Prophecy

Chapter 10: Decision

*Xavia's POV*

While trying to block out the pain it had previously caused, I tried one more time to think of ways to kill the angel. Instantly, I regretted it. In all my long life, I have never given up before. Never.

Why give up now? I wouldn't.

I'd try again... And so, I did.

Unfortunately, that fucking awful decision left me in utter gut-wrenching agony. I was in more pain than the souls who were being tortured in the depths of Hell. To put it quite simply... My soul was being torn apart from the inside out. The strands of my being were being unraveled thread by thread, and it left me utterly terrified.

My second attempt at the angel left me with no energy, which made me feel powerless. Fragile. Worthless. And very vulnerable to anything that would want to do me harm. It became so bad that I began to bleed from every orifice. I thought I was finally dying, but I somehow escaped death's clutches. My knees were wobbly when I tried to stand, and I felt weaker than ever before.

Nothing has ever made me feel this way, and I would rather suffer at my father's hands for the rest of my life than feel this way again.

Raziel suggested we wait until the angel left the restaurant and decide our next action. So, I sat down, leaning up against the wall, breathless. When I was in a relatively comfortable sitting position, I ensured I was facing the cafe's front doors. That severe reaction my body and soul had endured wholly fortified my choice. Never again would I even think of ways to kill the angel, nor would I actually do it.

The mission didn't matter to me anymore.

How could it?

The more I thought about how I felt, the more I realized that my heart wasn't in it. What I really wanted to do was get to know this beautiful, mysterious, and angelic woman. Honestly, I missed the calm feeling and abundant warmth she gave me when I saw her last. I didn't care that I had no idea why I felt that way; I just wanted to embrace that incredible emotion and feeling again. I even looked back on all my past interactions with other women to see if they compared. I included those with whom I shared more intimate relations, and nothing came close to giving me a similar sensation...

It was absolutely mind-boggling how deep these feelings in me ran when I didn't even know this angel's name. When we finally meet, I hope she can look past who and what I am—the evil below the surface...

I wanted a chance to understand what was happening to me and what she seemed to be a crucial part of.

While we waited, I was honest with Raziel and told him exactly what I felt and wanted to do. Without hesitation, he was by my side and agreed that my decision was best; he'd follow me anywhere.

Our bonds and trust showed true.

After nearly two hours, it seemed like they were closing down the restaurant. The angel turned off the lights while her friend waited at the door to lock it up. After saying their goodbyes, her friend entered a nondescript car while the angel walked down the street in the opposite direction. I wanted to keep my distance but needed to follow her to see her life in every aspect. When she retired for the evening, Raziel and I stayed relatively close to her scent, finding an abandoned church to rest in for the night.

The most shocking part was that neither he nor I were struck down upon entering a holy place. My father always instilled that anything related to our archnemesis would severely harm us in unimaginable ways and could lead to death. Interestingly enough, I realized the more I learned about life on Earth, the more wrong and misguided my father was. Sadly, I was pretty sure he wanted it that way, to scare me into submission, to control me.