Chapter 40
Kyriel
The eternal life prior to her children’s birth seemed like a mere moment when compared with the two millennia she’d suffered in their absence.
What kind of existence was this? She’d done everything in her power to fight for the cause.
Even though becoming Leviathan’s concubine and bearing his children had not been a part of the plan, and certainly didn’t reflect the values she’d sworn to uphold, Kyriel found she had no regrets.
Whether she’d seen them grow and evolve or not, Rion and Kitty were her whole heart.
Sitting in the penthouse with these infernal mortal servants of the vampire who had defiled her daughter irritated her beyond measure.
She longed to be at the battle scene, if only to ensure her children survived.
How could the Savior choose for her to be here?
These mortal servants did not even require protection.
The wards the trinity had created were impenetrable.
Wasting her skills like this was despicable.
She stood at the wall of windows, twice the height of a normal room, offering an uninhibited view of the city.
She could see most of Central Park from this location.
For the mortals of New York, it looked the same as it did any other night.
Kyriel’s Holy blood enabled her to see beyond the wards.
She could see flashes of the battle scene.
Brilliant scarlet fire from Leviathan and Rion.
Pure white Holy fire from the angels. Lightning made of ice forked across the sky, while pops of blue indicated Will’s shields.
She couldn’t see any of their forms, but she recognized the types of power, even from this distance.
Beasts and creatures filled the air, whilst the battle sounds rang into the night, seeming never to end.
The lights of the city twinkled and glowed in the skyscrapers all around her.
Foolish mortals living their pointless mortal lives.
They had no concept of this fight, or any others preceding it.
They could not comprehend the torment that had ensued since the creation of the undead.
She glanced back over a shoulder at the mortal servants, moving about the penthouse as though nothing were amiss.
Deep down she knew this forced normalcy did not truly represent the fear in their hearts, but she refused to allow herself to see beyond the perfunctory movements her eyes could witness.
Absently, she sought to connect with Rion, as she so often did. While he was not aware of her presence, and while she could not see his physical form, his heart was open. She could feel his intentions as if they were her own. He was going to kill his father.
She didn’t want this for him! No child should bear such a thing on their conscience, even one two thousand years old. Clarity arrived in waves.
Leviathan’s imminent death wasn’t just upsetting for the burden Rion would forever carry afterward. It was upsetting because not one single person had told her. It did not occur to her that her own fragility and past actions had caused those around her to tread with care.
It did not cross her mind that she was assigned this position to avoid further distress, or to prevent her from putting herself in danger to protect her children. Though, of course, she would. Her own life had ceased to matter to her since Rion’s conception.
It was upsetting, because it wasn’t just her children’s safety that felt like a dagger in her heart right now. They wanted to kill Leviathan. It had been their plan all along.
Her small hand pressed hard against the cold glass, her pale skin becoming even more ghostly amidst such pressure. An immortal life of misfortune swelled inside of her until Kyriel felt certain she would burst.
She had served the Savior without hesitation, giving more of herself to the cause than most. In fact, she had devoted so much of herself to the Holy, it had had damaged her psychologically.
In her darkest hour, while being held captive in Rion’s childhood, something had broken inside of her.
Something everyone had hoped would heal in time, but the pieces were no longer there to put back together.
The missing pieces belonged to Leviathan himself.
She still loved him.
Knowledge of this drove her to both knees at the window, her hand squeaking as it was forced down the vertical glass surface. The foolish mortals behind her in the room didn’t even notice.
Leviathan, the only male who had never asked her to change, was going to die.
The one who had accepted her and loved her for everything she was, even if he could not show it publicly.
A male who had treated her with kindness and compassion behind closed doors; and who showed her the meaning of love.
The reality of this skewed perspective eluded her. She knew in her heart that their love was real. She was not wrong. Everything else complicating their union so long ago, didn’t seem to matter anymore.
None of the angels understood. Even her own children could not comprehend.
They all wanted to keep her in a gilded cage.
Kyriel hadn’t felt loved for so long. She hadn’t felt needed; she’d had no purpose at all.
The Holy didn’t want her; they didn’t know what to do with her.
The memory of Leviathan’s love called to her.
“Kyriel,” Lori’s voice appeared at her side. “Vixen is in labor. The baby is coming, but I think something is wrong.”
“Something is very wrong,” Kyriel whispered.
“Will you take a look? Maybe you can help?” Lori asked.
Kyriel’s attention didn’t leave the battlefield. “No.”
Lori gasped. “What do you mean, no?”
“I think… I will choose my own destiny.”
“What does that mean?” Panic crept into Lori’s tone. A momentary silence ensued, before Lori clutched at Kyriel’s arm. “Kyriel, your wings!”
Kyriel turned at last to look down, and found a dark blemish at the tip of each wing.
It spread rapidly like the stain of a spilled inkpot, suffocating everything that was Holy inside of her.
As the divinity left her body, freedom filled its place.
The pain of burdens she could no longer carry melted away, leaving resentment in its place.
“Is this not the most glorious thing you have ever seen?” She asked, both eyes hardening to match the new darkness in her soul.
Before Lori could say more, Kyriel dematerialized, as if her entire immortal life had been spiraling toward this precise moment all along.