Destroyed by Onyx (A Dance with Destiny Book 4)

by JK Ensley

  “Oh, I will,” she said. “And I will salt your mortal wound with pain and death—fill it up with rot and decay… then I shall spit upon it.” She smiled coolly. Her volley never slowed. “Would that my arrows were made of Prisalyn, I would be rolling happily amongst your ashes now, free from your vile tongue and idle chatter.”

  Apollyon chuckled. “It heals my heart to see your amazing fire burn brightly once more, Milady. It has been absent far too long.”

  “Is that so? Well, I’ll make sure to singe you with it before we’re done here, lest you ever forget my fiery touch.”

  Their words continued but their blades never slowed.

  “When Ahriman told me he had found you again, found you upon this layer, I visited you many times.” His voice was soft, gentle. “Never have I been quite so jealous. When you love, tiny Angel, you love ferociously.”

  “To no avail.” She slashed at him as she spoke. “Everyone I’ve loved, you have taken from me. I was blessed with three glorious soul mates, three unmatched and undeserved hearts. You have removed them all.”

  “Three? You count me among them?”

  Her blades stilled. Apollyon mirrored her.

  “How can you say this to me?” Tears burned her eyes, blurring her view. She dashed them away. “Only with you have I blended. Only with you do I share an unnatural bond. You are the only creature in existence who knows my heart minus my words. You feel what I feel; experience what I’m going through on the inside. Even Daichi cannot read me as you can.” Her voice lowered to a near whisper. “And only with you, Vindicus, do I share the glorious blessing of my only son.” Searing anger burned the tears from her eyes. “Your betrayal, above all others, left a wound upon my soul that will not be healed. The one man I should have been able to trust without question… filled me up with the greatest of all sorrows.” She gazed intently into his sapphire eyes and slowly shook her head. “You betrayed me, Vindicus.” She stared at him, bewildered. “You mercilessly landed a mighty blow. One from which I cannot recover. No matter where I live. No matter whom I love. No matter what my wretched destiny is or who the hell I change into… yours is a pain I can never overcome.”

  He could no longer hold her tormented gaze. The hurt and sorrow living so miserably within her magical eyes was too great a thing to bear. The wound, his wound, was too deep. His blade disappeared and he dropped his head.

  “Do with me as you must,” he said. “I deserve a punishment ten thousand times greater than you could ever bestow. Heal your heart, beautiful Anicee. Do what you must to survive. Take your revenge, Milady. Your forgiveness is all I will ever crave and your happiness is all I will ever desire. Be healed, my love. Land your blow and restore your soul.”

  “This is all my fault,” she whispered numbly.

  At her words, Apollyon quickly looked up. Her back was to him, her weapons gone.

  “I am still so ridiculously naïve. Why is my heart so stupid?” she mumbled to herself. “If I hadn’t loved so freely… then perhaps… if I had not been so open with my heart…” Her words trailed off when she felt a mighty presence nearing, stirring within her soul.

  “Then you would not be who you are, little Naga. You would not be the woman I love above all.”

  Hearing that deep, proper voice, she turned.

  Silhouetted by the rising sun, Jenevier beheld the glorious profile of her eternally bonded Blessing.

  “Daichi…” The whisper fell from her lips, unabated.

  Apollyon stared at the near mirror image of his perfect face. The daylight to his darkness. The heaven to his hell. He growled.

  Daichi stopped when he drew near to the keeper of the bottomless pit. He bowed slightly toward the fallen Angel.

  “Gratitude, Apollyon. I am grateful for the part you have played in healing my Naga. You gave her anger the outlet it needed. Because of you, she wasn’t wholly consumed by her bitter rage. And thanks only to you, her flesh remains upon her bones… where it belongs. I care not from whence love comes to her aid, only that it comes.”

  Apollyon didn’t respond. He knew not what to say.

  The perfect sapphire Angel continued on, minus further words, until he came to Jenevier. She jumped into his arms, clinging to his neck as a lost child to its relieved mother.

  “I disappeared so many years ago. I thought you had forgotten me,” she cried into his blue curls.

  “As if that were even possible, my love.” Daichi rubbed her back and let her cry. “You may have run blindly from our home and escaped upon your beloved Dragon, but not a day has gone by that I have not beheld you with my own eyes.”

  “What? You have come to see me while I’ve lived here on Val Hal?”

  “Yes, Naga. Every day. You are my light. I do not exist without you.” He kissed the side of her head. “Val Hal’s sun set every night upon our backs as we watched you.”

  She sniffed. “We?” The word was muffled against his neck.

  “Me and Tenshi,” he said.

  “Tenshi? You mean… my son did not abandon me?”

  Daichi chuckled softly. “You are the only reason he draws breath. This you know, Little Fire. Of course he was here. Incessantly whining about not being able to touch you, not being able to tell you good night or good morning or how much he loves you.”

  She sniffed again and pulled back to look at him. “Then… you both know about my fair Finnean.”

  It wasn’t really a question, but Daichi silently nodded in response.

  “Do you also know of his fate?” Her tears burst forth and she could no longer speak.

  She squeezed him around the neck as her pain washed over her anew. Daichi just held her until her sobs slowed.

  “Yes, Naga. I know what befell your rare Finnean. I ache for your loss. My whole heart grieves with you. I hate to admit it. But never has your smile been quite so lovely as when you were on the arm of that snow-crowned warrior. Even Jophiel said the love you held for each other was an unmatched glory. All of heaven cried at his death. The very sky shook with their wails. For the loss of him, yes. But also for you, Kagi Naga. Your winged brothers love you too much… and you were so happy…”

  His words trailed off when her sobs returned. He just held her, rubbing her back, stroking her curls, keeping all the shattered pieces of her essence from drifting away into the waning night.

  Apollyon watched, brokenhearted, as the true glory of what her Blessing actually was played out before him.

  “I hate you above all creatures, Daichi,” he said.

  “I know you do,” Daichi answered. “My feelings toward you are the same. We are of like-mind in this regard. Toward you, I feel a deep seated jealousy and an—”

  “And an even deeper seated thankfulness,” Apollyon finished his words.

  “Yes,” Daichi said. “I selfishly wish you did not exist. Yet, she needs you. So… I am grateful you live.”

  Apollyon half laughed. “We are more alike than I would care to admit.”

  “As we once were, fallen brother,” Raphael said as he approached them.

  “Ah, so it’s to be one grand family reunion, is it?” Apollyon snorted. “I believe this is where I will gracefully bow out.” He mockingly inclined his head and waved his hand.

  “No,” Jenevier yelled as she struggled to free herself from Daichi’s powerful embrace.

  Apollyon gaped at her as she ran toward him. “No?” he said, stunned. “Why ever not?”

  “I cannot say, not exactly.” She paused. “I’m not ready for you to go. Not just yet. Is that well with you?”

  “Whatever you wish, Milady.” Apollyon did bow to her. “All that is within my power, that will I do. If it promises the return of your glorious smile, my love, I will suffer through the heavenly company I must now keep.” He cut his eyes sideways at an approaching Uriel.

  “I thought I smelled something foul,” Uriel said, looking at Apollyon. “Who invited the bottom dweller?”

  Jenevier rolled her eyes. “Oh, just s
hut it, Uriel.”

  Apollyon tried to contain his snicker. He didn’t succeed.

  Uriel handed his dagger to Daichi. “Here you go, blue boy,” he said. “Do what it is you were made to do. And try not to mess it up this time.”

  Daichi turned toward Jenevier, blade in hand.

  She flinched. “No, Daichi. Not that. Anything but that.”

  Her retreating steps were halted when she backed into Apollyon’s unmoving form. He slowly slid his arms around her. His eyelids fluttered.

  She unconsciously cleaved to his embracing arms, panic swelling within her.

  Raphael drew his ethereal blade. Her brows furrowed, confused by his action. She glanced quickly from one Angel to the next as each slowly donned their weapons.

  “Naga,” Daichi said calmly, holding his hand out to her. “Step away from him. Come to me and be healed.”

  Still, his words didn’t register. Only when she felt the warm lips upon her head and sensed the calming words flowing effortlessly through her trembling body… did she realize whose arms it was that held her.

  Not knowing exactly why, she gave in to the same magical form of healing he had blessed her with so many times before. They were a very real part of each other. No matter what else happened, that bond could never be denied, never be completely severed. Jenevier and Apollyon, dusk and dawn, heaven and hell, the sun and the moon… they were forever connected.

  Raphael took one step toward them. “Stop now, Apollyon. Cease your words. Selfishly retain your rare magic, just as you always have. You refused to use it before, and it isn’t needed here.”

  The swaying duo ignored the Arch’s words. The enchantment flowing between them only increased.

  Raphael took another step, visibly shaking with anger. Daichi held up his hand, halting the advancing Angel.

  When she finally opened her eyes, Jenevier saw that Gabriel and Jophiel had joined them. She tensed, squeezing Apollyon’s arm. He returned the action, tightening his possessive embrace.

  “Fear not, my Angel,” he whispered. “I will be your strength. Trust in me. I swear, no harm will come to you.” He felt her body slowly relax against him.

  “Are you ready now, Naga?” Daichi asked.

  “No, Daichi. I will never be ready for that. I have told you truly. I cannot bear the weight of her… and all that comes with her.”

  “But, Naga, she is you. You need her if you ever wish to be whole again,” he pleaded.

  “I never want to be whole again, Daichi,” she cried. “I have lost my Finnean. There is nothing but pain and grief ahead for me. I do not wish to be Jenevier. Never again do I want to hear the name Kagi Naga. I only ever want to be Gealach.” She looked at Gabriel. “Take my accursed immortality if you haven’t already. I hate it beyond measure.” She turned back to Daichi. “And you can keep her bloody essence. If you wish to make me happy again, if you wish once more to see my smile, then escort me through the Nether. Take me to my Finnean then leave me in peace.”

  “Still your passion, Little Fire,” Apollyon whispered in her ear. “Never will you be escorted through the Nether. Not while I yet draw breath. Listen to your Daichi.” He took a deep breath. “Because he’s right. You know he is. Your life will always seem half empty, tiny Anicee. Because you are half empty.”

  “Just tell me why,” Daichi said. “Aside from your grief, from your wretched loss, explain to me why you are so against claiming what you so obviously need.”

  “Because, Daichi, I am a soul, not a body.” She sent a cold glare toward Uriel. “And not just a vessel.” She looked back at her perfect Blessing. “Same as you, same as us all. This body is but my clothing. I am not this dress. I wear this dress. The same is true with the body. It clothes me, yet it is not me. Finnean understood that. He accepted my current form, loved me all the more for it.”

  “Is that what you think?” Daichi stared at her, dumbfounded. “You honestly think I wish to do this simply to restore your golden curls and glowing skin?”

  “How can you say that’s not so?” she said through her tears. “I am already who I am. I think and eat and breathe and love… and mourn, bitterly do I mourn. The only thing I am lacking in is color. And that’s all your ethereal blade will accomplish—restore what it is you all miss so much.” She looked then at each Angel before her. “None of you care who I am on the inside now. You want me to be who I was. You want me to look as I did. She is not who I am. Not anymore.”

  Daichi stepped closer. “Naga, that incredible soul you were just describing, that precious treasure you now are, is my only concern. I care not what my eyes behold; only what my heart can feel. You amaze me, beautiful lady. The tiny piece of you that remained within your shell after Trelaina bewitched you, that mere fragment of a soul has flourished and bloomed. You should no longer fear the whole of who you once were. Most of it has grown back on its own—your memories, your feelings… your losses. They have returned to you minus the whole of you. What this ethereal dagger contains is only the missing pieces of your glorious puzzle. It’s the only thing capable of locking you together and making you whole and healthy.”

  “Mama.”

  Jenevier turned to find her only son approaching her royal father. Tenshi lovingly patted Brodder’s shoulder before he came to stand beside his visual twin and her heavenly Blessing.

  “Listen to Daichi, Mama. I have missed you so much. If you will not do this for yourself, do it for me. Please. Give a lost little boy back his gentle mother.”

  She almost collapsed from the weight his pleading words hung around her heart.

  “My beautiful son,” she whispered. “My sweet little Tenshi.”

  Apollyon stared at the sapphire Angel now standing beside her Daichi. He fought back the burning tears while his dark heart swelled at the sight of his perfect son… their perfect son.

  “Listen to me, Jenevier.” Apollyon tightened his embrace as he spoke. “I would do just about anything to ensure you stayed locked right here in my arms for all eternity… but not to your detriment, my love. What your Blessing wishes to give you is not just a healing of your body, but a complete restoring of your beautiful soul.” He gently kissed the top of her head. “The fact it may change you physically is irrelevant. Everyone gathered before you now, each and every one of them, think you are as lovely today as you were that fated day you went back to your homeland of Ashgard.” He turned her around to face him. “You are the loveliest creature I have ever looked upon, inside and out. You own my heart, Anicee. The absolute whole of it.” He tenderly caressed her cheek. “Trust me, tiny Angel. This is for your benefit, no one else’s. That dagger will heal you more than my magic, Brodder’s songs, or Daichi’s touch ever could. It will complete you, my love. This I swear.”

  Apollyon used his bent knuckle to retrieve her silent tears. She bit her quivering lip, staring up at him, terrified. He felt her trembling in his arms, wavering within her mind.

  “Anicee, you must let Daichi do this thing,” he said. “Minus your entire essence… you won’t always be strong enough to resist Ahriman.”

  “Ahriman? But I have already resisted the soul-eater. He will not come to me again. I yet fight his dark gift, yes, but I believe he has given up on me cooperating with him or Shamsiel.”

  Apollyon shook his head, sadly. “Oh, Little Fire, he will claim you. He is patient and long suffering. And he desires you like none before. You consume his every thought. Just because you have not seen him lately… doesn’t mean he hasn’t tried to come to you. You see, I cannot stop the soul-eater, not in this. He has his own purpose. And in that… I have no power. I have watched over you, my love. I have spent years guarding you, doing what I could to thwart his advances. Doing what I could to ensure the bliss you shared with your rare warrior… and the radiant smile he kept upon your pale face.” He gazed into her black eyes adoringly as he tenderly tucked his blue curl behind her ear. “Now, the time has come for this to be your responsibility, sweet Anicee. With your valiant F
innean no longer a constant by your side, you will be much easier for him to get to. Make yourself whole so you can defy that dark Angel by your own will.” He squeezed her just a little tighter. “Trust me,” he whispered.

  She slowly nodded her head as she closed her eyes.

  The Prince of Hell looked up, meeting six angelic glares. He matched them, fiercely. He would never back down. He was here for her, and at her request, no less. She was all that mattered, all that had ever mattered.

  “Vindicus?”

  The sound of that borrowed name from her quivering lips caused his heart to race. He looked back down, his eyes now soft and gentle.

  “Yes, Anicee?”

  Her fingers tightened in his clothing, balling it up in her fists. He could plainly read the thoughts swirling about tumultuously within her.

  “No,” he whispered. “No thanks are necessary, lovely Angel. You are me, and I am you. My unhindered devotion goes without saying. That will never change. Can you now feel me within you, dear one? Can you now read my heart and soul as you once could?”

  She swallowed hard. “I can, somewhat. The connection is amazing, terrifyingly so. Words could only fail with the telling. We are one, are we not?”

  At her whispered confession, tears spilled down Tenshi’s sculpted cheeks. “That’s my mama and daddy,” he whispered to Daichi.

  A tiny hint of a smile tugged at one corner of Daichi’s mouth. He glanced sideways when Tenshi sniffed, and watched his brother’s happy tears streak down his face.

  “Yes, Anicee. We are one.” He hugged her closer. “We most definitely are one. Alas…” He sighed. “You share this unexplainable bond with another as well.” He glanced up at Daichi. “Now that you can feel what it is we share, you know you have nothing to fear from me. The same is true with Daichi, my love. He would never hurt you. He would die first.”

  “Tell me. Why is it—” She looked down, shaking her head, then back up at him. “Why is it I want to kiss you so badly?” she whispered.