and the
wooden door is carved in graceful Celtic knots.

A silent black cloud of
smoke emanates next to the cold hearth—moving as ink drops would through
water—and forms into Beleth. He's wearing another exquisite dark suit. The
beautiful, masculine contours of his face are striking, but looks can be
deceiving. “You’re awake. Good,” his tone's light, and his mood confuses me.

“Where's my robe?” I scowl
at him.

“It was coated with your
blood. I had to remove it to re-break your arm and leg into their rightful places,
and I cleaned you up. I have been waiting for you to regain consciousness.”

Great. He’s seen me naked.
“How long was I out?”

“A few days.”

“A few days!” I echo.
“Where am I?”

“Within a hidden cavern
where no one will be able to find you. Do not attempt to escape. You will not
be leaving here. My legion guards every inch of this fortress.”

“Why didn’t you let me
die?”

“I do not wish to kill you,
young Lilim. Only break you.” He steps forward, and I counter his advance by
stepping back.

I take gulping deep breaths
of cold air and try to clear my head. “What do you mean?”

“Your insolence will not be
tolerated. Until you learn to submit to me, you will stay within these
confines,” he threatens with eerie calm.

I would rather die!
“I need clothes.”

He walks to a dresser
behind me and opens a drawer, “Everything you need is here.”

I step to the open drawer.
These
are my clothes!
I glance up at him beside me, and the fire in his red eyes
smolder to a gentler illumination. They remain red, but lack the flames behind
his irises. “How did you get these?”

“I recovered them while you
were mending.” He moves my hair away from chest to reveal my neck, his
fingertips grazing my collarbone in the process. Pure vile and heinous
malevolence surges into me with his touch.

I refuse to show him fear.
I grab his wrist as tight as I can without flinching. He doesn’t need to know
what abilities I have. “Don’t touch me.”

His eyes flare, “Or what,
little Lilim?”

“Do you really want to find
out?”
Man! I'm full of myself. Where's this coming from? It’s going to get
me killed.

“You are quite brave,
little one.” He jerks his wrist from my grasp. “I vow to not touch you again
without your permission. Get dressed.”

It's a small concession,
but I'll take anything I can get from the ruthless Duke. It doesn't seem he'll
be leaving me to get dressed, but I don’t want him seeing me naked again. I
hold the sheet tight around my body with one hand and pull out everything I
need from the dresser: Jeans, a tank top, a sports bra, and a pair of panties.
Placing everything on the bed, I use the sheet to keep myself concealed as I
dress myself. “Shoes?”

“You will not need them.”

I stand up, waiting for his
next move. His eyes flare as he spins his index fingers in opposite circles in
front of him. Heavy iron shackles materialize, connecting my wrists. “What the
hell is this!” I shout.

He points his index fingers
down and spins them in opposite circles
, and s
hackles appear on my
ankles, “This… is just the beginning.” Without warning, my face is obstructed
with a dark bag. I can’t see anything. “Take her down,” I hear Beleth command
another presence in the room. I'm jerked from the chains at my wrists and
pulled forward. Trying my best to fight against the pull, I wrangle and twist
to no avail. I jump and attempt to plant my two restrained feet into whoever's
pulling me, but end up flat on my back. I'm jerked
by the wrists
again and spun backwards. My jailer drags me over the
cold floor, kicking and screaming. I hit the wall on occasional turns and try
to kick off of it. It's useless. I don’t remember how long or far I'm dragged
until I feel the sharp edges of stairs in my back.

After coming to a stop, I'm
hauled to my feet and shoved forward while the bag over my head is tugged away.
I fall and slide forward on my hands and knees. Rolling onto my back, I hear
iron slam into iron. I sit up to only see the large b
rown
wings of the being who locked me into the cell.
Growling, my body crashes into the rot iron bars as I shake them as hard as I
can.

It becomes obvious they're
going to leave me here. I pace the empty cell which is no bigger than a ten by
ten square with wet stone walls and floors. After hours of pacing, I collapse
against the far cold stone wall. I pull my knees to my chest and wrap my arms
around my legs in defeat.

Beleth never comes. I feel
detached and sadness stabs me in the chest.
I’m never getting out of here. I
need to make a plan. What does he want from me? Just ‘submit’ to him? It’s got
to be more than that. Jack
,
where are you?
Teetering onto my side, I rest on the ground in the
fetal position and fall asleep. Time is lost to me when I awaken. My mouth is
dry, and I’m dying of thirst. I sit up and return to my previous position
against the wall, my elbows on my knees and my hands in my hair.

I don't know how long I've
been locked up. I could have been in here for five days or maybe two weeks. I
have no idea. My muscles begin to ache and cramp. Only vague shapes surround
me. I lock down on my emotions before I break down in tears. I send up a silent
prayer in hopes of Jack being able to find me soon and try to focus on what I
need to do to get out of this hell hole. The corners of my lips
are cracked and
splitting
from the dryness. I contemplate licking the
dew
off of the walls, but I don’t know if it’s truly
water and decide not to chance it. It’s humid, and I’m sweating as I would by
sitting in a sauna for hours. I start feeling dizzy and in a daze. I can’t
comprehend if I’m hallucinating when I hear Beleth’s voice drift into the dark
cell.

“How are you feeling,
little one? The only way I will release you is if you can prove to me you are
ready to submit. Are you willing?” Beleth coaxes through the bars of the cage.