“Where is Kaitlyn? What did you do to her?” I demand. The angel comes to a halt right in front of me, looking down at me from under his large nose.
“Thallon Cross, Kaitlyn Lightson has betrayed your race and people. Do you understand this?” he asks me, watching me very closely. I want to tell him to fuck off, that the angel race is messed up to begin with and Kaitlyn has spent her life trying to survive. I want to tell him the vampires are not heartless creatures, they are not monsters.
And that the angels are wrong.
And that I’m fucking glad I didn’t choose a side and become more of what they are.
“Tell him lies and come to me. We will save her together, Thallon Cross,” a female voice whispers into my ear, but the angel doesn’t even flinch. He didn’t hear it.
If I tell the angel the truth, they will kill me, and I can’t save Kaitlyn 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 56
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 next to me.
“I never should have asked you to return to the academy. I should have sent you to Neamh,” Gabriel says around a sigh. “I feared the judgment you would find for your half-vampire side...much like Henry Ravaric. Even his parents’ use of vampire blood was heavily frowned upon, and to this day, I’m not sure why the Great Light allowed it.”
I curl my hands into fists. “The light is not so great, Gabriel. He is a false god, and every angel will suffer because they follow him.”
“I understand you are angry, but you must see he protects us all. He made the angels,” Gabriel counters.
“And lied to them. No vampire killed an angel to start the war, it was all lies. The Great Light just wanted the vampires gone, so he killed an angel and made it so the war would start. He is a monster!” I protest, and Gabriel shakes his head at me. “You have to see it.”
“You’re wrong,” Gabriel firmly states. “The Great Light is good and pure. It cannot die because it’s a god, and we are born from him. Either way, this is not why I had them bring you to me today.”
“Then why?” I demand.
“Erendriel is going to trial today and will be found guilty of many vampire crimes—”
“And when will the angels be found guilty for murdering an entire race?” I question, but he ignores me as he carries on speaking like I didn’t interrupt him at all.
“And then he will spend time with the light above, which will not be pretty,” Gabriel says, then gulps, and for a second, I swear I see guilt in his eyes, but it is gone too quickly. “When Ren is finished, all the vampires will be killed in a public event in the middle of the city. I have made it so you can die with your mate...as it should be, but I am truly sorry for this.”
“You’re sorry?” I question. “You’re just fucking sorry?”
“Language,” he warns me and goes to place his hand on my shoulder, but I move away. “I also wanted you to know Vesnia has been found not guilty and given her choice. She became a dark angel last night, as did Thallon. Your friends will be safe...isn’t that something?”
“I hope my face haunts you as much as Ren’s did,” I spit out and rush to the door. “You’re a coward, Gabriel, and I once thought you were a good person. I saved your life, and now you are condemning mine!”
“I am sad you see it this way. Knock the door and leave, Kaitlyn Lightson. I’m afraid I will not remember you in years to come like you wish,” he coldly replies, and it cracks something in my heart as I knock the door and step out into the corridor where two guards wait at my side. I wipe my tears as they grip my arms and lead me down the corridor to the end. Just as we get to the door, one of the guards pulls a dagger out of nowhere and steps around me, stabbing the other guard and slamming her hand onto his mouth as he tries to scream. His body slides down the wall as I get a good look at the other guard’s eyes under the helmet. They look just like Henry’s. Looking around, she pulls the helmet off and throws it onto the ground, letting her thick black hair down.