Chapter 25

Chapter

Twenty-Five

S erenity

Forty-eight hours after I’d been rescued, Angelo, Dimitri, and Enzo were hunting my captors. Gage had made the mistake of thinking he could break me, and with a demon like Balthazar backing him, the wolf shifter had gotten bold. Too bold. I knew Angelo wouldn’t rest until he made them pay—my vampire mafia king wasn’t exactly known for his mercy.

Meanwhile, I was stuck at Crescent Manor, feeling more like a prisoner than Angelo’s queen. I leaned back in my chair in the library, trying not to think about the marks Gage had left on my skin. Luigi Bruno, my newly appointed guard, stood near the doorway, his usual stoic expression on his face. He might as well have been a statue for all the conversation he offered. Angelo’s orders were clear—I wasn’t to leave the grounds. Luigi took that directive with unwavering seriousness.

If only Angelo had assigned Enzo or Dimitri instead. They would have talked to me while I pored over these endless books, searching for anything that might help. The whole situation with Louis and Steve consumed my thoughts. Everyone, from Angelo to Balthazar, claimed they were possessed, but Balthazar had also said I was powerful. Maybe, just maybe, Angelo was wrong about my inability to heal them. If there was even a chance I could…

I had been poring through the angel books, especially the ones discussing telepathy. Apparently, I had sent Angelo messages without even realizing it. If I could do that unconsciously, what might I be capable of with actual practice?

I traced my fingers over the ancient text, studying the illuminated manuscript. According to this, angels could purify corrupted areas, create shields of holy energy, banish evil entities, and enhance strength against dark creatures. They could also have visions of truth and sense dark curses. My heart beat a little faster as I read. Angelo and his men hadn’t been able to determine where Gage, Balthazar, and their men had gone, but maybe I could.

Maybe if I concentrated really hard, I’d be able to find Joy as well—the sister I’d chosen, the one person who’d always been there for me. The thought of her being possessed too, her soul trapped while something else pulled her strings, made my stomach turn.

Luigi shifted by the door, and I resisted the urge to sigh. Despite what Angelo thought, I wasn’t some delicate flower that needed constant protection. I’d survived living in the same house with my monstrous stepfather, Freddie. I’d endured being sold at auction like a piece of property. I’d even endured being kidnapped by a demon. And each time, I’d come out stronger.

My fingers tingled whenever they touched the book, as if the mere thought of these powers was awakening something inside me. I understood Angelo wanting to protect me, but I couldn’t just sit here doing nothing. Not while Steve was trapped behind those soulless black eyes, Balthazar pulling his strings like a puppet. And Joy... God, if they’d done the same thing to her, if that demon had taken her as well... The idea of my two closest friends suffering made my chest so tight I could barely breathe. I had to find a way to help them. I had to.

But first, I needed to figure out how to practice without alerting my ever-watchful guard. Angelo had said he didn’t want me practicing my powers unless he was here to supervise, claiming it would attract Balthazar’s attention, even with Crescent Manor’s wards protecting us. But what was the point of playing it safe when the demon already had Steve and possibly Joy, and had proven he could get to any of us?

My gaze drifted to the silver bracelets Luigi kept at his belt—magical bindings that would lock away my powers if I disobeyed. I’d seen his hand hovering near them whenever I got too quiet or still. As if he could sense my desperation building.

The smell of something spicy drifted into the library and my stomach growled. I glanced at my watch. It was nearly three o’clock and I had only had a piece of toast at breakfast.

“ Excusez-moi, monsieur .” Elena’s soft voice drifted into the library.

Luigi growled, “Angelo said…”

“She needs to eat. You don’t want me to tell him that you refused to allow her to eat, do you?”

Luigi turned sideways with a grunt and allowed Elena into the library. She carried a tray with a crock of French onion soup and a loaf of French bread with some butter. There was also a small salad with goat cheese, some cut up apples, and a few olives.

“Elena, that looks wonderful.” I pushed away the book I’d been studying, trying to casually flip away from the page about angelic essence tracking. As I moved to close it, that same tingling sensation I’d been practicing with earlier sparked through my chest.

Elena gasped softly. “ Mon Dieu ! You’re glowing, ma petite !”

I quickly clamped the feeling down, but Luigi was already moving forward, alert. Elena, however, didn’t seem alarmed—if anything, her eyes sparkled with interest.

“No sir, nothing like this onion soup in that terrible place, I can assure you,” I said with a laugh, trying to redirect attention to the food. My heart was pounding, but Elena’s curious look made me wonder just how much she understood about what I was.

Elena smiled and headed toward the door, not before giving me a subtle wink that Luigi didn’t see.

“Is Angelo back yet?”

She sighed and shook her head. “Not yet, chérie .”

Luigi stepped aside to allow Elena to pass, his suspicious gaze lingering on me longer than usual. I focused on the soup, pretending I didn’t notice, but my mind was racing. Elena hadn’t seemed surprised by the glowing—just how much did she know about Angelo’s and my world? More importantly, would she keep my secret?

The soup was long gone, but I couldn’t focus on my book anymore when I returned to my reading. The words about angelic shields kept blurring together, even as they nagged at me. I closed my eyes, pretending to be resting. Power hummed beneath my skin, different from the visions I’d sent Angelo. The book had described divine shields as extensions of grace, like a bubble of pure light. Was that what I was feeling now?

Steve’s possessed face flashed through my mind—those black eyes, that twisted smile that wasn’t his. I had to find a way to save him.

Without considering that Luigi might be watching, I reached for that tingling energy inside me. Light blazed beneath my closed eyelids as I imagined pushing it outward, pictured creating a barrier of pure grace around myself. The air crackled with energy.

“ Santa Maria !” Luigi’s sharp exclamation made my eyes snap open.

A dome of shimmering golden light surrounded me, rippling like sunlight on water. For a moment, triumph surged within me—and then the drain hit. It felt like all my energy was being siphoned away at once. The shield flickered, and a dark presence flashed through my awareness, distant but distinct. Balthazar. He was somewhere north of here?—

The shield collapsed. I slumped forward, my vision going dark at the edges. My hands trembled as I gripped the armrests to keep from sliding out of the chair.

“ Fermatevi !” Luigi had his phone out, frantically dialing. “Angelo, sir, she’s doing something with her powers—there was light everywhere, and she almost passed out.” He hesitated, his hand hovering over the silver bracelets at his belt, and he whispered low. “Should I put on the bindings?”

I blinked in surprise. Was that actually reluctance in Luigi’s voice? Maybe my stone-faced shadow wasn’t as cold as I’d thought.

“Wait,” I tried to say, but my voice only came out as a whisper. The room wouldn’t stop spinning, either. But through the exhaustion, hope flickered. For just a moment, I’d sensed Balthazar’s location. If I could do it again, get better and stronger at it...

Maybe I could find him. Maybe I could save Steve.

But first, I had to figure out how to stand up without falling over.

Running footsteps came down the hall. “Serenity, Serenity.” Elena ran over to me. “ Mon chérie , what has happened to you? You’re so pale.”

“I don’t know... Maybe the last few days are catching up with me.” I hated lying to her, but I needed to be strong enough to save the people I love.

She put her arm around my shoulder and took my arm, helping me to my feet. “ C’est assez . Enough. You need rest. The books can wait until tomorrow.”

My legs buckled, and I sagged against her like a marionette with cut strings even as heavy footsteps approached, thundering down the hall.

“ Capo …” Luigi’s shoulders hunched with nervous deference. “I was watching her like you ordered, but?—”

Angelo shouldered past him into the library, his presence filling the room like a black storm cloud. Enzo and Dimitri materialized in the doorway, their chilling stillness more threatening than any drawn weapon.

“What happened?” Angelo crossed the room in three swift strides and lifted me into his arms, his face hard with barely contained fury. “Report, Luigi. Now.”

“She started glowing, Capo ,” Luigi said, standing at attention. “Never seen anything like it. The whole room was lit up like St. Peter’s Square at Christmas.”

I frowned at Angelo, trying to focus through the fog in my head. “How did you get here so fast?”

“We were already on our way back when Luigi called.” His voice was softer when he spoke to me, but I could still feel tension thrumming through him. Someone was going to pay for this—I found myself hoping it wouldn’t be Luigi.

Angelo carried me up to our room, cradling me against his broad chest. “What were you doing?”

I stiffened at his patronizing tone.

“Angelo, I’m not a fragile porcelain doll. I need to be helping.” Even as I said those words, I fought to keep my eyes open.

He kissed the top of my forehead. “What you need, sweet Nephilim, is rest.”

He laid me down on our bed. Too tired to argue, I stared up at the ceiling, my vision still swimming with images of Balthazar. Telling Angelo would mean watching his face darken with that dangerous fury, might even mean those silver bindings clicking around my wrists. But keeping secrets from him... God, hadn’t we learned the hard way that secrets got people hurt? Got them killed?

I opened my eyes and stared up at him. I clasped his rugged cheek, steeling myself. “Angelo, I saw him.”

His eyes narrowed. “Who?”

“Balthazar.”

His eyes widened. “Here at Crescent Manor?”

“No. I had a vision, like I did with you. He’s nearby. Not in the bayou. North of here. I can sense him. Evil. So full of hatred.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded. “Yes. Angelo, I created a shield around me. I can protect us when we go into battle. We won’t be defenseless.”

He stretched out beside me, his body warm and solid against mine. With a gentle hand, he tilted my chin up to meet his gaze. His eyes were intense, filled with determination and something else I couldn’t quite place. “You’re not going into battle,” he said firmly.

I opened my mouth to speak, but whatever protest I’d planned died as his lips found mine. His kiss was soft yet demanding, and I melted into him despite my best efforts to resist. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer as the kiss deepened, until there was nothing left in my world but him—his warmth, his touch, his taste. Everything else faded away like smoke in the wind.

As always, he had a way of possessing me completely and igniting a passion that burned hotter than any battlefield.