The Pull of Destiny (Undying Love, Book 2) Read online

  Undying Love

  Book Two

  by

  Felicity Kross

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2017 Felicity Kross

  All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in articles and reviews.

  This publication is a work of fiction.

  Cover design by Felicity Kross

  Edited by Keisha Brooks

  Summary

  Demons. Angels. Tasia’s life changed forever the night her parents were killed by Arsen. She never thought demons could be so real and tangible. She never imagined she’d join a group of hunters and learn how to fight. She couldn’t fathom a world where she would get the boy of her dreams just to find out he’s an angel and then to have him ripped away from her in the same instant.

  But that’s reality.

  Tasia must side with the angels to put a stop to the evil plaguing her world once and for all. Her destiny has come for her, and she’s ready to heed its call.

  The Undying Love Series

  Undying Love (Main Series)

  Book 1: Hearts Lie

  Book 2: The Pull of Destiny

  Book 3: Real Attraction

  Book 4: Broken and United

  Book 5: The Beauty in our Difference

  Book 6: Souls Laid to Rest

  Undying Love Genesis (Backstories)

  Book 1: Desire

  Book 2: Guardian

  Book 3: On the Precipice

  Book 4: TBA

  Book 5: TBA

  Exclusive Backstory!

  There are times when jumping seems like the best course of action. The thought of vanishing has crossed the oracle’s mind many times since the death of the angel who held his heart. However, whenever the abyss looks him in the eye and invites him inside, he shies away from its touch. He is Cassius, the oracle, leader of the angels, the only angel able to commune with God. He can’t afford to act selfishly when evil is at large, but he can’t pull himself out of the depression weighing him down—until one day he’s given the key to move forward by none other than an elusive demon and harbinger of evil itself.

  By signing up to Felicity's newsletter you automatically get this exclusive backstory! You'll also be the first to know about new books, any special prices, giveaways and other goodies.

  Subscribe to Felicity's newsletter

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  The Undying Love Series

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Exclusive Backstory!

  Message from the Author

  About the Author

  MY VISION IS FADING in and out. I can feel my life slipping away, and I think this must be the end. I did everything I possibly could. I shouldn’t have any regrets now. I’ve redeemed myself from my time as a human, didn’t I? I couldn’t save my family, but I was given a second chance to make things right. I learned all I could about angels and God. I bettered myself. So why was my best still not enough?

  “Rynne, can you hear me?”

  Whose voice is that? I know it. It’s soothing, the voice of a man who never loses his temper. Not a man.

  “O-Oracle?” I choke. “Where’s T-Tasia?”

  “She’s fine. She’s safe. Don’t say anything else. Just listen. You’ve been brought back to Ilenima, Zenith to be exact. You’re in your home and safe in your bed. However, your injuries are too severe. You can’t heal on your own anymore, and your life essence has almost been used up.”

  I can’t see very well. All the colors making up the world around me are bleeding out of their designated area, making everything look like a watercolor painting. Mostly I see a blur of white-blue—except for the oracle’s rust colored hair and a big blotch of red coming closer to me. His wrist?

  “Mortals can’t take in life essence unless an immortal freely gives it to them,” he says. “I’m giving you some of mine.”

  “N-no.” I gasp for air as my lungs gurgle with my own blood. “I-I couldn’t.”

  “I insist.”

  I feel his other hand at my back as he forces me to sit up. Then his bleeding wrist is at my lips, and I taste the odd sweet taste of an angel’s blood as it hits my tongue. I don’t do anything about it. I don’t even swallow.

  “Drink,” Oracle Cassius commands. “Are you really going to deny God’s will after you’ve come so far? Your work isn’t finished.”

  I swallow the little bit of blood in my mouth and already feel a spark of relief.

  “Drink,” the oracle repeats. “I’ll stop you when you’ve had enough. There’s nothing to be worried about.”

  I do what he says. I open my mouth and seal my lips around his wound as I drink the blood spilling out. With each gulp, my body feels lighter and lighter, but I also feel groggier. I need to sleep. The pain is gone, but I take a few more gulps of the oracle’s blood before he touches the back of my neck with the hand that he was using to support my back. I stop drinking, and he takes his wrist away.

  He offers me a wet cloth, which I take gratefully to wipe the rest of the blood from around my mouth, and he uses another one to clean off his wrist. I can see clearly again and notice that the deep cut he had has already healed. I have clarity in my vision, but my mind is foggy. I’m so tired.

  The oracle takes the wet cloth he gave me in one hand and brushes his other hand across my forehead.

  “You need rest,” he says. “Lie back down and sleep.”

  He doesn’t have to tell me twice. I can barely keep my eyes open.

  I feel like I’ve just barely fallen back into my cloud-like bed and closed my eyes when I blink them open again. The sun is shining unfiltered through my window and warming the frost crystals making up my house. It must be midday with how strong the light is. That means I did actually sleep, but it sure feels like I haven’t. At least I’m coherent.

  My entire body aches, and I feel sore somehow. Healing has never made me feel like this before. It must be a side effect of being so close to death.

  I swing my legs over the si
de of my bed and carefully lower myself to the smooth frost crystal ground. My legs are shaky underneath me at first, but it goes away within a minute. I really need a shower.

  Someone opens my door and comes in without knocking. It startles me a little. Angels don’t usually do that sort of thing, and it’s the oracle. He’s wearing flowing white robes, the only kind of attire I’ve ever seen him wear, but it always surprises me how his pure white robes always appear dingy when compared to his skin.

  “Ah, you’re awake,” he remarks as he closes the door behind him. “Sorry I didn’t knock. I wasn’t sure if you’d still be sleeping. How are you feeling?”

  “Decent, considering,” I reply.

  He smiles warmly, walks up to me, and touches his hand to my forehead. “Glad to hear it,” he replies. “And you’re not burning up anymore. It seems the worst has passed. Can you walk?”

  He doesn’t bother with a greeting kiss, which I’m honestly grateful for, as he pulls my silver chair out from my silver desk and sits down. He watches me take a few steps around the room. I’m still exhausted though. Just those few steps takes a lot of effort. I go back to my bed and sit on the edge, feeling spent.

  “You still have a lot of rest to do. You were nearly dead,” the oracle says.

  “I want to see Tasia,” I blurt.

  He smiles at me. Something in that smile makes me feel like he sympathizes with my desire, but I can also tell I’m not going to be allowed to go just yet.

  He confirms my suspicions by saying, “Not yet. As soon as you’re back to full health, you can.” He pauses. “I’m not sure how much you were conscious for, but Valor led a team of nine other angels to the Pennsylvania Branch of the EEA when Imae reported that the base was under attack by a swarm of monsters led by a natural demon. The team cleared out the base when they got there, but there was still a bit of damage done.”

  “I guess that means angels are no longer a secret,” I conclude.

  The oracle shakes his head. “At least to the EEA. God planned this too, Rynne. We can’t do much for the humans as far as our numbers go, but just knowing we’re there and supporting them the little bit we can will make a world of difference. The time just had to be right.”

  “God sure allows for a lot of casualties,” I say with a bitterness I never thought I’d voice in front of the oracle of all angels. I bite on my tongue, cursing myself for voicing the feelings I’ve been carrying for too long. I’ve done my best to be the perfect angel, so why doesn’t anything ever seem to turn out?

  “You’re tired,” the oracle says gently. “You’ve been through a lot and your faith has been tried time and time again. Not even I fully understand God’s plan, Rynne.”

  “Please forgive me.”

  “There’s nothing to forgive.” He waves his hand. “Aside from the EEA, angels won’t be announcing their presence to any other humans. Everything the EEA already knows about demons prepared them for angels. The rest of the world isn’t ready for, nor does it need, this information.”

  I nod. It makes sense to me. Doing something like that would just cause worldwide panic. It would cause an even greater imbalance in the world.

  “Having said that, angels are going to work as closely with the EEA, and Tasia specifically, as we can. Even me. There is much I need to prepare Tasia for before Arsen confronts her again. Once she can handle her destiny on her own, she and the EEA will lead the demon extermination in the mortal world. Once demons are gone, humanity will have only its own darkness to combat, just as it should be. Angels will continue to watch unseen while doing the will of God. Otherwise, humans will control their own destiny.”

  “I understand,” I say, “but how will Ilenima function without you?”

  “The luminaries will take care of everything, and Zenith won’t be without me or Valor for long periods of time. With the crystals I’ve provided the luminaries, they’ll have more than enough power to keep the demons in check, though I don’t expect anything to happen. It’s not as if the demons will know of my absence.”

  I ask, “Is the confidant in the mortal world now?”

  “Yes. She’s helping the hunters clean up the mess at their base.”

  Feeling dizzy, I lie back down on my bed and stare at the ceiling. I’m so tired I don’t even want to expend the effort to adjust so my feet aren’t hanging off the edge. I blink slowly. The next time I blink, my eyelids threaten not to open again. I guess I really can’t see Tasia like this. I hope I recover soon. I need to see her.

  I wonder if she hates me.

  “When you’re feeling up to it, I’ll send you back to the mortal world,” the oracle says from somewhere far away. “Until then, make sure to get all the rest you need.”

  “Yes, Oracle,” I manage to say.

  I hear the oracle leave my home, and then I force myself to lie straight on my bed to sleep more comfortably. I have a few fleeting thoughts, mostly about Tasia, but sleep takes me away within moments.

  She’ll have to wait.

  MOST DAYS WHEN I’m out with my servant team, I do my job. Being part of a servant team means I’m allowed to live in Favor, the one demon city where demons might be considered privileged, the one demon city where angels and demons have a bit of a working relationship in the form of masters and servants. I never aim to overachieve or anything like that, but I don’t typically go looking for trouble. Having my privileges revoked isn’t something I’ve ever wanted to test. However, when my team was first assigned to Salem, Oregon, I met someone who changed things for me: Emma.

  My team stayed in Salem, Oregon for more than a single day because we didn’t end up capturing all of our targets, the irredeemable humans sentenced to live out the rest of their lives in the Dregs along with and as the demons they have already become in their hearts, as per angel rule dictates. I did something I shouldn’t have because of that. I sought out Emma.

  It all started at the beginning of fall last year, 1933. That was the first time I had ever been to Salem, Oregon. It was the first time I met Emma.

  I only knew her for a few days, the days it took for my servant team to finally accomplish what we were sent there to do, but those were the best days of my life. It should never have happened. My team never went to the same location more than once before, but we had an unusual target at Salem, Oregon, and for whatever reason, that allowed me a chance to sneak away and learn more about this mortal who didn’t fear me, who even said I was “kind.” What a messed up girl she must be to say that about a demon.

  I told her goodbye one day, slipping away from my team again when I was certain we would finally find our target because my grandfather’s servant team, the elite servant team, was assigned to help us put an end to the wild hunt. As I thought would be the case, we did find our target, and so I was glad I said goodbye. I was certain my team would never be sent to Salem, Oregon again, but the universe aligned itself in my favor for once. I’m here again. My team was assigned a new target in this same city, and now I’m right where Emma is.

  The first thing I did when the rest of my team set off this evening to find our target was make my way to Emma’s home. The neighborhood hasn’t changed. Even though it’s August of 1934 and the weather is nice, the people here are as beaten and weary as I remember them. I don’t know how it’s possible, but they even look cold. It’s in the way they hug their arms around themselves as they walk and in the way they stare vacantly ahead. These people are stuck, a depressed branch of an otherwise decent city. If I didn’t know better, I’d think these people were sentenced here by the other humans in Salem.

  I’m perched outside in the dying apple tree that still hasn’t been chopped down. As I suspected, it doesn’t bear much fruit, and what it does have looks far from appetizing. Just like the Dregs. Emma doesn’t like me coming near the house. I wonder if she even wants to see me. It’s been months.

  I try to peek inside Emma’s window, but faded curtains are obscuring anything I’d be able to see. Should I go up
to her window and knock or should I leave? Why would she want to see me again? There’s no reason she should want to, but my beast wants to see her, and that’s why we’re sitting here in her nearly bare apple tree, unsure of if we should stay or go.

  A ruckus starts up inside of the house. It’s Emma’s grandparents fighting about something. The old man is probably drunk again. They’re her guardians. They seem like the type of people a servant team should be sent to collect. They shout profanities and belittle their granddaughter all the time, but I guess the fact that they’ve never laid a hand on her is reason enough for the angels not to get on their case. It’s ridiculous. Their hate for Emma is evident, but Emma’s done nothing to deserve any of this. She only is, and that’s reason enough for her to be treated this way.

  We’re both slaves to a cruel world we can’t escape.

  I’m going to leave. Emma doesn’t want to see me, and I shouldn’t want to see her. She has enough problems to deal with without me adding to them.

  I turn my head when I hear Emma’s window open and smell that odd flowery scent of hers. I wasn’t paying attention. The curtains are moved to the side and Emma is sticking her head outside, looking right at me with her light blue eyes, so light it seems they are barely tinted blue at all. Her blond hair is longer now, though it’s the same ratted mess I remember. She’s wearing a worn summer dress that was probably white at some point. It’s a little big on her, making her already skinny body look even skinnier. She looks much how I remember her, though she’s gotten older. She must be 17 now. She told me before that her birthday is in spring, and when we first met she was 16.