Fallen

Epilogue

I lay in bed in the dim room, lit only by the fireplace in the corner, staring up at the golden serpent ring that had belonged to my brother, watching as the fire light danced along the metal. The wound that he'd given me had healed nicely after I'd had time to recover some of my lost energy, leaving only a thin, long, white line along my bare chest.

"I wonder if it could have been different," I thought aloud, still staring at the ring. I sat up and leaned back against the dark headboard. "If Lucifer had chosen me instead of Gaius. Would it have been him fighting for humanity today and me trying to destroy them? Would he have fallen like I had? Are the two of us really so different, or was it just by chance that we wound up on the sides that we did?"

"You know that's not true," a woman's voice said as dark skinned hands wrapped around my shoulders and ruby red lips pressed against my cheek. Ruby rested her head against my shoulder. "Lucifer and Michael didn't make either of you into what you are now. Gaius made his choices, and you made yours, and I know they would have been the same no matter if you had been serving under Lucifer and Gaius under Michael. You and Gaius might be brothers, but you were born with far different hearts."

"Maybe, but my heart is far from pure," I replied, taking her hand in mine. Ruby looked up into my eyes, and for a moment we remained like that, just staring into each other's hearts. "There's darkness in me, too."

"Without the dark, you wouldn't be able to see the light," Ruby answered, putting a soft hand on my cheek. "And there's so much light to be seen."

"How do you know?" I asked in a whisper.

"Because I can see your heart, Gavin, and I know that it was made from light," she answered, pressing her smooth, soft lips onto mine. I returned the kiss with all my heart, hoping against hope that she was right.