That Old Black Magic - By Michelle Rowen Page 0,106
to touch her again, it was quite possibly the best kiss they’d ever shared. He took the time to fully explore her mouth, before he kissed every inch of her face. Finally he felt her push against his chest.
He moved back a bit. “Let me guess. Your father is currently standing behind me about ready to unleash heavenly fury on me for defiling his beautiful daughter.”
“Pretty much.”
He turned to look at Daniel, who stood there, his white wings stretching out behind him.
Maybe he hadn’t escaped decimation after all.
This time Eden blocked Darrak. After everything they’d survived today, meeting her father was not going to be the end of everything. She wouldn’t let it.
Angels were powerful creatures.
Well, so was she. Even if she wasn’t a black witch anymore.
“Don’t even think about hurting him,” she growled.
Daniel shook his head. “Wasn’t planning on it.”
“Well . . . good.” She still wasn’t quite ready to breathe yet.
“You’re yourself again?” Darrak asked.
“I am.” Daniel nodded and cast a glance down at himself. “When Oliver Gale took over my body, I could still see and hear everything. I know you were willing to sacrifice yourself for Eden, and that you tried to save her from Lucifer.”
“I tried,” Darrak said. “Wasn’t all that successful.”
“You love her.”
Darrak looked at Eden. “Yes.”
Her heart swelled. “And I love him. I don’t care what anyone thinks. Including you.”
“Good,” Daniel said. “That will help you a great deal.”
Well, it was nice to have a vote of confidence for once.
Darrak slid his hand down her back. “Lucifer consumed the darkness in her. All of it. It sent him directly back to Hell, do not pass go.”
Daniel took in this information. “Are you sorry not to be the next Prince of Hell?”
Eden watched Darrak carefully for his response. It was a lot of power to give up, even if it meant dealing with that monster she’d just seen. It would have made Darrak one of the most powerful beings in the universe.
“Am I sorry?” Darrak repeated. “Nope. I might have wanted that once, but I’ve changed. A lot. I’m exactly where I want to be.”
“Good answer.” Daniel then looked at Eden. “And as for you, daughter—”
“Daughter, huh?” she said tightly. “I still don’t understand what happened with my mother and why you never acknowledged me.”
His handsome face grew serious. “I know it’s difficult to understand. And I wish I had a meaningful story for you, but you may be disappointed. When I met your mother, I was at the end of my job as a gatekeeper to one of the Netherworld entrances. Seven years of living in the human world. I was weak, and your mother was beautiful. That’s all it was. I’m sorry you felt abandoned, Eden, but I had no choice. My place was in Heaven from that point forward.”
He was right. That was a bit disappointing. She’d hoped for something a bit more magical than that even though she knew it hadn’t been more than a one-night stand for her mother. Why should it be anything else for her father? “So why did you visit me when I was just a little girl?”
“Because I’d just learned of your existence and had to check on your safety. There are those who’d like to use a nephilim for her power—just as Lucifer wanted to do.”
She laughed. “I’ve never had any power. A bit of psychic insight, but nothing very reliable.”
Daniel nodded. “There’s a very good reason for that. When I came here I was able to cloak that magic—from others and from you as well.”
Eden inhaled sharply, remembering what Lucas had told her about nephilim being cloaked to him. How only her black magic counterbalanced that and made him see what she was underneath. “So that’s why.”
“You’re ready now, Eden,” Daniel continued. “I can finally remove the cloaking from you once and for all.”
She hooked her arm through Darrak’s. He hadn’t said a word this whole time, letting her father speak uninterrupted. “What will happen to me then?”
“Your psychic insight will be more acute, more controllable. I think it will come in handy in your line of work—private investigator, right?” He smiled. “Also, when you were a black witch, you had the capacity for immortality. A nephilim isn’t truly immortal, but she is very long-lived and will retain her youth for as long as she breathes.”
A breath caught in her chest. “How long-lived?”
“Very. Consider it a pleasant bonus to being half-angel. Even if you never learned you were nephilim it wouldn’t have been