Angel of Mine by Kennedy Harkins (beach read txt) 📖

care of this.
Not even an archangel can save her now.
Forever mine,
Alexander

Below the short message was ruin, the symbol was drawn neatly, the harsh lines like daggers in his heart. A demonic ruin.
The message couldn’t have been clearer.
Shuddering under the weight of the memory, he shoved it back into his subconscious. He couldn’t think about that day, the day when his unnatural happiness had been blown to smithereens. The day that shattered his soul into so many pieces, he had no hope of finding them all.
Acting on impulse, he redirected himself back towards the city. He knew where to find her.

_____

Gabriel saw her crouched atop the tall building from about a mile away. He landed a few yards away from her; she didn’t turn to face him. Preparing himself mentally for the battle ahead, he shut away his emotions. This wasn’t his Jeze. She was nothing but the empty shell of the woman he once cherished with every ounce of his immortal heart. He had failed that woman, and this was his punishment.
A movement brought his attention back to the demon in front of him. She walked closer to him; faint purple glow surrounded her hands. Magic.
Gabriel stepped forward, unleashing his own power. A smirk crossed his face. This would be over quickly. A flick of her wrist sent a blast of violet his way, he maneuvered around it with little difficulty and shot back some of his own. Jeze ducked gracefully, avoiding instant incineration. There would be no words here, the time for that had passed.
And so it went, one predator circling another trying to find the chink in the other’s armor. Gabriel wasn’t sure how long this went on for, hours, minutes time was irrelevant to him. While the two lovers fought, it felt as if the universe was stopped and watched on, no being daring to breathe.
Gabriel met Jezebeth’s eyes for the first time during the battle-

It was summer time and she had snuck out of her bedroom and met him in a small field not far outside her village. The grass was fairly tall, hiding them from the world as they lay there gazing at the constellations.
Jezebeth snuggled closer to him, while gently running her fingers through the feathers on his right wing. The sensations of her touch sent waves of heat through his veins.
It was the night that Gabriel had first confessed his love for her.
“I won’t always be this way, you know.” She gestured to herself, “Are you still going to love me when I’m grey and wrinkled?”
He smiled, wrapping his arms around her. “Jezebeth, I will love you for all of my eternity.”

_____

Jeze was thrown by the change of expression on Gabriel’s face, from calculating; to heated and determined.
He stopped.
She blinked in surprise. Didn’t he understand this was a fight to the death? His white dress shirt was slashed open and blood soaked due to one of her blows. There was a scratch on his left cheek where Jeze’s nails had made contact. His deep brown hair was ruffled from the high winds but his liquid honey colored eyes were left untouched. He hadn’t looked at her that way in nearly five hundred years; tears welled up in her eyes.

_____

How could he have not seen it before? She was changed, yes, but she was still there. Still his Jezebeth, forever and always. Her breathing was ragged but despite everything, she remained unharmed. He could never hurt her.
“What are you doing?” Jeze’s voice was strained and enraged. “Fight, damn it, fight!
No, he thought, never again. Reaching inside his shirt, he threw away all his weapons. Pushing away his pride, he knelt before her.

_____

Salt water started to run down her face, tickling her cheeks. He was on his knees for her. He, an Archangel who bowed to no one, inclined his head for her. It tore at her heart. Shaking her head slowly, she tried to get her emotions under control; she couldn’t let herself love him. Jeze had lost him once; she wouldn’t survive a second time. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him, blond hair swaying slightly in the breeze, eyes as dark as coal. He looked just as he had all those years ago on Gabriel’s threshold.
Alexander.
He raised his hand; it engulfed itself in a flame so bright it felt as if her eyes were burning. Apparently, he didn’t think she could finish the job. Alexander’s arm moved in a wide motion, sending a blast of light fire right at them.
Straight at Gabriel.
There was no decision, no thought. He was Jezebeth’s world. Flinging herself forward, the magic hit her squarely in the abdomen. For a moment, she didn’t feel anything, and thought that perhaps it had missed her. She turned toward her Gabriel; his expression was that of utter horror. The next second she was in agony. It felt as if every cell in her body was disintegrating.
Then there was nothing.

_____

“Jezebeth!” He cried out her name as she collapsed into his arms. He cradled her against him, not daring to look at the spot where the spell had hit her.
He didn’t have to look up to know they were surrounded by demons, but it was the farthest thing from his mind as his Jezebeth lay dying against his chest. Stretching out his wings, he shielded her fading form with his own. The blasts of demonic power started to soar through the air, burning away at him. He gripped his Jeze all the tighter.
“Gabriel?” Her voice was little more than the thinnest of whispers.
“I’m right here,” He breathed into her ear.
“I never stopped.”
“I know.”
Her last words to him were, “Promise you’ll find me in the next life, Gabriel. Promise.” It was less than a wisp of air leaving her mouth, but somehow he understood.
“You have my word.”
The black spots at the edges of his vision were growing, closing in. Jezebeth’s body shuddered and went lax against his own. Her final breath coming out as a gust of air.
Gabriel felt her heart stop and his own shattered. Squeezing her, a sob ripped its way through his chest, the last sound he ever made. It rang throughout the streets. The world below froze and listened to the Archangel’s grievous cry.

2,911

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Publication Date: 07-28-2012

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