Chapter 49
Chapter Forty-Nine
Anameless woman wandered through the halls of an abandoned palace. Its towering walls, draped in intricate tapestries, told stories of ancient times that no one remembered anymore. The echo of her footsteps was swallowed by the vast void. Like a mausoleum, she was buried alive.
The crystalline beauty of the estate was, in its own way, unsettling.
It was a place that seemed to have once buzzed with life, making the contrast even more oppressive.
She had to wait. Wait for... what? They told her it was home, but nothing there welcomed her.
Lost in the limbo of her own disoriented mind, she could only drift like a stray ghost.
She stepped into the garden and stared at the silver, undulating sky. She was waiting. For what, she didn’t know.
Something unusual in the sky caught her attention. What was initially a small dot in the distance grew fast until she could distinguish a winged being streaking toward her at full speed. Those black wings terrified her, especially since they’d warned her no one would visit.
She ran away as quickly as her legs allowed.
She sought refuge inside the palace, grateful for its impregnable walls.
Even inside the place, which seemed like a labyrinth, there were multiple spots to hide.
She rushed up the formidable stairs to the upper floor.
Out of breath, she ducked into a random room and locked the door, sliding the bolt shut.
She sat on the floor, her back pressed against the wall, her heart racing wildly. It was a small, cozy room. A crib in the center and some baby toys neatly arranged caught her eye.
Slow footsteps closed in, snapping her out of her reverie. Who would hunt her down with such insistence?
The steps stopped right in front of the door. The nameless girl held her breath, waiting. A lock clicked open, and the door swung wide.
An immense silhouette projected a terrifying shadow.
She sprang to her feet, nimble and ready to strike and bolt.
The man behind the shadow was imposing. A figure as stunning as he was terrifying, leaving her paralyzed.
His burning gaze held a murderous drive; his wings seemed on the verge of combustion.
What would a creature from hell want with someone who didn’t even have a name?
She backed away instinctively, moving toward the crib and keeping it between them, as if that fragile thing could stop such a colossal opponent. The man didn’t approach. He just stared at her from the threshold, as tense as she was.
“What do you want from me, demon?” she asked in a strangled voice, choking with dread.
Her words hit him like a sledgehammer. He backed off, staring at her in disbelief. Seeing raw pain in his eyes, the nameless girl hesitated. Why was he looking at her with such longing? Why didn’t he make a move?
After a few minutes of silence, the man looked at her with unexpected tenderness and said in a deep, soothing voice:
“Everything is fine, Augustine. No one’s going to hurt you... I am here to protect you.”
“Who is Augustine?” she asked, astonished. Perhaps this demon had the wrong prey.
“You don’t remember now... but you are Augustine... you still are, because your human body is still alive. You must go back; you can’t stay here any longer.”
Augustine took a step toward him, unsure.
“Don’t you see the Silver Thread linking us?” the man asked. When he saw her shake her head, he sunk into total despair. The creature closed his golden eyes, tormented.
His wings seemed to burn. Did it hurt?
She approached with caution, driven by an instinctive conviction that she was in no danger by his side. Standing in front of him, she was captivated by his beauty. Had she been wrong? Could a demon be this irresistibly graceful?
She reached out toward his face. The contact with his skin was ecstatic, and an intense electric shock washed over her. The creature opened his eyes. The pain in his gaze was deep, and the nameless girl felt that pain as if it were her own.
Who had hurt him so much?
Maybe she should back off. Maybe that random contact she’d started would trigger a sleeping fury in him. But she couldn’t. She ached to touch him, to comfort him... she felt ashamed to admit she even wanted to kiss him.
The man held his breath, staring at her. He seemed to be desperately waiting for something.
What was it that he wanted?
His silence felt like an invitation. His parted lips were a temptation that was becoming impossible to resist. Maybe he was a demon, after all.
How else could she explain the madness that had taken over her?
She rose on tiptoe to reach those lips that were waiting for her.
She kissed him without even knowing who he was, where he came from, or what he wanted, and she didn’t care.
Nothing else existed in that room. Only the two of them.