The Space Between Us

Chapter 1

    "You stand accused." His brother said, hands folded behind him as he looked down from his throne. "We are the balance, we are keepers of peace and you have become.. You have become more like our enemies, brother."

    "I have done nothing but my duty." He ground out, fighting against the chains that bound him to the cool marble floor. His brothers averted their eyes whenever he would look at them, for they felt shame in what they were doing. "I am nothing like them!" He shouted.

    "You have given me no choice brother! You are dangerous, to yourself, to the people we are sworn to protect!" His brother shouted, slamming his fist against the arm of his throne. The room trembled at the weight behind his fist. "You must earn your place again. You must learn how to cope with what you have cost us."

    "Why couldn't you heed my warnings?" Asked his youngest brother. His blue eyes shrouded by grief.

    "Bring her." His eldest brother said with a sweeping motion of his hand.

    Those grand doors opened behind him and he dared not look. Not even as his heart thundered in his chest at the sounds of her fighting against his brothers holds. He fought against his chains at the sight of her fighting, kicking and cursing those around her.

    "You have cost us countless lives, and you act as if you are above our laws? Your wife is the most important thing to you, is she not?" Asked his eldest brother, slowly descending down the steps towards his wife. Her beautiful features contorted in rage as she watched him close in on her.

    "Do not dare lay a hand on her." He snapped, fighting against the chains that bound him in place. His eldest brother sighed, caressing his wife's cheek. She jerked back and drove her leg towards his knee in hopes to break it. His brother shook his head and gripped her wing at the arch. Those beautiful, deadly black wings he loved so dearly for they matched his own. "Brother."

    His brother ignored him, and his wife's screams filled the silent room. His brother, had crushed the bones in her wing, to sway her from acting out again. Nausea flooded him at the sound of her scream, her bones breaking.

    "This is your punishment brother, hear me and hear me well. You will be stripped of your grace, of your wings, of your title. You will be nothing more then a guardian at best, and as for your dear wife.. She will forget you. Forget about our world, and who she is. She will be born again, and you will guard her with your life." His brother said, crushing the bones in her wing further. She did not scream or cry this time, but she drew blood from how hard she bit her lip.

    "Brother please. Please, do not hurt her. I will do as you ask, but leave her be." He protested, tears stained his cheeks at the sight of his wife in pain. Such pain that had been his doing.

    "The choice has been made." His eldest brother said, jerking his wife forwards onto her knees. Her olive skin glittering under the vibrant light of the room, her long black hair falling around her face like a curtain of darkness. She whipped her head up and those grey eyes that struck him every time, filled with tears.

    "Lucien-" but the words fell silent as her eyes lost their glow, becoming dull. He yelled, fighting against his bonds to the point of drawing blood. Her small frame went limp and she fell forwards onto her stomach, her skin no longer glowed with the vibrancy it always had, and then like fine sand in a violent breeze, she was gone.

    "I will kill you! I will kill you, I swear it!" He screamed. His brothers looked away from him, guilty, but his eldest brother knelt down before him, gripping his chin painfully between his fingers.