14.

“Hold on,” He gently whispered in my hair, wounding his arms even tighter around my waist and with a single, powerful flap of his wings we were already darting towards the clear, starry sky.
Feeling a little bit scared, I wrapped my arms even tighter around his neck, burying my face in the collar of his leather jacket.

“Calm down, Red. I’m not going to drop you.”

That spicy, masculine scent and the heat of his muscular body seemed to have a somewhat calming effect, my entire body gradually relaxing until everything slowly faded away, falling into a peaceful slumber.

The soft thud of his boots landing on the ground reached my ears, slowly pulling me back to reality, feeling him gently placing me down.
Taking a glance around, my gaze was instantly greeted with the beautiful sight of an enormous rose garden, illuminated by the bright moon rays, surrounding the huge, imposing castle standing all tall and mighty right before us.

“Shall we?” His voice quickly drew my attention, noticing that tiny smile tugging at his pouty lips as he gazed down upon me, holding his arm out for me to take.

Without any other words I tangled my arm with his, taking small, hesitant steps towards the giant wooden double doors, feeling so unsteady on the black high-heels he made me wear before leaving the apartment.

“I still don’t understand. Why did you bring me here?” That single question tumbled out my lips as we advanced towards the hard-wooden massive doors, glancing up at him.

“Have you ever been to a party before?” He simply asked, taking a halt right at the entrance.

“No...” I quietly admitted, lowering my gaze somewhere on the stone stair.

My mother would’ve never allowed me to, was what I really wanted to say, yet I chose to simply stick to that single word.

“That’s what I thought,” He mused, seconds before I suddenly heard the massive doors opening, my sight instantly raising to meet the incredible sight before me.

A very large, intricately decorated imposing hall, hosting a vast sea of different kinds of supernaturals, casually wandering around, sipping from their fancy glasses and conversing with each other from time to time.

A smooth song played in the background as we slowly advanced, my fingers unconsciously digging deeper in his arm as I felt more nervous and scared than ever.

“Relax, Red. I’m right here, with you,” His gentle whisper in my ear gave a little comfort as my breathing gradually became more even, loosening my grip, taking my time to gaze around.

Black and golden predominated the whole vast space, the dimly-lit huge chandelier haging in the middle of the golden-patterned ceiling and the candles hanging on the cream walls contrasting the guests’ completely black attires, only now realizing why he chose this dress for me as I ultimately noticed the scantily clad female guests roaming around the place almost naked, with their tiny dresses or various other way too revealing garments.

Huh, and I thought I look indecent...

“Raphael! Glad you could make it!” A smooth male voice suddenly pulled me out of my brief reverie, instantly noticing the tall, slender figure now standing right before us, his aristocratic features somehow reminding me of my brother.
However, what really drew my attention were his twinkling ruby red eyes, visibly contrasting his pale white skin and light blonde hair as his attention suddenly averted right towards me, incessantly examining me from head to toe, making me feel very uncomfortable.

“Yeah, whatever, where’s the booze man?” Raphael answered in a rather bored manner, looking somewhere past him and tried to step further, only to be stopped by the persistent man.

“Wait, aren’t you going to introduce me to your beautiful date?”

My heart-rate instantly spiked, already feeling a little wary until I suddenly felt Raphael’s arm possessively wrap around my waist, pulling me impossibly close to him as he harshly answered,
“She’s mine, and that’s all you need to know.”

A small pinch of heat crept up my cheeks at the sound of his words, remembering exactly how he placed that ugly mark on my skin, noticing how the intimidating man’s ruby red orbs ultimately landed on my chest, right where the said mark was supposed to be, a deep frown marring his features as he simply answered,
“I see.”

“But it’s allright, my friend, there’s no need to get defensive. It’s not like I was going to bite her or something,” He then commented, dark mirth lacing his deep tone, those last words sending a cold shiver running down my spine, seemingly angering Raphael to no end as he practically growled at him,
“Touch her and I’ll rip your fangs off.”

With that, the man finally took a few steps back, defensively raising his palms right in front of his chest though his eyes were still glinting with mischievousness.

Tugging me along with him, Raphael then advanced further in the crowd, but not before giving the man one last hard stare.

“Who was that?” I asked as we made our way through the crowd towards another, much larger room, hosting even more supernatural population.

“Arias, the eldest vampire prince,” He casually answered, my eyes widening as I ultimately realized I’ve just encountered one of the worlds’ deadliest predators, instinctually moving my body even closer against his for a some kind of protection.

Like sensing my current distress, he let out a small breath of air as he calmly assured,
“Relax, he is no match for me. Even without my grace I could easily take him down.”

Swiftly taking a glass from a man just casually passing by with a silvery tray, he then quickly downed its contents, lightly pressing the cool glass against my lower lip afterwards.
I curiously stared up at him, not even attempting to make single move as he fixated me with those intense black gems.

“Listen, and you listen good. Under no circumstances you will drink from any of these glasses.
This is called Poison, a drink created only for the supernaturals,” He leisurely explained, smearing the last drop on the glass’ edge over my lip.

“And since -I presume- you never drank before...I’d say it might be a little risky for you to try this right now, with so many dangers lurking around...” He purposefully drawled those last words, his piercing coal irises fixating onto my mouth, watching how my tongue unintentionally darted out, licking that single, tiny drop, feeling a small trace of the sweet, stinging liquid.

“Now...let’s dance, shall we?”

Nervously biting my lower lip, I lowered my gaze somewhere on the cream marble floor as I quietly admitted,
“I...I don’t know how...I’ve never danced before...”

Hearing him let out a small chuckle, my attention averted back to him, noticing that tiny smile still dancing on his lips as he said,
“I’ve thought so.
Come on, I’ll teach you. It’s actually very easy.”

Without any other words, he gently took my hand in his while the other guided mine around his neck, moving his body even closer against mine, those endless black pools warmly staring down at me.

“Just relax. Let your body guide itself after the rhythm.”

Maintaining eye contact, I focused my hearing on the slow, pleasant song, guiding my body in fluid moves along his, soon moving as one, together in the sea of dancing bodies losing ourselves.



**Raphael**



Her lithe body graciously mirrored my every move, together guiding ourselves after the slow rhythm, her vibrant green eyes intensely staring right back into mine as we danced.
Careful not to let my control slip away I took slow intakes of breath, gradually letting small amounts of her insanely tempting scent penetrate my nostrils, keeping a tiny but fair distance between us.

Only the moment her attention finally averted from me, taking a casual glance around, that sickly sweet cherry blossom scent suddenly hit me even harder as she pressed her entire self against mine, burying her face in my chest like seeking for some kind of protection.

“What’s the matter?” I calmly asked though on the inside I was anything but calm, intently holding my breath as I looked down upon her small form.

“Gods...There are so many gods roaming this place...” She fearfully whispered, slowly raising her sight to look up at me.

“Yeah, so? Why are you hiding?” I asked, raising one eyebrow.

Warily taking a look around, she then raised on her tip-toes, wounding both her arms around my neck and as if I wasn’t hard enough already, she pushed my buttons even harder as her plump lips delicately brushed against my ear, carefully whispering,

“No one besides mother, Rem, my godfather Apollo and you knows about my true origins.
And that’s why we live here, in human realm, instead of living in the Citadel, like we used to when Rem and I were children.”

“Mother told us that if any of the gods would find out what I really am, and not just a simple demigoddess like she told everyone, they would instantly destroy my soul and punish her for creating such an abomination.”

Abomination...

*Abomination...*

That last word echoed in my mind like a distant memory, sending me back in time, various distinct voices ringing in my ears and a pair of tear-filled forest green eyes flashing before mine, rendering me momentarily frozen.

*Raphael...*

“Raphael?”

My gaze ultimately returned back on the girl before me, noticing the confused expression marring her doll-like features.

“Hm?”

“I said, “are you okay”?”

I blankly stared down at her for a few moments, completely speechless, before I finally willed myself to move, spewing those last words to her,

“Just...stay here. I’ll be right back.”




**Daya**


I remained completely still in my spot, watching him quickly disappear in the massive crowd, now feeling so scared and vulnerable as I ultimately realized he had left me all alone in a room full of all kinds of dangerous supernaturals.

Oh great.

I casually looked around, watching males and females dancing around, drinking and having fun, not bothering to even notice me.

At least I’m safe. For now.

I loudly exhaled, tucking a loose strand behind my ear. But the moment my gaze casually shifted to my right, my whole body instantly froze as I ultimately noticed Arias, the vampire prince who greeted us earlier at the entrance now standing just a few feet away, those ruby red orbs intently fixated on me as he slowly sipped from his crystal glass, observing.

Oh dear.

My heart already started pounding inside my chest as I felt like a helpless prey on the verge of being caught in the predator’s merciless claws, hastily looking around as I wracked my mind for an escape.

Where are you Raphael?

I mentally whined like a small cub that lost its mother, searching with my eyes in the sea of darkly dressed bodies.

Gathering up some courage, I then finally moved from my spot as I decided to do the single logical thing and search for him, not even daring to look back in the vampire prince’s direction as I smoothly squeezed myself in between the living obstacles, careful not to touch anyone.

And only after a few moments of aimlessly walking, I suddenly found myself entering a large marble corridor, its dim lights hanging on the walls poorly illuminating it.

Yeah, not scary at all.

Hearing the faint sound of footsteps somewhere far behind, I didn’t waste another second and ran off, praying that I would at least find another exit from this doomed castle. Or maybe even Raphael.

As if I would be that lucky.

Hearing the slow footsteps becoming even louder, clearly signaling that the person following me was even nearer, I pushed myself to run even faster until one of those damned high-heels Raphael forced me to wear suddenly snapped, ungracefully sending me tumbling on my knees on the cold marble floor.

My breath lodged in my throat as I noticed the deadly silence surrounding me, not moving a single muscle as I sat on the stone cold floor, too scared to even dare blink.

Suddenly hearing the footsteps now sounding from somewhere right in front of me, my gaze instantly snapped up, only to notice those ruby red gems terrifyingly glinting in the dim lights.

“Have you lost something, darling?”







**Raphael**



That single word still rang in my ears as I harshly pushed through the double wooden doors and finally exited the crowded mansion, in the cool night air, gladly welcoming the much-needed moment of silence.

Oh fuck…

I desperately clutched my hands against the mane of hair at the top of my head, feeling like punching my way through a fucking wall.

“Fuck…fuuck!” I roared from the top of my lungs, struggling to erase that annoyingly persistent image from my mind. The look in her forest green eyes, those tears on her face…

No…Leave me alone…

“Leave me the fuck alone,” I muttered through gritted teeth, holding my eyes screwed shut in a desperate attempt to just burn that damned image from my mind.

Go away…Just fucking go away…

“Still running from your siblings, I see,”

My eyelids snapped open at the sound of that awfully familiar voice, swiftly turning around to face the cunning little brat that had been trying to screw with my head for the past few times now.

I watched her slowly advance from the neatly-trimmed rose garden and towards the stone steps, her bare and small feet taking a halt right at the first stair.

“What games are you trying to play, Itherael?” I bluntly went straight to the point, giving her an equally cold look.

“What are you talking about silly?” She only let out one of those annoying little giggles of hers, making me want to just strangle that stupid special grace out of her.

Oh playing dumb, I see…

Well let’s refresh that forgetful little mind of yours…

“Oh you know what I’m talking about. Those little mind tricks you pulled on us, those naughty little images,” I pointedly rose one eyebrow for a little bit of emphasis.

“It’s not funny you know,” I countered with the utmost calmness, even though on the inside I was anything but. The little brat had dared to fucking toy with me for the laughs of it and now she even dared to play dumb with me.

Bad move daddy’s little fave, bad move.

“Oh that,” She simply replied like it was the most boring thing in the world, also angering me to no end.

“Yeah that,” I seethed, barely containing myself from not starting a downright battle with her.

The nerve of this kid.

“But that wasn’t me, silly!” She chirped back, letting out yet another one of those giggles of hers I absolutely loathed.

“Oh really?” I casually leaned against one of the castle’s stone columns, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Yes really! That was all you! Can’t you see? You’re destined to bond with her! She’s your other half!”

I stupidly stared at her for a few moments, those words of hers actually creating a some kind of conflict within me as indeed she was the Archangel of Fate and all that shit after all…However, I quickly brushed it off, choosing to contradict her instead. That couldn’t be true. Angels usually don’t have such thing. Let alone fallen ones.

“Other half my ass! What the fuck are you talking about? Haven’t you taken a good look at me yet? Are you that blind?” I spat back, her whole stance remaining impassive though as her attention remained trained on me.

“Oh, stubborn as always...I see...” She expressed one of those knowing smiles of hers, momentarily lowering her deceivingly juvenile face to the ground.

“With or without your grace, you have always been so hard-headed...” She lightly shook her head with disapproval.

“Can’t you see? You are meant to be her savior! You will be the one to save her soul! You and only you!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I suddenly shot back, her annoying insistence over such matter already starting to test my patience. So instead of doing something I would’ve definitely regretted later, I closed my eyelids shut for a few seconds, choosing to avert my attention towards the rose garden instead and completely ignore her unwanted presence.

“From what I recall, you already have, more than once already…”

“Her miserable life, her cruel mother...” She tried yet again, seemingly struggling so hard to vex me even more. Still, I didn’t let myself fall for her stupid lies and with a dismissive flick of my wrist I simply told her,

“Whatever. I don’t have time for this bullshit. Go and bother someone else.”

Only just as I was about to turn aside and walk back inside since I was already starting to think that maybe I’ve left Daya all alone in there for too long, Itherael’s last words reached me in a ominous whisper,

“Oh and by the way, He’s been watching you. He knows all about that little fun you’ve been having lately with his precious children. So don’t think you will get away unpunished after all this is over.”