Page 18 of Roman

Evil-looking monsters, glowing eyes, men with wings.

It’s all real?It can’t be,she thought, thinking she was going crazy.

The man shook his head.“No, not Lucifer, the Archdemon, Azazel.She is to be sent to him,” he said, looking at Charlotte.

“Wh-wh-what the hell are you talking about?”she stuttered, still trembling in fear.She could see a shocked look creep across Roman’s face as he glanced from the demon to her.

It is him.

She found it hard to wrap her mind around the fact that the blood-spattered,maybewinged man with glowing eyes was the hot, sexy man from the club.Never mind the realization that creatures…demonsand the devil,things that were supposed to be made up, things of myths and legends, were real.

“Archdemon?”Roman asked, confused, looking back at the man he held captive.“Tell me about him,” he demanded, shoving the man’s head into the wall.

“Yes, yes… Archdemons, Lucifer’s first creations.They lead us.We answer to them, and they answer to him,” the man whimpered.

“Roman,” came another man’s voice, heavy footsteps making their way to the cell.“You good?”

“I’m fine,” he answered as another large man entered the cell.

The man was a giant.He was shirtless, his dark, tanned, heavily muscled torso was covered in tattoos and splattered with blood.His black hair hung just past his shoulders, blood dripping from the ends.

“Armaros,” Roman said, glancing over to her as if he’d forgotten she’d been hanging there.“Make her sleep.”

The tattooed man gave Roman a quick nod and started walking toward her.Panic rushed through her again.

“Stay away from me,” she snapped as he came closer.“Get away from me!”she screamed at the top of her lungs, trying to find the strength to lift her legs and kick at him, but more pain shot up her arms.“Please,” she whispered.“Don’t hurt me.”

As he stepped in front of her, Charlotte could finally see his face.She stilled, puzzled by the familiar face staring back at her.

“You,” she murmured, shocked.“You’re… real?”

How is this happening?He was the winged man from her dreams.Her guardian angel, as she liked to call him.What the hell is going on?

He paused, giving her a small frown, his head tilting to the side, seeming just as perplexed to see her.

“Armaros?”Roman snapped from behind them.

Armaros continued to stare at her for a moment before quickly looking over to Roman.

“What is she talking about?”he demanded, his eyes no longer red.

Armaros just shrugged his shoulders, turning back to Charlotte.“I’m not going to hurt you, little one,” he told her, his eyes glowing a spellbinding shade of violet.He slowly lifted his hand, gently touching his fingers to her forehead.

The purple glowing light was the last thing she saw as darkness consumed her.

6

Roman sat at the massive round table in the dining room of his home.He stared at the smooth black marble, his eyes chasing the glittering golden veins that wound their way through the stone, cutting through the deep black, creating a beautiful design.As he sat, following the golden pattern, he slowly sipped on his whiskey, the ice cubes gently clinking against the expensive crystal glass.

Around the table sat his fellow fallen angels.They had all showered and cleaned themselves after the demon raid and were now drinking, talking, and eating a mountain of pizza one of them had delivered to the house.

Probably Grigori’s doing,Roman thought, his attention now on the endless amount of pizza spread across the table.

“So, what are we going to do, brother?”Maalik said, sitting himself down in the empty chair to his right.

Roman frowned as he slid an empty glass and the bottle of Macallan over to him.Maalik looked tired, his body tense as he grabbed the bottle and poured himself a glass.Maybe he hadn’t drunk enough blood to replenish his strength from the raid, he wondered, eyeing his brother closely, feeling exhausted himself.

“About what?”he asked with a sigh, glancing out of the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the ridiculously large infinity pool.Beyond the pool was the most spectacular view of the city below.The glow of the lights twinkled against the night sky.

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