Mated (The Queen's War #1)

Chapter 7

Blood dripped from the claws on his left hand and in his right he held a sword that had been given to him by a once good friend, and now greatest enemy. Michael had forged it himself in Ascension as a gift, so the act of cutting down his precious seraph with it was intensely satisfying.

This latest battle was gruelling and animalistic, the two things guaranteed to lift his spirits these days. His torso showed the slashes the more competent seraph knight's had inflicted, but they, like most he had come up against, perished soon afterward. Once, the ache in his muscles brought him immense satisfaction, but now there was no joy at defeating his enemies, instead, all he felt was a deep loneliness and ravaging anger.

This anger had been growing with every hour that passed and his Queen wasn't in his arms. As such, Lucan hadn't managed to break out of his demon form for the full three days that had passed since he watched his soulmate turn to ash. And whilst he knew that the trial of transition wasn't something that could be rushed, he couldn't help the doubts that crept in during his sleepless nights. No matter what reassurances he tried to tell himself, Lucan couldn't calm his mind.

To try and alleviate some of his emotions, he had been slowly cutting through the enemy in more and more vicious ways. Proving that, Lucan used the momentum of an attacking angel to propel the white-winged bastard into his blade. But it wasn't enough, it was never enough.

Turning his internal agony into a flurry of rage-filled movement, he decapitated a knight that thought to sneak in behind him and hurled the severed head at another where Abaddon effortlessly stepped in to end him. Yet still, he didn't feel the release of hatred towards the seraph he expected. Frustrated at his lack of control Lucan let his mind slip further into the abyss.

Abaddon whirled around to find another knight to take on, but stopped when he saw that it wouldn't be necessary. The defensive squadron of seraph knights that had been patrolling the edge of enemy territory had been a fifty-soldier strong force when the two of them had arrived. However, now, the Second watched as his King fought to cut the remaining stragglers down to nothing.

When finally bodies and ash littered the ground and there was more blood than oxygen in the air, Lucan collapsed to his knees and roared out his pain to the sky. Abaddon had to look away, unable to take the raw emotion of his best friend and leader.

The sparsely forested land quietened and Lucan stood. He wiped his sword on his trousers and sheathed it in the hold attached at his hip. Turning to view the ocean, he then strode to the edge of a rocky cliff edge that dropped into the turbulent waters below and his wings stretched as if to take flight. Silently, Abaddon followed to stand next to him, an ever present supporting hand.

"What if she doesn't transition?" He asked, a vulnerability in his voice he would only show his Second.

"No one with your blood has ever failed." Abaddon reminded him, becoming pleased when Lucan seemed to relax his shoulders slightly.

"I have lived an aeon without her, but now I feel as though a part of me is broken." Lucan admitted, his fists clenching. "If she doesn't make it through the transition, I fear nothing will bring me back to myself."

Small embers surrounded his hands and Abaddon glanced behind him at the branches from the closest trees as they erupted into flames.

"You might want to snuff those before you start a wildfire."

Lucan un-clenched and the fires instantly ceased.

"There may be one way we can ensure that our Queen returns safely to Undercity." Abaddon said after a minute. Lucan turned to face him, his harsh demonic face blank. "I could return to Gehenna and guide her through the process or ensure her soul doesn't suffer if she fails."

Silence reigned.

"Someone was always going to have to risk crossing the portal to reach her." Abaddon reminded him. Lucan sighed and looked to the sky, breathing in the frigid air.

"I can't ask you to risk getting stuck in Gehenna while Michael is increasing his hostility. I know how personal this war is to you."

Abaddon clenched his teeth at the reminder of why he wanted to be the one to personally bring the Archangel to his knees in preparation for the deathblow only Lucan had the right to make.

"When I lost Maya, I wouldn't have made it without your help..." Abaddon began, swallowing when his words became difficult to produce. "I vowed to you that if you ever needed something of me that would repay my debt to you, that I would do it. Without hesitation."

His eyes were wet with unshed tears as the memory of the Archangel Michael's killing blow to his beloved. Over four hundred and fifty years later, the pain hadn't lessened. Maya's body had been burnt to ash with angelfire, leaving him nothing to bury or lay to rest. As a human, Maya could have been brought back as immortal had she died any other way besides the fire, but her soul had been obliterated.

Over the following decades Abaddon had embarked on a self-destructive journey that hadn't ended until Lucan helped him channel his rage into vengeance against the beings who deserved it. This had culminated in an epic battle that they had lost and caused Lucan to retreat into stasis.

To help retrieve Lucan's soulmate was the very least he could do.

"I want to say no. To tell you that I won't risk you." Lucan met his eyes. "But I can't, I need her."

"I know you would do the same for me if our roles were reversed." Abaddon smiled sadly.

Lucan grasped his shoulder and the two of them shared a moment in silence, the horrors from the past too close to the surface.

"I'll leave immediately for the broken portal." Abaddon began.

"No, we can't risk it being found. It's our only contingency and we are both watched too closely to risk it."

"Then we must join the legions in fighting for the working portal."

"Yes, the seraph have been increasing the pressure for the territory and I don't like it. We will need to take out enough of the enemy so you can slip through unharmed."

"Will you be able to hold the portal territory for long enough for me to bring our Queen back through?"

"It's unlikely, you will have to use the broken one to return."

"Lucan, it's one thing to risk myself through it, but Perci as well? Are you sure-"

Abaddon didn't get another word out as Lucan turned to him and grabbed his forearm. Channelling his power, he forced out a slither of his essence into Abaddon. A worming tendril of fire wrapped around his wrist and circled his arm until finally thrusting itself straight through his chest. Once completely dissipated, Lucan stepped away from him and staggered back. After a minute of calming the raging inferno inside him, he opened his eyes to find Abaddon slack-jawed and glowing.

"What did you do?" He gasped, his demon form bursting forth.

However, no longer was he an ordinary Hellspawn, but a fully-fledged Archdemon. Bat-like wings identical to his Kings unfurled from his back and the foreign feeling of the muscles made him unsteady on his feet.

"I gave you some of my power. With this you'll be able to stabilise the broken portal yourself." Lucan straightened, having fought off the weakness.

"Why on earth would you do that?" Abaddon yelled. "You spent centuries in stasis to obtain this extra power!"

"I gave you a drop of my reserve, so small I won't notice it gone. I promise you." Lucan smiled, patting Abaddon's now red arm.

"Damn. This will take some getting used to." He remarked as he looked at his new demon form.

"I wouldn't attempt to fly just yet. You are the equivalent of a baby bird." Abaddon sent Lucan a displeased look at the comparison.

"Well I don't need to fly in order to fight, so let's stop wasting time and get me through that portal."

Lucan's mouth stretched into a savage grin at the prospect.