Destroyed by Onyx (A Dance with Destiny Book 4)

by JK Ensley

  He picked her up. She was like a doll in his arms, a tiny, porcelain toy.

  He tenderly brushed back her curls. “Jeez… Gabriel, come get her.”

  His celestial brother did not respond.

  “You did this to yourself, you know,” he whispered. “Why did you touch me? Why did you speak words from my heart? Do you think me a fool? Did you believe I would be ignorant of your intentions?”

  Her eyelashes fluttered. Raphael waited until her lids were half open.

  “Naga.” His voice was firm but not overly harsh. “Why did you touch me? Never touch an Arch. Do you understand me?”

  Her voice was groggy, small. “Apologies. I didn’t know. I have touched your brothers all. None of them hurt me.”

  “How did you touch them?” he demanded, a little too much bite in his words.

  “Wha-what? I know not. The same as Gabriel and I holding hands while we watched the dawn. We just touched.” Her head stopped spinning long enough for her to sit up, shakily. “People touch, Raphael. It’s completely natural.” She rubbed her temples, grimacing. “Ugh, my head is killing me. You have taught me a hard lesson, Brother, one I’ll not soon forget—steer very clear of Raphael, the crazy dark Arch.”

  He kept her upon his lap, pushed all of her curls back behind her shoulders. “Naga, tell me. Why did you touch me?”

  “In truth, I wanted to see what your beautiful hair felt like. And… I wanted to see your perfect face, the whole of it. Not just your profile,” she said, fighting the coming tears. “I only wanted to look upon you properly. Why did you think I touched you? I didn’t don my claws or lift my wings. What did you believe I was intent upon, if not admiration?”

  He turned her chin, forcing her to look directly at him. He stared deep into her black eyes. And there they remained… until she grew so uncomfortable she began to struggle in his arms, trying to stand, to run, to flee.

  “What are you doing?” she cried. “Stop it!”

  Gabriel came back inside. “Raphael.”

  “I did not harm her,” he said, pushing her off his lap.

  Jenevier ran past the golden-haired Arch and out to the balcony railing. Her chest was heaving for want of more air.

  “Are you well, Naga?”

  She spun around to face Gabriel. “What’s wrong with him? Is he mad? Has he lost his Angel wits upon the way? What did he think I was doing?”

  “Raphael is… cautious. He has his reasons. Come. We must talk.”

  She plopped down in a chair, sighing. “Why, all of a sudden, am I so interesting to you all? I sought word of you, any of you, for years. Not one of you cared enough to even let me know of your existence. Now… now that I’m like this…” She waved her hands to encompass the whole of her colorless body. “You find immense joy in torturing me. Not only do you now show yourselves and speak, you traipse right into my chambers as I sleep. All of you. As if, pulling me from my dreams only to immerse me in your nightmares, is a completely natural thing to do to an unsuspecting soul.”

  “Yes, it must seem thus to you,” Gabriel whispered. “Alas, we have always known you, Kagi Naga, always watched you from afar. None more so than Raphael and Uriel. They find you curiously fascinating.”

  She snorted. “Well, that’s just lovely. I find them extremely irritating. But… not as much as Jophiel.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, well, Jophiel can be a bit more of an acquired taste. He is actually quite entertaining once you know how to take him. He has a delightfully wicked sense of humor.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ll just take your word for it.”

  She fell silent. Gabriel watched her for a long moment as she absently picked at her clothing, head down.

  “Naga, you must make a decision,” he finally said.

  She didn’t look up. “About going to Sheol?”

  “No. That is no longer possible. Since Daichi healed you through the night, the coldness has all but left you. If you could enter his realm now, Shamsiel would easily claim you, never let you go. The darkness yet remains, but it is far removed from your heart,” he said. “No. I come concerning more personal things.”

  Her heart leapt, she could literally feel it in the back of her throat. This can’t be good, she thought. “Personal? Like what?”

  “Your wings.”

  “M-my wings? What about my wings?”

  “They are required of you, little one.”

  “Required? You mean… you came to take my wings?” If she hadn’t been without color, Gabriel could have surely seen all the blood drain from her face. “W-will I d-die?”

  He gave her a sympathetic smile. “No. I will not tear them from your back as Shabriri did your friend, Vittorio.”

  “But you will take them, all the same,” she whispered.

  “I will,” he said. “If you can live without them.”

  She stared out at the beautiful lavender field, still sparkling with morning’s dew. Painful memories flooded through her mind. The headache Raphael had gifted her turned into a throbbing migraine.

  What have my wings brought me? As many smiles as tears? Or were there always more tears? Jenevier had still not regained the whole of her lost past. But much of it had returned. Well, bits and pieces of most of it. How bad will it be, really? From what I can recall, diamond wings equal blood… lots of blood. Why should I miss such miserable things as that? She drew in a jerking breath. “I can,” she whispered. “I can live without my wings.”

  Gabriel’s breath hitched. “I will admit I did not expect that answer, nor did I expect it quite so quickly.”

  “Are my claws required as well?”

  “They are.”

  “Wow… I must tell you. I’m going to miss them, terribly so.” She sighed. “Very well, then.”

  “That’s it?” Gabriel gaped at her stoic profile. “Just like that? No other questions? Not even a tiny argument?”

  She looked him in the eye. “You claim to have the power to turn me to ash. I but touch Raphael’s hair, just his hair, mind you, and he… I know not… squeezed my brain or something. If it’s my wings that cause your shadows to continually cross my door, then take them. I need them not.”

  He tenderly stroked her cheek. “You, Little Fire, are far stronger than I. Are you not even going to ask me why?”

  “First, tell me this,” she said. “Will removing my wings remove Vashti?”

  “Yes,” he whispered.

  “If I am minus Vashti, then… I’m no longer Angel, right? I will no longer be the bringer of death.”

  “That is correct.”

  “Then do it,” she said. “Being Angel is one blessing I could definitely live without.”

  He only stared at her, mouth agape.

  “I am Empress of this realm and Guardian of Dragons. That is more than enough responsibility. I do not need wings to fulfill those roles.”

  “Empress of Jinn, yes. But no longer will you be Guardian of Dragons,” Gabriel said.

  Tears burned the backs of her eyes. “I will lose my Dragons as well? How much pain can accompany a single dawn? And… how are they attached to my wings? No. Don’t answer that. Only tell me this. Will I retain my bond with Nilakanta?”

  “You will. Nothing can break that bond. He is yours and you are his, always.”

  “Then that’s all that matters.” She took a deep breath. “Will Tenshi still be my son?”

  Gabriel smiled. “Naga, think clearly, little sister.” He lightly chuckled. “He is of you, nothing can change that. He is not your son because of your wings. He is your son because of love. An epic, tragic love… one that I’m almost jealous of.” He whispered that last part.

  “But then… what about Daichi? He is not of me, not my son, not of my blood. He was an undeserved gift. One I needed only to fulfill my duty as Death.”

  “He will not be taken from you,” he assured. “He was made for you, Naga. One is only whole with the other. That will not change.”

  She released a choked lau
gh. “Well then, had I known it would be this easy, I would have petitioned your help sooner, Brother.”

  Gabriel took her hand in his. “Naga, you will be just a human again. Do you understand? You will no longer be immortal.”

  “Immortality is highly overrated.”

  She turned her head to hide her tears. Her words were a lie, through and through.

  “What of Tenshi and Daichi?” he asked.

  The question shook her to the core. “But… you said I wouldn’t lose them.”

  “You will not lose them, Little Fire. They will not be removed from you. But neither will they be human. They are Angel. That will not change.”

  “Then… I guess I will just have to appreciate them all the more during my shortened time here.” Her tears were obvious now and made her voice quiver.

  “Aww, little sister. Why do you pretend to be so strong?”

  Gabriel tried to embrace her but she pushed him away and turned to leave.

  “What would you have me do?” She spun back to face him. “Do you wish me to beg you for something that has caused me so much pain? And for what? You said you came to take them. So, take them. You don’t need my permission. Just go, Gabriel. Leave me in peace. Let me enjoy what little time I have left. Let the rest of my mortal life be as any other, minus Angels and demons and the constant battles.”

  “No life is minus those things, Naga,” he said quietly.

  “And yet, millions live and die every day without Archs barging in and threatening to kill them,” she snapped. “I believe I’ll make it just fine. So many others manage to do it from birth. I am no different.”

  “Oh, but you are… exquisitely different,” he whispered, low enough that she couldn’t hear. “Very well,” Gabriel said. “I will miss you, Little Fire. More than you will ever know.”

  She snorted out a laugh. “I’m sorry I cannot say the same.”

  Jenevier walked back to the bed. Staring down at her beautiful Daichi, she spoke to Raphael. “You can let him wake now. I wish to spend as much time with him as I may have left.”

  She crawled over to him and curled up against his warm chest. He smiled in his sleep and wrapped his arm around her.

  “What?” Raphael gasped out a growl. “You chose to give up your wings? Why would you do something like that? Just how pigheaded are you? Stupid girl.”

  “What would you have me do, Raphael? Beg and plead for something I didn’t even want to start with? Why do you even care? Now, you will never have to come near me again. Actually, I’d like you to promise me you never will. And please, stop watching me. I am no longer your concern. And frankly, knowing how much you hate me… thinking you’re still hanging around gives me the creeps.”

  “Gabriel did not tell you the whole of it, did he?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Really? Tell me, Raphael. How in the hell am I supposed to know if he told me the whole of anything? He told me enough. And enough is as good as a feast.”

  “You stubborn little brat.” His tone was vicious. “Father spoiled you. He heaped blessings upon you when you obviously didn’t deserve them. Gabriel said you would fail. From the beginning he proclaimed thus. I never did. I watched you, always. I knew you had an awesome fire burning inside you. I swore you would never run away.”

  “Run away from what? From Gabriel? Do you jest or are you mad? Tell me how I run from an Arch to spare my wings. What would be the point?”

  “Come, Raphael. We have much to do,” Gabriel said as he walked into the tension-filled room.

  “Yes, Raphael. Go. Do all your muchness stuff. Leave us in peace.”

  His golden eyes pierced her. She matched his glare.

  “You didn’t tell her. Did you, Gabriel?”

  “There was no need. She can live without them. Why bother with the rest of it?” Gabriel said. “If she is fine and can happily live and die as a human, why would you not wish her well in this? Come. Let us take our leave.”

  “Why bother?” Raphael shook his head. “What do you mean, why bother? Did you even give her the choice? Does she yet remain ignorant of what she could have been?”

  Gabriel’s calm words were a stark contrast to Raphael’s swelling anger. “Has she not seen enough blood? Has she not known enough loss? Look at her, Brother. She has to have a fulltime healer just to keep from shattering into nothingness. She has done her part. Let her know a few short years of peace.”

  Raphael never took his eyes from hers. “Shouldn’t that be her decision? You didn’t even give her an option. This is wrong, Gabriel. On every layer of this universe… this is wrong. You have removed her freewill by leaving her absent choice.”

  “Raphael, if you care for her.” He glanced at Jenevier and quickly back to his brother Arch. “If you love her, as much as I know you do, you will not do this.”

  “It should be her choice,” he yelled.

  Raphael came closer to the bed, their gazes remained firmly fixed.

  “Do not touch me,” she snapped.

  Then, she disappeared from Daichi’s embrace.

  Raphael spun on her just as he heard Iole Máni leave its scabbard.

  He grabbed both her wrists. “You will listen,” he hissed.

  Jenevier felt like all the air had been sucked out of her.

  Gabriel looked around the room, now empty save for the sleeping sapphire Angel. He shook his head. “Perhaps it’s better this way,” he whispered as he spread his wings and glided back to the clouds.

  Daichi smiled in his sleep and reached for his precious Naga. His hand just kept reaching.

  Chapter 35

  Raphael

  (rah-fye-ELL)

  It was the most terrifying feeling she had ever experienced, even worse than being blind—the loss of air.

  Jenevier tore at her own throat, digging her nails in deep. This was the end. She knew it. But… where was the peace, the calm? She had always believed death would bring a moment of divine clarity and stillness. Terror and pain were all she could feel. Her chest burned and her eyes felt like they would burst forth from their sockets. Darkness closed in on the edge of her vision, slowly cutting off the last comforting sensation she had, sight.

  Someone was talking, then yelling, then screaming, shaking her. She went limp. And then… just, nothingness.

  But even that didn’t last.

  Opening her eyes, she lay crumpled upon the street. She didn’t move, only laid there, staring at the enchanting cobbled gemstones her head now rested upon.

  Mindlessly trailing her fingertip around the edge of a particularly vivid green stone, she thought of Alastyn.

  This is exactly the color of his eyes. He had such lovely eyes. I was blessed to look into many amazing sets of eyes. I was lucky. We are but few, the ones who can travel to the many beautiful realms of this great universe. Yes, I was truly blessed.

  Lightly kissing the cool little emerald, Jenevier slowly rose to her knees, gaping at the beauty all around her. Colorful gemstone streets laced elegantly throughout the expansive plane, sparkling with their brilliant glory. It captivated her senses, filled her with peace and love, even more so than her vague memory of it. She had seen a street this spectacular somewhere before. It brought her comfort, and a strange tightening in her chest.

  “Wow…” Her whisper echoed across the vastness of this new realm.

  “Welcome home, my love. I have missed you terribly. How did you lose all your lovely color, Princess? Alas, it does not, cannot diminish your rare beauty.”

  Gentle hands wrapped about her waist, lifting her to her feet. She swayed upon wobbly, unsure legs.

  “How am I here? And… where is here?” she whispered to the unseen man holding her steady.

  “You must have died, little one. You’re in the Nether. Tell me. How is it you are no longer Angel?”

  “Oh, Gabriel took my wings.”

  The large hands turned her around. She felt like she was floating.

  “Why would he do that? What was his re
asoning? Did you fall, tiny Princess?”

  “Nope, I didn’t fall. At least, if I did, it didn’t hurt. Why? Did you fall?” she asked, curious.

  Giddiness was swelling within her and those infectious giggles were becoming too hard to contain, she released them. Never had she felt such joy, a weightless euphoric type of happiness.

  Someone grabbed her chin. “No, wait. Do not leave me. Not yet. Stay but a moment longer. Focus on my voice and still your drifting soul.”

  She tried. Searching, she caught sight of enchanting blue eyes, bluer than the heavens. As perfect as flawless sapphires.

  “Wow…” She reached out to touch them and the face began to take shape. Hazy and out of focus, it gradually cleared before her.

  She recognized this face, this gloriously beautiful face. There wasn’t another in all creation that could match it. Utter perfection.

  “What happened to your eyes?” she said, smiling.

  “Jenevier, my love, my eyes are the same as when you first gazed into them. You are the one who sees with new eyes, Princess. How is it snowflakes now dance within an abyss? They fail to show the truth of your radiant soul. These eyes are darkness and ice. Yet, you glow as a newborn star.”

  “Daichi, you know how I came by these eyes.” She smiled and ran her fingers through those enticing blue locks. “Remember you not? I was destroyed by onyx. Tell me. Where have all your curls gone, my love? Why are they but waves now?”

  “Is Daichi your gift from Father? Is he the Blessing that fluttered within you the night you saved your Guardian friend? The very last night I held you in my arms. Was he the mighty Angel that stood beside you upon the battlefield… where I earned your fierce hate?”

  “Daichi, my love, all of this you know. Yet I could never hate you.” She giggled and lightly kissed the tip of his nose.

  The tears now filling those beautiful blue eyes tore at her bliss-filled heart.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, sweet Angel,” she said. “I have to leave you now. Don’t cry, my love. Know that I will love only you, always.”

  “Jenevier stop!” He grabbed her hands, pulling them to his chest. “Do you no longer recognize me? Your love for Daichi is tearing me apart. How much more shall be heaped upon me? With your Blessing, Father has cursed me further.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, locking her firmly against him. “Say my name,” he begged.