Smoke and Mirrors : Royal Angels I

Break free

~Daniel~

What to do when your fiancé becomes a psychopath was one of  those useful courses they never taught at university.

Like how to get a bank account or own property or become Beyoncé.

At least, the other three could've been solved by putting a ring on it.

The first, not so much.

I couldn't see what was happening on the TV anymore as the transmission got cut off. The white noise oddly made it worse - not knowing what happened to Xavier was a dead weight pressing hard against my chest.

Adriana looked like a ghost now herself, her feet hovering above the air, the raw energy pulsating through her body in waves.

She still had me pressed up against the wall.

On any other day, I'd have found that kind of thing hot.

Tonight the situation was about as sexy as a bleating goat.

I was about as useful as one too, considering the fact that I couldn't move a muscle or use my magic around her.

I was actually bored, and I was humming Break Free by Queen right then.

Yeah, I probably deserved a special place in hell for that.

Suddenly, the bonds around my chest vanished and I collapsed to the ground. My muscles were sore and I was gasping for air so I didn't see what happened.

All I heard was the sound of boots clicking. The frightened cry of the only woman I'd ever loved.

And then there was silence.

I slowly looked up as a hand was offered to me.

It was colder than ice and harder than marble.

One moment I was struggling to get my feet under me, the next I felt an unease I couldn't describe settle at the pit of my stomach. I wanted to lie back down and never get up again.

I felt like someone had ripped off a part of my soul and filled it up with cotton filling or some cheap shît.

When I opened my eyes, I realised why.

Death looked me in the eyes as I stood alone in middle of the neighbourhood that I'd barely known and had never deserved to.

It was just him and me like we were on Dancing with the stars.

Except this bästard had reduced the audience to a scorched pile of ashes.

There was nothing. Not the apartment, not the florist's shop, not even the fücking lamp posts - because apparently good city planning personally offended the bästard.

It slowly sank into my bones like rain, a deep sadness when I realised that amidst these ashes were the bodies of the people here.

He'd razed it all to the ground - men, women, children.

My woman.

And my unborn child.

It was like watching an accident in slow motion. There was an endless moment of crushing pain that brought me to my knees and made me feel like my lungs were on fire. Like my whole world was collapsing into itself and I was drowning at the same time.

But then the moment passed.

And I felt nothing.

Azrael was looking down at me curiously, like I was an ant under his magnifying glass. I didn't take his hand this time, getting to my feet.

I only asked him one thing. "Is he alive?"

Azrael answered it with a question. "Was it worth it?"

I looked at him, replicating his curiosity. I wondered if I could smile again, and if I could whether I'd remember her then.

"Nothing's ever worth anything." I said, simply. "I know you don't take debts, but what is a debt when nothing has a price?"

Death nodded once, considering it.

I left him standing there and began walking.

And for once I knew what I was doing.

I'd keep walking until I found something worth stopping for.

***

Author : "What would you stop for?"