Defiant Destiny Ch. 12

Apart from the tear, his facial emotions were incredibly subtle, but to me they were like a giant red flag. With each step that Eir took, another small tear formed between Alexis' lashes, silently making their way down to the ground below him.

"Eir?" I asked, fairly certain my voice did not betray the immense discomfort I felt inside. She ignored me and continued her way.

Aurora's voice still droned over the dry desert lands as she continued reciting her healing incantations for Alexis. Layla had plopped down next to her angelic lover and rested her head on Aurora's shoulder. Dante's gaze went from Eir to me. He shot me a questioning, non-understanding look.

"Eir?" I asked again, a little louder and with more urgency this time, though again she ignored me.

I looked at Dante, at Aurora and Layla, and for a tiny moment I doubted myself - was I not interpreting this correctly? Then my eyes found Alexis again, saw the near invisible pained subtleties on his face. They screamed at me that something was wrong, and I knew I wasn't imagining things.

I looked at Eir and followed her line of sight.

Suddenly I realized where she was going. Suddenly I finally realized why Alexis was crying.

Eir grasped her staff tightly and I could already feel her magic simmer through the air.

"Eir, stop!" I called out to her. Again, Eir ignored me as more and more of her magic swirled through the air. Aurora's voice halted. Layla's "What the..." quickly drowned in the noise Eir's magic produced. Her eyes and staff lit up in her bright blue hue, almost blinding in their intensity in the darkness of the desert night.

I ran up to her, but already I recoiled from her magic swirling fiercely around her - it cut surprisingly deep into my skin and prevented me from coming closer.

"Eir is going to take Samuel's soul!" I screamed at Dante - he was much stronger than I was, his skin was covered in protective scales, perhaps he could...

Dante did not reply, did not rush to my side to try and help me stop Eir. Confused, I whipped my head towards him, but when my panicked eyes found him, I stopped dead in my tracks. He just stood there, arms crossed and a steeled look on his face. His body language screamed back at me that he wasn't going to do anything about it.

***Dante***

"I know..." I replied sternly.

At first I had no idea what Cyrea was so upset about, but when I saw the way Eir looked at Samuel, I knew.

I knew. I understood.

And I wasn't going to stop her.

My demon heavily disagreed with my inaction - heavily. However, just as I did not suppress him, he did not push me to take action. I understood why he and Cyrea were so appalled by the taking of a soul - how it defiled the very foundation of the cycle of life and death - but Samuel's actions... Samuel's terrible and misguided actions have created a much bigger ripple in that very cycle than the removal of his soul ever could.

"You are appalled by my murderous rage... You punish yourself for almost killing those angels... Yet you idly stand by when she takes a soul... Those angels you slew would have been reborn, Dante, but Samuel will not!" my demon raged at me.

I felt him close to the surface, his words furiously flaring up my eyes and his strength surging through my muscles - he desperately wanted to rush in and disrupt Eir's spellcasting, but I stood fast and simply watched how a large and particularly violent magical storm quickly gathered around her.

"You're right," I merely replied. "The thought of succumbing to murderous rage, to kill indiscriminately because I could not control myself - it sickens me like nothing else. This is different..."

Eir's eyes were filled with fury, with pain. I watched her magic swirl around Samuel's body. He was far too injured to stop Eir, far too wounded to evade her, but his eyes - if unlimited hatred had an eye color, it would be his.

More and more magic surrounded Samuel, violently surging around him and roughly lifting him up from the ground. Like a ragdoll his body violently flipped and jerked in Eir's bright blue maelstrom. His limbs flailed so hard, they clanged against his armor, leaving bloody splatters on the metal. Eir hardly seemed to notice. Her vicious stare alone would pierce his very soul if it could.

Cyrea had tried to intervene, but quickly found out she was unable to reach Eir in her magical maelstrom. My mate ran over to me and stared at me with abhorrent bewilderment.

"Why? Why won't you try to stop her?!" she half sobbed, half screamed. The look on her face pained me, her pulling on my arms as a call to action made me hurt my soul, but I stood by my beliefs.

I looked deep into the watery, deep blue eyes of my gorgeous mate.

"To protect you, my love..." I answered.

Even though I now felt more like a demon than ever, my humanity still stood at the core of who I was, and no matter how 'wrong' it was to an immortal to take a soul, right now it was the most logical thing to do.

Eir understood that too.

"He won't stop, Cyrea. You haven't seen his insanity or his wrath like I have, like Alexis has, or undoubtedly heard about it like Eir has..." I sighed dreadfully and took Cyrea's face in my hands. A lone tear dribbled down her cheek, and I wiped it away with my thumb. "He bragged about how he destroyed sinful souls, my love. He actually bragged about it... This is the only way to protect you and the rest from him. The only way."

"Leave him, Cyrea. The fucker deserves this!" Layla grumbled.

Cyrea's head whipped towards Layla who stood side to side with Aurora. I wasn't nearly as proficient in reading body language as Cyrea was, but it was abundantly clear they did not particularly mind this course of action.

My beautiful soulmate hung her shoulders down in defeat. With a defeated grunt I pulled her against my chest and wrapped my arms around her, gently rubbing her back to soothe the both of us.

"You possess a kindness that is far too good for this world, my love. It gives you a nobility most angels could only dream of..." I whispered to her, looking deep into her teary eyes. "It pains me we cannot agree on this, but it makes me love you so much more..." I whispered to her.

Cyrea sagged against me and rested her body on my chest, keeping her eyes averted from the scene that took place behind her. She did not object, nor did she agree. She did however allow me to pull her closer to me and place a loving kiss on her curls.

Eir's magic had lifted Samuel clean off the ground. If he was screaming, his voice was lost to the cacophony that surrounded him - rocks and sand violently swooshed through the air and crashed into each other in the magical blue vortex that surrounded Samuel. The magic closed in on Samuel, swirling faster and faster, swallowing him whole until it condensed into a small, bright blue orb. With a silent explosion, the blue magic spread out like muted fireworks, making me wince at its intensity.

The bright imprint of Eir's magic still seared my cornea as I tried blinking its bright shadow out of my field of vision. When my eyes had readjusted to the moonlit darkness, I saw Eir making her way over to where Samuel perished. Leaning heavily on her staff, she bent down and picked up something small, shiny and black, and held it in the palm of her hand, staring hard at it.

"You monster..." a weak voice sputtered somewhere behind us. I instantly recognized its venomous undertone and instinctually clenched my fists. Swallowing a growl, I turned around to look for the owner. She was the only angel left among the bloody debris of the battlefield.

Isabel.

The other angels here had obviously received some external healing - they had to, their wounds were too grave for them to have healed on their own accord by now. However, nobody had deemed it vital to heal Isabel. Why Aurora did not want to, I fully understood, yet it was particularly interesting to see that none of Isabel's brethren had felt the need to help her out.

The venom I had grown accustomed to seeing in Isabel's eyes was just as fierce as usual, not dampened by the severely crippled state her body was still in. As far as I was concerned, Isabel fell into the exact same category as Samuel did - zealous, venomous and insane - and the world would be far better off without her.

However - and this was a big 'however' - while her ego would suggest otherwise, this angel was no almighty Gatekeeper, did not wield an insanely powerful sword to pulverize those who would not abide by her insanity. While she possessed a despicable craving to crush those she did not approve of and was a hideously vile, self centered and mean woman - she was just that and only that - nothing more, nothing less.

The moment I took my first step towards her, Cyrea grabbed my arm.

"What are you going to..." she asked me, her eyes flicking from mine to Isabel and back. Her grip on my arm was tight, her jaw was clenched.

"I am going to make sure she won't bother us again," I replied bitterly.

When Cyrea's eyes went wide and her nails inadvertently dug deeper into my skin, I realized that remark could be interpreted in more ways than one. "Don't worry, I won't hurt her..." I added in a softer voice. My mate's eyes stared into mine for a long moment before she released my arm. I leaned in to give her a small kiss on her cheek and flashed her a reassuring smile.

The moment I turned around however, that small smile ran from my face. Isabel's wide eyes connected with mine and she desperately tried to wiggle away from me, wincing with effort. My previous encounter with her had left nearly every bone in her body broken or crushed, her wings pulverized and her blood seeping copiously from her wounds. While she had healed somewhat in the meantime, she wasn't able to stand yet.

Seeing her like this sent a pang of shame through my soul, though she didn't need to know that. While her tongue was silent now, her previous insult still rang in my ears - monster. I knew I went too far in my actions, that I behaved like a monster - I still felt horrible and ashamed about it. If it had been any of the other angels who lay crippled before me, I'd genuinely apologize for my actions and try to make amends, but... not to her, not to Isabel. I may have been a monster, but so had she.

Without breaking eye contact I leapt up in the air and landed on top of her. With a fierce growl I rammed my wings into the ground next to her and spread them wide, creating a winged cage from which she had no chance of escaping. Isabel sounded a deathly scream, but I silenced it with a low menacing growl as I loomed over her, my fangs dangerously close to the freshly healed skin of her cheeks. The golden glow from my eyes brightly lit up the tears streaming down her cheeks. She was wounded, alone, petrified with fear. Defeated.

The thick smell of her fear did not spark deep seeded hatred or rage towards her, but shame and disgust. However, she didn't need to know how horrible I felt about what I did to her. She didn't need to know of the shame her gaze sparked in my soul.

All she needed to know was that I'd do anything to protect my friends.

And I was going to make that abundantly clear to her.

"I will let you live..." I growled lowly, seeing her tremble with every word I spoke. "But if you ever, ever come near me or mine again, I will destroy you!" I snarled at her, my eyes lighting up our private space. Isabel whimpered uncontrollably, her fear leaking out of every pore - the stench of it permeating the winged bubble we were in.

I lied to her.

I had no intention of ever taking her soul.

She didn't need to know that, though.

Isabel did not reply. Her eyes were winced shut and her breath breezed in panicked sobs. I leaned in close to her ear.

"Do you understand?" I growled, seeing my eyes brightly light up her trembling face.

"YES! Yes, yes I understand!" she squeaked and sobbed, and went absolutely rigid beneath me.

The scent of her fear surrounded me, filled my lungs with each breath, caressed my tongue with each growl. Admittedly, it was delicious. Truthfully, part of me enjoyed having her at my mercy. Yet most of me was immensely relieved her fear was not the aphrodisiac it had been earlier, that it could not topple this newfound balance in my soul.

"Good... I never want to see you again!" I snarled loudly at her. I held her down like this for a long and excruciating moment, then got up and walked away, never to look at her again.

Eir stood several steps away from me, watching me as she leaned heavily on her staff. Her frown lingered on Isabel for a moment before her white eyes connected with mine. Her exhaustion made me unable to read her expression and I had no idea what her eyes could or could not be telling me.

She approached me, softly grunting with each step. As she moved, I couldn't help but notice a new gem occupying the indentations in her staff. It was a rather large one, made out of the blackest material I had ever seen and, contrary to the others, It did not shine or shimmer but was ominously muted.

Eir stopped in front of me. She evaded my gaze and cleared her throat.

"You not only defended me with exceptional ferocity, but also risked your life to save Alexis," she said with a broken voice. She took a shaky breath and brought her eyes up to meet mine. Even though I could not read them, they shimmered with emotion. "Such an intense and powerful reaction, one only reserves for their closest of kin. I am humbled and honored we hold such a place in your heart. Thank you, Dante," she said, her voice thick with emotion and formally bowed her head.

I released the breath I didn't realize I was holding. Somehow I did not expect this - did not expect such an outright appreciation of the horrors I committed. It actually took me an embarrassingly long moment to process her words - a welcome line of thought to the self loathing I had resorted to earlier.

Eir tentatively raised my head and seemed anxious for my reaction. Poor thing... I immediately wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in for a tight embrace.

"You're kin, Eir - you and Alexis both. Don't ever doubt that..." I whispered and placed a soft kiss on her hair. She took a shaky, deep breath, but relaxed in my arms and weakly nodded against my chest.

"And thank you for your words," I mumbled and took a deep breath, releasing Eir from my embrace. "Although actually I... I'm sorry for my uhm... ferocity. If I hadn't lost control like that, I could've helped you and Alexis sooner and maybe..."

"No, no, no, Dante. No..." Eir suddenly silenced me, raising her hand to me and cast an unbelieving look. "Don't you ever, ever apologize for fighting for those you care about! Even if you had killed those angels in your fury, had killed Samuel, you should never apologize for protecting the ones you love. Never!" She rested her hand on my chest and gave me an earnest look. "Stop being so hard on yourself."

Again this ashen blonde woman managed to surprise me. Again she managed to shed light on my actions in a way that did not condemn me - if anything, she was thankful for everything I did.

"I like her..." my demon grinned in my mind.

I took Eir's hand from my chest and brought it to my mouth to place a soft kiss on my fingers, thereby hiding the smile my demon's remark brought to my face.

"She took Samuel's soul mere minutes ago, remember?" I replied mockingly, distinctly remembering his rage when she did so.

My demon just scoffed dismissively.

"Sand over it..." he grumbled, making me chuckle.

Eir clearly did not expect me to chuckle and raised a questioning eyebrow at me.

"My demon agrees with you," I explained with a crooked smile. "As do I. Thank you Eir. I'll need to put a lot of what happened tonight in perspective, and your words will certainly help."

She smiled, then yawned. "It has been quite the night indeed..." she agreed.

I nodded, looking around at everyone gathered here. Everyone was tired, dirty and covered in angelic blood - blood I shed because I care so deeply for each and every one of them that I lost it when trying to protect them.

Eir, Cyrea, my demon - they all tried to tell me not to be so hard on myself. Now that the storm had settled and my blood wasn't tainted by adrenaline anymore, I was level headed enough to see they all made a good point. I was still ashamed at letting myself go, but at least the soul wrenching guilt was gone.

Baby steps...

Eir left my side and walked over to Alexis, who could thankfully stand on his own accord. He donned one of his wide grins the moment he saw me look at him - one which I happily reciprocated. Aurora did an amazing job. I was so immensely proud of her, and I made sure she could feel all of it through our bond. Her subsequent blush brought a wide smile on my face and I walked up to her to gather her in my arms.

I couldn't resist and captured her lips in a loving kiss.

"Thank you, my dear... Thank you for healing Alexis, for healing the others..." I told her privately and softly caressed her hair, trying not to cut her with my claws.

Aurora pleasantly swooned in the kiss, but didn't reply. I detected an uncomfortable amount of tension in her body and soul.

"Are you alright?" I asked her and released her lips so I could look into her beautiful black eyes.

Aurora nodded weakly and kept her searching eyes on mine.

"Did you...give in?...To your demon?" she asked softly and her heart rate shot up.

The inner demon in question veered up and stared intently at her through my eyes. Aurora noticed and tensed ever so slightly.

"She fears me?" my demon growled softly. I could tell he was appalled by the prospect, hurt even.

"I did..." I replied to Aurora and watched her eyes widen in fear and wonder. Her breath came out as a shaky gasp.

"Are... Are you alright?" she whispered while her eyes studiously traveled over every bit of my face.

"She fears me..." my demon growled in agony.

"No... No, she doesn't... She fears what we might become if we give in," I explained and tried to soothe him.

"I do not understand... You did not change, Dante..." he grumbled in confusion.

"You're right. I did not. Despite everyone trying to tell me I needn't worry, I still had to find that one out on my own..." I replied.

"I'm more than alright, my dear. I have discovered that it wasn't my demon whom I did not trust, but myself. I see that now and I've accepted him - accepted me. I hope you'll find your own inner peace someday too..." I told her softly.

Aurora took a moment to ponder my words, then breathed a relieved sigh and crashed in my arms, trembling as she held me close to her. With each deep breath she took, I felt the tension in her body dwindle.

Several times I could feel her inhale and move her jaw against my neck, as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't. After a while, she just rested her head against mine.

"I'm here for you, my dear. You know that, right?" I whispered to her.

"I do... I do..." she merely replied. I could tell she was tired, from her words and the way her body hung unto mine.

"Feel free to feed from me. It's been an exhausting night for you too..." I suggested.

Aurora's cheeks bulged against my neck into a smile before she stood back and coyly looked into my eyes. Despite the moonlit darkness I could see a small blush on her cheeks.

"Oh no, that's... that's quite alright... Layla will... uhm..." she mumbled and visually sought out her friend standing a few paces away from us. I could tell exactly when their eyes connected - the shy smile on Aurora's face paired wonderfully with Layla's lecherous one.