Page 68 of Roman

That’s where Charlotte gets her heart from.As memories of his friend flooded him, the connection and similarities were too many to ignore.Charlotte was all Arella.All heart and soul, just like her beautiful mother.She had nothing of the evil, vile filth that was her father.

“I’m going to rip his fucking heart out.”Lucian’s roar ripped Roman from his thoughts.

Phoenix was trying to talk him down.Lucian’s eyes were glowing a luminous green, the beast looking out, his teeth changing to long fangs as his rage started taking over.

“Lucian, calm down, man.We don’t have time for this.”Phoenix was trying to push him back down into his seat so he didn’t storm out of the room.

“I’m going to Hell, Phoenix!Do you fucking hear me?”Lucian screamed, shoving Phoenix with so much force he flew back, landing on Ariel’s lap.The chair flipped over, and both of them rolled across the floor.Lucian rose out of his seat.“I’m going to Hell, and I’m going to sever that fucking monster’s head from his body,” he roared, but it wasn’t his voice.It was the beast’s guttural, deep growl as Lucian began to lose control.

Roman jumped over the table, landing in front of Lucian just as Maalik appeared out of thin air, placing a hand on Lucian’s chest.

“Be calm, brother.We will avenge Arella in due time.But first, we must save her daughter,” Maalik spoke, trying to get through to him.

“Lucian, I need you to pull yourself together,” Roman said calmly.

Lucian whipped his head around to face him, his breathing hoarse, teeth still bared, his glowing green eyes filled with pain as Lucian stared at Roman.

“I need your help.Do you hear me?”

Never had he asked any of them for help.He’d never felt he had the right to after what had happened in the heavens.He could feel the others watching him, everyone in the room realizing exactly what Charlotte meant to him, knowing the significance of the words he had just spoken to Lucian.

Lucian continued staring at Roman, his breathing returning to normal, his fangs slowly receding.His eyes never wavered.Roman could almost see the beast within him, looking back through the eerie green glow.

“He can’t live after what he’s done,” Lucian said, his jaw clenched.

Roman could hear the torment in his voice.“He won’t, Lucian.Once we save Charlotte, I swear to you, we will kill him.He will pay for what he has done,” Roman promised.

There was no stopping them all now.From this moment, he knew they would all tear the world apart to find a way to kill him.Lucifer was a dead man walking, and the confines of Hell wouldn’t be able to save him from their wrath.

Lucian’s eyes slowly returned to their normal blue as he calmed himself.Phoenix had helped Ariel up and was righting the chair so she could sit back down.

“I have questions.”It was Sabriel’s voice from the other side of the room.

“Me too,” Ramiel added, his arms crossed over his chest, leaning back in his chair like a disappointed father watching his kids act out.

“What do you need to know?”Ariel asked as Roman returned to his seat.

Sabriel tilted her head to the side in thought, her silver-blonde hair shining in the light.Phoenix and Lucian always liked to joke she was an ice queen.The way she was always so calm, and they could rarely tell what she was thinking.The fact that with a mere touch, she could feel people’s emotions if she chose always made Roman wonder if that was why she always had her own wall up, guarding herself.A stark contrast to the carefree, fun-loving angel she had been back before the fall.Back before she’d landed in hell and whatever horrors had occurred down there had changed her.She’d had dark raven black hair before she’d climbed out of one of the gates to hell dragging a beaten blood splattered Marius with her, the same raven black hair as her beautiful twin sister Seline.But only Sabriel had managed to crawl her way out.None of them knew what fate had befallen Seline down in hell along with so many other of their brethren

“How has Charlotte remained hidden?Were you not in and out of her life as she grew?”

Ramiel leaned forward, his muscular arms still folded.“And where is Arella now?Why has she not come to the safety of us?Why can we not feel her presence?”

Roman’s mind raced with the same questions as well, impatient for her to give them the answers.

“When I found her, I contacted an old friend of mine, a very powerful solitary witch.She owed me a favor.Arella went into labor not long after I found her, and we helped deliver the baby.I was cutting the umbilical cord when the demons attacked.They were there for the baby and to drag Arella back to Hell.I barely made it out.One of the demons, he wasn’t normal.He was so strong I couldn’t defeat him by myself.Arella tried to help, but she was weak, and he flung her across the church.The witch cloaked Charlotte, hiding her before performing one of the most powerful spells I’ve ever felt.I do not know what it was.All I know is she made the demon disappear right before he took my head.After eliminating the other demons, we found that Arella had been hurt.The demons broke her neck and then had been attempting to decapitate her.”Ariel’s voice broke, her face haunted.

No one spoke a word as a tear rolled down her cheek.

She took a deep breath and continued.“The witch enchanted Charlotte with an ancient spell, hiding any angel trace from her.She appeared as a regular human baby.I made sure she hid her.I was terrified Lucifer would send more demons for the baby and Arella.She assured me that the spell she cast would suppress any powers the baby may have from her human parents until it was lifted.These visions she has must be too powerful for the spell to stop.We knew more demons were coming, though.We could both feel their presence flooding the town.The witch told me to take the baby and flee, keep her safe, keep her hidden.I didn’t know if Arella was dead or alive when I left, but she promised to take care of her.That she would keep her hidden by casting a powerful spell that would conceal Arella, hiding her from Lucifer or anyone searching for her.It was the last time I ever saw her.Looking back now and knowing what we know about the witches and their prophecy, she had to have known Charlotte was the child the prophecy spoke of.The fear in the witch’s face when she had seen Arella pregnant all makes sense now.”

Ariel slowly looked around at each of them.The anguish in her eyes was too much to bear.

“Charlotte was hidden in a convent.I stayed away.I was too scared to ever see her, in case I was followed and someone uncovered her secret.The other day, I was stunned when Charlotte walked into this room.It was like my sister was sitting across from me; I couldn’t breathe.I thought it had to be a coincidence that she looked like Arella, but I had to be certain.So, I left and contacted my friends in Greece, asking them to check on the convent and ensure that everyone was okay.”She looked over at Roman.“Only one remained.While we were in Greece, Turel went there and slaughtered them like cattle, demanding to know where the child was.None of them would answer him, so he tortured and killed them all.The older women had hidden a young nun in training in the floorboards under the altar.He had no idea she was there.”

“That doesn’t answer why Charlotte is here.Why was she not at the convent?”Sabriel asked with a frown.

“My contact said about fifteen years ago, someone came to the small town near where the convent was, asking questions about a baby.From the description, it sounded like it might have been Tora.The nuns panicked, and one of them took Charlotte and came here to America.They lost contact with the lady five or six years ago.”

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