Page 70 of Redeeming the Angel

Del nodded.“This world is not safe for her now.On Earth she’ll remain undetected until the time comes for her to return.There she will gather allies for a future conflict.We must delay no longer.”

He pulled me forward, and used a transport crystal to teleport us out of the boundaries of Medicia.I hugged his slim waist and pressed my face into his robes, feeling the warmth of his chest against my icy cheek and listening to his heartbeat, slower than a luminite’s, but not by much.

When the scent of beeswax, herbs, and other things that weren’t death reached my nose, I lifted my head and released Del.

“Where are we?”

“My tower,” he answered in a voice that told me he wouldn’t elaborate on where it was.“I’m going to run you a bath, tend to your wounds, and then we have to go.I have clothes for you in the bathroom.”

“Do you have a de-seeding potion?”I never thought I’d ask such a thing, but the thought of bearing Mephistopheles’s offspring horrified me.

“No!”Del roared and his eyes glowed white fire.“Did you hear what I said back there?Youhave tokeep the seedling, nurture it, and let it grow into a baby.”

“But—”

The furious glow dimmed and he took my hands and squeezed them gently, softening his tone.“Listen to me, Kerainne.This child, your daughter, is the key to destroying Mephistopheles for good.She will raise an army against him and she will win.Your land and people may be lost, but think of all the others that could be saved.If you terminate this pregnancy, Aisthanesthai could become as barren as Earth.”

“I don’t know if I can do it,” I stammered as shivers broke out in my body.“What if she turns out evil, like him?”

“She won’t,” he said so confidently that it could only be the truth.“Not withyouas her mother.”

The bath warmed the chill on the outside, but it couldn’t touch the ice that had frozen around my heart.I washed myself in a daze, barely noticing the stings of all my various cuts.When I clambered out of the tub, the cooling water was brown with dirt and blood.I put on the black dress Del had provided—wondering if the color was for my mood or my mage ranking.The scratch of a tag on the back of my neck startled me until I saw the tag in the underwear he’d also left in here.The clothes were from Earth, and so were the shoes, reminding me that I’d be going there soon for several years.

When I finished dressing and emerged, Del—now dressed in black jeans and a t-shirt—put healing salves and bandages on my arms and legs.He then mixed a potion from various materials he had set on the counter.The last ingredient made me blink in astonishment.He bit the tip of one of his long faelin fingers so delicately that it was a shock that he drew blood, which he then dripped into the potion before handing it to me.

Blood magic was forbidden for the faelin.Was that why he was banished from his homeland?

“What’s this?”I asked.

“A healing draft with some painkiller.Don’t worry, it won’t hurt the seedling.”

I drank, tasting the bitterness of opium, some herbs, honey for healing and a bit of sweetness, and magic of a kind that I’d never felt before.It zinged through the roof of my mouth and sent a little electric spark through my body.

Del gave me no time to ask about that magic.He led me outside into a courtyard full of overgrown plants and opened a portal.We stepped through and walked out into a dark, human-made tunnel.I’d been here once before.Unlike Aisthanesthai, Earth’s portals were stationary.I’d discovered how awful that could be when I visited the area in the ’80s, and instead of a beautiful clearing near the lake, I’d stepped into a musty unused tunnel under a courthouse.

“Coeur d’Alene?”My shoulders sank in disappointment.“I’d hoped for somewhere warmer.”

“I’m sorry.”Del pulled out his transport crystal.“It has to be here.Everything begins here.”

He transported us to a light blue Victorian house with a covered porch and handed me a set of keys.“Welcome home, Kerainne.”

Not only did he buy me a house, filled with furniture, the beginnings of a wardrobe in the master bedroom closet, and the cupboards and fridge stocked with food, Del also bought me a car, a darling silver Toyota, and had procured all the Earth documentation I needed.

He handed me a stack of cash and a checkbook.“This should carry you for a few months, but it’s best if you find a job.You’ll need to integrate with society as much as possible.Not only to stay hidden, but also so you’ll have people to help you when I can’t be here.”

“You can’t stay with me?”

He shook his head sadly.“Aside from having other responsibilities, it’s too dangerous.I don’t know if he still keeps track of me.”

Del didn’t need to specify who“he”was.I shuddered at the idea of seeing him again.

He stayed true to his word, sitting by me on the plush couch, watching movies on the big TV.He’d even gotten me cable.

I awoke in my new bedroom, so much smaller than the one in my parents’ palace.It was supposed to be my wedding day.But instead, I was all alone on Earth.My family was gone, my people were gone, my home was gone, and the one who’d done it had impregnated me.

And Lucian—oh, fates, Lucian!How had he reacted when everyone from Medicia had ascended to Luminista and told everyone what happened?And how long would it take him to find me?Did Iwanthim to find me?How would he react when I told him I was pregnant?

This was supposed to be our wedding day.I buried my head in my knees and cried until the down comforter Del had provided was soaked.

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