Their Wings

Chapter 32: Betrayal

I remember reading somewhere that when you go through a traumatic experience, your mind shields itself. It’s as if you’re a spectator instead of a victim, as if you’re watching something in the third-person instead of experiencing it yourself.

It would be easy to say I was shocked, but it seems too small a word to describe how I felt. I can’t think of a single word to properly describe the feeling that coursed through my body when the hood was lifted.

It was a mixture of shock, fear, anger and betrayal and it all equated to an emotional punch to the gut. But the worst part was that it made a strange kind of sense. In some strange, alien way; I had half expected it, but that doesn’t mean my heart didn’t break when his cold eyes fixed on my face and he smirked like it was a joke.

~O~O~O~

“Hello Ella.” he said.

“Luke…” I whispered, “You’re dead.”

He let out a dark chuckle and shook his head. Then he fixed his gold eyes on mine and I couldn’t help the shiver that ran up my spine. This was not the Luke I knew; my Luke’s eyes were warm and shining with emotion. These eyes were cold and empty, as if the light behind them had been put out.

“No, no I’m not. Definitely one of my better illusions if I may say so myself.” he said smugly.

“I saw the dagger, I saw your blood. Ciara killed you.”

“No she didn’t. It looked like she killed me; it’s simply testimony to my extraordinary acting skills that you believed me.”

My eyes widened, Acting? How much had he been acting?

He must have read my expression, because he answered, “Acting has always been my greatest asset. It’s amazing how handy it is when the situation calls for it.”

Jevidana chuckled, and my thoughts finally caught up. Traitor… no, no!

“You’re the traitor.” I whispered.

“Well done, she has a brain. Give her a gold star.” Luke said, gesturing around before his eyes settled back on me.

“Why?” I could think of nothing else to say.

“Why? Because the Angelus are pompous idiots who think they are better than everything else; because the Angelus deserve to be given a taste of their own medicine; because my own mother abandoned me out of loyalty to them!” Luke’s voice had gotten progressively louder until he was screaming and I had taken a step back.

“Is that what you think?” I asked him.

“It’s what I know. Aterus first approached me when he married Mina. He told me he could sympathise with my feelings and that there was a way for me to get revenge. He introduced me to Ciara, his daughter. That’s when I learned they were trying to raise the All-Father because of the birth of a new heria.

Aterus told me he would make sure I became your companion, so that I would be able to monitor your progress properly. I was to make sure that you would be ready by the time the All-Father was raised, and I’m pleased to say I succeeded.” he said.

“So it was all a lie?”

“Mostly.” he shrugged, “I needed to gather your trust so I would be able to break you when the time came. What better way to do that than to get you to fall in love with me? I mean let’s be honest; it was ridiculously easy, you are so gullible it’s hilarious.”

Tears were pounding against the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them show. I refused to give Luke the satisfaction of seeing how amazingly he had succeeded in breaking me apart. He cocked his head and smiled at me, nothing like how it used to be.

“So you never cared?”

Luke scoffed, “No, never. I would never even imagine putting my hands on my master’s property.”

My eyes narrowed and I looked past him to Jevidana, “I am not your property. I am not your Queen and as long as I have a choice I never will be!”

The All-Father heaved a long-suffering sigh, “You remind me so much of her. Your biggest difference is how hard it is for you to accept that we are meant to be together.”

“I would rather die.” I spat.

“You are the reincarnation of my beloved Queen. Why do you fight your destiny?”

“Because I don’t believe in it! We all have the power to make our own choices,” I looked at Luke, “our lives are not some cosmic joke.”

“You can’t kill me.”

“No I can’t, but I can send you back to your Shadow prison and keep you there for at least another millennia.”

“Why do you fight this Ella?” Luke asked. “It’s your destiny!”

“No it’s not. My destiny is to send that monster back to where he can harm no one else.” I shouted.

I was shaking, fighting back my tears. I forced myself to look Luke in the eye and face what he had become; what he had always been.

“I was a fool to have loved you, trusted you, cared about you. But I’ve been given a chance to right my mistakes.” I whispered.

Luke’s smile faded and walked forward until he stood right in front of me. I froze as I saw something flicker in his eyes. I reached up a hand and cupped his cheek, ignoring the audience around us. The flicker was back; brighter than before.

“You’re still in there Luke.”

Suddenly he grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand away from his face as if I had burned him. His eyes were wild and he was panting as he shouted, “I never loved you. It was a LIE, stop trying to convince yourself Ella!”

“I’m not the one trying to convince myself.” I said.

Luke shook his head and walked backwards, behind the All-Father. I raised my chin and stared him down. I knew my eyes were glowing brighter, and I could feel my hand curling around the phantom hilt of my sword.

I reached down and drew the blade, holding it in one hand as I drew the hood of the cloak over my head, “I am a heria, and it is my duty to protect every living being from the likes of you.

Jevidana cocked his head and smiled, “Then come get me little girl.”

I closed my eyes and drew up every single ounce of power in my body. Suddenly I felt my wings burst out of my back, bright silver and sparkling despite the clouds. I narrowed my eyes at the All-Father and walked towards him.

I watched his eyes widen as he slowly back away. He had finally realised just how drastically he had underestimated me. I smirked and followed him, until he was right at the cliff’s edge. He raised his hands and waved over the ground. I looked down and saw the shadows starting to surround us. He raised an eyebrow as the black began to cover my feet.

I swung the sword around and plunged it into his stomach. He gasped; his black eyes wide as his ebony blood spurted out. I dimly heard the shouts of the crowd as the All-Father clutched at his stomach. The rain lashed at me, but the hood protected my face.

I pulled the sword out and a spurt of black blood followed, splashing the ground. I walked forward and pressed my hands on his chest and pushed as hard as I could.  Jevidana raised his head to face me, and suddenly moved forward and wrapped his arms around me. I felt his blood soak through the cloak as the momentum pushed us both over the edge.

I grasped at the slippery rock, feeling the jagged edge cut into my palm. Suddenly a great weight tangled my legs and I looked down to see him clutching at my legs to keep from falling. He growled out an unintelligible word and the rain seemed to fall harder.

I closed my eyes and thought of everything that had brought me here. Meeting the gorgeous new guy with gold eyes; leaving my surrogate family for some unknown adventure; meeting Ian and Mina and Michelle; falling in love; finding my powers; meeting my parents… I felt the love for all the people in my life; I let it fill me up until I could feel nothing else.

And I let go of the cliff, and watched the world turn black.