Hell's Angel: Guardian Angel Book 2

I couldn’t sleep, not that I really needed it. My mind kept turning over my decision like a roiling sea battering a fishing boat. My body tossed in time with the worry that plagued my rest. I groaned, figuring my much desired sleep was a no-go for the night.

“Lyra-Rose?”

I shivered at his warm, rich voice, suddenly wide awake for an entirely different reason. It’s not that I forgot I was sharing the massive bed with Michael, his presence was too gigantic for that, but I’d thought he was asleep so my mind chose to dwell on the meeting with Aphrodite. Now, though, I all but forgot about the goddess or the council or even my evil, immortal sister. I shifted on my stomach so that I looked up at him through my eyelashes. He was propped up on an elbow looking down at me with concern in his moonlit silver eyes. In a tight black t-shirt, the hard planes of his chest were visible as they moved up and down with each steady breath. “I’m okay,” I said in an attempt to dissipate the worry in his voice. The truth was I wasn’t sure how I felt about anything anymore.

“You have made your decision about Aphrodite?” It wasn’t really a question. Leave it to Michael to interrupt my ogling to get to the heart of my problem.

My nostrils flared as I let out a resigned breath and turned onto my back. “It really wasn’t that hard. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“Of course you do not have to like it. These things are never easy. But I do have faith in you that you will do what is best for your people.”

“I’ll always do the right thing, but it just really sucks sometimes. I mean, when I made the decision to give up my humanity last fall, I thought my life was over. In a way, it was. I’m not Lyra-Rose Dawson anymore. I’m something completely different and I’m still trying to figure out how to be okay with that. But at least I still have my freedom. Giving into Aphrodite’s demands just feels like I’m losing the very essence of who I am, who I’ve always been.”

One hand reached over and he captured a lock of my reddish-blonde hair between his thumb and forefinger. My breath caught and he seemed almost mesmerized by the strand. He rolled it, keeping his eyes on my hair as he spoke. “You will always be the same Lyra that I met all those centuries ago. You are the one that I care for most in the entire universe.”

I pulled back and stared up at the ceiling. There was just enough light streaming in through the break in the curtains that I could see the texture of the plaster. “You can’t say things like that to me.”

“Why ever not?” he asked, startled.

“I’ll start to believe them.”

He cupped my chin in his warm palm and turned my gaze back to his own. “You should. They are true. I did not know what a true friend was until the day I first saw you. Do you remember?”

I smiled at the memory. “I made you blush,” I said proudly. “I was teasing you, saying you’re attractive and fit to be a warrior and then saying I could kick your ass. I didn’t really like you at first, did I?”

His fingers combed once through my hair to move away the pieces that had fallen into my face. “As I recall, I returned the favor and made you blush as well.”

My mouth pulled down in a stubborn pout. Oh, I remembered all right. He’d called me perfect when I tested him by asking if he thought I was too impulsive. The easy way in which he’d spoken to me had caught me off guard. He wasn’t intimidated by my status and quickly realized that I wasn’t one to use my title. I was a free spirit and he completely embraced me like no one else ever had. That was the moment I’d fallen in love with him. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure about our relationships now, considering how many different emotions I’d felt for him over a few thousand lifetimes, but there was definitely still something there. The problem was figuring out how he felt about me. “I remember,” I croaked.

He smiled. “I know you do. Now get some sleep.”

I nodded and my body went limp so he was able to pull me closer to his muscled body. Heat seeped into me from the contact and it wasn’t long before I was totally relaxed. I fell asleep like that, breathing in the scent that was purely Michael, purely comfort. Purely home.

Telling Aphrodite that I was going to accept her offer was probably worse than the prospect of actually having to take a seat as Thesis’ heir to the council. Her cold smile curved her lips and I could see the calculating way she studied me. I doubted it was good to owe her for helping, but it was too late to dwell on that now. “I am so pleased that you have decided to accept my offer.”

“Is it really acceptance when you were coerced?” I replied sweetly. I knew I was doing the right thing, but I really didn’t like being under her perfectly manicured thumb.

Her smile tightened but she didn’t respond to my barb. “Well then, Princess, I have my first soldiers for your protection. These two are exceptional warriors and have extensive knowledge of Vega’s titans.”

She waved one hand and the air in the center of Randall’s living room shimmered. Michael, propped up against the wall, stood erect with his hand on the hilt of his flaming sword. My own body tensed as we awaited whoever was coming out of that portal.

A few minutes passed before the shimmer, like heat waves on pavement, intensified and two men stepped out. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting of Aphrodite’s soldiers, but the tall, gorgeous beings that showed up definitely weren’t it. They had the same height and muscular builds and the features of their chiseled high cheeks, straight noses, and yummy mouths pulled into drool-worthy grins were pretty much identical, but otherwise they were polar opposites.

One was a golden god with yellow, red-highlighted, hair that fell in thick waves like a lion’s mane so it just brushed his shoulders and sexy red stubble coated his jaw. His eyes were an intense amber in his lightly complexed skin. The man wore a three-piece suit of beige pants with a matching jacket, plain white shirt, and sunflower yellow tie. He seemed to glow like the sun.

The other twin was equally handsome but he was darker, like night. He was more tan than the first, with midnight-black hair slicked back and cut short so that there was just enough to run his fingers through. His almond eyes, the same shape as the other’s, were so dark they looked black. His suit was dark charcoal with a black dress shirt and his sleeves rolled up.

My eyes widened at the beautiful pair and it took me a minute to form a cohesive thought, let alone speak. “Uh, hi,” I finally spit out.

“Princess,” Aphrodite said smugly; guess she could sense how in lust I suddenly was, “may I present Thor and Loki.”

My bright blue eyes widened for an entirely different reason. I’d heard the myths and of course seen the Marvel movies, but it was different to see them in the flesh. What threw me off most was that the movies and pictures depicted them in armor and robes and capes, not Armani. “Thor and Loki? As in the Norse gods?”

Aphrodite let out a delicate laugh. “Gods? Heavens no. Your silly humans cannot get anything right. No, they are the Gemini twins, titans created by your sister, not your mother.”

My jaw locked at her declaration and my light flared to life in my hands. “How dare you.”

The dark one, Loki, let out a barking laugh and his voice was teasing. “So it is true. You do not remember all of your past lives. I had hoped you at least remembered me.”

My wary eyes darted to Michael. I’d recovered most of my memories, but some lifetimes were still a little hazy. Although you’d think I’d remember meeting a couple of gods, or friendly titans, I guess. The only person I knew for a fact I could trust was my angel so I would go with whatever he said on this.

He kept his hand on the sword’s hilt but relaxed his posture. He gave me a curt nod. The tension in my stiff fingers faded and the marigold light that coated my hand dissipated. “Sorry. I have a lot of memories and they’re not all back yet. We’ve met before and you’re here to help?”

Thor smiled, a curve of his mouth that made those tawny eyes twinkle. “Yes, milady.” Like his twin, his voice was a soothing, deep timber, the accent one I couldn’t place but I’d guess Norwegian.

I licked my parched lips. “No need for formalities. You guys can just call me Lyra.”

Aphrodite clapped her slim hands and my teeth gnashed together at the annoying woman. “Perfect,” she purred. “I shall just leave you all alone to get reacquainted. Princess, I leave my warriors to you.”

She vanished in a blink and I sank into the love seat with a soft groan. How was it that she could give me a migraine in just five minutes? No wonder Cassiopeia had been in such a sour mood yesterday when the goddess arrived.

Michael sat on the cushion next to me while the Geminis stood sentry near the entryway. Michael’s warm hand brushed my arm, his fingertips softly tickling my skin. “Something is bothering you.”

I smiled at him. “You know, sometimes it’s a little annoying how well you know me. I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that Aphrodite’s soldiers are titans, never mind that Thor and Loki exist. Here I thought I was done being surprised.”

Loki seemed to be the chatty one. He ventured deeper into the living room and grinned mischievously. It was no wonder the stories proclaimed him the trickster god. “Princess Lyra, if you aren’t still being surprised, it means that either life has become boringly stagnant or you’re dead. Which would be the case for you?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’ve had enough surprises, thank you very much. You try going into a war with Vega where her titans, you, don’t freaking die. So excuse me if I don’t like the shock that my new bodyguards were created by that psycho bitch. And don’t call me Princess.”

He grinned, revealing startling white teeth. “Now that’s the Lyra I remember. I was so hoping that fire was not snuffed out of you.”

I launched myself to my feet and Loki took a stumbling step back, his face going pale. I wanted to laugh at the idea that he could find me threatening, but I had more pressing matters on my mind. My eyes darted between the twins as I addressed them both. “Michael says you’re with us, so I’m going to trust him. But I need to know that I can trust you, too. I’m going to have Cassi show me how we met. Then I’m going to take a nap because it’s a lot to process. After that, we’ll see. Michael can tell you two what’s up.”

I went and knocked on the door to Cassi and Randall’s room. It creaked open to just reveal a small sliver of her. “Is she gone?”

I nodded and the door opened fully. The bedroom was very neat and smelled like furniture polish. Randall was already at work at the city’s single newspaper so I guess she’d killed time during Aphrodite’s visit by cleaning. I perched on the edge of the canopied bed. “Yeah, she’s gone. She left quite the gift: a couple of titans she says will help.”

“Thor and Loki?”

I started. “How did you know?”

She laughed, a cheerfully melodic sound. “Lyra, those two are after my time by about a thousand years. I haven’t met them yet, but I know the stories. So what, you want me to show you that past?”

I nodded. I hadn’t needed Cassi to show me my old lives in a while. She laughed and shook out her arms like she was getting ready for a boxing match. “Okay, you know the drill. Here we go.”

I took her hands in mine and the brown of her eyes swirled like melted chocolate. I blinked and the next second we were no longer in her bedroom in the quaint house from Logan, Utah. We weren’t even in the twenty-first century anymore. The scene before me looked like something from a Viking movie with the wooden houses, open fires, gleaming swords, and ships just off the coast with masts shaped like dragon heads. Cassi and I ventured toward one of the fires where a pig was being roasted. That’s where we found the me from the year 900 or so. I looked a few years younger than I was now, made smaller with the long brown dress and heavy boots and thick blue cloak. My red-blonde hair didn’t stand out as much here as many people had colors from white-blonde to vivid crimson. It was done in a series of braids that kept the wavy waist-length strands out of her face as she served the pig into two simple metal plate.

The other version of me gathered her long skirt in her free hand and made her way to the largest house in the village. She let herself right in and Cassi and I followed before the heavy wooden door swung shut. She set the plates down on the massive table before taking the seat at its head. She took a second to food her hands demurely on the tabletop and take a steadying breath before she spoke. Her words weren’t English, I think they were Old Norse, but I could understand her clearly. “My father and the others just left. You have been here a month. Is this the opportunity you were waiting for?”

One of her guests sat back and placed an intricate sword on the table next to his unfinished meal. A ray of sunshine hit his face and I was surprised to see Loki. “Vega demands it.”

She nodded, unsurprised. So this was one of the few lives I actually knew what was going on. “I welcomed you into our village, into my very home. The last you can do is leave the rest of my people be. You owe me that much.”

“Where’s Michael?” I whispered. It wasn’t a necessity to speak softly because no one could hear us anyway, but it felt like we were sneaking and it was just a knee-jerk reaction to be quiet.

“Hunting Vega, I think. He checked on you a lot but kept his distance. The Gemini were created to blend in. They were supposed to be Vega’s best assassins because they could get to you. Michael didn’t even know what they were until after the fact.”

I’d never seen any of my deaths but I had a feeling I was about to. I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth and turned back to the memory.

The twins exchanged a look and Thor rose to his feet. Like today, he towered over me, but the girl looked serene. In his giant first was the legendary hammer Mjölnir. I winced, wondering why the hell Michael would even sign off on these two.

“Why,” he growled and I could understand how he was referred to as the good of thunder from the way his voice rumbled the whole house. “You are a Valkyrie, a warrior maiden. You were not trained to give up. Why would you show weakness now?”

She still sat serenely but her narrowed eyes were an intense ice blue and practically glowed with anger. “I am not giving up. I know what you are and I will do whatever I must to protect my people. If that means sacrificing myself, so be it.”

The hammer hit the table so hard the wood spit in half. Cassi and I, and even Loki, jumped a mile high while the other me just flinched back. She kept her cool but I could see that she was afraid. Both titans stared at her for a long minute and she looked confidently back.

Finally, golden-boy Thor slowly dropped to one knee. Loki followed suit until both titans, assassins for Vega, knelt before the girl. She blinked and a wary smile touched her lips. She didn’t trust this new turn of events, but it was amusing to see the twin giants bow to her. She quirked one strawberry eyebrow. “What is this ruse?”

Loki shuffled to her and put his arms on the wide arms, trapping her in. “No ruse. It is true that the eldest daughter of Thesis ordered us to get close and kill you, but we can no longer obey. You are loyal to a fault and we respect that.”

“Loki, let the girl be. We can leave you to your own, Princess.”

She frowned and I sighed at the sanctimonious title. “Do not address me as such. And do not go. Our people rely on you. You cannot abandon us.”

Thor looked thoughtful while his darker half grinned broadly. Before she could react, he leaned forward and planted a kiss smack on her lips. The shocked look in her widened eyes would’ve made me laugh if I didn’t share the identical expression.