by Raquel Dove
She had never been to Kasen’s home before, but she knew where he lived. It was in the same section as Mr. Black, though she hadn’t realized that until after she knew he was a General. Now so many things made more sense to her about him. All the places he had taken her, the way he knew so much about the Death Angel Society, his special treatment. She supposed it was sort of stupid that she hadn’t figured it out before now.
Gabrielle came to the door of his home and she felt her stomach fluttering. She didn’t know why she was so anxious. Maybe because he hadn’t returned her messages. She also wondered if he had heard about Mr. Black’s proposal. She calmed her nerves as best she could and reached out to knock on the door.
There was only a short wait before the door cracked open and a man she had never seen before appeared at the front door. His beady eyes glared down at her, moving from her face to her neckline before he grimaced at her.
“What do you want?” he asked, rather gruffly. Gabrielle was a little taken aback by his rudeness.
“I… I want to talk to Kasen, is he home,” she said, her voice smaller than she’d like it to be.
“General Kasen,” the man corrected her with an angry gleam in his eyes. “And he doesn’t care to speak with you.”
Gabrielle felt her heart jolting to a stop. For a second she thought she had misheard him. Then she thought that maybe he didn’t know who she was.
“I’m Gabrielle,” she said, hopefully. “Maybe you could just tell him I’m here, and that I just really need to talk to him.”
“I know who you are,” the man said, his words clipped. “And I already told you, Master Kasen doesn’t wish to see you. Not now, not ever.”
“I…there must be some sort of mistake,” Gabrielle said, shaking her head as she felt the tears starting to rim her eyes.
“There’s no mistake,” the man said. Then his lips parted into an almost sadistic smile. “Except the one Master Kasen made in dating you. He has come to his senses and wants nothing more to do with you.”
Gabrielle felt her heart shattering. The words hit her like a concrete wall. Her mouth flopped open and closed as she tried to form words through the tears that started to run down her cheeks. She didn’t want to believe it.
“Please leave,” the man said, raising his chin as he stared her down over his nose.
It took Gabrielle a moment to process his words. The pain of his earlier statement had made everything else blur. So it must be true then, everything she had with Kasen had been a big lie. He had just used her to get what he wanted. Her tears flowed freely down her cheek as she turned to walk away.
“Wait,” the man said, his words suddenly turning softer. Gabrielle whirled back around, her heart leaping as she looked hopefully back at him.
He reached up towards her and in one sweep, snatched the necklace off her that she had nearly forgotten about, the one Kasen had used to propose to her. With that final gesture, the man said nothing else and slammed the door in her face.
Gabrielle crumpled to the ground, crying loudly at the humiliation and sorrow that she felt. She thought she had made her choice. She thought she knew what she would do. She thought that her life would get better. But it had just gotten so much worse.
Chapter Twenty Seven
Gabrielle felt numb. She had sat outside Kasen’s home for a while, crying until no more tears would fall. She had hoped that he would come out at some point and tell her that it was all an awful misunderstanding. That he did love her and still wanted to marry her, but he never came.
Finally, she picked herself up off the floor and began walking. She didn’t know where she was going, she just walked. Her mind felt disconnected from her body. A thought passed through her and for a while she seriously considered it. She could just kill herself. It was an odd thought, considering she was already technically dead. But she knew people in the Death Angel Society could die. It was a tempting idea. She didn’t really know what she had to live for here. She had no job, no real friends, no lovers, she had nothing. Worse than nothing, she was about to be shipped off to the Academy.
She was so lost in her own thoughts and misery that she didn’t hear someone calling her name. A strong hand on her shoulder snapped her out of it and she turned to look up into the dark eyes of Mr. Black. She didn’t say anything to him, just stared up at him with her wide eyes on the brink of another round of tears. Without a word, he simply pulled her into his warm embrace and hugged her gently as she began to sob into his chest. After some time, she composed herself and pulled back to look at him.
“I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head and not knowing what else to say.
“Walk with me,” he said simply, holding his hand out to her. Gabrielle was confused for a moment, but she put her hand in his and let him lead her away. His grip was soft but firm and Gabrielle found strength in it. He didn’t say anything for the longest time and his pace was slow and casual. They seemed to be walking aimlessly and finally Gabrielle felt well enough to speak.
“Where are we going,” she asked, wiping at the dried tears on her cheeks. He gave her a sidelong glance.
“Nowhere,” he said simply as if that explained everything.
“Why did you ask me to walk with you?”
“You were upset,” he said, as if that would make everything clear. He sighed lightly and turned his head to look at her. “A walk usually helps to clear my head. I thought you could use the same.”
“Oh,” she said, not knowing what else to say. It was odd, but she did find that she felt a bit better. Though she couldn’t say if it was the walking, or his comforting presence.
“Do you mind me asking why you were so upset?” he asked. His steps slowed a bit as he turned to face her a bit more closely.
“I…um,” Gabrielle looked down at her feet and stopped walking. She debated on whether she should tell him, whether she could tell him. “I went to talk to Kasen,” she said finally, her words trembling as she got them out, “I thought…he…,” she shook her head, trying to organize her thoughts. “I guess he decided he wants nothing to do with me…”
Her words trailed off and she couldn’t look at Mr. Black. She shifted her weight, suddenly uncomfortable and regretting that she had said anything.
“That’s peculiar,” he said, snapping her eyes to him. “I know he cared deeply for you.”
Gabrielle looked at him with her brows furrowed.
“Why would you tell me that, when…,” Gabrielle looked away unable to say the words to him while looking directly at him, “when you want me to marry you.”
“I want you to marry me, and not marry Kasen,” he said very matter-of-factly. “But more than that, I want you to be happy Gabrielle. I honestly never thought you would choose me.”
Gabrielle looked up at him with clear shock. “Why would you ask me if you thought I would say no?”
“Because you can’t say yes if I didn’t ask you at all,” he said. A smirk appeared on his lips.
“Well, yeah…” Gabrielle shrugged. It felt so odd to talk about a marriage proposal in such a way. But that was sort of par for the course here in the Death Angel Society. “You’ll always be like this, won’t you?”
“Pardon?”
“You’ll always tell me the truth, and say things just how they are, won’t you?” she asked. She knew he would say yes, and it was comforting to know that he would.
“Why wouldn’t I?” he said, looking down at her with a bit of confusion on his dark brows.
“It’s refreshing. The way you are,” she said, and to her surprise, there was a small smile on her lips when she said it.
“I think you’re the only one in the Death Angel Society to think so,” he said, and she heard just the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice. She laughed a little bit. She felt like she was so privileged at that moment. She knew that no one ever saw this side of Sebastian. Whether he hid it from the world on purpose, or whether she just happened to bring it out of him, she wasn’t sure.
She realized right then that she wanted to find out. She wanted to know him better and she knew there was only one way to do that. Perhaps it was a rash decision on her part, but that was nothing new for her.
“Yes,” she said, looking up at him with a smile. As soon as she said the word, and had decided it in her mind, everything felt all better. She still loved Kasen, and she was still heartbroken over him. But Mr. Black knew all of that. He knew and he didn’t care. He just wanted her, and he wanted her to be happy. Somehow she just knew that he would be able to help her with that.
“Yes?” he said, confused by the sudden shift in their conversation.
“Yes,” she said again, biting at her lip. “I will marry you.”
Chapter Twenty Eight
Wilfred knocked once on the door to Kasen's bedroom. There was no answer, as he expected, so he slowly pushed the door open. The smell of sickness permeated the room and made Wilfred want to shrink back. He knew that the sickness wasn't contagious, but it still frightened him the way he could always smell it on his master.
He held the small silver necklace in his hands that Kasen had mistakenly given to Gabrielle. He was going to send it to the York family, as Kasen should have done years ago. He didn't understand what his master had against the young Miss York. She was beautiful, kind, and noble. The match between them was a no brainer. That was why their parents had negotiated the marriage so long ago. Wilfred just couldn't let Kasen throw away his family's honor by breaking with tradition and ignoring his parent's promises.
As he drew closer to the bed, Kasen's eyelids fluttered open. His pupils were dilated and his eyes were glazed over, unable to focus on anything. Wilfred could hear his breaths, each one labored and raspy. His hair was matted to his head over a thick layer of sweat.
“Gabrielle,” he whispered, using all the strength he had to utter her name. Wilfred wanted to frown at him. Even in his current state, all he could think about was that silly little girl. He didn't know what his master saw in her. She was a crossover, and a rather plain one at that. There was nothing that she could offer General Kasen. Wilfred was glad that he had intercepted the girl. He would put things right in this household, and one day his master would look back and thank him.
“She was here,” Wilfred said quietly, sitting on the bed. At those words, Kasen's eyes opened a little more, his face lit up with hope. He was trying to speak, but Wilfred silenced him. There was no use wasting what little strength he had right now. “She wanted to return this.”
Wilfred held up the necklace so that Kasen could see it. His face scrunched in pain. Again he tried to speak, but again Wilfred stopped him.
“I'm sorry sir,” he said, “I know she meant a lot to you. But she wants nothing more to do with you.”
Kasen tried again to speak, but instead started to cough uncontrollably, and Wilfred knew that there would be no more talking for now. He called for the healer to tend to his master, pleased that he had successfully avoided a catastrophe for his noble family. By the time Kasen was well again and discovered the truth, Gabrielle would be married to General Black.
###
Kabel made himself comfortable in his favorite chair. Maldar sat at his side, licking his wounds from the fight he had gotten himself into while spying in the mortal world. He was a dumb beast, but he was strong and resilient so Kabel kept him around.
He hadn't wanted to run into two Generals from the Death Angel Society, but things played out the way they did and there wasn't much that Kabel could do about it now. They were going to meet one day anyway, Maldar had just sped up the inevitable.
Outside, Kabel could hear the beasts of his world begin to fight amongst themselves. He pushed back the urge to sigh. These creatures that surrounded him were of such little value. They only became useful when they reached the size of Maldar, which wasn't often. Unfortunately, their bigger size typically made them incredibly stupid, and so their usefulness was extremely limited.
Kabel lived in the Between, as the Death Angels were fond of calling his world. It was a realm filled with sorrow, death, and Darklings. The Dark Fighters rarely came here, and those that did, often did so by mistake. Not many of them made it out alive. It was a hostile world. A world that was built on blood and death, and Kabel was carving out a kingdom.
He picked up the file that rested on the table beside him. He thumbed through the pages of information, looked at the picture that was attached to the other documents. It was the fourth time he had read over the packet of information, but he wanted to be absolutely sure before he brought this to the others. He heard a door slam open, followed by the heavy footsteps that he knew belonged to Dacian. It was only a few moments before he came into the room, his arms and face covered in Darkling blood.
“You do know that eating more of them won't make you any stronger,” Kabel said, not bothering to glance up from the papers in his lap.
“Yeah, but they're still fun to eat,” Dacian said, his thin lips curling back into a smirk that revealed his fanged teeth, a holdover from the times when he himself was nothing more than a slobbering Darkling.
“Whatever,” Kabel brushed him off. Dacian irritated him at times, but there were so few in this world like them. They all had to stick together, even though they generally hated each other. It was better than being alone.
“So, you think they have any idea what's coming?” Dacian asked, plopping down in the chair next to Kabel. He pointed to the stack of papers in Kabel's lap.
“They shouldn't,” Kabel said, “If our General friends have done their job right.”
Dacian scoffed at the mention of the Death Angels. Kabel shared his feelings. He didn't like having to work with them, but they were a means to an end.
“What's his name then?” Dacian asked, leaning over a little to look at the papers Kabel was reading through.
“Her,” Kabel said, lifting up the picture of the brown haired girl. “Gabrielle.”
“It's a woman?” Dacian asked, his eyebrows pulling down over his red eyes. “Are you sure this is the right person? She wouldn't last a day here.”
“I'm fairly certain,” Kabel said, setting the picture back in the file. “Maldar hit her pretty hard and she didn't even sustain a single scratch.”
“Huh,” Dacian grunted and flopped back in his chair. “Well, I guess that's something.”
The End