when I’m dead. I need to lie, and I need to lie well.
“I understand. Loving her made my judgment clouded,” I answer, the lie burning in my throat with how wrong it sounds. One giant lie to save the woman who I always will be in love with. I knew from the second I saw her staring at the roses in the greenhouse. The way the red roses reflected in her eyes, the shine of light bouncing off the red colour and casting pink shades throughout her curly blonde hair. I love her sarcastic tops that always make me smile, I love how she is brave and cares deeply about those in her life. I love her. Period.
“You can go back to a human life with no memories of this life, or you can choose a new path with the angels. The choice will be yours solely,” the angel explains.
“I want to be an angel,” I answer.
“I hope for your sake that is not a lie. The magic will tell,” he counters, waving a hand at the pools of fire. “It has been too long for your indecision. Master Gabriel is not here to protect you any longer. Go and make your choice.”
Standing up, with my hands still cuffed together in front of me, I walk to the fires. The light calls to me as much as the dark does…but the light would mean I couldn’t easily lie.
And I need to be able to lie to get out of this. Thinking only of Kaitlyn, a smile stays on my lips as I walk into the black fire, and it covers me completely, lulling me into its depths, and darkness takes me before I can feel it burn.
In the darkness, a voice drifts to me, pressing its words into my mind.
“I will change you, Thallon Cross, and you will save her. Save the queen, let the city fall, and set me free. When the light above dies…so do I.”
Chapter 6
Laughing at Aala’s story of when she fell off a horse and got stuck in a tree when a branch got caught in her shirt, I rest back against Ren, who holds me close. Despite feeling a million times better, I know I need blood soon, and the true fear of this place really doesn’t leave me even when I want it to. The moments I have with Ren right now need to make us stronger so we can escape...when Henry comes for us. I’m just not sure how he is going to get to me in here.
Either way, I’m not leaving without the people I love. It just isn’t an option.
“You’re both coming with us,” a pale-faced dark angel demands, standing in the frame of the doorway. Aala hurriedly backs away to the wall as I stand up with Ren. I hold his hand tightly as he steps forward, walking out of the room, and I look back to Aala. Everything in my soul tells me I need to save this girl.
I’m not leaving without her. I hope she understands from the look in my eye alone, and I wish I could comfort her as we step out into the clearing. The second we do, five guards immediately grab us both, dragging me away from Ren, who tries to fight them as much as I do. After kneeing one of my guards between his legs, I elbow the other one before something hard slams into the back of my head, and my knees go weak as they grab me.
“Bastards! I will fucking kill you all for touching her!” Ren roars, but like I’m in a haze, I hardly hear him as my feet leave the ground. I must blackout for a little bit, because when I’m opening my eyes, another familiar voice is talking.
“Why did you have to hurt her? You dragged the poor lass away from her mate; that was hard enough,” Gabriel angrily shouts as I blink my eyes open to see a roaring fireplace in front of me. I’m sat on a couch made with fabric that looks like spun gold and is incredibly soft. Sinking my hands into the couch, I turn around to see Gabriel shutting a large wooden door as I touch the back of my head, feeling a big lump and sticky blood coating my hair.
“Gabriel?” I question, wondering if I’m imagining that he is here. His eyes, filled with sympathy, lock onto mine, and he walks over to the couch, taking a seat