Gabriel (Styclar Saga Series #2)

by Nikki Kelly

Overview

Gabriel is an angel descendant. He's also an ally to a generation of vampires who want to break away from the demon who controls them. His faith in the power of good over evil wavers, however, when he discovers that Lailah, the woman he considers his only true love, may be both angel and demon. Is their love enough to overcome the dark forces who are ready to go to war with Gabriel, the vampire Jonah, and the angel and vampire forces? And can Gabriel compete with Jonah, who is also in love with Lailah?

Once again, Nikki Kelly looks deeply into the heart and soul of good and evil to create a romantic, action-packed reading adventure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250078643
Publisher:	Feiwel & Friends
Publication date:	10/27/2015
Series:	Styclar Saga Series , #2
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Nikki Kelly is the author of the Styclar Saga (including Lailah and Gabriel). Lailah was first launched in serial form on Wattpad, an online readers' and writers' community. Within six months, the novel had over one million reads. Nikki lives in London with her husband.
Nikki Kelly is the author of Lailah, Book One of the Styclar Saga. Lailah was first launched in serial form on Wattpad, an online readers' and writers' community. Within six months, the novel had over one million reads. Nikki lives in London with her husband and their daughter.

Read an Excerpt

Gabriel

The Styclar Saga

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By Nikki Kelly

Feiwel and Friends

Copyright © 2015 Nikki Kelly
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-250-07864-3

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CHAPTER 1

They say that death is a part of life. And that the only thing in life that is truly certain is death.

But "they" never met me.

I gasped and air filled my lungs, circulating some form of life back into my sleeping body. My senses were dulled. Everything around me seemed to move slowly, frame by frame. Or maybe it was just him. Not moving, merely staring at me with the most remarkable, utterly unreadable expression.

Rays of sunlight shone through the trees, creating shadowed stripes across his face, but nothing could darken those sapphire eyes.

Everything was utterly serene.

I released a steady breath and the frost of this new day tingled on my lips. It was as though I was blowing a bubble through a magical sphere, as the image of him and the snowy landscape behind seemed to stretch. Gently, as I exhaled, it expanded. He and the scenery around him became caught in my bubble.

I was holding the whole world trapped within my first full breath.

It was beautiful. He was beautiful. And I was home.

But then a dark, swirling cloud appeared, and when it dispersed, a new pair of mesmerizing midnight eyes blemished the beauty of the snowy scene. The stranger stood not far from the blond guy, where he watched me.

His black orbs pulled me in, sucking and destroying the light and peace I had felt. And before I knew what was happening, my gaze became imprisoned by his eyes.

Panicking, I inhaled sharply, and the bubble I had created rocketed back toward me. A strange new scent rode the breeze and rushed all around me, finally catching in the back of my throat. From zero to a thousand, the whole world slapped me in the face as the bubble burst.

Without warning, peace erupted into chaos, and everything became audible at once. The sound of a bird chirping miles away stabbed my eardrums; the distant noise of the wind hitting tree trunks felt like tidal waves smacking me underneath them. And that step he took toward me — the sound of his shoe in the snow down underfoot — almost caused my eardrums to rupture as the ice crunched from his weight.

I bolted upright, craning my neck toward the origin of the overwhelming scent. I regarded the shadowed stranger daring to look back at me, daring now to approach me. But my attention was drawn away from his dark eyes, to his elbow, where the smallest trace of blood was smeared against his pale skin and where I witnessed the final moments of a wound healing.

A strange sensation flooded me as my teeth fractured into fangs and my top lip quivered. My skin crawled with an intensifying heat, rising from inside me. I wasn't in control of what happened next. My legs swung off the large stone that I had been placed upon and found their way to the ground. I let out a low moan and my body attempted to stretch, but it wasn't fully awake yet and I stumbled down to the snowy blanket beneath me. I clawed my way to my feet, getting ever closer to that scent, as my body propelled itself in the stranger's direction. I came to an abrupt stop as strong arms wrapped themselves around my waist, turning me away from the stranger.

I struggled against the restraint, but he whispered, "Lailah, no," and the coolness of his breath skimmed my earlobe.

I paused, and my red-hot skin simmered against him. My gums ached as my new fangs receded. My body weakened, but he held me tightly and eased me to the ground, cradling me in a protective embrace.

"You need to go." His hurried voice cut through the jumbled noise invading my hearing.

"But ..." The stranger's footsteps moved closer from behind me, and I growled and dug my fingernails into the earth beneath the snow.

"Go," my protector said. "Now."

The stranger hesitated for only a moment before the wind whipped against my warm cheeks as he sped away through the clearing.

My ears throbbed, and I covered them with my hands as I rocked back and forth, letting a scream escape from my lungs.

"Shhhhh," my protector said, "it's all right. I'm here, shhhhh...." He cupped his hands over my own.

A trickle of liquid seeped between our entwined fingers, and I knew my eardrums were bleeding.

As the sun rose higher, the glow of twinkling stars moved around me. It was a sight I'd seen before. But, this time, the flashes of ice crystals came from my skin as well as his. His light wrapped itself around mine, and a sudden explosion of energy filled me. As the crystals from his skin and my own merged, our connection rekindled.

He held me for what felt like an eternity, and I closed my eyes, allowing the sun's rays to sink into my new skin. Finally, the noises dulled into a low hum, but I still didn't feel right; I was dizzy.

He helped me to my feet, and I hesitated, stumbling as I broke away from him. I sensed him following me, but I held my hand in the air, signaling for him to stay back. I stood, precariously balancing my weight, barefoot in the snow. I breathed in and out, forming a rhythm, taking my time. He waited patiently.

"I may not remember you, but I never forgot you," I whispered. "One shared light, split into two ..."

As though I was staring through a kaleidoscope, memories, thoughts, feelings all took new shape, each becoming more prominent than the last as it moved into focus.

"Styclar-Plena," I said. "The third dimension. Earth. Home — choice. I had a choice...."

The blur that filled the space in between the luminous charms brought with it a different type of memory: a scar, reimprinting itself, damaging me again.

Michael — a Second Generation Vampire, killed by his Gualtiero (Pureblood Master), Eligio — when his plan to hand me over to the Purebloods backfired on him.

Ethan — the fiancé from my first life, who had fled after accidentally killing me only to be changed by a Pureblood Vampire. After seeing me alive, over a hundred and fifty years from when he thought he had ended my life, he chased me down and ultimately met his demise in his attempt to seek revenge.

Frederic — the first Second Generation Vampire I could recall knowing. Whom I had foolishly befriended, and who had dragged me through the woods with a sharpened hook lodged in my back, and whom the girl in shadow — me — had then mercilessly killed.

Bradley — the not so gentlemanly gentleman in the club in Limoux. He had also fallen victim to my extreme dark side — to the girl in shadow. And just like the others who had crossed me, Bradley was no longer alive to tell the tale.

And now she was gone; the girl in shadow was ended. I had died, but I was back. He led me home — his face, the thought of him, and the thought of me.

I bowed my head and my bangs shielded my eyes. I turned slowly toward him. His dimples dipped at the sides of his cheeks as he frowned. His pupils expanded. He was anxious to hear what I was about to say.

"Gabriel." A small smile crept across my lips before I added, "My Gabriel. You waited for me."

The knots in his body loosened. He murmured, "I knew to wait for you this time."

Stepping cautiously toward me, he tilted my chin with his index finger. He swept my bangs away, clearing my vision, and then cupped my cheek with his palm. He looked me square, exploring my eyes. But he looked away — fast. Too fast.

I had fought my way back, and yet with that one silent glance, I knew a great chasm was already forming between us. What I didn't know then was that it wasn't the appearance of my new sapphire eyes flecked with black spots that had caused Gabriel to look away, but instead, it was his fleeting thought of what lay behind them.

I sighed heavily and began to pace through the clearing, oozing a false sense of confidence, as though I knew where I was going when really I knew nothing. But I was afraid that the longer I stood there the greater the unspoken divide between us would become.

He raced to my side and took my hand with his own. "Do you remember ... everything?" he asked tentatively.

"I remember ... I remember the last six years. I remember the memories and the dreams I have had for the same time. I can't recall anything before. And I know the things she did. The girl in shadow." I gulped. "Me."

"She was an extreme darkness, Lai; she's gone now. You accepted both sides of yourself before your heart stopped. It's probably why you haven't forgotten."

As we moved through the snow underfoot, the trees' bare branches seemed to bow, as though they pitied me.

"I'm different. Again, I'm different." I sighed and let my hand drift away from Gabriel's.

"No. It's just now, for the first time in your existence, you know where you come from. You know what you were born out of and into. You're you. What gifts you have, how they work on this plane, is something we will find out together."

I wasn't sure how right he was about that. I didn't feel human anymore. I was born into human skin, having been birthed here on Earth. And when I died at seventeen nearly two centuries ago, I awoke having inherited my immortal lineage.

"I smelled blood, and fangs broke through my gums, Gabriel." I paused to allow the weight of that fact to sink beneath Gabriel's sea-of-glass exterior. "I'm light and dark; I know it to be true now. And I don't even really know what that means for me yet. But Azrael said I could exist and keep my form in any of the three dimensions. So the Arch Angels will come from the first dimension, and the Purebloods will come from the third to find me. They will all seek me out, here in the second."

He stopped dead in his tracks; at last something I'd said had caused a reaction.

"Yes," he said, "they will. If they find out you are alive, they will hunt you down, and they won't stop until they have you. So, we cut all ties and we leave together. We'll hide. You have been through enough. It ends here." Gabriel's jaw locked and his eyes widened with conviction.

No longer softening the blow for my benefit, he seemed to have hardened. Either that or he was taking my choices away from me, perhaps for my own good. I wasn't sure.

* * *

We hadn't walked for long when a château fort came into view. It stood alone, with a brewing fog clouding its base.

I looked at Gabriel with raised eyebrows. "This is where you've been staying?"

Gabriel seemed to have more money than sense, and I made a mental note to ask him where his wealth came from.

"It's very small. I couldn't take you back to the barn. Han —" He stopped.

Hanora. The very suggestion of her name made my toes curl instantly. Sadly, I hadn't forgotten her. In fact, there were a few things concerning that particular Vampire that I would have gladly left behind.

"It wasn't safe," he finished.

Standing now only meters away from the entrance, I rocked back on the heels of my feet dubiously. Gabriel halted and reached for my hand. As he slipped his fingers between mine, I knew he could sense my unease.

I didn't know how long I had been trapped between life and death, but he hadn't seemed to change. His broad shoulders and strong arms made me feel safe. He was an unbreakable wall, protecting me, and I knew he'd meet his end long before he'd let anyone pry me from him again. And God, he was gorgeous.

"I love you, Lailah."

Those words surprised me.

"I. Love. You," he repeated firmly. "I should have said it sooner," he continued. "I didn't think I had to, because I felt it. I have always felt it, and so I thought you knew it. Every day we have been together, I should have said it."

Right now, I had no inclination to debate the specifics of the love he was proclaiming for someone whose eyes he had struggled to meet only minutes ago or to question what that meant for us now. Instead, I smiled, though I was sure that the sadness at the edge of my lips was obvious enough for him to read. Having faced the end — the real end — and come through the other side, I was suddenly so tired. I was done with the complications of Pureblood Vampires, Arch Angels, and being a pawn in a battle between the two. I wanted it all to stop. I wanted my life back.

I had loved Gabriel in my first life, and though I had wandered this world for nearly two centuries without him, he had always been with me, buried in my memories and in my heart. I loved him still.

I tightened my grip around his hand and said, "And I, you. I'll do what you say; I will go wherever you want to take me, for as long as you will have me."

It was true. I'd woken from my cocoon a Hedylidae, not a Morpho butterfly like him. But if he felt for me even a fraction of what I felt for him, I would flap my confused wings as hard as I could and follow him to the ends of any and every world, without question.

I immediately felt a sense of angst swelling within him. As he tilted his head, his blond curls fell slightly into his vision, stopping me from being able to read the message his eyes were writing.

Finally he said, "Really?"

"Really," I said. I had no idea why he seemed so surprised.

Gabriel let go of my hand and began rolling his fingertips in circles within his palms. "What about Jonah?"

I scratched the tops of my arms pensively before I replied, "Sorry — who?"

CHAPTER 2

Gabriel stared at me as though I had lost my mind. Granted, up until this point, losing my mind was a fairly normal occurrence for me. But unlike all the other times I had awoken, this time, I was aware of everything that had come before and the complicated worlds that claimed me.

There was Styclar-Plena: the first dimension. A world that existed in light, born from a crystal that resided at its center. The day the crystal started to lose its light, the darkness began to fall on the Arch Angels and the other inhabitants that had been created directly from the light of the crystal. Their world began to die.

But fortunately for them, there was also the second dimension: Earth. Seeking a way to fuel the crystal and bring light back to Styclar-Plena, Orifiel, the leader of the Arch Angels, passed through a rift to Earth. Upon witnessing a bright white energy leaving the body of a human in death, Orifiel found the solution to his problem. He collected the clean, light souls of mortals, and transported them back to Styclar-Plena to refuel the crystal.

With so many Arch Angels dying because of the extended period of darkness in Styclar-Plena, Orifiel could not wait for the crystal to organically create more of his kind. He began mating the Arch Angels — the same way human beings on Earth repopulated their world — creating Angel Descendants. The Descendants were tasked with moving the light human souls across the planes to keep the crystal fueled, preventing future bouts of darkness. The first of these new Angel Descendants were created as independent beings with no connection to one another. However, as these Angels traveled to Earth, their connection to the light of Styclar-Plena began to dull and, feeling disillusioned, many chose to stay in the second dimension. They became known as fallen Angels.

To give the Angels a reason to return to Styclar-Plena, Orifiel paired the Descendants through an exchange of light — of love. When two Angel mothers were pregnant with their Angel babies, a ceremony would be held. Harnessing the light from the crystal, it touched both unborn Angel children in their mothers' wombs, connecting them to one another forever. One light, split into two. It no longer mattered how often or how long the Angel Descendants were parted from Styclar-Plena, as long as they had their Pair, they had no reason to fall.

And finally, there was the third dimension: the opposite of the first — a world existing in darkness, from which the Pureblood Vampires emerged.

The Pureblood Vampires who came through the rifts to Earth fed from the dark souls of mortals and used their venom to change humans who possessed a light soul into Second Generation Vampires. This was how they built their armies.

And, there was me.

I was created as an Angel Descendant, paired with Gabriel by Orifiel through the exchange of light before I was even born. But still in my mother's womb, I was infected with Vampire venom by Zherneboh — the deadliest of all the Purebloods.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Gabriel by Nikki Kelly. Copyright © 2015 Nikki Kelly. Excerpted by permission of Feiwel and Friends.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

Lailah:

"Just when we thought the vampire fad was overplayed and finally vanquished, Kelly slams readers with an exciting new world. . . . Equal parts romance and supernatural adventure. Vivid and cleverly crafted, this novel will appeal to fans of Julie Kagawa's The Immortal Rules and Courtney Allison Moulton's Angelfire series, who will celebrate this new heroine of extraordinary strength." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher