11

"So, you'd rather spend time with me and Zane huh? That's an interesting thing to hear." Will commented as the two of us walked down the path in the woods near our home.

It was three days later, and everything had died down a bit more. I had not seen any sign of Astaroth or Jade being around, but I counted that as a good thing. Hopefully, they'd both decided to leave us alone.

The last three days had been interesting for me in other ways too. I did end up spending the rest of that evening with Zane and Will, but I didn't see much of Chris. He wasn't around when I'd gotten up the next morning either. In fact, I hadn't seen him anywhere, and when I'd noticed that the motorcycle was gone later that afternoon, I began to suspect that he'd left the house for a while.

I wasn't foolish enough to think that he wasn't still mad at me. Maybe he was even having second thoughts on what he had been doing. I felt a heaviness in my heart whenever I thought that. Even if Saffron didn't seem too concerned about what he'd called 'letting the boy blow off some steam', I was starting to have my doubts.

"You know, it's not that I'm complaining about your company, but it does surprise me that Chris just decided to take off like he did. It seemed like the two of you were getting close. One little argument isn't that much for him to sulk about." Will continued.

"I thought we were getting close too, but he just left without saying anything. It kind of hurts, but I think I'll be okay until he decides to come back. Besides, you and Zane are good friends to me too. Zane's also been teaching me how to play the flute now."

"I see. I thought that maybe I'd heard a Loon last night." Will joked.

"Very funny."

"I kid, I kid." Will laughed, "Seriously, Zane's probably the best teacher for that kind of stuff, but it seems like you've been much closer to him then you were with Chris. Did something else happen with him that we didn't hear about?"

I shook my head, "No. I was closer to Chris, but he's not here now, so I've been spending more time with Zane."

Will didn't seem concerned, "It's funny, but this is something Chris would do. He's always been good at sulking when it suits him, and with not being there to protect you when Zane was, he's probably feeling a bit useless. He always has put too much on himself, especially now that they've got a one up on us." he went on.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not quite following him.

"I guess Zane hasn't mentioned it to you yet, and Chris isn't exactly around to tell you. Anyway, apparently Judiel's learned that you do exist and is aware that you've changed. He's also learned that you've met up with us and that you've been staying with Chris. The only thing none of them seem to know yet is exactly where you're staying. It's strange though. I haven't seen any spies around this area, and I only saw five on my way down from New York a few weeks ago. I don't get why they'd suddenly let up." Will explained.

I didn't miss the implications, "You don't think someone's working for them here, do you?"

The thought was frightening. One of us may have been handing us to the wolves soon, and we were still blindly trusting them.

Will shook his head, looking puzzled, "I don't know. I can't find any evidence of that. I've told Chris about it too, but he keeps insisting that there's got to be something to point to it if that's the case. No one could get past us that easily, not with how me and him work. We know everything, whether we want to or not."

He was right about that. If there was someone who was spying on us and knew this much, then they had to be someone very close to us. They had to be someone we trusted. But without any kind of proof, we couldn't catch them.

"So, what does Chris want to do about it?" I asked.

He must have still been talking to Will if he'd mentioned it to him. I wished he'd talk to me too. Even if he just called me. This wasn't fair. He'd said that he loved me. Why abandon me if he loved me?

"I don't know. He's been far too busy sulking lately to talk to me about any of it. I'm telling you, I hate when he does this to me, although I admit that I've never seen him this bad before. You must have really gotten to him." Will admitted.

"Really?" I said absently.

"Honestly now, do you really think that Chris meant any of that? You know he worries about you, and for him to have just taken off like this, he must be upset." Will reasoned.

I shrugged my shoulders, "How should I know? I don't think I've been able to understand Chris since the day we met. I thought I was starting to, but then he just took off on me, so I don't know anymore."

Will smiled as he heard that, "I suppose he is rather hard to understand at times. You could call it a not so good upbringing, if you know what I mean. But he's also pretty direct too with whatever he thinks, although it does seem like he's been losing that lately, especially around you."

I stopped to face him, "What do you mean?"

"Just what I said." Will responded, "Whether you believe it or not, Chris is a lot more taken with you than he cares to let on. He has terrible pride and doesn't quite understand how to express himself at times. I can also say that he's become a lot gentler since you've come along. Personally, I think that it's very possible he may have even been jealous over Zane saving you from Astaroth. At least, it's what I've been able to read from what I know of him."

Jealousy. Being unable to really express himself from a bad upbringing. All of that did fit Chris. I would've imagined that although Jade brought him up to be strong and smart, he probably didn't teach him a lot in the way of being social. Well, truly social; and if he was that stubborn and had that much pride, that would explain why he'd just walk away from our fight and not talk to me instead of just apologizing.

My thoughts were interrupted by a strange sound suddenly rising up from the trees. It was a loud whistling sound, like a huge gust of wind coming at us. Will and I looked up at the same time, seeing flashing lights coming through the trees in the distance.

"What the... it can't be!" Will said in disbelief. He grabbed my hand and began making us run back towards the house.

"What's going on? What is that?!" I managed to ask as we ran.

"It's a band of Judiel's forces! They've come here looking to kill us!"

We raced back to the house as fast as we could. By then the lights had gotten a lot closer. We both ducked as a flash of bright white light whizzed past our heads. Will got back up, standing in front of me and sweeping his hand across the ground, bringing a large wall of dirt up like a tidal wave to block the incoming flashes.

The dirt exploded and rained down onto us as the lights hit the wall. We watched as three bright spheres of light with what looked like wings flapping on their sides floated down from the trees a few feet from us. They transformed into three beautiful luminous beings that were dressed in white robes and had glowing white wings coming from their backs.

Angels.

Will stood still as we watched them, keeping his hand held up for another defensive move.

"So, you found us after all. Who snitched?!" he demanded.

They refused to answer him. Instead, they raised their golden bows, the flaming white arrows pointed directly at us.

But before they could even pull back their bow strings, a blast of black light suddenly came flying up from behind us. It came very quickly, tearing the grass up from under it and growing larger as it flew towards the attacking angels. They scattered, and the blast hit a nearby tree, splitting it right down the middle.

As I stared in disbelief, Chris landed beside Will. He had his sword raised and his black wings shined in the dim light of the evening.

"I thought I sensed angels coming." he said.

"Took you long enough to get back here." Will complained.

"Sorry. I got held up." Chris looked back at me as I stood up, "Stay back and keep your guard up. We'll handle this. You're not ready yet."

The angels were already regrouping. They split up, two on either side of us and one facing us. The one raised his arm, and the ground under us trembled like a minor earthquake. The three of us jumped back, using our wings to cover more ground. I thought about trying to get into the house, but I didn't think it would do me any good. They would've followed and hunted me down; and what about Will and Chris? I couldn't just leave them.

The angels seemed a lot more focused on them then me. As I watched, they aimed their arrows back at them. But Chris and Will were fast and had good defenses with both black flames and using the ground itself as a shield.

Unfortunately, these angels were smart too. One of them managed to distract Will while another flew up behind him and shot another arrow at him. Will moved quickly, but it still grazed his left arm. He held it tightly a Chris moved in front of him, blasting the angels back with the black flames he'd created from his sword.

"This isn't good. We're three to two on this one and we can't exactly fight them when we're this worried about her." Will told him.

"I know that, but they're not going to let us get away either. Not now that they've found us." Chris responded.

Will glanced over at me, then at him again, "Get her out of here. I'll hold them off myself. At least get her away until they have no choice but to retreat."

"You know you can't do that. You can't even more that arm now!" Chris argued.

"It's a lot better than just letting all of us be killed here!" Will shot back.

"I said I'm not..."

Chris started to respond, but abruptly stopped. I looked up and saw that the angels had too. The air had suddenly changed, and all of us could sense it. It became very cold and filled with an incredibly heaviness.

All at once, a massive darkness suddenly split the ground open in front of us, flying up and spreading all around us. The angels screamed as they were swiftly engulfed within it. As this darkness cleared, a figure emerged from the center of it. I could barely believe my eyes.

"Saffron..."

Chris and Will were shocked too.

"I don't believe it..." Chris managed.

I couldn't believe it either. Saffron had finally returned to our world. He'd finally been set free. For as terrifying as that should have been, I felt an instant sense of happiness within me. My father had returned to me. I finally had him back.

"It seems that I timed this one just right. I doubt that either of you were that up to taking on three angels at once, especially with them catching you so off guard, and considering that Jade is a bit tied up at the moment, I thought I'd step in this time." Saffron told them.

"Tied up huh? You mean you made sure that you'd get here first." Chris surmised, making his sword disappear. He didn't look happy to see him.

I breathed a sigh of relief though. Now that it was all over, I finally had time to let everything sink in and I realized that Chris had indeed come back. He'd still protected me. There was still hope.

"Indeed. It seems you've figured me out, as usual." Saffron said, smiling at him. It didn't feel like it was friendly; more like mocking. He looked back over at me, that smile turning to a true friendly one, "And there you are my darling. Come along now. It's been too long since I've gotten to see you in this world."

I smiled back and went over to hug him, "Is about time you came back." I whispered.

The embrace felt so familiar, and I felt comforted. That was right. He was the one true thing in my life before. He protected me now matter what. I was the most important thing in his world, even if he only viewed me as his possession.

"Trust me darling, I would have been much sooner about this if I had been able, but it seems that you've had plenty of help in the recent months. My plans worked out perfectly." Saffron bragged. He looked over at Chris, "It's been a long time, hasn't it Christoff?"

Chris was watching us, still looking unhappy over all of this. I felt a bit worried about that. I hadn't really shown any real interest in his coming back yet. However, I also couldn't quite get myself to move away from Saffron either.

He glared at Saffron, "Not long enough. Don't think I've forgotten about the last time we met face to face." he growled.

"That was rather unpleasant, wasn't it? But things have changed in a last hundred years as well, and it seems you've taken quite a liking to my own, just as I predicted you would." Saffron responded.

"You planned that one out. You were hoping for that connection when Ariana was born, weren't you? That's why you made sure she was a girl." Will surmised.

He was still holding his arm tightly. I could see blood seeping through his fingers, and he looked like he was in a lot of pain even though he was trying hard to hide it. Instead, he was also glaring at Saffron. I didn't miss that little bit of viciousness in his words too.

"I was, although having you around now doesn't hurt either. But enough of that. It seems we need to have you patched up. Even a Fallen Child like you could very well bleed to death, and we don't need you winding up dead right now. You've always proven very useful." Saffron told him.

"Useful huh?" Will muttered. I saw the red specks flash in his eyes.

"Come on. Let's get inside." Chris interjected, helping him to walk. It was obvious that Will was starting to get weaker. He needed to stop that bleeding.

I followed them in with Saffron, remaining close to him and hoping that Will was going to be okay. That must have been a deep wound with how badly he'd been bleeding. But at the same time, I remembered seeing something similar with Chris too. With some help, he more than likely would be able to heal.

I looked back at my father, now feeling a bit nervous. Saffron and Jade were known for not getting along, and apparently Chris had some memories of him as well in that respect. I just hoped that they'd tried to set all of that aside for now. We had much bigger problems to deal with.

Thankfully, things did remain quiet for the next two hours. Sitting on the couch in the large den room, I watched as Saffron glanced out of the nearby window. I studied him as I sat there. Once again, he looked completely human, just like all the other times I'd seen him before that I could remember.

Now that I thought about it, I didn't really think that he'd ever looked inhuman around me, say for that one time where I saw that black tattoo on the side of his face and neck, along with his black claw-like hands. I halfway wondered if he kept himself looking like a normal person for my benefit. Maybe he didn't want to scare me away. At least, not yet.

"Looks as though they've retreated for now. It's just like Judiel to test the waters first before really forming an attack plan. No doubt he'll reevaluate things now that he knows I'm free." he commented quietly as he stepped back and closed the curtain.

"So how did you form all of that darkness and kill them? Was that just dark power or something?" I asked him. While I knew that Fallen Angels were much more powerful than Shadow Wings, I was still curious.

"You could call it that. I like to call it bringing out my shadows. It's an ability that I am a master of. I can make shadows or manipulate any that are around me. They make for decisive weapons, and their power is obviously the opposite of those Pure Wings. The ones that were sent after you were weaklings though. They never would've stood a chance against a high level Fallen like me or Jade. That's why I say that this was only testing the waters and seeing what's been going on with the Fallen Children at this moment." Saffron explained.

"No kidding. I've heard a lot about how powerful you and Jade are supposed to be." I admitted.

"Trust me, reputations are well earned with our kind. I have to say, I am impressed though." Saffron continued as he came over and stood in front of me, "You've done very well on your own, and here I thought that I may have a harder time then I did in making that woman let you go."

"Did something happen to Mama?"

His words kind of scared me. I'd had no contact with my mother since I'd left with Chris. I wouldn't have put it past Saffron to harm her because he felt he no longer needed her.

Saffron smiled at me, "No. Nothing's happened aside from me telling her to let this all be. I also let her know that her debt to me is up now, considering you have become a complete Shadow Wing. It's enough for her. I'm sure she's quite content to not have to be dealing with me anymore."

"That because she was always so afraid of you. She thought that if she did one thing wrong, you'd take her head off or something." I pointed out.

I could vividly recall those memories now. My mother's fear of him was obvious. She always watched everything she did when he was around and made herself scarcer. I never understood it as a child, but now it was easy for me to see why. I didn't doubt what everyone said about Saffron. It made me feel a bit nervous around him too.

"You know darling, you've always been good at reading between the lines on many things, but I'd expect no less out of you. You are mine after all. However, it seems like you've lost your touch a bit in the recent weeks. I can't help but notice that it seems there are a least a few who are leaving you conflicted here." Saffron noted as he sat next to me on the couch.

"It's not that." I leaned against him, allowing him to put an arm around me and play with my hair, "It's more that they never want to act normal around me."

"Well, my dear, what you've been considering normal and what they consider normal may be two entirely different things. You seem to be forgetting that." Saffron responded.

"Who said that I actually want to end up with Chris anyway?" I challenged, changing the subject a bit, "When was that supposed to be decided? Because I don't think it's the right thing, especially now, and to add to that, you and Jade happen to hate each other most the time."

Saffron wasn't buying my argument, although he didn't exactly say it. Instead, he stuck to the subject of him and Jade first.

"It's not hate, my dear. We just like to fight, and fighting is simply another expression of love to us. Trust me on that one. Besides, you can't deny that both you and Christoff have a certain pull to one another. That boy would never act the way he does if he didn't feel that way about you. I'm sure he's very unhappy about how things have been going between the two of you in the last few days, especially when he considers Zane Hedel and how good he's always been with women."

The expression of love thing didn't surprise me. This was the same creature who once claimed that killing the object of your affections, or at least hurting them, was a good expression of love too. I felt kind of lucky that he'd claimed he could never lay a hand on me. I was the most precious thing in existence to him; a treasure to be protected and never harmed in any way, shape or form.

But his words about Chris were interesting too. Was I really reading things wrong before? Was Chris really sulking because he was upset that he wasn't the one to protect me from Astaroth?

Before I could say any more to it, the two of us heard the door open.

"Long time no see old friend." Saffron said, not bothering to look at the person walking in behind us.

"Don't act so casual about this. You're the last one I wanted to see here aside from Judiel." Jade responded.

I watched as he walked over and sat in the chair across from us. Chris was with him. He pulled up a nearby wooden desk chair, turning it backwards to sit down.

The room was quiet for a moment. I looked at my father, then back at Jade. Neither seemed to be acting hostile, but the tension was definitely thick in the air, almost so much that you could cut it with a knife.

I couldn't look at Chris either. I felt guilty now. With what Saffron had said, I was beginning to think that I'd been misreading a lot of things with him, especially when I considered everything he'd done for me, and that fact that he'd already told me over and over how he loved me. Was saving my life really just a matter of duty to him? It didn't seem like that was the case after all.

These thoughts were interrupted by Saffron finally speaking, "So you were that surprised that I hid her as well as I did? You know I'm just as cunning as you when it comes to protecting what's important to me. But I must say, you've done very well with Christoff too. They didn't even know for certain that he was still alive until recently."

"As it should've remained, although I will admit that keeping such a low profile throughout the years with him has never been easily done, especially considering the mess that you created back then. If you weren't such a jealous fool over the women I chose, then I could've done more to ensure his protection." Jade informed him.

"It's not like I wasn't able to handle myself back then, and drifting was always fine with me. I got to see the world in those hundred years." Chris spoke up.

"It seems that you have become quite educated in the different worlds as well. I'll admit that I've been impressed from what I've been able to see of you. Not to mention how well you fight back when something threatens you or another you care for." Saffron noted.

Chris's expression didn't change, "There aren't many of us around, so friends are an important commodity when you actually find them."

"Indeed, though they can be a hindrance too. Choose them more wisely in the future because at least one here is working on betraying you. I've already warned you once about that, but you're still choosing to ignore me." Jade stated quietly.

"Ah, so there is a spy among us after all." Saffron seemed more than interested now, "It did seem rather convenient that three lower angels would just show up here after all of this time. They were far too weak for formal fighters, so it's rather obvious that they were more expandable scouts. Any clues as to who might have called their attention to this area?"

Jade shook his head, "Whichever one it is, they've found a way to be very crafty. They're finding a way to relay information that we are unable to trace, but Judiel knows far too much for just a normal spy. It has to be someone intimately involved. So that leaves only three suspects here for me, and I have no intention of letting up on any of them."

Chris scowled at him, then glanced at me, "Stop that. You're only looking at her because you want to suspect her." he accused. He turned his attention to Saffron, "So, what can be done now if we don't know who this is?"

"There's nothing that can be done aside from getting rid of all three, which obviously isn't an option. Not to mention that Zane and Will are valuable commodities to us right now for their skills and talents. Until we can figure out which one of them it is, we'll just have to keep our guard up." Jade answered.

"Although this may provide us with an opportunity to finally be rid of Judiel as well." Saffron added.

Jade looked unconvinced, "That's a bold statement Saffron."

"Indeed, but you and I have both spoken of perhaps taking him out once and for all several times now. If he goes then the Fallen Children won't be hunted for a good deal of time. He's the driving force there. Not to mention it would settle old grudges, wouldn't you agree?" Saffron went on. He looked awful pleased with his thoughts of vengeance.

"And there's your psychopathic tendencies speaking again." Jade chided him, "You and I both know the risk involved in such a thing, even if we hold our own grudges against him in particular. Not only could they easily replace him, but us eliminating him could also bring about another war due to the birth of those so-called clans. I am not looking to have this entire race wiped out because of that, especially not my own."

"And neither would I. After all, this is my most precious possession as well." Saffron agreed, running his fingers through the back of my hair, "But with all points taken, it would be a shame if we became careless now, especially after all of the energy we've invested into creating these revolutionary children."

Chris looked disgusted as he said that. He probably hated hearing Saffron call me a possession. Jade paid no attention to him, instead continuing their conversation.

"By the way, I will admit as well that you've been rather crafty in all of this. You made sure that you did anything and everything in your power to keep this girl from me while she grew. Were you really that concerned about what I might do once I found her?"

"Not at all. I simply needed the time bought for what I predicted would happen. I'd say it worked to both our benefits, wouldn't you?" Saffron responded.

"I won't argue things that much, considering that you could not manipulate that part of it, but I can't say I'm too happy over it either." Jade relented.

"You can't change it and you know it. Neither of us have it in us to do so. Personally, I think they make a good match, don't you darling?" Saffron glanced back at me.

"Don't you dare drag me into this." I warned him.

No, he wasn't going to make me admit how much I loved Chris in front of Jade. Over my dead body.

Chris frowned at him, speaking up before Jade could, "You both can dictate things as much as you want, but that doesn't mean we'll bend to them. Even the ones like us are born with mostly free will."

"Indeed, but Fallen Children also have something that we as their parents don't, and that's the human element of emotional feeling." Saffron told him.

"Emotional feeling?" I repeated.

"Indeed. That is the truth with us. Whether we think we've formed an attachment or not, we can never truly understand it emotionally. Corruption of the soul is complete to the mind for the Fallen who are cast into the Abyss. We can believe that we treasure something, but it doesn't stop us from treating it like any other object. It doesn't always stop us from lashing out at it either whenever we lose ourselves to the madness hidden deep within our minds. As far as the Fallen go, Jade and I are quite well balanced within our minds, but many are not. Corruption is indeed a form of insanity. I know you've seen that with Astaroth, and eventually it may be seen with us again." Saffron explained.

I saw a slight smile cross Jade's face as Saffron spoke, "It's all very true, but you already knew that, didn't you Chris?" he said, sounding amused now.

"The scar on my back is enough to prove that, you homicidal bastard." Chris growled.

"Ah, so you've attacked your boy at least once Jade? I'm surprised. You must have been pretty angry about something to lose yourself like that." Saffron noted.

"That is none of your concern and it's eons in the past at this point." Jade told him. He sat back a little, "More to the point of all of this, I don't appreciate what you've managed to instate here between yours and mine. While I admit to the fact that neither of us have any power to cause this, I can't say I'm comfortable with the connection shared. After all of this time, I know better than to trust you with anything, and I've seen what happens with some of the more powerful Shadow Wings."

"Ariana will not lose herself like some of those others. She and Christoff are different. You and I both know that." Saffron stated without hesitation.

"So you say, but only time will tell that. She's still very young, and given the circumstances of her birth and you in particular, you cannot say anything for certain. Neither you nor Faith Kent were anywhere near that well-grounded." Jade responded.

I had to sigh. Nothing like saying that I was going to turn into a psycho one day. But I wasn't about to let Jade get away with that one either. Not with Saffron there to protect me. Or at least I hoped he would if I needed him to.

"Look, I don't really understand anything about what I am right now, but I'm not looking to lose my mind and I don't appreciate anyone saying that I'm going to. I am who I am and nothing you or anybody else says going to change that. Chris is right. Just because the two of you think you can go around and dictate everything with us doesn't mean that you really can. We both still have our free will." I told them.

"And that's enough for us to be fine. So, if you'll excuse us, you can work out these 'issues' between yourselves without us now. It may be safer if you decide to get into another fight. But take it outside if you do. I'm the one who'll have to listen to Zane about his house being destroyed if you don't." Chris spoke up.

He stood up, then came over and offered me a hand to help me up. I didn't refuse it. This felt lovingly familiar. I finally had Chris back.

Saffron nodded as he watched me stand with Chris, "Very well. Then you can go ahead and have her back for the night. I'm sure you'll be seeing us soon enough."

I nodded back at him, "Okay. Goodnight then."

"Enjoy your night darling." Saffron replied. He looked even less like a Fallen now with that gentle smile he was giving me. Jade didn't say anything. He just brushed us off with a wave of his hand.

I wasn't that comfortable walking out of there and leaving those two alone, but at the same time I knew that they had to somehow settle things between themselves, even if it meant tearing each other apart then patching themselves up again. Nothing we could do would change anything. It may have only gotten us hurt.

I had to shake my head as I considered everything that I was learning about the two of them and how they acted around each other. That civil yet spiteful way they spoke and looked at each other; they must have had one of the most complicated relationships ever.

"At least one good thing came with him showing up here; I didn't have to keep fighting angels." Chris admitted as the two of us walked up the stairs.

"Have you fought them before?" I asked.

"Not really. I've taken on one or two lower than that before, but it's been a long time. Usually, I just left it to Jade to deal with them just like when I was a kid. It always let him get out his aggressions without turning them on me. But killing something like them has always given him a sick pleasure too." Chris admitted.

I looked down, thinking about what they'd said in there about Jade attacking him. That seemed a bit extreme, but at the same time sadly made sense. Demons obviously weren't that stable, and considering what I'd seen with Zane and Astaroth, the relationships between them and us as their children may have been deadly more often than not. It forced me to speak up.

"So, you and Jade weren't getting along because he attacked you before?" I guessed.

"No, it was something a little more than that, but it's taken me this long to actually trust me him. I know it wasn't completely his fault, but I'm also not a punching bag; and on top of that, it took the better part of three weeks for my back to heal afterwards. Being laid up isn't my thing." Chris responded.

I smiled, "I could see that."

The two of us stopped in the upstairs hallway as Chris turned to face me, "There's something I think I need to say too, since it's just the two of us."

"What do you mean?"

Chris was quiet for a moment. He seemed to be thinking hard about what he wanted to say.

"Look, I know I'm not that great with others. I've told you about that before, but I feel like I need to say it again, and I really didn't mean to just take off on you like that the other day or say those things I said."

Was he trying to apologize for our fight over Zane? I couldn't believe it.

"You mean what you said after we came back from that whole mess with Zane's father?" I verified.

"Yeah, that." Chris sighed, rubbing his head, "I didn't really mean what I said when I told you that it always fell on me to protect you, or that you should just go back with your father. I've always protected you because I love you, and I know that it wasn't really fair to take it out on you because I got frustrated about not being there."

"But Zane still protected me. He didn't let me get hurt. You said yourself that he's really strong. You really didn't trust me about it?" I asked him.

It took me a moment to process what else he'd said. Because I love you. I instantly felt the blush creep over my cheeks, though I tried hard to hide it from him.

"Yeah, but that's not really the point of what I'm saying either. It just seems like every time I let you out and away from me, something bad happens to you, and after that whole thing with Norma, I've gotten paranoid. I really pressed my luck there, and you ended up badly hurt because of it. Seeing you covered in demon blood like you were when you came back here, I couldn't help losing it and getting mad at him and myself. I should've gone. If he'd managed to kill Zane this time, then who knows what might've happened to you." Chris went on.

I never thought I'd see him look so unsure of himself. He was even starting to struggle a little with what he wanted to say. This was a far cry from the arrogant, strong man I'd come to know, but at the same time, it made me smile. Chris actually did get insecure.

He was closer to human then I'd taken him for.

"I guess I could get that, but you can't protect me from everything and it's not like I've ever blamed you for what happened with Norma." I reminded him.

"I know, but I still feel that way." Chris confessed.

"I understand that, but you did just take off on me. How was I supposed to know what was going on with you?" I went on.

"I couldn't stick around when I didn't know what to say after doing something stupid like that, but I never went that far. It's not like I could leave you completely even if I wanted to. I've never had anyone in my life that affects me like you do." Chris replied, pulling me close.

I felt my heart beat harder. He obviously had no fear of my father or his being in the same house while we were doing this. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

"So, if you really don't fear my father and you keep worrying so much about protecting me, does that mean that you really do love me that much?" I asked.

"I never said I didn't during that fight, did I? I told you before that I've loved you from the moment I saw you. Of all the Shadow Wings I've known, you're the only one I've ever felt this way about. You're probably the only person I've ever felt comfortable enough to do anything with. It's been a little strange for me to realize that, but I don't think I mind anymore. It doesn't matter to me if you're his daughter. You'll always just be Ariana to me."

I had missed his kisses. I felt it deep inside as he kissed me. I think I knew then how deeply in love I was with Chris. Maybe I'd known all along and just hadn't realized it. But that moment was a defining one for me. No matter what we were, no matter where we came from, Chris and I were meant for each other, even with our strange heritage and possibly terrible fates.

"You know, I don't really care what happens anymore. I just want to be with you. So please, don't ever leave me again, okay?" I requested as I pulled back a little to face him.

"Alright. I promise I won't do that anymore." Chris responded. He pressed his forehead to mine, "Don't worry about anything that's happening here either. As long as I'm alive, I won't ever let anything happen to you."

Thinking back on his words from that night, I think I knew in my heart that he would keep his promises to me until the end. But at the same time, the one would also become a promise that I didn't want to even begin thinking about. I never wanted to see anything happen to Chris, and unfortunately for us, with the traitor that was lurking in our mists and the angels that were going on the hunt, the clock had already begun ticking on what may have been our doomsday.