Chapter 27
twenty-seven
OPHELIA
Eventually, we cleaned ourselves up with a few napkins we found in his car (gross, I know) and went back into the prison.
Our hands stayed connected, until I started unraveling.
Then, Dante's grip stayed on my waist.
The hours ticked by slowly, with just the two of us and a few random guards in the prison.
It was eerily quiet, and I was dying to be done, but there was no way to unravel magic faster without causing myself even more pain.
So, I went slowly.
It was long past midnight when I finally lowered my hands. Dante and I stood in the broken elevator, my chest rising and falling heavily as I caught my breath.
My body ached, but my gaze didn't leave the hallway in front of us.
I hadn't realized walking down that hallway would change my entire life, but it had.
Now, I was mated to one of the demons I'd come to rescue.
My brother was no longer locked in a cell I'd created.
The penitentiary wasn't just mine anymore. I wasn't solely responsible for it, and I didn't have to deal with it alone.
The relief I felt was tremendous.
"It's over," I said, still staring out at the hallway. My eyes were burning, just a little.
"It is."
"No one can hurt me anymore." My voice was a little softer.
"No, Angel. You're safe now."
I blinked a little faster. Nodded, too. "Let's go home."
Dante gestured toward the ladder behind us.
I stared at it for a long moment before looking up. "Do you think I could fly out?"
"River did."
"River is better with his wings than I ever was."
"He's also bigger, and heavier."
"True." I looked back at the ladder. Dante had carried me out the night before, because I couldn’t climb.
Climbing was still probably out of the cards for me, but flying…
"It might be worth a try," I said.
"Only if you want to."
"I think I do."
I spread my wings, and let out a soft breath before raising them the way I'd learned to so many years ago.
When I brought them back down, I rose from the ground a little before landing again.
A quiet laugh escaped me, and I met Dante's small grin with one of my own.
I flapped my wings again, carrying myself a little higher before my feet met the floor again, and my grin widened.
The third time, I shot higher into the air. I was far from steady, but it was second nature to take myself up through the elevator's opening, and out into the prison's lobby.
I landed on wobbly feet, and no one batted an eye in my direction.
I guess that was what it meant to have wings. No one was surprised that I could fly, other than me.
Dante climbed out two minutes later, and when he pulled me into his arms, I kissed him deeply.
My heart was still beating fast when we walked out of the prison together, hand-in-hand.
It was over.
The past was finally in the past. Maybe now, I could leave it there.