An Angel's Song

Chapter Ten

Lord Callahan walked the halls of the grand Castle of Shakom, taking long but slow strides to his destination. A splatter of blood coated his collar, and despite the blackness of his long coat and matching shirt, one could easily make out the sticky texture of the blood.

His boots clicked against the marble floors, and his hair was disheveled from his long day in the City. He had punished those for rioting in the streets, and had event takent the lives of a select few. This was a normal routine for him, but something pained him, and he could not help but think of the blonde-haired beauty that had been distraught in her ways, and even more helpless than the man he had killed in front of her.

He gruffly threw open the two wooden doors that lead to his study, and followed the familiar path to his bedroom to where he lay down on his soft sheets. He took in a deep intake of breath, smelling the faint scent of roses that reminded him of Alana.

When the thought of her struck him, he sat up from the bed and put his head into his hands. He could not regret what he had done earlier in the City, but that did not prevent him from wanting to.

He wondered where she was, and had no doubt that she was avoiding him. He did not care though, and got up from the bed after several long moments of his conflicting thoughts running through his mind. Caden followed the natural pull that lured him to her. It was a strong feeling in the back of his soul, one that only he and Alana could recognize as fate pulling them together.

He found her not too far from his chambers, within one of the smaller libraries of the Castle. Alana was awake now, and even though she did not know he was notified that she had passed out, he was because one of the lesser lords had told him. She sat on the flat windowsill that was large enough to have pillows against it, staring out of the glass and up at the sky that seemed to have no end.

Caden was quiet in his ways, and approached her without her realizing it. He sat down next to her on the windowsill, and only then did her head perk up at his approach. Her relaxed expression turned into that of a glare, and then she tensely looked back to the window, barely acknowledging his presence.

The dark lord did not take too kindly to her rejection, and reached out to her. He grabbed her chin firmly and made her look into his eyes, "Why do you not greet me?"

Her glare darkened, the crease in her forehead deepening, "Why must I greet a killer who is unfair in his ways?"

"Killer?" He sneered, "I am no such thing."

"Then please do, explain to me why you killed a helpless man in the streets?" she had replied curtly. He looked at her seriously then and responded, "I am only doing the King's dirty work. And that man, he was a traitor to this kingdom. He led riots in the streets, trying to rebel against us Fallens so that petty humans could take over what is not theirs."

Alana jerked her head from his fingers and scooted away from him. Tears brimmed her eyes but she did not care, "Is that all I am to you, then? A petty human?"

Caden suddenly noticed his mistake and shook his head once, "No, you are my twin flame. This makes you greater than all of them, can you not see this?"

"I am not like you," she snapped, finally getting up from her seat as her muscles tensed all the more from her anger towards him, "I am like them. Those petty humans who you talk so lowly of."

He stood up abruptly and put a hand to either side of her shoulders, and gave her a jerk, as he roughly said, "No You are not like them. You are different."

"What am I then?" She challenged, the tears finally falling. She sniffed her nose, and her cheeks turned slightly pink upon her frustration towards the dark lord.

"You are innocent, everything that I am not." He said, almost more so to himself.

Something in her crossed then, and it was as if she had an epiphany to the fact that they were not so alike after all. He was evil, and she was good. She was innocent, and he was guilty. Then, why would fate pair them together?

She jerked away from his touch after that, and glared up at the man, "Do not touch me."

"I can do as I like with you, remember? We are one another's, no matter how much you may dislike the fact." With those words, he reached for her once more and pulled her into his embrace, into an awkward hug that actually felt perfect in a sense.

Alana was taken so off guard that she could not comprehend the odd sensation that flowed through her veins, almost as if tantalizing her nerves and deceiving her heart into thinking that they were actually meant to be together. Caden pressed his face into her hair and inhaled deeply against her, and then she could have sworn he kissed the top of her head.

"We are meant for one another." He said calmly. It was a foreign side that she had seen of Lord Callahan, and she could not help but think that she was the only one who had ever seen this gentle side of him. Alana found herself wrapping her arms around his waist, and he hummed lowly at that.

She felt her heart being drawn to his own, their souls clashing as one as the energy from their souls collided in the one gesture that seemed simple enough.

"You feel it, too?" Caden asked softly. Alana nodded into his chest, and then roughly pushed away from him, "But it is not right." Her retort caught him off guard. Alana continued to reject their bond, but he knew that she could not deny what she had felt in that one minute of embracing.

"It is right." He challenged, "And soon you will come to realize that fate is not as mistaken as you make it out to be."

Then, he walked away with a turn of his shoulders and the clicking of his boots.

#

The night had become late, and Alana found herself avoiding Caden all the more. She found her guest bedroom with the help of a guard, and had gotten ready for bed. Wearing a thin night slip, she covered herself with the warm blankets and made a ball beneath the sheets. She felt lonely, and feeble, and all she wanted to do was return home to her loving parents and townspeople.

As her eyes slowly drifted to a close, the door opened to her guest bedroom. She awoke then, her back turned to the door, and even though she could not see the person who entered, she felt the bond that pulled her to him. It was Lord Callahan.

Caden crossed the wide floors and lay down next to Alana, who had her eyes squeezed shut on purpose. She gulped when his strong, burly arms wrapped around her torso, and then he whispered, "You are to sleep with me tonight."

She was about to retort but he scooped her up, still bundled in the sheets, and then continued to carry her away from the comfort of her bed. Despite her earlier frustrations coming back, she did not feel as lonely in his arms as she had in the large bed, so she did not complain when he left the room and carried her tired form down the long hallways.

She had drifted into a light sleep, but was awoken when Caden set her down onto the familiar sheets of his own bed. She did not notice him slip his shirt from his head, and take his pants off so that he was only in a pair of tight britches. Then, he settled in next to her, and they fell asleep together with him holding her.