Read A Demon's Wrath: Part II (Peachville High Demons) Online

Authors: Sarra Cannon

Tags: #Magic, #Young Adult Paranormal, #Horror, #Sorcery, #Young Adult Fantasy, #Teen series, #Witch, #Young Adult Romance

A Demon's Wrath: Part II (Peachville High Demons)

BOOK: A Demon's Wrath: Part II (Peachville High Demons)
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A Demon's Wrath: Part II

By Sarra Cannon

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 events or locales or persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by Sarra Cannon

eISBN: 978-1-62421-023-5

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or
portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

Cover Design by Robin Ludwig Design, Inc.
http://gobookcoverdesign.com/

Find Sarra Cannon on the web!

http://www.sarracannon.com

  
  
  

To Brandy.
Your friendship is a light in the darkness.

Yet To Come

The Human World – Present Day

Brighton Manor buzzed with energy. Music poured
from the open windows and more than twenty guests gathered in what
used to be the formal living room.

Friends smiled as I passed, but I only had eyes
for one person. I searched for her blond hair and dark eyes. I looked
for the curve of her face and the graceful movements of her body. And
when I finally saw her, standing at the edge of the makeshift dance
floor, my heart skipped a beat deep inside my chest.

A smile spread across her face, lighting her up
from the inside. Her light pushed through me, warming the cold
feeling in my heart.

I’d spent most of my night locked in
memories of the past. Memories that were almost too painful to
revisit.

But if I was ever going to be absolutely sure of
her love, I needed to show her my truest self. Harper needed to
understand my worst, darkest moment.

If she could see that and still love me and want
to spend her life with me, then I knew together we could face
anything.

But if she saw the horror of my rage—my
wrath—and turned away from me, I wouldn’t blame her. I
would be heart-broken for eternity, but I would understand.

I’d spent the past fifty years hating myself
for what I’d done in anger. How could I be surprised if she
hated me too after seeing for herself what I’d once been
capable of?

She crossed toward me, an extra glass of punch in
her hand.

“Where did you run off to?” she asked,
handing me one of the cups. When I didn’t answer, she frowned.
“You’ve been distant tonight. Is something going on?”

I brushed my hand against the stone in my pocket.

“I’ve just got a lot on my mind
tonight,” I said. I put one arm around her waist and pulled her
body close to mine. I lowered my lips to her hair and inhaled the
scent of her shampoo. “I love you so much.”

She pulled away and narrowed her eyes at me. “Are
you sure everything’s okay?”

I wanted to comfort her and tell her that
everything would be fine, but how could I do that?

The future was more uncertain than ever. A war
with the Order of Shadows was close. Closer than she knew. With her
father gone, Harper would have to carry the pressures of an entire
kingdom on her shoulders. New enemies would come forward soon, their
sole mission to destroy us and everything we’ve built here and
in the world beyond.

Even the past was still standing between us. A
giant wall of sorrow and rage. I felt like I stood behind that wall,
its height cutting me off from her love. I didn’t deserve her,
and I knew it.

“Jackson?” she asked. She set her
punch down on the table near the door and lifted her soft palm to my
face. Her brown eyes were filled with worry. “What is it? Have
you seen something? Please, talk to me.”

I covered her hand with my own, caressing her soft
skin, then grabbing her hand tight.

“I have some things I still need to take
care of tonight,” I said. “Enjoy the party. I’ll
back in a little bit, I promise.”

She shook her head, her eyes glistening. “Don’t
shut me out again,” she said. “You promised. If you’re
going through something, you need to talk to me about it. Whatever it
is, we can face it together.”

I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I’m
not shutting you out,” I said. In fact, I was doing the
opposite, but there was no way to explain that to her without telling
her about the memory stone. And I wasn’t ready to do that yet.
“I promise you, I’ll tell you everything before the night
is over. I just need a little bit more time.”

I brought her hand to my lips. I kissed the soft
space between her thumb and index finger, then turned her hand and
kissed the pad of her palm.

Sadness washed over her face, but she smiled
despite her fear. “I’m going to hold you to that,”
she said.

I knew it was hard for her to trust. She’d
been betrayed so many times by the people who were closest to her.
She’d opened herself up to people who abused her kindness and
her desire to belong and to have friends. Hell, she’d even had
to deal with my own betrayals. I had kept so much from her for so
long. And even still, I had my secrets.

But despite all those past pains, Harper was
putting her trust in me now. She would give me the space I needed to
finish this tonight. And knowing how much that cost her—how
much of her own heart she was willing to risk to make me happy—made
me love her even more.

Made me deserve her even less.

I kissed her again, then turned and left the
party.

I needed silence and solitude now to finish my
walk through the past. Seeing my engagement to Lea would be hard for
Harper, but nothing could be as awful as the years that followed.

I found a quiet spot in the garden and sat down at
the edge of the fountain. I reached into my pocket and grasped the
memory stone tight in my fist, knowing the most painful part was yet
to come.

The Takings

The Shadow World – 90 Years Ago

I stared at the demon with the red dragon on his
armband.

He had said Aerden was still alive. Could that be
possible? All these years my mind had been turned toward vengeance.
Not once did I dare to hope he could be alive.

“What do you know?” I asked. I tried
to calm my heart. I didn’t know this demon. He could easily be
lying to me in an attempt to pull me into the same trap that ended my
brother’s life. I needed to keep my hope at arm’s length.

“He doesn’t know anything,” Lea
said, moving to stand between us. She rubbed her wrists. “Anyone
who would dare to attack the daughter of the king is obviously a
rebel. We would be smart to call in the sentinels to deal with this
trash.”

Andros smirked, one side of his face curling up
into a strangely confident smile. “You truly are the daughter
of the king,” he said.

She narrowed her eyes at him and took a step
forward. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “Nothing,
Princess,” he said. “Only that you are perhaps as blind
as your own father, refusing to see what is happening in your own
kingdom.”

I studied him. What was he trying to say? I had
never heard anyone dare to say a rude word to Princess Lazalea. From
the look on her face, she was barely holding on to her control. By
all rights, she should have called in her father’s guards and
had Andros thrown in the dungeon for the way he had disrespected her.

BOOK: A Demon's Wrath: Part II (Peachville High Demons)
4.79Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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