The Chronicles of Fire and Ice (The Legend of the Archangel Book 1)

by L. L Hunter

  “Once you sign your blood over to me, you will be forever indebted to the realm and to me,” explained Ariel.

  “But that doesn’t mean you have control over her, does it?” asked Dyston

  “No, it just means that I can call on her at any time.” Scarlett looked over at Dyston who was silently leaning against the wall of the elevator watching her. She moved towards him.

  “You don’t have to do this you know,” he told her, taking her hands.

  “I want to,” said Scarlett, pulling them free. Dyston wanted to ask what was wrong, but the elevator doors opened, and Scarlett realised they were in one of the castle’s turrets. Its walls depicted the materials the Chambers were made of, a dark brown natural stone, and appeared to be slimy or wet—brimstone, Scarlett realised. It was ironic in a land full of angels.

  “Wait here,” Ariel told them before stepping out. Scarlett was now alone with him and her guilt.

  “Scar…” As soon as they were alone, Dyston eliminated the space between them in a heartbeat. He ran his fingers over her cheek, but Scarlett turned away and walked to the window. She didn’t want to look at him, let alone have him touch her. She felt she wasn’t worthy. Down below, she noticed the menacing grey waves crashing against the sharp rocks. She wanted to be in those waves right now, having them toss her about, and throwing her onto the rocks like a form of torture—anything to get away from what she had done. She felt his warm breath on her neck. She wanted very much to throw her arms around him and make herself one with him. But she couldn’t. And she probably never would.

  “Scarlett,” he whispered in her head, “why won’t you look at me?”

  “I can’t,” she finally said.

  “Why not? Look, if it’s about the debt, yeah, I’m mad, but I can live with it.”

  “It’s not that.”

  “Then what is it?” he placed a finger on her chin and turned her face towards his. “Please look at me.”

  “You’ll hate me when you know what I did just to get here,” she told him, not meeting his eyes, tears forming in hers.

  “If it’s just barbeque bodyguards, honestly, I don’t care,” he laughed

  “Dyston, please.”

  “Sorry. Jokes aside, what did you do that was so bad that you can’t bear to look at me?” he asked. Scarlett turned her body away from him again.

  “If this is about me being too protective, I’ll hold back, I promise.”

  “You are too protective, but that’s not the point. Oh, man! I’m so stupid!” She walked to the centre of the room and grabbed onto a gold chair, hunching over it like she was about to be sick.

  “Scarlett?” He stepped closer, but not as close as they had previously been standing. She sensed him near her again, and this time she spun around and met his eyes.

  “I persuaded Lakyn to bring me here,” she said in a rush

  “Persuaded? How? My brother is not easily persuaded,” he said. Scarlett stared at her shoes. She was so ashamed that she had fallen so low.

  Dyston’s heart felt like a ship’s anchor plunging into the gloomy abyss of the ocean.

  “Tell me you didn’t.”

  “Don’t make me feel worse than I already do,” Scarlett expected him to explode and hate her, break up with her, do anything but this.

  “No, it’s my fault,” he said. Scarlett looked at him again, this time there was no sign of a rainbow.

  “What do you mean?”

  “If I hadn’t interfered and fallen for you, then we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

  “What are you talking about? I thought I was the one who screwed up?” Surely he must be in denial, she thought.

  “No, I screwed up first. I fell for you and caused myself to be brought here for judgment, leaving you open to all kinds of evil influences.” Scarlett tried to speak, but Dyston continued. “I’ll deal with him later. Right now, I’m just glad to have you back,” he told her, hugging her close. A lie, it felt like a lie. Her face was probably sweating her betrayal. But she let him hold her anyway. After all, she did have legitimate feelings for him, she just felt as though she didn’t deserve him. That was the moment Ariel chose to walk back into the room, shadowed by Lakyn.

  “We’re ready for you, Scarlett,” she said. The brothers’ eyes met, chocolate brown and ice blue, a storm brewing between them. Dyston kept a firm hold on Scarlett. He wasn’t going to let her out of his sight, especially near Lakyn.

  “I’m coming with her,” Dyston announced.

  “Don’t worry, little brother, she’ll be safe with me,” Lakyn told him, his face showing a snarky expression.

  “I Am Coming,” Dyston repeated more firmly and slower this time. He stepped in front of Scarlett.

  “Very, well, but we must hurry,” said Ariel.

  They rode the elevator up one level. As soon as the doors opened Scarlett thought she was in The Realm of Fire. All the walls, the floor, and ceilings were made of painted white wood. It was a colossal space, almost bare, except for a raised platform in the centre with what looked like an altar on it. Scarlett was so busy admiring the bright vastness of the room, that she hadn’t observed Ariel placing a large white bowl on the altar. She glanced at Dyston, whose black leather jacket and green t-shirt were a striking contrast to the white backdrop. He was watching her. She knew that he wasn’t going to let her out of his sight this time. She stole a glance at Lakyn who was staring at her, as well, until Scarlett met his eyes, and he averted his gaze to Ariel.

  “Can you please step forward, Scarlett,” said Ariel. Scarlett took a step away from Dyston towards the altar.

  “Wait. What exactly does this blood ritual do to Scarlett?” asked Dyston. Scarlett paused.

  “It makes her choose,” Ariel told him.

  “Choose? You never said anything about a choice.”

  “Silly, boy, every angel has to choose at some point, and for Scarlett, that point is now. Scarlett, please come forward.” Ariel produced an ancient looking scroll and placed it on the marble table.

  “What do I have to do?” Scarlett asked when she was standing in front of the altar.

  “It’s quite simple. All you have to do is give me a drop of your blood on the dotted line,” she pointed to the scroll, and then produced a silver dagger.

  “I don’t remember an oath which involved the spilling of blood,” said Dyston, moving to stand behind Scarlett, who reached out and took the dagger.

  “This is a blood debt, Dyston. Just a single drop will suffice,” said Ariel, watching intently like a cat watching a mouse. Scarlett ran her finger along the blade and it cut her instantly, a single crimson drop fell to the snowy marble. Time seemed to slow down as everyone stared at the blood, whose shape was impeccably round. Scarlett closed her eyes and an image appeared in her mind, which she involuntarily began to draw. As she did, she heard multiple gasps.

  “Scarlett, what are you doing?” asked Dyston

  “No!” cried Lakyn, who seemed to recognise the image she was tracing in the blood. She opened her eyes and looked at what she had done. There, on the altar top, she saw an assemblage of circles, sharp angles and Latin symbols.

  “Where on earth did you learn that?” Ariel asked. “Stop!”

  “It was given to me,” explained Scarlett, placing her palm to it, causing everything to disappear.

  Chapter Twelve

  Dance

  There was a most intense white light, even brighter than the room they were in, and Scarlett was blind. She didn’t know exactly what she had done, but she knew it must have been pretty powerful and necessary if she had received it in a dream. A good dream, the kind that was full of Dyston, not a nightmare full of screaming and angels burning.

  She felt around and quickly realised that she had fallen on the floor. Did she pass out? She searched blindly, feeling in front of her. Until her fingertips came across something warm, she felt hair and skin. She groped and discovered that it was an arm. She moved her fingers to the right and found coo
l leather. Dyston? Dyston had been wearing a leather jacket. She kept moving her fingers up the arm until she met a shoulder, followed by a face, and then lips. She traced the lips with her thumb, and felt a warm breath caress it. And then she heard a moan escape from them.

  “Scar,” grunted the voice, and she realised that it wasn’t coming from inside her head.

  “Dyston?”

  “Scar, what happened? Where are we?” he grabbed for her.

  “I’m here. And I don’t know, I can’t see.” She took his hand.

  “Me, either,” said another voice. They weren’t alone.

  “Lakyn?” she tested

  “Yeah.” He coughed weakly. “Come to me so I know where you are.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  “Yes.”

  “No,” Dyston said at the same time. “I’m sure you’ll heal yourself.”

  “How nice you are, little brother.”

  “My pleasure, after how you treated Scarlett.”

  “How—”

  “Guys, please,” interrupted Scarlett, “no fighting over me.”

  “What did you do? Do you know what that was?” said Lakyn. It sounded accusatory.

  “Not really,” she told him. She could’ve lied, but she didn’t have the energy for it. “I just did what I was told to do.”

  “Who told you? That was an Angel’s Ward, a very powerful protection insignia. You could’ve killed us!” growled Lakyn. That was the moment their sights came back to them.

  “What the—” said Lakyn as he found his feet near the ladder that led to the first floor of the library.

  “We’re back in the library,” Scarlett stated.

  “How is that possible?” asked Dyston. He was sprawled out behind her, his back against the maple tree. Scarlett had her body half turned towards him and was still holding his hand.

  “The ward must have transported us back to the Academy.”

  “Next time, before you do something, look before you leap,” grumbled Lakyn, escaping through the wooden doors slamming them in his wake. Scarlett turned towards Dyston who met her eyes, two shades of brown. He brushed a stray hair from her face.

  “Shall we go?” he asked.

  “In a minute.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

  Dyston refused to let his fingers be removed from Scarlett’s; he pulled her to him as soon as they were inside her bedroom.

  “Dyston, I need to tell you something, stop for just a second, I’m not going anywhere,” she laughed, as he ran his fingertips through her sunrise-coloured hair.

  “Sorry.” He pulled back just enough to look at her. “I feel as though you will.”

  “Well, right now I’m not. This is important.” She stepped out of his embrace. Dyston just stared at her. He looked like a statue, a fierce angel.

  “What is it?” he asked with his voice cautious.

  “What I said back there in The Realm of Light…”

  “Yeah, I know. You don’t have to speak.”

  “No, let me explain. Dyston, I…” She only realised that she was crying because her cheeks were damp. Dyston stepped forward and wiped them with the hem of his shirt.

  “Don’t cry, please. As I said before, I’m selfish and everyone’s selfish, because we all want you for ourselves. So really, I’m just one of the greedy people. It’s probably why my wings have stayed black.” He spoke with almost no emotion. He truly was a statue.

  “Dys…”

  “No, don’t speak. If you don’t want to be with me, you could’ve just said so.” His finger remained on her lips, tasting salty, still coated in her tears.

  “Get ready for the dance, it begins in half an hour,” he whispered. And then he left, lifting his cobalt wings through the bi-fold doors and into the stormy sky. There was a crack of thunder and flash of lightening, and then he was gone, leaving Scarlett alone with wet cheeks and her heart in her hands.

  “But I do want to be with you,” she whispered, but there was no way he could have heard it. She shivered and closed the doors more forcibly than she intended. They rattled, mirroring how her body felt at that very moment. Scarlett then remembered the dance. She had seen posters around the Academy for days, but never engrossed herself in the information. With everything that had gone on the past few days, she hadn’t given it any thought. Dances, balls, and proms weren’t her thing. She never attended her high school’s formals or discos. The image only resurfaced now because of Dyston’s words.

  “The dance starts in half an hour.”

  She cursed. She didn’t have anything to wear. She hurried to her closet, but something metallic caught her eye over by the bed. She turned and saw an amazing gold and bronze sequinned gown that looked to be about knee-length. Accompanying it was a black lace-covered half-face mask and matching kitten heels. Scarlett recalled that the poster had also mentioned a theme—Masquerade. As she picked up the dress to admire it, something dropped to the carpet. She looked down and noticed a tarnished vintage gold locket no bigger than the home button on her iPhone. She quickly scooped it up and turned it over in her hand. Then out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a piece of paper hidden partially underneath the mask.

  She pulled it out and opened the note. It held familiar calligraphy. It read: “Wear this tonight and save me a dance - L.”

  She felt cold all over. Lakyn had left this for her. The majority of her brain wanted to throw it away, but the less rational side of her brain wanted to wear it and dance with both brothers so she could tell them exactly how she felt. She showered quickly and dressed in the beautiful gown, leaving the locket to last. What was he thinking? She pushed the thought away as she slipped on her shoes and put on the mask. Scarlett then made her way to the dining hall turned ballroom for the dance of her life.

  The ballroom was packed by the time she arrived. Scarlett pushed her way through the crowd until she saw a familiar face, several familiar faces to be exact. Even with masks on, her friends were unmistakable. Thomas and Delilah were dancing to an upbeat song and were joined at the waist, her arms around his neck, his on her hips. Emer waved at Scarlett, pecked Joshua on the cheek before making her way over.

  “I’m so glad you’re back!” Emer threw her arms around Scarlett. “And safe. We were so worried.” She pouted and let Scarlett go. “You’ll have to fill us in eventually,” she added.

  “I will, I promise. Where’s Kat?”

  “Here I am,” said Kat, joining them. She wore a short red layered dress—Roaring Twenties style. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, held in place by two chopsticks, and her lips were painted cherry red. She also held a red metal mask in her hand. She looked stunning.

  “Has Jacob seen you like that?” Scarlett smirked.

  “Of course, I haven’t left him until now.” She looked over to where Jacob was standing. “Dyston just arrived.”

  Scarlett followed her gaze to where he stood with Jacob near the stage, where a DJ was busy spinning records. Their heads were bent in close like they were having a secret conversation. She very much wanted to go over there and find out what they were talking about, but she didn’t move.

  “Aren’t you going to dance with him?” asked Emer, adjusting her glittery pastel green dress that had ridden up.

  “Um, no. Things aren’t good between us right now,” admitted Scarlett. She didn’t break her gaze from him.

  “Oh, what happened? Did you guys have a fight?” asked Kat

  “Yeah, my fault. I did something I very much regret.”

  “Like what?” asked Emer, who was now fixing up her bleached blonde hair. It hung around her shoulders in loose ringlets. Scarlett gazed around but couldn’t see him anymore.

  “I kissed Lakyn,” she finally said, half lying. She felt it was better if not everyone knew the whole truth. She didn’t want to seem promiscuous.

  “Oh My Gosh!” exclaimed Emer.

  “You kissed Lakyn? But why?” Kat said in a hushed voice, not that many could
hear her over the throbbing bass.

  “I needed him to take me to the Realm of Light to find Dyston. I did it for him,” she defended, still scanning the crowd for Dyston.

  “Great. Now Lakyn probably thinks he’s in love with you. Jacob told me he’s a womaniser,” said Kat

  “He can think whatever he wants. It doesn’t change the fact that I have feelings for Dyston and I cheated on him.” All of a sudden her voice sounded very loud, and all eyes had now turned to Scarlett.

  She awkwardly realised that the music had stopped. She glanced at Kat and Emer who were looking at something over Scarlett’s shoulder. She followed their gazes, and realised that Lakyn had been standing behind her. He and Dyston were dressed identically both in black. She knew this was Lakyn because ice blue peeked out from behind a black velvet mask.

  “How long have you been there?” she asked.

  “I see you got my gift. You look beautiful,” he told her, his eyes taking in every inch of her.

  “I didn’t wear it for you.”

  “I know. You’re wearing it for my brother. But guess what? He won’t dance with you.” He leaned in close so that she felt his hot breath on her face.

  “I won’t dance with you if that’s what you’re asking.” She stepped back.

  “You should stop pretending you’re saving yourself for him. We both know you’re not a virgin anymore,” he smirked, taking hold of her arm.

  “Bastard. You know that it’s the biggest regret of my life, sleeping with you,” she spat. She tried to pull away, but his hold was tight.

  “But you did it anyway. You sacrificed your virtue for the hope of saving your guardian angel. Poetic,” he chuckled

  “Do not mock me. Let me go.” She pulled harder.

  “You heard her, let her go,” said Dyston, who had just appeared beside her, his hard brown eyes not leaving his brother’s face.

  “Oh, look, reinforcements have arrived,” joked Lakyn.

  “Stop being an ass and let her go now, before I make a scene in front of the whole school.” Dyston’s words were fierce and cold. They chilled Scarlett to the bone. Lakyn finally dropped his hand, but his eyes never left Scarlett.