Read Darkness Wanes for Free Online Page A

nephilim…” His eyes drifted toward Lucas.
    Emily had to grab his arm to keep him from flashing over to the guardian and beating the life out of him for the hundredth time. Kerbasi had a very low opinion of nephilim, which was why he’d taken such pleasure in torturing them in Purgatory. Lucas would never be able to forgive him for the things he’d done to him and others of his kind.
    “It sounds fine to me,” another student spoke up.
    A few others in the class murmured their agreement.
    “Ah, but there is something wrong with it.” Kerbasi wagged his finger. “Nature should be respected, and you should avoid seeking meaningless pleasures.”
    Emily straightened from where she’d been leaning against the back wall. “Says the man who owns a pair of smiley-face boxers—in canary yellow.”
    More than half the class laughed.
    The guardian’s eyes narrowed on her. “You gave those to me. I could hardly reject a gift.”
    “But I didn’t make you wear them.”
    Everyone’s gazes swung to Kerbasi.
    “How did you…?” he stammered.
    “I didn’t,” she said, unblinking. “Until now.”
    Kerbasi’s olive skin turned a bright shade of red. Emily was his biggest weakness. Somehow, she’d endeared herself to him, and he’d do almost anything for her. No matter how much she teased or embarrassed him, he’d put up with it.
    That was one of the reasons Lucas had allowed the guardian to continue staying in the shack behind their house after Melena left. Kerbasi would protect Emily whenever he and his brother were away. Also, the teenager had begged them not to make the guardian live anywhere else. After losing the boy she loved and the depression she’d suffered since then, it was difficult to refuse her anything.
    Lucas cleared his throat. “I believe class time is over. I expect everyone down the hall in five minutes.”
    “But I haven’t told them about Halloween yet,” Kerbasi argued.
    “Do it tomorrow,” Lucas said, walking away.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
    Melena
     
    I passed the time in solitary thinking of Lucas. For many years, I’d seen him as the bad guy, and he’d seen me as nothing except a sensor—a race to be hated. That didn’t change until we worked together to save the city of Juneau from a demon infestation. It was only then that we started to see each other differently. Though looking back on it now, it seemed we’d always been attracted to each other. We’d just done our damnedest to ignore it.
    Ironically, the moment we gave into our feelings for each other, we were torn apart. It kept happening again and again every time we reunited. First, he was locked away in Purgatory for more than a year because he broke an agreement with the archangels. Then he spent months searching for his twin brother after he went missing. I’d known what happened to Micah, but I was sworn to secrecy with a spell even I couldn’t break. It had nearly destroyed me to watch Lucas search long and hard for a brother who didn’t want to be found—even for a good reason.
    And after the two of them were finally reunited and Micah got his daughter back, I was sent to Purgatory. Life might not be fair, but sometimes it seemed as if fate itself conspired against us. Not once in the two years Lucas and I had been mated had we been able to claim any real time for ourselves.
    I imagined him in my mind each night, tall and strong. He had the face of a warrior with a strong jaw and fierce golden eyes like a lion’s. His light-blond hair was usually cut short and styled neatly as he preferred. I loved how fastidious he could be about his appearance. Lucas always dressed to impress and carried himself with utter confidence. Whenever I stood before him, I knew what it was like to look at the top of a mountain and wonder if it was possible to climb it. Maybe that was half the reason I fell in love with him. He was a challenge—and I didn’t like backing down from a challenge.
    I rolled over on the frozen