In a Sanctum built for angels and mages lives a boy of secrets who carries a cracked halo, and a girl with a hidden past who's seeking answers...
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Apollo James, 19 years old, and freshly released of the bonds of an angel is seeking a way to get h...
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Audrey dangled a garnet necklace before me. I took it from her hands, and examined it. "You're sure this is hers?" I asked. She nodded, "she gave it to me before she left. It couldn't be anyone else's." I sighed. "What if it's just a misunderstanding?"
She dropped her bag on the floor and pulled it open, she waved her hand over it, and pulled out a mini chest shaped jewelry box and a stack of letters. "These were hers too." She said. I opened the box, expecting to find jewelry but what I found were photo cards. Photos of a young Audrey and a girl with deep brown skin and hazel eyes. Her hair was somehow longer than Audrey's and way more curly. In the photos, Audrey looks happy and so does the girl. Stella. That was her name. I knew her, we met briefly. She looked uncomfortably familiar to someone else I knew.
"What'd you say her name was again?" I asked, praying for Audrey to lie. I knew who it was, but I wanted it to not be her. Audrey looked at me questioningly, "Stella... Stella Black, why?" Fuck.
Her voice filled with worry, "Apollo?" She called. I needed more of her voice, I needed to focus. It wasn't enough. I took a deep breath in and focused on her. This was for her. This was for her.
"She knew my sister." I explained. Audrey cocked her head. "Your sister?" She asked. I nodded. Her face brightened a little. She became hopeful just at the mention of 'my sister.'
"Well if we find your sister maybe she can tell me what happened!" She beamed.
Bile rose in my throat, they was a nasty reality that hung over the room. I fought that reality day and night, but somehow, for Audrey the words were able to come out. "No, Audrey, we won't. She's dead."
"What?"
"My sister, Nia. She died." I repeated, louder. She froze. "Apollo, I-"
"Save it." I said. The only one here who should be sorry, is me. I sighed, "can we pick this back up later? I'm sure those letters can tell you more." I said. "I can't right now, I'm sorry." I pulled myself up. Audrey reach out to me but I brushed her off, leaving the room without so much as a goodbye. Guilt rushed through me, a new layer to add on to what I already felt. It hurt differently, touched me in places I thought Nia's death had already consumed. I was running from my guilt, he was right. But I was starting to realize I wouldn't win that race. It was an extension of me, not a cloud that hung over me I could run from. It was the consequence of my actions and it attached itself to me like a leech. I deserved it, she did not.
