Return

Hey guys! This is unfortunately the last chapter of this book. If you enjoyed, I hope you will read the next book (it is not the next book of this one, since this is not a series.) which you will find here. 

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I promised myself that I would be just as a great ruler as my father used to be. The belief that I might be the most powerful creature in the magical world gave me a false confidence, and I made mistakes I never meant to make.

The pain in my side grew unbearable before I could reach Jophiel and kill him. Darkness blurred my vision, and I lost consciousness for a time that felt like a split second.
Even so, when I woke up, I was in my velvet dress again, laying on a pile of ash that used to be a once mighty castle of blue marble. There were nobody else, just me. Clouds gathered above me. The last time this happened, these clouds turned into demons, and devoured most of the Sub-Consilium. I looked down at my side to see what was the cause of the pain.
There was a burned mark on my left that reached through my body, and another was on my right, somewhat smaller.

I struggled up into a standing position, but my whole body trembled. I Began walking to a direction of a taller hill of ash. When I got closer, I saw an arm. I dropped on my knees, digging into the still burning hot remains. The hand belonged to a man. Fury was still in my heart, and I grabbed a sharp piece of metal that once might have belonged to a chandelier. The metal broke through the skull, and he was dead for sure. I finally killed Jophiel.
Relieved, I began sobbing. I knew I had a fatal wound, and I knew that I won't live for long. But at least I did one thing right.

A person appeared on my right. I didn't even need to look to know who he was.

"You did this?" - He asked.

"Rider, You have to rebuild the consilium." - I whispered. - "You don't need to make changes in the system. We don't deserve to be treated better, because if we are, then rebellions would rise. Don't let the power into wrong hands... I... I know you can do it."

"What are you talking about. You are the one who destroyed the Consilium, and now I should be the one who rebuilds it?!" - He was angry with me, but I couldn't care less. I felt the warmth of fire on my back.

"Promise me!" - I shouted at him with the last drops of stamina in my vocal cords. But before he could say another word, my whole body lit on fire. It didn't hurt, it was more like relieving me of these wordy problems and pain. I know it was Joel's doing. I was certain from the first time I saw the wounds on my side. He sent his dragon through me... and I was just a grigori, I couldn't handle it's burning power.
But I was thankful for Joel. Ever since I was brought to Los Angeles, my life had been a nightmare. All I could hope was that Iris was still out there, healthy, and strong... she has to live on...
Ariel was most likely dead, since the castle collapsed and he was in the dungeons - I killed him.
Cassiel was in LA, as far as I knew... he will survive for sure. I can die in peace. Iris is my big sister, and she had always protected me. I couldn't do the same for her then, and I won't be able to do so in the future. Maybe the next whisperer in the family will do better than I did.

"Spirit!" - I felt Rider's arms around me. He hurt me many times, and I wasn't sure if I was more agry with Rider or with Marcus... but he was here, and as the flames devoured my body, he held me tightly. One last time, I touched his cheek.
Through my fingertip, a single sting crept inside his body and tied around one of his soul-hand's pinky-finger.

"Promise me." -I breathed through the flames.

"I promise!" - He whispered back. - "I promise everything, just please, hold on for a little while!" - I felt him lift me up. No matter what he wanted to do. It was too late.

Iris' POV

I was standing in the elevator, my finger above the button that lead to the top floor of the skyscraper.
The fact that I was not who I used to be was frightening, and I was also afraid of how the others will react. Especially my sister and Darren. They were my everything.

Driven by a sudden strength, I pushed the button, and the elevator began to rise. It had been more than a year ever since I disappeared. My new self needed human souls to function. I needed to kill in order to stay alive. As fragile as Spirit was, I knew that she wouldn't be able to accept me the way I am. 

I hoped that the past year Darren kept her safe, and didn't let any harm come to her. I had been living among the humans, just like I did with her before I decided to introduce her to this whole new world. Little did I know then... but I think, if she got used to this, maybe she would accept me.

Darren was the easier case. He was a Hell-Light, raised by his father, a demon. He know that whatever terrible thing we have to do to stay alive, it doesn't mean we are actually bad people. 

The elevator arrived with a ding and the doors opened swiftly. I stepped into the empty living room. My breath was quickening. I felt the sense of souls in the apartment, so they were home. 

"Hello?" - I called out. A figure stood up from behind the kitchen counter. His arms bloody, and vibly he was drunk as well. I could see a tree tattoo on his wrist, but it was cut several times... probably with a knife of a razor blade. - "Joel?" - I asked.

"I'm hallucinating again..." - He whispered, and drank the last drop of Jack Daniels from the bottle. 

"Where are the others?" - He raised his clouded eyes on me, and shocked, I realized that he had been crying. I have seen Joel drunk, pissed, annoying, but never crying. He never ever cried as long as I knew. - "Answer me, damnit!" - I started to panic. I felt the presence of somebody else in the apartment, but it wasn't Darren, nor Stephen.

"They are at the funeral." - He sighed, and sat down on the kitchen floor. I walked to the counter, and sat down on the closest chair. My heart was pounding my new, demonic blood quickly.

"When will they come back?" - I whispered.

"At any moment." - He answered after a short silence. What was I supposed to do? Pray that it's not somebody I loved? Hope that when they come back, they will say that it was just some old officer? Instead of sitting around, I decided that I will see who the other person was.

I walked to the guest bedroom, and opened the door. The bed was made, and the room was perfectly clean. By the window, a tall man stood. When he turned around, I saw that his skin was porcelain white, and his eyes shone with golden light.

"Can I help you?" - He asked.

"I could ask you the same thing. Who are you? What are you doing here?" - I asked back.

"Well, I am Damian. Since only few know me, I decided that it wouldn't be proper for me to attend the funeral of the head of the Sub-Consilium. However, I was told by one of the Severios that they will come home with a few close friends... they promised to tell me how it went." - His smile was sad, and he looked like a china doll in his black satin shirt and black denim jeans. - "May I ask who might you be?"

"I am friends with the Severios myself. My name is Iris." - I said. - "Please forgive me for my rude reaction. I will leave you to mourn in peace for your friend." - Not waiting for his reply, I closed the door. The Head of the Sub... I knew that Ambriel - my father - died not too long ago. But his funeral was held way back, a day after his death. I know, I stood at the back (well hidden by my cloak)

Just as I arrived back in the kitchen, the elevator arrived, and when the door opened, several known and unknown faces appeared. My eyes met Darren's, and I could see the shock.

"H-hello." - I say shyly. He looks stunning with his black outfit: shirt and suit. His deep silver colored tie elegantly hugs his neck. His ocean blue eyes almost shine, since they are the only thing on him which are not black, grey, or white.
I drunk in the sight of him, wishing that I had the courage to come to him earlier.

Beside him stands Rider, the ex-guardian of my sister. On his other side, a baby faced boy stands, he could be around the same age as Spirit. I can see strong resemblance between Joel and him. Of course, he does not have the same curly hair, or the strong jawline, like him, but this boy has the same light blue eyes, as Joel does.
The realization hits me that this boy must be the youngest boy, Stephen Severio. From behind, a tall, blonde person peers out, and as I glimpse a sight of him, confusion runs through me.

"What happened?" - He asks, and steps out from behind the group. He looks at me, and his eyes widen. - "Is she..." - He stops, gaping at me, opens his mouth again, then closes it. Finally, he looks at Rider, and all he says is - "Hmm."

"Marcus, this is Iris Princeps. Sister of the new head of the Sub-Consilium, Cassiel Princeps. I'm sure you can see the resemblance." - Rider says. I look at him a bit more closely. I haven't seen him in such a bad shape ever since he lost his wings. In fact, I doubt he looked this tired even then.
His hair is tied back in a shirt pony tail, he wore a black sweater with black leather jacket and black jeans and combat boots. The guy named Marcus beside him looked exactly like Rider.

I looked back at Darren. His lips parted and his eyes stared at me in disbelief. I was too afraid to take the first step, so I just stood there beside the counter, my eyes locked with his.
Suddenly, we heard glass shatter, and I spun around to see Joel with the crushed Jack Daniels bottle in his hand. Several pieces of glass were on the floor, spotted with his blood. Tears were trailing down his face.
"It was all my fault... I should have stopped her..." - He stared at me - "Forgive me." - With that, he sprinted towards the glass window, and jumped. The window broke to pieces around him. I heard myself scream, but Stephen ran after him, and before he could fall, he grabbed the collar of his shirt, and threw him back into the apartment. Joel smashed against the wall, and before we could do anything, Rider was on him, beating him.

"She didn't die to see you kill yourself!" - He shouted. Marcus pulled Rider off of Joel, and Stephen dragged the unconscious Joel away. My eyes wandered back to where Darren was standing, motionless.

"Who died?" - I asked. He walked up to me, and reached his hand out.

"I think you should see her." - Darren muttered. I took his hand, and the room spun around us. His hand was warm in mine. Suddenly we were in a forest. Moss covered the rocks, but there was a small pit, where a newly carved statue stood. It was life sized carving of my sister. She held her right above her head, and a small gold flame flickered in her marble palm.
"She burned to ashes after the Residence of collapsed. We don't exactly know what had happened. I was in the hospital for a week... Her bones were found, not far from Jophiel's corpse as far as I know." - He sighed.
I just stood there, gaping at the statue. Then, I burst into tears. I left her... I was supposed to be protecting her... she was my little sister.

Joel was wrong, he had nothing to do with her death, but it was me, who is the one to blame. I thought I was protecting her by staying away, but I could have changed things. I knew this world way better than she did, but I still left her to face with all this alone.
Darren embraced me in a hug, and I kept on sobbing.

Then we heard footsteps, and when I turned around, I saw Cassiel with a small candle in his hand. He seemed like he didn't even notice us: he just dropped on his knees front of the statue, and placed the candle at its feet. I struggled out of Darren's arms, and knelt down beside my brother. For the first time, he looked at me, and I could see that he blames himself just as much as I do. He put his arms around my shoulder, and I hugged him.

"Ariel is dead too..." - He whispered in a faint voice. I hugged him even closer.

"We are the only ones left." - I answered.

"Indeed, we are." - He whispered back.