Angel Fever (Immortal Legacy #3) - Ella Summers Page 0,68
The daggers are bad news. If the gods get them, it would split their council apart and likely destroy our world in the process. Should the Guardians or the demons acquire the daggers, the consequences would be no less dire. But you two, you are the Immortals’ descendants. Two hundred years ago, the daggers’ guardian spirits chose you to wield them. You must be the ones to find all the daggers. And you must be the ones to destroy them—before they destroy all of us.”
22
Into the Jungle
There was water everywhere. The Diamond Tear had brought me and Damiel to the Interchange, setting us down on a small island surrounded by turquoise seas. I was thankful for small favors. During a previous interworld journey, the dagger had kindly dropped me straight into the ocean.
“The first step is to find my father.” I looked across the island chain before us. There had to be hundreds of small islands out there. “He’s somewhere nearby, but the Diamond Tear seems to be having trouble pinpointing his dagger’s exact location.”
“It’s because of the weird magic here,” replied Damiel.
“Define weird.”
“I cannot define it. The magic here is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. It’s unstable, volatile.”
I reached out with my elemental powers, trying to connect to this world’s water and ice magic.
“Most of the planet’s surface is covered in water,” I said.
Immediately, I sensed the strangeness that Damiel had described. It felt like I was standing on a seesaw, trying to balance as everything shook beneath my feet.
Damiel was right. This world’s magic was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. It wasn’t just a little unstable; it was completely chaotic.
“I have a bad feeling about this place,” I said. “We need to quickly find my father, destroy the immortal daggers, and then hightail out of here.”
“We will likely be here far longer than ‘quickly’. We don’t even know how to destroy the immortal daggers.”
“Don’t be a pessimist.”
“People always confuse my realism with pessimism,” he said.
“I prefer optimism myself.”
“I’ll leave it to you to be optimistic for the both of us.”
“Optimism clashes with your demeanor?”
“And my outfit.” He indicated his wilderness uniform: his brown t-shirt and beige-colored pants.
“I’m wearing the same outfit.”
His gaze slid over me. “Not exactly the same. Yours is better fitted.” His tongue flicked out and traced the inside of his lower lip, even as fire flashed in his eyes.
“Are you flirting with me, Damiel?”
His smile faded in obvious disappointment. “If you have to ask, I must be doing it wrong.”
“Not at all.” I reached out and took his hand. “You’re doing it just right.” I sighed. “But unfortunately we don’t have time for that sort of thing right now.”
“My dear Cadence.” His hands curled around my waist. His mouth was only inches from mine. “I would never dream of starting straight off with the main course.” His voice was dark and decadent, his eyes burning with sinful promises. “I much prefer to first immerse myself in the many, delightful appetizers.”
I rose to my tiptoes and looped my arms over his shoulders. “How many appetizers?”
“I don’t know,” he said against my lips. “A lot. After all, we have a couple hundred years of catching up to do.” His hands slid over my butt and down my thighs.
“I look forward to it.”
“As do I.” His voice was thick with lust. “Thoroughly.”
He snatched the dagger strapped to my thigh, then stepped away from me, his smile never fading. In fact, his halo was bright enough to set a house on fire. It was a good thing there weren’t any houses around here. And that we were surrounded by water.
Damiel turned on the spot, reaching out with the Diamond Tear. The dagger’s blade glowed more or less depending on which direction he faced. All sixteen immortal daggers were linked. You could use any one of them to find the others. But only if the guardian spirits had chosen you. I hoped those spirits hadn’t decided the demons and the Guardians were worthy of their gifts.
“This way,” Damiel said and began walking.
It wasn’t long before we reached the end of the tiny island. We extended our wings and flew—or more like hopped—to the next one in the island chain. We had to limit our speed to a brisk walk. Anything faster than that and the Diamond Tear lost track of the Sapphire Tear. I hoped my father was close because it would take us weeks to search the entire chain of islands like this.