96. Chapter 96
CHAPTER 96
Cassiel
C assiel studied his reflection in the mirror. Velvet patterns adorned his new black coat. He stretched out his right wing, still feeling a phantom sensation of where the left one used to be. Like a missing limb. Two months had passed in Sellav, yet he still felt off balance. But Cassiel was at peace with that because the alternative was so much worse.
This was merely a new challenge to overcome rather than a disability.
He met Dyna’s despondent gaze in the mirror as she entered the room in a gown that resembled the night sky. Decorative gold plating embellished her shoulders and chest. Her sword with a hilt of wings and emerald langet casually rested at her hip.
“Every time I feel its absence I will remember who it was for,” Cassiel said, going to her. “Please don’t be sad.”
As Dyna came forward, a long veil streamed behind her dress, glittering with embroidered stars. Thin gold chains adorned the back, falling against her bare spine. She took his hand. “I cannot help it. I feel regretful when I see it, and I wish I had taken your offer to fly once more with you.”
Cassiel had to admit he wished they had, too. He would miss flying in those skies with her, but he was grateful they had memories to remember.
He nodded to the Pegasus waiting outside in the garden. “We have other ways to fly, lev sheli .” Picking up a polished square box off the mantle, he opened it and showed her. Inside lay a gold crown set with emeralds the deep green of a forest. “A crown befitting a queen.”
Dyna arched a brow at him playfully. “Are you to bestow me with such elaborate gifs each time you anger me?”
“And each time I am fortunate enough to make you happy.” He placed the crown on her head. It couldn’t have fit her more perfectly.
She stared at herself in the mirror. “When did you have this made?”
“I had many crowns made for you. Only the best, as I said.”
“Is that so? And do you have any more secrets you’ve kept from me?”
Cassiel wrapped his arms around her from behind and she leaned into him. “That day in the wine cellar, it wasn’t true that I needed to kiss you to remove the barrier. The hate in your eyes told me I may never have the chance to kiss you again, so I lied. I couldn’t help myself.”
“I know.” She smiled. “Your wings always twitch when you’re nervous or when you lie.”
He raised his brows. “Yet you allowed me to get away with it?”
“Cassiel, I was so angry with you, but I missed you more.” Dyna turned to face him, placing her hands on his chest. Traces of guilt hummed through the bond. “I am sorry I locked you in a cage...”
He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I deserved it.”
It was where he had needed to be to begin finding himself again. Even with the discomfort of being trapped, he never had felt unsafe because he knew she held the key.
A knock came at the door and Yelrakel peeked her head in. “Sire, it is time.”
Cassiel nodded to Dyna. “Ready?”
She nodded back. With a fluid motion of her hand, the warmth of her Essence fell over him like a soft green mist. The illusion of a flawless wing appeared over his shoulder.
Where they were going, he couldn’t arrive without it.
They strode out of the estate, hand in hand, to the waiting Pegasus in the courtyard. Cassiel helped her mount the saddle, then he climbed up behind her.
With a murmured command, they took off into the sky. Ever their shadow, the Valkyrie followed behind. Dyna’s hair was like flames in the wind as they ascended higher, following the setting sun.
The Citadel of Nazar emerged from the clouds.
They circled above it where many Celestials waited. Dressed in white, blue, yellow, and a small group in purple. All looked up at them and Cassiel inwardly prayed for wisdom and strength.
Dyna sent her gentle encouragement through the bond. I’m with you.
He didn’t need anything else but that.
Directing the Pegasus with another command, they flew down and landed on the extended platform. They dismounted and climbed up the steps to the circular planform that held Nazar’s Hyalus tree.
The court was quiet.
All waited for the commencement of what they came to do. Lord Jophiel was dressed in white as a representative of Hilos, and with him was an unexpected arrival. His brother Tzuriel gave him a small nod. Now Lord of Hermon, Asiel represented those in blue. Cassiel was curious about the young male in gold representing Nazar. The most recent report informed Cassiel his name was Nuriel Nephele, the youngest son of Lord Gadriel, and now the Lord of Nazar. Then there was Skath, represented, unexpectedly by a female.
“I have called you here today to at last address the Realms as I should have at the day of my crowning,” Cassiel said. “Yet I failed you and allowed my anger and grief turn me against my people.”
“You decimated our entire Realm,” the female of Skath said scathingly.
“Lord Hallel staged a coup and violated the sacred law to never rise against the crown, Katriella,” Lord Jophiel interjected. “Which lead to High King Yoel’s death. Alav Hashalom .”
“Alav Hashalom,” the court repeated in name of the dead.
“Regicide is deserving of only one sentence,” Jophiel continued. “A passage through the Gates.”
“If it had been a true decimation, then who were the survivors I granted sanctuary to in Hermon?” Asiel added. “We opened our doors to Skath. That which brought you the opportunity to speak here today.”
Katriella glowered and shut her mouth.
“You are right to feel betrayed,” Cassiel told them. “I have taken actions unworthy of my father’s seat or the legacy he entrusted me with.”
His throat tightened a moment and Dyna took his hand.
“You tore the Realms apart,” Nuriel said, his eyes red with unshed tears. “My father was not part of the coup, but he felt forced to join it when you attacked Nazar. Then he returned wounded with burns by your Seraph fire two moons ago. My elder brother then slew him his Realm. My other brother died defending me.”
The court murmured the blessing for the dead upon hearing the news of Gadriel’s passing.
“If my Vanguard had not supported me against Akiel,” Nuriel continued. “He would have sent me through the Gates as well. That is what your reign has brought. The ruination of families.”
Angry murmurs filled the Citadel. He was at a loss of what to say because that was true.
Dyna stepped forward. “Sons and daughters of Elyōn ,” she called, quieting them. “The ruination began when the Lord of Edym plotted to take the throne. Raziel pulled the strings which brought about the fall of King Yoel, Lord Hallel, and Lord Gadriel. From his very line came the conspirator who betrayed your first High King for his own gain. He seeks to do so again.”
“Perhaps Lord Raziel should take the throne,” Katriella said, her pale blue eyes flashing. “High King Kāhssiel turned upon his people, and so has the descendant from his line! Who is to say he will not do so again? Which such magnitude of power of Seraph fire at his hands, we are not safe.” She shouted to the others. “My people live in fear of his flame. The Realms have sacrificed our peace for a king who rules with his fury rather than his insight.” She glared at him. “You expect us to trust the one who came to destroy us? No one would follow a tyrant. If you are not the same Kāhssiel from the past, then prove it. Until then, I will never bow to you.”
Voices merged, some agreeing and others not.
“And if I would sacrifice that power would that earn your pardon, Lady of Skath?” Cassiel asked her.
She blinked at him. “Lady?”
“To defend your Realm so fiercely, and advocate for your people. It could only be yours.”
Katriella was at a loss for words for a moment, then she cleared her throat. “Yes … Skath would pardon he who would see fit to acknowledge his wrongs. But you speak of subduing your flame and such thing is …” She swallowed, her own wings twitching.
“Unimaginable?” Cassiel finished.
He looked to Dyna, silently giving her permission to unveil his disgrace. It’s all right.
How could he lead if he lived in hiding. To start over, he had to be honest with his people.
Biting her lip, she reluctantly waved her hand. The illusion fell away, and the court gasped. Lord Jophiel face was a mixture of dismay and sorrow.
“Unpleasant sight, isn’t it?” Cassiel said with a heavy breath. “To give up our wings … it is a great loss, but it was a sacrifice I made to protect that which I hold dear.” Dyna’s hand slipped into his. “I chose to reveal this to prove I am willing to serve you as I should, beginning with taking away that which you feared the most. I am sorry for every wrong I have committed against you, and I swear before eyes of Elyōn , it will be the last.” Cassiel closed his eyes and bowed to them. “I humbly beg for your forgiveness.”
It may not be enough to repay what he done. Should the Realms demand it, he was ready to step down. For he was finished ruling by force.
Silence filled the courtyard.
Then came the first flutter of fabric and wings as Lord Jophiel, Tzuriel, and the Celestials in white lowered to one knee, bowing their heads. “Hilos swears fealty to the High King.”
His cousin, Lord Asiel grinned as he lowered to one knee with his people, and they bowed as well. “Hermon swears fealty to the High King.”
Cassiel’s hand shook around Dyna’s.
Lady Katriella and the fierce females with her followed suit. “Skath swears fealty to the High King.”
Lord Nuriel studied him a moment and Cassiel saw the mirror of grief in his eyes. He took a breath then lowered to his knee, and every Celestial in the Citadel bowed. “Nazar swears fealty to the High King.”
Then, either due to the coming of twilight or the blessing of the Heavens, the Hyalus tree glowed with the purest of white light. And upon Cassiel’s head appeared a crown of flame. He looked out at his court and felt his chest stir.
He hoped it meant that somehow his father approved.
“We hereby stand with the true High King of Hilos and the Three Celestial Realms,” Lord Jophiel announced, gazing him with moving pride and joy. “Long may he reign.”
“So this is how you have played your hand?” Lord Raziel’s image glowed on the surface of the water mirror. He was in his private study in Edym. In the shadows of the room, lurked Akiel.
“Oh, I am only getting started,” Dyna replied where she sat beside Cassiel on the sofa.
Raziel ignored her, looking only at him. “I really am disappointed, youngling. You are repeating the same mistakes. Sullying the sanctity of the Realms by once again choosing a weak mortal. I have had a thousand years to prepare for your coming.”
Cassiel merely flipped through a book. He felt Raziel’s infuriated stare at his lack of interest.
“You are foolish if you believe I am not ready for you this time, Raziel,” Dyna continued. His face twitched at her informal address. “You can plot, but you forget, I can do the same. The Realms now know you have taken part in the coup against King Yoel. They have dubbed you an oath breaker and rebuked your name. Edym is no longer under the cover of Hilos, because their High Queen deemed it so. You are now an enemy of the crown.” He stared at her, his face reddening. She canted her head with a smile and her eyes glowed. “Do you see how much a power a mortal has?”
Cassiel smiled to himself and continued turning the pages. He loved it when his mate behaved this way. Commanding. Strong. The embodiment of true warrior. Sheli’s spirit had not changed.
“You shoved me off a cliff.” Dyna crossed a leg over the other. “You killed my child, and you killed my mate. So you will contend with me now. I am coming for you, Raziel. When you least expect it, I will come.”
The Lord of Edym stared at her, at last truly listening. From the shadows, a figure moved swiftly past Akiel. So fast it was there a second then gone. Aziel stumbled forward with a gasp, pressing a hand over his heart. Blood seeped through his fingers, his eyes growing wide. Lord of Edym watched in disbelief as Akiel fell at his feet and faded away into light.
Raziel whipped around, his chest rising and falling with sharp breaths as he searched the room. But Sowmya had already vanished.
“I will fill your days with fear,” Dyna said, her voice dropping to a pitch that sprouted goosebumps on Cassiel’s back. Her glowing eyes seemed to hold Raziel captive. “And I will not stop until I take everything from you. Your kingdom. Your house. Your head.”
Then the image in the mirror faded away.
Cassiel tossed the book aside and hauled his mate onto his lap, devouring her mouth. “I do not deserve you,” he groaned, planting kisses all over her face. “ At mehamemet. At yafa. At mushlemet.”
She smiled against his lips. “Perhaps not, but you can always convince me again with more praises like that.”
His mouth skimming hers as he translated through the bond. You are amazing. You are beautiful. You are perfect.
“Cassiel.” Dyna rested her head on his chest. “I am not perfect.”
He felt her trembling and he wrapped her in his hold, covering her in a shroud of feathers. “Don’t fear, Dyna. I will not allow Leoake to take our son.”
She shut her eyes, both briefly seeing the wispy image of boy with dark hair and green eyes. The image couldn’t be any clearer when the future was so uncertain. But he would do anything, tear down any wall, walk through any trial, to assure they had a future.
Cassiel first thought it was a miracle that he had survived. He felt unworthy of it. But he finally understood that miracle wasn’t for him. It was for them .
All three of them.
“I will fight with you to the very end,” Dyna murmured. “So don’t forget that you have someone on your side. Don’t carry your worries and burdens alone. If you ever try to leave me again, I will knock you onto your arse.”
Chuckling quietly, he ran his fingers through her short hair. “You are probably the only one who can.”
They had come a long way since they left Hilos. But he was ready to face what was to come next with her at his side. Beginning with a letter.
They both looked to the sofa table. The rectangular box his father left him was still there. On top rested a crumpled envelope sealed shut with a white wax seal.
“I am afraid to open it,” Cassiel confessed. “What if I can’t withstand it again?”
“Loss is particular that way,” Dyna said, placing her hand over his heart. “There are days where it leaves you defeated on the ground, and other days where it is a passing guest. The pain is always there but our lives change and expand around it. One day you may hear something, see something, or smell something that will remind you of them. And for a moment it will feel like your chest has cracked open and you will grieve all over again. When those days happen...” She cupped his cheek. “Come to me.”
Cassiel smiled wistfully. “So you may either embrace me or attack me, I assume.”
“Which one do you prefer right now?” she asked, and the vow she had written on his arm tingled.
It really wasn’t a question when they both needed the same thing.
He tightened his arms around her and Dyna held him too. There was warmth in that embrace and pure, unconditional love that promised she would be right there to catch him when he fell.
“I may not always have the words to pull you back from the dark, but I will always be here to sit with you in it.”
And that was enough to give him the courage he needed to take the first step of living with this loss.
“I think I am ready to open it now…”
“Would you like to me give you privacy?”
Cassiel shook his head. Rising to his feet, he took a breath, then another, before he could make himself lift the envelope and take out the page.
My son,
If you’re reading this letter it means I have left you again and I am so sorry for that.
I mourn all the days lost when I sent you away to Hermon. It was done to protect you from harm, yet I failed to protect you from the harm I caused.
I made so many mistakes, but please know I loved you through all of them.
Forgive me for not being there when you were alone. I wish I had. I wish I had been there when you soared into the sky for the first time. I wish for so many things I can’t have now.
My greatest wish is for you not to fear tomorrow.
The past was painful, yet the future does not have to be. It may bear moments of pain as well as moments of joy. Each one you will gather until at the end you are full of them. Living is the most arduous thing souls must do, but it’s worth it.
I promise you it’s worth it.
Whatever path you take, no matter what comes or what failures you face, I have great faith in you. Fly, Cassiel. Lead, and all else will follow.
When we see each other again, I expect to hear about the marvelous life you lived.
With all the love in the world, your father,
Yoel Soaraway
The words on the page blurred together by the time Cassiel finished reading the last line. He closed his wet eyes and simply breathed.
This was one of those moments. It glowed there in his chest as he came to accept this was the way of life. It was filled will happiness and with pain. With loved ones who may not stay forever. But the impression of them, and the light they brought, it was left behind in the map of his memories.
There would come a time to move on. A time to let go.
But only of the pain. Not those moments.
Cassiel would gather them all and remember each one.
Something lifted off him then and he took a breath. He was better. Not good, but better. The weight of his loss was still there but a little lighter. A little more bearable. His father was gone, and he was grieving, and it was going to be all right.
But as Cassiel returned his father’s letter to the envelope, he felt a weight inside. Turning it over, two silver cuffs landed in his palm. The bands were in the shape of two wings coming together.
“What is that?” Dyna asked softly.
Cassiel didn’t think he could cry anymore but a burning clamped his throat. “Wing cuffs… “He turned them over in his palm. “These are given to celestial children when they first sprout their wings. The cuffs fit over the margins where the shoulder meets the wing. They are made with sacred steel that draws out the divinity in our blood to ease the growing pains and to help us … fly…”
The cuffs were hardly an inch in circumference, made to fit a three-year old’s wings. Polished and still new from never being used. They wouldn’t fit him, not that he could use them anymore.
With a shaking hand, Cassiel opened the box and inside lay golden plates.
Wing armor that he couldn’t use either.
That was a bit much.
Rising he went out into the terrace, letting the cool air eased the tightening in his chest.
“My father must have had the cuffs made when I was a child,” he said when Dyna joined him outside. She rubbed his back. “Not sure why he would it give it to me now.”
“Perhaps to remember him by. They are small enough to fit as rings.” Dyna took the cuffs and slipped each one onto his thumbs.
No sooner had she done it, Cassiel felt all the remaining divinity inside of him woosh through his veins to his back. Heat burst on his skin and blue light washed through the terrace. Gasping, Dyna covered her mouth, tears instantly springing to her eyes.
Cassiel fell still, staring at her face. His hands trembled, his breath catching. Slowly, he looked up at his reflection in the glass doors and his heart shook. There were two wings rising above his shoulders. One as black as the night, and other made of flame.
And like that, his vision blurred again. Cassiel looked out at the horizon, shaking.
How … how could his father have known?
Then it occurred to him these cuffs weren’t made to train his wings but made specifically to help him control his Seraph fire. Yet they came to be exactly what he would need.
His power wasn’t lost when he lost his wing. Here remained what was left of him.
“Does this mean what I think it means?” Dyna asked shakily.
Sighing, Cassiel smiled wetly and held out a hand to her. “Why don’t we find out, lev sheli .”
Dyna didn’t hesitate. She rushed to him, and he swept her into his arms. Her green eyes glittered beneath the glow of his fire. They both looked up at the night sky glittering with stars and the pinnacles of the impossible.
And he soared.