by Carly Fall
Certainly, His Grace had been mad for quite some time. He would never admit what he had done. It would be his word against Ulric’s, and few would believe his word over that of a prince. Jayden glanced over at his beloved's black and blue body, and knew Ulric spoke true. Yet, if he killed Ulric, he would be put to death for his crime. Either way, he would pay.
With Arabella no longer on this earth, he did not want to draw another breath. Yet, by killing Ulric, he would have the satisfaction that he had avenged his princess.
He smiled at the prince, knowing his fate would be sealed in the next few moments.
Slowly, he brought down his sword in surrender. Ulric grinned at him, the smirk of a man who thought himself above paying the price for his deeds.
"You will atone for the horror you have committed on my wife," the prince hissed.
Jayden said nothing, but stared at the man who had destroyed his life. Then, quick as fire spreading across the dry grasslands, he buried his sword in Ulric's gut. With both hands, he yanked it upward, feeling satisfied as the man’s face paled in horror, his mouth forming a perfect O.
He ripped the man open navel to chin, as he would gut a boar after hunting it down. While Ulric's insides splattered from the opening, Jayden stepped back and wiped the spray of blood from his face. The prince fell to his knees as he clawed at his innards, trying to lift them off the floor. A moment later, he fell forward in a magnificent pool of blood and gore.
Jayden stared down at him for a few moments, satisfied at seeing the man face down in a puddle of his own entrails. He then returned to Arabella’s side. He sat upon the bed and placed her head in his lap. Ulric's servants would come to fetch the prince soon, but he would be gone from the room of horrors by then. He just wanted a few more minutes with his beloved.
Yes, he would be sentenced to death for killing a member of the royal family, but he would shout until he had been heard that Ulric had been the one responsible for the torture of the princess. Before they beheaded him, everyone within his vicinity would know what sort of man Ulric had truly been.
* * *
Bella stood over Ulric as he gasped for breath. Her chest heaved, and sweat ran down her forehead and cheeks. She wiped it away with the sleeve of her shirt, but only managed to spread more black ooze onto her lovely face, making Jayden cringe.
He walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned and gazed up at him, and he winced at the pure and strong hatred he saw there. She looked back to the demon, and his red eyes began to fade.
"I won, you piece of shit."
She raised her knife over her head and buried it to the hilt in his chest one more time, making Jayden wonder if he’d heard it hit the rock beneath Ulric.
Before taking his last gasp, the demon reached for her, and she stepped out of the way. They watched in silence as his body shriveled up, disintegrating until it became nothing but black ash. The fire below rose, its red and orange tendrils brushing against the ash, as if claiming the demon's remnants. After a moment, the space lay empty.
Relief swept through him. Ulric was dead. Now, they had one more hurdle to clear, and this one would be tricky. The final countdown to the portal closing had started, and they were running out of time.
Bella turned to him. "I assume that means he's dead."
He nodded and stepped in close, circling his arm around her waist. "Our time is short, Bella. We must go."
"How short?"
"We don't have time to discuss it."
He unfurled his wings and held on to her as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
If he was alone, he could make it to the portal in no time. However, carrying an extra person slowed him down quite a bit.
Beads of sweat trickled down his cheeks, mixing with tears from the smell of brimstone. As he pumped his wings as hard as he could, he hoped they would make it. Never would he consider leaving her here just to save himself, and she couldn't leave here without him. If he could save her and stay here, he would.
The wind from his upward trajectory seemed almost deafening to him as he pushed harder and harder, determined to get them both to safety.
"Are we going to make it?" Bella shouted into his ear.
Frankly, he didn't know. If it had just been him, he would have been out of Hell by now, but carrying the extra weight ...
"Yes."
He worked his wings as he shifted her around. If he could bring her as close to him as possible, making them one solid trajectory, then their odds would be better.
Pushing her legs down so they lay against his with his feet, he also pulled her chest flush to him. “We are one, Arabella, two halves of one whole. Work with me to make our bodies as such.”
She pressed against him as she held on to his neck and slightly wrapped her feet around his ankles. He felt every groove and inch of her body, and if the circumstances hadn’t been so dire, it would have been an intense sexual situation.
He flew faster, and his spirits lifted. As he rose from the depths of Hell, he saw the moonlight through the portal. They could make it. They would make it.
Suddenly, a black mist began to move over the moonlight.
“Bloody hell.”
That could be an indicator the portal was getting ready to close.
“Jayden …”
She didn’t need to finish her sentence. He could hear the panic in her voice, and the same clutched his chest.
They’d been through too much and been kept apart for too long. They would not burn in Hell for eternity together.
Shutting his eyes, he brought forth the anger and despair he’d lived with and held onto all these years. He and Bella deserved happiness. They’d both suffered greatly, and now, they had their chance to be with each other as they had been meant to be.
He let his emotions fuel him, and they climbed even faster. The black mist seemed to be getting thicker, but he ignored it, keeping his gaze on the moon above.
The heat from Hell had lessened considerably, and a light draft of cool night air hit his face.
Relief exploded within him as he realized they would make it. They would get back to the plane where they belonged.
Then, it hit him.
Bella had never said whether or not she wanted him to stay. He had a distinct feeling she did, but, in order for him to do so, she needed to say it aloud so those in Heaven could hear her. If she didn’t, he’d simply disappear once they made it through the portal.
He placed his mouth to her ear, hoping she’d hear him through the wind currents he created. “Bella, do you want me to stay with you?”
Burying her head in the crook between his neck and shoulder, she nodded.
“You need to say it aloud. If you don’t, I’ll disappear when the portal finally closes. We only have a minute or so, possibly seconds.”
She turned her head and looked upward. They were so close. The air grew cooler by the second, and he could hear those who didn’t belong on the human plane scrambling to enter the gateway home.
“Yes!” Bella screamed into the air. “Yes! I want Jayden to stay with me!”
He wondered if the powers-that-be in Heaven could hear her.
They blasted into the human plane, and hovered above the chaotic square. As they looked down, Bella relaxed in his arms. Ghosts, witches, angels, demons, vampires, werewolves … some scrambled for the portal, while fights between humans and the paranormal creatures had broken out as the humans tried to push the entities back to where they belonged. Still, others struggled to come out of it, just as they had. Loosening his grip on Bella, he sighed in relief. They’d survived the Event.
As he flew away from the square, he didn’t feel any pull from Heaven. However, as he lowered them to the ground in front of her house, his back began to burn between his shoulder blades. His wings would be disappearing. Apparently, Bella had been heard. He was becoming human again.
He stared down at her. They still stood in their embrace, each inch of their bodies
touching. Now that the danger had ebbed, the blood rushed to his groin.
Bella gazed up at him, her dark eyes still worried. “Are we safe?”
He nodded. “I believe so. The portal has closed, and we’re here. I’m not feeling any pull from Heaven, so they must have heard you.”
Tears tracked down her cheeks, and she rested her head against his chest. “I can’t believe it.”
He held her close, unsure of what she meant. Did she find it hard to believe she’d spent some time in Hell? Or that she needed a shower because she smelled like demon guts? Could she not believe that they were to finally be together?
She looked up at him again and grinned. “It’s our time, Jayden. Now, we get our time together.”
“Yes, Princess. We finally do.”
He couldn’t wait to get her inside and into the shower where he’d soap her up from head to toe and make sure not even a speck of Ulric remained on her pretty skin.
Suddenly, a sensation hit him, one he had a hard time recalling from his past life. His stomach felt hollow, and his body weakened. A large rumbling sound emanated from him, and they both looked down at his belly.
“Sounds like someone’s hungry,” Bella said.
He grinned. “I couldn’t remember what that feeling was called. It’s strange having human needs to be met.”
Bella took his hand, and they walked up the pathway to the house. “I’ll get you something to eat, after I shower. I can’t believe how bad demon guts stink.”
21
Bella stood under the hot water, her whole body trembling from head to toe. She didn’t know if she shook from fear or sheer adrenaline, but she felt happy to have a few moments to herself to process what she’d just done.
She’d been to Hell and killed a demon.
The pain and horror of what she’d been through in medieval times still railed within her, and she couldn’t believe how insane Ulric had been. Once she’d had the flashback and realized what he had been capable of, she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d tortured other women before her. He had been a prince, after all, and she had to assume that just like today, those of higher wealth didn’t play by the same rules as those with less.
She shut her eyes as a knock on the bathroom door sounded.
“You okay, Bella?”
She took a deep breath. Was she okay? She had Jayden to herself now, and they could live their lives without the threat of Ulric. Right now, she just needed to get past the previous few hours. “Yes. I’ll be out in a minute.”
Grinning, she shook her head. Jayden had suggested that he come in and soap her up, but then he must have sensed she required some space.
In killing Ulric, it had been important for him to see her, to know that she would be the one dealing his death-blow. It probably would have been smarter for her to just stab him in the back and push him off the rock, but after she’d relived what he’d done to her, she’d wanted her own revenge.
She’d been to Hell, and she’d killed a demon.
But actually, she’d done much more than that. She’d avenged her own death, and Jayden’s.
Turning off the water, she realized she’d probably have nightmares for a while. One didn’t go through an experience like that and come out the other end without a few issues to work through.
She quickly dried off and ran a comb through her hair, then slipped on some clothes. Her knight was hungry, and she figured she better get him something to eat before he went out and hunted down a rabbit or squirrel.
She smiled at herself in the mirror. Yes, her knight had returned, and everything in her life finally seemed right.
* * *
That night, Jayden woke when he heard Bella gasp. He turned over to find her sitting up in bed, her eyes wide with fear as she stared at him.
He rubbed his face. This sleeping stuff felt really nice, but would definitely take some getting used to again. “What’s wrong?”
“I … I woke up afraid that everything had been a dream, and almost wishing it had been.”
Sitting up next to her, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, surprised by how badly she shook. “It’s been quite a week.”
“I’ve been to Hell, Jayden. I killed a demon.”
He nodded. “Yes, you have. You did.”
After spending so many centuries as an Angel of Death, he’d accepted the existence of the supernatural world and all its entities. For a human to experience all of them at once had to be disconcerting—not to mention she’d been reunited with her lover from a past life, a man she hadn’t remembered a few days ago. His brains felt a little scrambled trying to take it all in, so he couldn’t even imagine how crazy it must all seem to her.
Pulling her back down to the mattress, he laid her head on the crook of his shoulder and pulled her arm until it wrapped around his waist. He sighed, feeling completely content.
“Jayden, tell me what happened after I died.”
He wished they could move on into the future, but he also realized that sometimes, the past needed to be put to rest before that could be possible.
“I killed Ulric, right there in your bedchamber.”
“Why? You knew you’d be sentenced to death if you did. Or was it a crime of passion?”
“No. Don’t get me wrong—I was furious. But Ulric made me realize that he would place the blame for your killing on my shoulders. I came to understand that my death was imminent. I could either be accused of murdering you, or Ulric. I chose to admit our affair, to confess my forbidden love for the princess, and have the truth come out.”
“So everyone thought you’d killed him to avenge me?”
“Yes, but because I’d killed a royal, I still needed to be pay for my actions.”
“How … how did they make you pay?”
“They beheaded me in the castle courtyard.”
She gasped, and he heard the horror in her voice as her body tensed. “Oh my God.”
He grinned. Life had changed so much in some parts of the world. Most cultures today thought of beheadings as archaic and primitive, and he supposed they were. However, back then, it was a swift way to mete out justice.
Bella finally relaxed against him, and after a while, he heard her breathing even out. He stared at the moonlit ceiling, his memories of the time returning.
* * *
Jayden and Agnes quickly rode back to Castle Porthaethwidge where he met with Prince Alistair upon his arrival. He broke the news of Arabella’s death, which Agnes corroborated. He also admitted his love for her, their affair, and his crime of killing Prince Ulric.
The prince showed anger at his daughter’s death, and praised Jayden for killing her murderer. However, peace was important to Alistair, and when Ulric’s father, King Bayton requested Jayden’s head to avoid war, he relented, and Jayden was taken back to Praegan.
While imprisoned in the dungeon prior to his execution, Jayden heard through the castle guards that both sides had agreed that war would be averted. As he waited for his death, he knew no one would come to save him, but he did not mind. Without Arabella in the world, he found no reason to live.
The day of his execution, King Bayton had opened the gates to the courtyard so his people could attend the death of the man who’d killed his son.
As he was brought from the dungeon, the sunlight blinded him and warmed his face. He closed his eyes and tipped his head up to meet the heat.
Glancing around, he saw the expectant faces of the royal family and their subjects, all waiting to witness the death of the man who had killed their beloved prince.
He felt no remorse for what he’d done, and when the king asked him if he regretted his actions, he shook his head.
“No. I rid this world of a demented monster, one who took the love of my life from me. May his soul rot in Hell for all eternity.”
That had garnered quite a few gasps from the crowd, but he didn’t care that he spoke of royalty with such vitriol. He told the truth, and in the end, that was all t
hat mattered.
The guards kicked him to his knees, then pushed his head down onto the wooden block. He closed his eyes, ready to die.
“Jayden.”
He looked up to see a woman dressed in black standing beside him, her large, black wings flapping at her back. Her long, blonde hair hung in soft waves to her midriff, her kind, heart-shaped face a very pretty sight.
“It’s time.”
The blow came suddenly. He felt excruciating pain for an instant, but then all went black. Thankfully, he’d been given to an experienced headsman, one who had the foresight to sharpen his blade. He’d heard of executions where it took many blows before the guilty died.
As he stepped into the white light and traveled upward, he realized he would indeed be going to Heaven. Based on his actions, he’d had his doubts, but it would seem God had understood the reason behind the sin he’d committed.
* * *
He held Bella tighter and closed his eyes. They’d been given a second chance to experience their love for each other, and he didn’t plan to waste a moment of the time they had left looking back on the past. He wanted to concentrate on his future with Bella, and he wondered what it would look like. Would they have children? Would they stay in Saint’s Grove? What would he do for work?
Yes, there were many things to discuss with his beloved, and he looked forward to finally living the life they were meant to have.
Epilogue
One week later
Jayden woke to Bella’s soft lips caressing his bare chest.
“Rise and shine, Jayden.”
He grinned, hoping that she greeted him this way every morning for the rest of his days.
Her hand snaked under the covers and she squeezed his erection.
“You need to get up if you’re coming to the store with me.”
She started to roll off the bed, but he caught her by the waist.