Only You (UnHallowed Series Book 3) Read online

  Banned from Heaven.

  Escaped from Hell.

  They are UnHallowed.

  As the looming battle between the demon hordes and the UnHallowed intensifies, so does Amaya’s feelings for Bane. She wasn’t supposed to fall in love with an UnHallowed, but the attraction is undeniable…as is the danger. Good thing he keeps pushing her away, underestimating her at every turn, which fuels her resolve and strengthens her to do what she must—save the world.

  The world be damned. For millennia, Bane’s one purpose was to reclaim his grace and his place in the Celestial Army. Then he met Amaya. Created for one purpose, she is the key to defeating their enemies, but the cost is too great if it places her life in danger. He will do whatever is necessary to protect her, because nothing else matters.

  Time is closing in. The balance of power is shifting. Amaya and Bane can either unleash their spiraling passions and fortify their bond or lead themselves and all the UnHallowed to utter destruction.

  Copyright

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright 2017 By Tmonique Stephens

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  To my drinking buddy, beta reader, and bestie, Charitee Gerow, what would I do without you? Don't answer that question!

  Thank you to Cynthia Veldman. Your sharp eye for plotting and attention to details has saved my ass many times.

  To my best friends, Michelle De Leon and Diane Rora, thank you for your support in my darkest hours.

  A heartfelt thank you to the ladies of Ancient City Romance Authors. Your friendship and support always brightens my day. I will miss you all.

  Thank you to everyone who have helped or inspired me on my journey. I couldn’t do what I do without all of you! Writing is a solitary endeavor, but it’s not a journey any author takes alone.

  DEDICATION

  For my daughter Cyré.

  You continue to fill me with pride. I love you!

  GLOSSARY

  THE ANGELS

  Braile— Chancellor of the Celestial Army.

  Gabriel— Archangel, The Strength of God.

  Gemma—warrior class angel, Captain in the Celestial Army.

  Michael—Archangel, Seraph to the Throne, Angel of Protection.

  THE UNHALLOWED

  Bane—formerly warrior class angel.

  Chayyliél—formerly The Powerful One.

  Daghony—formerly the Archangel of Souls.

  Gadreel—formerly the Archangel of Weapons.

  Kushiél—formerly the Archangel of Atonement.

  Razuel—formerly the Keeper of God’s Secrets.

  Rimmon—formerly the Archangel of Storms.

  Sammiél—Archangel of Death.

  Tahariél—formerly the Archangel of Purity.

  Zedekiél—formerly the Archangel of Mercy.

  THE DEMONI LORDS

  Malphas—One of five known Demoni Lords. Escaped Hell and is the only Demoni Lord who is free.

  Hasmed—Demoni Lord. Still in Hell. Master to Aiden.

  THE HUMANS

  Amaya Prince/Joanna Prince—Angelic Halfling.

  Pilar—Best friend to Amaya.

  Scarla Weston—UnHallowed Halfling. Owner of Maximum Effort and Lusted.

  Sophie— Best friend to Scarla.

  THE SPAUN

  Aiden—Demon underling to Taige.

  Taige—Demon underling to Malphas.

  THE DEMONS

  Div-E—Guardians of Satan.

  Gergos—The lizard-like demons with the ability to fly, but their poisonous skin is what makes them deadly

  Ghouls—Large, hairy creatures with two inch claws and teeth.

  Hazk—Horned creatures with multiple centipede legs that fed on skin.

  Ifirts—Humanoid with bi-level jaws housing two mouths, one smaller than the other to suck the marrow out of the living.

  THE REST

  Cruor- Portal to Hell

  Tmonique’s Books

  Descendants of Ra series

  Entrapped Prequel (coming soon)

  Eternity Book 1

  Everlasting Book 2

  Evermore Book 3

  Encore Book 4

  Forever Novella Book 4.5

  The UnHallowed Series

  Only The Fallen (Book 1)

  Only One I Want (Book 2)

  Only You (Book 3)

  Only One I’ll Have (Book 4)

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  DEDICATION

  GLOSSARY

  Tmonique’s Books

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  Links

  BIOGRAPHY

  Chapter One

  Power lashed across Bane’s mid-section and flung him, Kushiél, Chayyliél, Ioath, Zedekiél, and Rimmon threw the shattered windows of the Vegas casino and into the bright morning sun. His roasting skin didn’t compare to the agony of seeing Amaya, crawling over a Spaun, away from the Cruor, reaching for him.

  At the same time, Malphas appeared behind Amaya, reaching for her. Triumph on the Demoni Lord’s face would be fodder for all his future nightmares. Did Malphas know of her origins? Of what coursed in her blood? Or did he think her just an angel? Either way, he would use her, and then kill her.

  And Bane would kill him.

  Those were his thoughts as he made like a s’more. Though covered in leather pants, long-sleeved Henley, and leather duster, they offered no protection from the lethal rays. He burned. Correction, the UnHallowed burned. Five fallen angel fireballs. How had Daghony survived this when he was caught in the sun training Amaya to fly? His brain shut down and instinct took over.

  He latched onto Kush’s collar and shouted, “Grab Chay.” Kush managed to grab Chay and snag Ioath before he tumbled out of reach. Rimmon and Zed were too far away.

  Falling with flames licking his skin, Bane spotted a flagpole attached to the side of the building and grabbed it at the last second. The metal creaked and bent, almost in slow motion. His shoulder screamed from the sudden deceleration, and then something popped, an ominous soun
d that echoed inside his body. He ignored the spreading numbness and willed his fingers to hold onto the pole. He used the momentum to fling all three of his UnHallowed brothers through a nearby window.

  Chay, Ioath, and Kush crashed through the glass and kept rolling across a desk, sofa, and coffee table, demolishing everything in their way until they made it to the shaded recesses of the room. Bane took a second to search for Rimmon and Zed, then zeroed in on a hole in the atrium roof. The two would make it to the shadows even if they had to crawl.

  Bane dove through the shattered window. He rolled to his feet over jagged pieces of glass and strode for the nearest exit, his arm a dead piece of meat hanging at his side.

  “Where are you going?” Kush demanded. Shadows crawled up his smoldering body as Chay sagged between him and Ioath, all in the same toasty condition.

  By the agony strafing Bane’s senses, he was no better off than the three of them. “For Amaya.” He slammed his shoulder against the door jam. White-hot light flared behind his closed eyelids and blanked his mind for a few precious seconds. Then his brain rebooted and he was back online and striding from the room.

  Razor blades took up residence under his skin as his arm reanimated. He breathed through the distraction and kept moving, nothing would stop him from getting to her. Halfway down the hallway, Kush appeared at his side, keeping pace. “Chay and Ioath?” Bane asked.

  “The shadows took them.”

  “Good.” Chayyliél—formerly the Powerful One—and Ioath—formerly the Archangel of Demons—sustained more damage than Kush or Bane. They’d heal pain free in the shadows. “Go search for Zed and Rimmon,” Bane ordered.

  Kush gave a single shake of his head, enough to whip his mohawk from one side of his tattooed head to the other. “And leave you to face Malphas alone? No. Zed and Rimmon can take care of themselves.”

  “And I can’t?” Bane didn’t like the implication and cranked his head around to glare at Kush. The former Archangel of Atonement’s eyes weren’t full red, yet he vibrated. Bane didn’t think it was from pain or rage. There was an eagerness to the UnHallowed. Punishment and Pain—Kush’s M.O. since he fell from grace. Right now, he had the pain, all he needed was the punishment he would deliver to those in need of atonement. Same job, different carrot.

  “Go alpha male with your woman when we get her back,” Kush snarled, the scar dissecting his face was white compared to his charred skin and burned mohawk.

  Bane liked the sound of “His Woman.” That’s exactly what Amaya was. His. And no one fucked with what belonged to him. Malphas would pay with blood and bone.

  The horror stamped on her face when he was thrown out of the room and into the sun replayed. In those last moments, he felt her fear radiating across the distance separating them. Fear directed at him.

  He looked into her eyes and saw a reflection of all he wanted, all he cared for, all he demanded. He saw their future, which didn’t include one of them frying and the other enslaved.

  At the end of the hallway, the elevator dinged, causing them to halt. One of four possibilities could exit the elevator. Spaun and Darklings would be killed without delay. Human…would be a problem. Killing them placed his UnHallowed neck on the celestial chopping block, again. Or it could be Malphas.

  Please let it be Malphas.

  “Why are we not in the shadows?” Kush pointed to a shaded area next to a potted plant.

  “Given our injuries, the shadows may keep us.”

  The elevator opened and Spaun poured out. How he wanted to slay every single one of the fuckers. Kush had his weapons in his hands, prepared to be covered in entrails. Bane ached to do the same but now wasn’t the time. With no choice left, he grabbed Kush’s collar and shoved him into the shadows beside the plant, a place belonging to the UnHallowed alone. No demon, nor Spaun could survive there. Demoni Lords… One had never breached the conduits to determine if they could survive.

  Sucked through the tiny strip of shadow, darkness surrounded them. Night was day to an UnHallowed. They moved through the conduits fast and when the shadows resisted their exit, they forced their way out into the shaded corner behind the open door of the conference room. Bane made to step out into the harsh sunlight. Kush dragged him back to the safety of the corner. “Let’s not be too predictable?”

  “Fuck it. We’re here now.” Bane shook Kush off and continued into the sun.

  “Aren’t we crispy enough?” Kush stepped forth, squinting against the glare.

  Bane’s flesh boiled with every step. He didn’t give a damn as he strode over the debris from the destroyed ceiling, windows, and furniture.

  Malphas was gone. The Cruor was gone.

  “Amaya!” he roared, but she too was gone.

  Chapter Two

  The face! The hair! The eyes!

  Amaya reached through the bars of her cage to claw at the UnHallowed on the other side. He leapt back in the nick of time to avoid her fingers around his throat. He eyed her warily, just out of reach.

  He should be wary.

  Gideon, warrior class angel. Braile’s memories flickered through her mind. A moment of laughter between the two angels before the Fall. Gideon in training, fighting a fellow trainee, while Braile looked on. His sharp gaze took in every flaw the trainee made, yet he had nothing but praise and constructive criticism. Braile surveying the Celestial Army and finding Gideon by his black and green wings. The pride Braile felt was similar to the pride he had for her. Similar to the pride he nurtured for every soldier he trained.

  Nothing more. Nothing less.

  What a bitter pill to swallow when you think you hold a special place in your father’s heart, then learn you are one of many, thousands—hundreds of thousands—sharing that same space.

  “I’m not your enemy.” His voice brought her back to the present, along with memories she didn’t want.

  “Well, I am yours.” She shook the bars separating them, determined to pry them apart and kill the bastard standing in front of her.

  “Angel, I don’t even know you.”

  “But you knew Braile!” she spat and watched shock flash across his features, then shutter. “You knew him, loved him…” The mutual love and respect were reflected in Braile’s memories. “He loved you and still, you killed him.”

  His gaze narrowed. Those cerulean eyes of his nailed her, and he growled, “How do you know this?”

  She slowly nodded. “Thank you for not wasting time denying it.”

  He moved to the bars separating them, his face stark under a single bare lightbulb on the other side of the bars, his short coppery hair brighter under the glaring light, his jaw strong. “I asked you a question, angel.”

  “You don’t deserve an answer.”

  His stoic expression cracked and twisted in anger. Amaya assessed the bars, their insertion points, and the stone cell caging her. Her mind ticked off all the weak points. A weak insertion point of the last bar in the right corner was the most vulnerable. She lowered to her haunches and leapt onto the bars. She gripped one bar, anchored her feet to two others, and punched the corner with everything she had.

  The UnHallowed folded his arms and backed up. His expression told her all she needed about what he thought her chances were. That added fuel to her fury.

  She pounded the corner, relentless in her attack. Knuckles to stone over and over again. Blood splattered the walls, the bars, ran down her arm to drip off her elbow. Her palm burned as if seared on a grill, her thighs ached.

  She refused to yield.

  By the fifth blow, the bar wobbled.

  “Holy shit.” Gideon’s mouth fell open.

  She doubled her effort. Each blow strengthened her instead of weakened. Pain became relative and relegated to the back of her mind. Even the fury faded, replaced with cold-blooded determination. She would break through. She would cross to the other side. She would kill Gideon.

  The corner of the cell crumbed. Two bars slipped free and fell into Gideon’s cell. Amaya had a
brief moment to wonder why he didn’t escape into the shadows, then she followed the bars and swung to the other side. Wings tucked close in the narrow space of the prison, she launched herself at Gideon. He caught her by her shoulders and flung her into the wall behind her. The impact rattled her bones. She would’ve capitalized on her disorientation by following up with a well-placed knee to the forehead. Gideon chose to back up, his arms loose at his sides, his gaze sharp as she rose.

  They circled each other. Amaya noted the barren space. There wasn’t a damn thing she could use as a weapon. She also noted him. Gideon was slightly taller than Bane, but leaner with a lanky fluid grace.

  She waited for him to attack, which gave her a chance to study his movements and plan a counter attack. Gideon didn’t cooperate. He settled into a defensive posture and arched an eyebrow in invitation.

  Anger equaled defeat. Braile drilled the mantra into her brain, and her body, time and again. Emotions had no place in a tactical situation. Logic must prevail in order to ensure victory.

  Not in this case.

  “I didn’t kill Braile.”

  “Lies!” She tapped her temple. “I saw the battle. Saw you slit his wrists. His throat!”

  His expression hardened and he shook his head. “Not possible. You weren’t there.” Gideon went preternaturally still. Unsure of the reason why he froze, Amaya did the same and stretched her senses to take in everything around her.

  Three prison cells. Female in the cell opposite mine. And a Darkling.

  Not. Her. Problem.

  A fine tremble went through his muscles and tension coiled in the air. Amaya noticed and the hairs on the back of her neck bristled. She braced, not sure if she should worry about the UnHallowed in front of her or something else.