Again Ayalet was jerked back to the past. Everything changed so quickly, the ground turned to clouds and the trees became small buildings. All around her it was quiet beside a few murmurs here and there; like everyone was waiting in anticipation for something.

A distant sound seemed to grow louder, like wings flapping. The clouds in front of her slowly started to evaporate and crows suddenly popped out of the gateway in the clouds; followed shortly by a large group of Seraphs. A rainbow of wing colors painted the sky as the sunlight hit them.

Dozens of Seraphs flew through the open gateway beneath their feet; cheers and shouts of joy erupted from everyone around her. Next to her she heard Joseph shout out Daniel’s name, she began looking for Daniel in curiosity. She wasn’t that close to Daniel, but Joseph had asked her to come so she agreed. Not only that but the elders had been telling her recently that she needed to start accepting her responsibilities; so she figured this was a good place to start. And, now that Daniel was back they could announce their engagement and start planning for their wedding. They were also a much more appropriate age to announce it.

At that moment, Daniel landed and Clarity ran up to him. Delight brightened Daniels face as he caught her with a big bear hug before twirling her around, "Claire, I missed you." Setting her down, he paused in an attempt to get a better look at her, "And look how much you've grown, I find it hard to believe that you’re, what? …."

Placing her hands on his cheeks, Clarity excitedly said, “forty six!! I’m not the only one getting older, maybe you're just getting shorter, old man. By the way, your cheeks are all prickly. Did you forget how to shave while you were gone?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I need to shave." Ruffling her hair, he looked up as Joseph walked up to him. For a second they just stood there, staring at each other. A smile creeped up both their faces as they went in for a hug. They looked almost like mirror images as they patted each other’s back. Joseph was the first to speak, "Goodness, did I miss you D."

Releasing each other, Daniel responded, "You too, Joe. So has anything interesting happened while I've been gone?" Yelena looked over at Joseph, their eyes met and he opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Claritys’ excitement. Yelena felt her nerves twitch anxiously, how long they’d waited to tell everyone. A few more moments wouldn’t hurt.

Jumping up and down, Clarity excitedly claimed, "Oo oo," Daniel set his hands on her shoulders and got onto his knee as she said, "I’m halfway through my training to become a healer. It's rather hard," looking up at Joseph, she finished, "but Joseph is helping me."

"That's fantastic Claire, I'm so proud of you. I forgot about that, healers start their training once they turn 21."

Looking back at Daniel, realization passed over her face as she remembered what she originally wanted to ask, "So how was your training? It feels like you've been gone a millenia." Talking with Daniel had always been rather awkward for her. Sometimes she thought he hated her which made her more wary around him than other warriors. Daniel and his opinion of her mattered more because he was Joseph's brother. How would it feel if his feelings didn’t change after he was told of their news.

Chuckling he responded, "It's only been, what a decade?"

Grabbing Daniels shoulder with one hand while ruffling his hair with the other, Joseph said, "Actually, twenty five years." Again, Joseph and Yelena’s eyes met but he softly shook his head. Knowing him, he decided to hold off on telling his siblings until things calmed down a bit.

Playfully glaring at Joseph, Daniel retorted, “Well, goodness does time fly fast or what; though it wasn’t always fun.”

Joseph smiled with sadness at the edges of his eyes, “Not fast enough. We’ve missed you dearly.” He pulled Daniel in close for a hug. It was then that Joseph beckoned Yelena over, “Yelena, come join us in welcoming the new Captain home.”

Yelena felt her heart stutter in her chest. Why did he have to put her on the spot like that? He knew her worries about Daniel, was this his way of helping her? She tilted her head in a silent greeting before speaking, “I hope you have been well during your training?”

Daniel tilted his head in his usually stiff response, “Indeed, seeing as I’ve been gone for so long. I take it you are well on your way to becoming a Seriphiel?”

“Yes, I have been deep within my studies for quite some time now.” They stood there silently, waiting for somebody to say something. Even the houses in the distance seemed to have stopped, waiting for their conversation to continue.

She glanced around, every person in the crowd was silently waiting to see what happened. When her eyes brushed over Clarity, they stared at each other for a few moments before she turned her head toward Daniel. Clarity’s face brightened as she grabbed his arm and dragged him back toward their house, talking to him excitedly the entire way there. After they disappeared around a house, everyone started talking to their neighbors again as they made their way back to their own homes.

Staring at all the people as they dispersed from the area; Joseph walked up to her from behind and whispered into her ear, “Come, let’s go.”

Turning around, she wrapped her arms around his torso. Not even a moment later he wrapped his own arms around her upper back. She felt herself melt into his body along with her nerves that had been buzzing but moments ago.

“I’m sorry Yelena. I thought it best to wait to tell them. I figured it was a lot to take in with his new arrival home after such a long time.”

She tightened her fingers in his shirt but pushed away to look up into his eyes, “It is all right. We can give him a few days to be home if you feel it is best to wait. It won’t change my feelings for you.”

“Thank you my love.” He kissed her on the forehead, glanced around to make sure no one was watching before he placed a soft kiss to her lips. Hands intertwined, they walked off into the direction that Clarity and Daniel headed.

~~~~~

Walking out of her home, she made her way toward Josephs’ place. It’d been 3 days since Daniel arrived home, each day she had been overloaded with studies from the elders. She’d barely had time to eat let alone go to visit Joseph. She was finally allowed a day off and she didn’t want to spend it anywhere else but with Joseph. Halfway there, she was blown off of her feet causing her to hit her head on the nearest building. As she slid to the ground, her vision blurred. People started screaming, but she couldn’t pull herself out of the dizziness. Reaching her hand to the back of her head, she found her fingers covered in blood. Closing her eyes tightly she attempted to clear her vision.

Turning her face downward, she opened her eyes. Slowly pushing herself off of the ground she staggered to her feet. Clinging to the side of Joseph’s house, she made her way to his front door. To her surprise it was already open, walking into the doorway she looked inside the house while calling to see if anybody was inside.

When no one responded she turned around and ran in the opposite direction. As soon as she sped up, her vision blurred causing her to lose her footing. Gripping the edge of a building, she attempted to catch her breath. Her head was pulsing and the noise was ringing in her ears. Beneath her, her legs were shaking. She could not stop, she needed to find Joseph and make sure he was okay. Lifting herself up, she lightly jogged in the direction of the noise. Not far ahead she saw a large crowd; anxious to see what happened, she picked up speed.

Nearing the crowd, some of the warriors ran past her to join in. A few people stopped to greet her while others continued running. Greeting the seriphiel should be the last of their worries during a battle. Pushing through layers of people, she found not just warriors fighting, but healers, elders, guardians and even some farmers. Thankfully no children were involved in the fighting. Her heart froze when she saw Clarity fighting with all her might against a Mara that looked to be twice her age. Yelena knew Clarity had no training in this field; worried for her safety she made her way toward her.

She was about to call out to her when she saw a figure standing next to her talking to her. He seemed to be warning her when the Mara was about to attack and helping her with fighting techniques. Yelena didn’t recognize the man, and couldn’t put her finger on what was bugging her about him until someone was thrown backward and right through him; a ghost. Which also explained why Clarity’s opponent wasn’t attacking him.

Not everyone can see ghosts, mostly just healers and guardians, plus a few others. Looking closely, she was ashamed not to have noticed him. Especially his clothing. He was wearing the armor of the old times, it was thick and heavy; not like the thinner, harder armor the warriors wore today. She was about to start searching for Joseph when the ghost’s attention faltered on Clarity and moved to Yelena. It was then Clarity started losing. Her opponent sliced her arm and she screamed in pain; which jogged the ghosts attention back to Clarity. She had to help her, she started to move towards her but hit a wall of bodies pushing against her. There were just too many people that needed to move! She tried to send a blast of air but couldn’t get a clear shot at the mara.

Not far behind her she heard someone call out her name. The familiar sound of his voice caused her thoughts to fade from Clarity; she was suddenly overwhelmed by the need to see him, to know he was unharmed. Turning she saw Joseph's face, relieved she relaxed and let down her guard. All of the worries left her mind as she took a step toward him.

At that very moment his face darkened as his eyes looked past her. Clarity! Oh god! Frantically turning her head she found Joseph's younger sister struggling to hold off her opponents blows. In her side, a small dagger stuck out just to the right of her heart. The ghost next to her attempted to get the Mara’s attention but to no avail.

The field had cleared, and she could see that the Mara was about to make a killing blow when Yelena raised her hand and pushed him back. Her wind knocked him into the distant wall located far behind them. Joseph ran past her shoulder, the wind ruffling her hair in the process. When she pushed it out of her face, she saw both of them on the ground; Joseph holding Clarity’s petite form in his arms.

Feeling her breath catch in her lungs, she stumbled over to them. Joseph was working all of his healing skills on her, doing whatever possible to heal her terrible wound. So much of her blood was seeping through the clouds, turning the ground beneath their feet to a deep red as it spread. Clarity was crying up into Joseph's face, “Brother, I’m sorry I ran out of the house.”

“No, no, Claire, it was my fault for not telling you sooner. I’m so sorry, don’t worry I’ll heal you.” Seeing Clarity like this reminded her of her own mother healing Lilith and fear took over. She couldn’t lose Joseph, anyone but him. Before she could move to stop him, she knew it was too late to help.

Feeling her presence, she slowly turned around. At first all she saw were her people fighting, but then three burgundy wings lifted above the crowd. Slowly rising off the ground, she saw reddish golden hair flowing in the wind, her bright red eyes locked on her own, Lilith.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Daniel running in her direction. Halfway, he stopped in his tracks; no doubt aware of Lilith’s presence as well. Landing just outside of the crowd, her sister’s eyes never faltered despite the busy crowd of people. Yelena remembered when those eye’s used to reflect the light green of fresh grass. Now, they were tainted with hatred. She never understood why Lilith and every other Mara would attack the Seraphs when they used to be Seraphs themselves. She started making her way toward Yelena when her cruel snear softened as her eyes met Daniel’s.

As the battle continued around them, the two of them just stood there staring at each other. It was as if there were unspoken words going on between Lilith and Daniel. Someone walked up from behind Yelena and rested their hand on her shoulder. Looking behind her she found the unnamed ghost from earlier. She looked back and Lilith had disappeared, Daniel was slowly making his way to them.

The grip on her shoulder tightened. Turning towards the ghost she could see pain in his eyes. His face contorted as he begged, “I’m so sorry, this is all my fault. Is there any way you can help her. I don’t want to see her join me on this side, she’s only just reached 46.” Tears started rolling down his cheeks, as he fell to his knees.

“What do you mean it’s your fault?” Before he had a chance to answer, he faded away in shame.

Not knowing what to do, she turned around and jogged over to Clarity and Joseph. Not far behind her, Daniel ran up and crumpled to his knees. His throat croaked as he whispered his sister's name while running his hands through her brown wavy hair that reached just past her shoulders. Clarity’s four soft green wings were crumpled beneath her weight as she lay there, her beautiful brown eyes struggling to stay open. The light from her eyes disappeared with one last heavy breath.

What hurt more than anything was knowing she possessed so much power, yet she could do nothing to save her. All she could do was watch in silence as Clarity’s soul slowly slipped away.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“It is my fault Clarity is not with us. Why she’s dead and not living her life.” Joseph’s voice broke as he said her name.

Yelena’s ears could not bear what she was hearing. In front of her stood Joseph and Daniel. The funeral was planned for tomorrow but Joseph was trying to explain what had happened before the battle broke out. His face was filled with grief and he kept pulling away when she reached for him. Daniel wouldn’t look her in the face either.

“I’m not sure I understand. How are you to blame for her death?”

Joseph’s face was filled with anguish as he began, “I was making dinner for us to eat the other day. Claire was chatting with one of her ghost friends at the table when she suddenly froze. She started whispering before she quickly stood up and yelled at me. She was furious. She started screaming, how could I do that to her, to them. At first I was confused when she ran over and pounded her fists on my chest yelling… no screaming, how could I propose to you? She asked me how long ago I had proposed. And why didn't tell her or Daniel? I was frozen in shock at her finding out. She wouldn’t even let me touch her at all or help her calm down. When I asked her about how she found out all she said was that her friend overheard you and I speaking on the day Daniel arrived.”

He took a shuddering breath before continuing, “It was at that moment Daniel walked through the door, asking what we were yelling and fighting about. Before I could stop her, Clarity turned to Daniel and told him that I had proposed to you without their permission or the permission of the elders. That I’ve been hiding it for who knows how long. I could see the color drain from Daniel’s face. All he asked was when. And when I told them it was the day before he left for training. Yelena… they were so upset. Shortly after, Clarity ran out of the house.” As Joseph finished his tale, Yelena felt her heart break in her chest.

It killed her to hear that the last thing Joseph had shared with Clarity was a dispute involving their relationship but also that his siblings had not approved of their engagement.

~~~~~

Many weeks passed after Clarity’s death, the Mara had yet to attack. Joseph had been slowly losing weight while drowning in despair; he felt her death was his fault. She gathered the same herbs he had gathered for her so many years ago to help fight off transformation. She hardly left him alone for some time. They spent all of their free time talking through what had conspired. She did everything she could to keep a smile on his face. One night, they stayed up late in the night in the common room of her home reading and talking much like they used to do. It almost felt normal, like nothing bad had happened.

Daniel had been almost nonexistent since her funeral. . The few times she had seen him, she had tried to offer him some tea, or ask him how he was. He avoided eye contact and gave her the cold shoulder. She hadn’t even seen the ghost since Clarity died either.

The last place Yelena saw the ghost was at Clarity’s funeral; his figure had been floating over the gateway as they set her body aflame. It was tradition to burn a body and drop it out of the gateway into the open air below. She remembered her mother’s funeral so many years ago.

A couple of months after the mara attack when things had calmed down, the ancients began to give her more to do in her studies. It made it harder than normal to find time to spend with Joseph. Although every morning she stopped by his house to make sure he got up and ate. While every evening they would fly or walk and share a cup of tea.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

No one knew why the Mara hadn’t attacked yet, they’d never gone so long before. Usually every few weeks there was at least one incident, but it had been over two months. She couldn’t figure out any reason, her gut was telling her something was off. Everything was too calm. Walking out of Joseph’s front door, she left the fresh smell of cooked eggs and vegetables. Thankfully his appetite had started to return in its usual ravenous entirety, allowing her to leave him alone without the constant worry.

Making sure the door was closed behind her, she turned around to make her way to the sangha. The sun was barely climbing over the clouds, hiding most of the scenery in shadows. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed someone softly closing the door of the house to the right. Squinting, her eyes adjusted to the dark, allowing her to see Daniel. His shadowed form looked both ways before gliding against the side of the house before turning the corner. Suspicious. What was he doing?

Curious, she followed him. After passing a few houses, she realized they were heading toward the gateway. Suddenly, she got flashes of Clarity and of the funeral. A pang rang in her chest, making her wonder if she should leave Daniel for some time alone. Something felt off though; just to be safe, she decided it wouldn’t hurt to follow him. Make sure he wasn’t getting into trouble. She had been worried about him for some time. She could have sworn his wings had been seeming darker over the last few years... not enough to really notice… but even more recently it seemed the very tips of his feather were darkening further. She asked Joseph and the elders if they’d noticed but no one seemed to see any difference in his wings. Still her gut kept telling her something was off.

Not wanting him to notice her presence, she remained about 30 yards behind him. He again checked to make sure he was alone before jumping down through the clouds. Waiting a few moments, she walked up to the gateway, paused then jumped through. The familiar weightlessness always gave her butterflies in her stomach and a warmth in her chest. As she fell through the clouds, she opened her wings to slowly glide down after him. The wind tickled her feathers and her cheek as she erupted out of the clouds and into the bright sunlight. The light dazzled her eyes, making her see colors and shadows when she looked away. Hopefully he didn’t notice the silver of her wings. Sometimes the color was more of a hindrance when it came to concealment. If only she could hurry and learn how to shield her presence.

By the time she landed, he was so far ahead of her, he looked like a shadow weaving between the trees. Keeping her wings partially out, she used them to lightly run along the ground, avoiding the usual noise of running.

It didn’t take long for Daniel to start slowing down. Fearful of being found out, she jumped up into the branches of the nearest tree and peeked down at him.

As she got settled, he made a quick turn to the right behind a patch of foliage. Not wanting to lose sight of him, she lightly landed on the ground before dashing after him. Diving past trees and jumping over bushes she gained speed just running into an open clearing. Big mistake, she tried to back track as fast as she could so she didn’t get spotted. As her heart slowed down, she recognized the scene. They were back in the clearing where Joseph had proposed causing her heart to stutter. Joseph, she should be with him right now, not snooping on his brother.

As she argued with herself whether she should stay or go, a clang of metal caught her attention. To the very side of the clearing she saw Daniel completely frozen next to a figure in the shadow of the trees. Almost like the trees were dragging him further into the darkness for which he was heading. His body went rigid, to her horror she could have sworn she saw a glint of silver pierced through his tunic before disappearing.

Attempting to process what had just happened, she noticed reddish silver liquid spreading along his back. The shadow jerked backward and disappeared from sight. Instantly she started running up to Daniel when the shadow rushed out of the darkness in her direction, nearly colliding into her. She turned her head in time to see the man freeze at the edge of the clearing before sliding down a tree, unmoving.

Six dark orange wings were strewn about along the ground around him with short spiky blonde hair, a Mara. To the side of his head, his hair was fading to a red; he must be bleeding. His eyes open but unseeing.

Concern for Daniel caused her to turn back around only to find Lilith staring at her. Her eyes were glaring a bright red overflowing with anger, her hair was thrashing in the wind. Just behind her Daniel was leaning against a tree, breathing heavily while his dusty rose wings continued to turn deep dark blood red. Was he bleeding or going through the Mara transformation?

She took a step toward him when Lilith angrily hissed, “What are you doing?” Ignoring her, she continued to walk in his direction. Again Lilith hissed, “Get away from him.”

When Lilith understood Yelena had no intention of stopping, Lilith threw her hand up in an attempt to shove her back. All around the trees were blowing out of control, branches breaking, leaves flying through the air; in the field, it looked like a miniature tornado as she attempted to keep a close eye on Lilith through the mess of her hair.

Growing angry, she allowed more energy to seep into the air around her, empowering the wind to speed up and make Lilith stumble in surprise. Not enough power? Fine. Opening her wings she pushed the wind faster, forcing Lilith to fall to the ground. Seeing an opportunity she made her way towards Daniel. Lilith crawled on her arms, looked up at Yelena with rage in her eyes before asking, “Why did you let this happen to Daniel? Why didn’t you save him?” She then crumpled forward onto the ground breathing, heaving and snarling. What did Lilith mean? She hadn’t let the man do anything. She didn’t even know what had happened until it had come to pass.

Seeing her brought back memories of their childhood, of times when they played together. They used to run around, racing each other and whoever else dared to challenge them. Father was one of the ancients at that time, and always told them to behave themselves. Neither one of them wanted to listen to their father, they were such stubborn children. They were so young when their mother and father both died within months after they got their wings. Then Lilith was abducted by the Mara and neither one of them were ever the same innocent children again. Yelena almost fell into despair being so near to her sister after so many decades. That small part that had almost been lost felt sympathy for her. Along with her sympathy was her guilt. It was her own fault that Lily had been kidnapped; Her fault Lily couldn’t grow up alongside her.

Suddenly all the anger emptied out of her pores and into the air. Calmly, she responded, “I couldn’t have done anything; I was simply following him to see where he was going. I had no idea this was going to happen.”

Slowly Yelena approached Daniel before getting onto her knees as tears started flowing down her cheeks. She could already imagine how Joseph would react when he found out what had happened to Daniel. It was more than enough for him to deal with losing Clarity; he was just starting to laugh occationally again. How would she go about telling him about Daniel?

Lilith struggled to get to her feet, jerked Yelena to look her in the eyes as she said, “Liar! What do you mean you couldn’t do anything? You’re the almighty Seriphiel aren’t you?!” A cruel sneer came across Liliths’ warped features. “You’re supposed to be able to do ANYTHING!!! If you weren’t so caught up in your own ridiculous life, you might have foreseen this happening.” The hurt was intense, her words burned into Yelena like flames through a dry forest. She hadn’t mastered her powers in their entirety yet; She still had decades of training and learning to go.

Lilith banged her fists on the ground near Daniel's feet, an animalistic snarl dredged from her throat. Yelena felt her body stiffen and lean away from Lilith, a bit fearful of what she might do in this state. The part of her that remembered Lilith as her old self, as a child couldn’t walk away though. “I’m sorry Lily. I’m only beginning to understand what I can do.” What could she do? Her healing was still yet to be desired, her shields were mediocre.

Lilith’s head whipped around her eyes deranged with pain and rage. “Don’t you dare call me that; that name died with our parents. With me.” She growled.

Gathering her energy she sent it up to the sky to stir up the wind around the gateway, in hopes that she might be able to get someone down here. The clouds swirled and churned into a sizable vortex. Someone was bound to see that, someone that could help.

As she was in the process of sending the air, Lilith leaped up and pushed them both to the ground. Yelena’s head banged against the ground as Lilith’s eyes steadily turned a brighter red and her nails dug into her shoulders; blood slowly trickling to the ground.

Yelena was surprised when Lilith closed her eyes, and trembling slid off Yelena. Through gritted teeth she hissed. “I spare you for now in the slight chance that he might be saved, by you or… someone else.” She glared up at the sky as a shadow crossed the clearing.

Seconds later, she heard the beat of wings as Joseph flew in their direction. Her heart shuttered to a stop. Why Joseph? Why did it have to be him to see her signal? Landing about fifteen feet to her left he scanned the area, absorbing the scene in front of him.

His face quickly became frantic when his eyes looked in her direction; no doubt seeing Lilith next to her. Dear gods, he hadn’t noticed Daniel yet. She raised her hand, telling him not to come over here. Instead she pointed in Daniel’s direction, hoping there might still be some sliver of a chance to save him.

Instantly, he jerked to a complete stop, frozen in time. His face was a mixture of utter pain and shock. She longed to stand next to him, to comfort him. He was the last person she wanted to have seen her signal, but he’s the one that responded. It was now on his shoulders whether he’d be able to save Daniel, or watch him die in his arms.

It was the situation with Clarity all over again. She honestly didn’t know how much more Joseph could take; if Daniel died, Joseph would be without a family. Was it their fault for getting engaged? Would things have been different if they had told his family sooner?

If only she were further along in her studies, she might have been able to help him in some way. If she hadn’t taken time to relax and worked harder more often, would it have helped? Would she have learned what she needed to help? She’d never know.

Laying her hands on the soft earth, she bent over and cried. From across the field, she could feel the air resonating with Joseph’s power. All the purity circling around him, dancing through the air. A beautiful silver light passed between Joseph’s hands and Daniel’s body. His powers and those of all true healers never ceased to amaze her. The beauty and serenity that comes forth from their spirit was truly a wonder.

Looking up, she saw Daniels' body gain some color as his chest rose. Her heart sputtered in anticipation, her arms shook with nerves as she waited for some indicator that he was okay. Please. PLEASE let Daniel be okay.

Feet away, Lilith lifted her head, waiting for an indicator to prove that Daniel would live.

As his chest continued to rise and fall, Lilith got to her feet and stumbled over to him. Yelena, not far behind her sister.

Sensing a presence at the edge of the field, she turned her head. The beginnings to a shadowed form stood silently in the darkness of the trees. It didn’t seem to be moving or disappearing; As it stood there, she could feel the darkness slowly dissipating and purifying itself.

The shadowed form slowly became visible as if it had walked into the sunlight, Daniel. His eyes were glued to Joseph and Lilith hovering over his body. No! They’d been too late. Was there nothing she could do but stand here?

As if sensing his failure Joseph stopped healing Daniel's body and turned his head in the direction of his spirit. Yelena got a glimpse of Joseph's expression before she had to turn away. His face looked as if he had given up on life, it was empty, devoid of emotion. He used to smile at her with such love. Now there wasn’t even a glimmer of anything but deep, all encompassing despair. He looked like a ghost himself. How could she heal his heart? How had he healed her all those years ago? Behind him, Lilith had dropped to her knees and began shaking Daniel's body; not fully understanding the situation. Yelena walked over to them and fell to the ground. With sympathy and pain drowning her voice, she whispered, “Lilith, he’s gone.”

Frantic, Lilith angrily hyperventilated, “No!! He’s not; he was just breathing, I saw him!!!”

She too had thought he had been breathing, it was only now that it clicked. Looking at Joseph, she responded, “He wasn’t breathing, that was simply all the negative energy in him being dispelled by Joseph.” Pausing, she awaited her sister’s response. When she didn’t she continued, “In other words, he was purifying his soul to help him move on. He was in the process of transforming into a Mara, Joseph healed his soul allowing him to move on.”

Not far from them, Joseph responded, “I’m sorry, he was too far gone to be revived.” His voice was ice, devoid of emotions. His eyes stared off past them, his wings limp by his side. With Clarity, she had thought he had looked broken, this was worse. Her heart ached for him.

Getting up, she walked over to Joseph, sat on the ground and tried with everything she could to comfort him. “Joseph, we were too late. No one knew that Mara would attack him.”

Pausing, she attempted to think of a reason to explain why Daniel would have come here so early in the morning by himself. Seraphs were warned from a young age to not travel outside the gates alone. Looking behind her to where the Mara was laying, she found nothing but feathers strewn about. “Lilith? Where did the Mara go?”

Silence rushed through the field as she awaited Lilith’s response. In a scratchy voice barely above a whisper, Lilith responded, “I don’t know.”

“What were you and your Mara doing here? What was Daniel doing here?” She wanted something, any kind of answer to explain why this had happened today.

There was this unsaid but she could feel thick in the air. Her sister knew something. “Lilith! Why did your Mara attack Daniel?!”

Lilith stood up shakily and walked across the clearing, refusing to look her in the eye. Slumping against a tree, she guiltily whispered, “Don’t… Christoph never learned to share well. He can be a bit childish. . .”

Anger pushed past the grief and built in her chest before beginning to cloud the edges of her mind. “Why would you say that? What do you mean?”

“Because the last time we attacked the Seraphs, Christoph and Daniel were fighting. Christoph . . . he doesn’t take well to sharing his tools… and Daniel was in his way from getting me to help him move up the ranks. He wanted me to stand with him alone in our ranks.”

Lilith sat in silence, utilizing the moment, she asked, “He wanted you, as in to marry you?” Lilith nodded in answer. A small waiver of happiness for her sister welled up before disappearing. “What does that have to do with Daniel?”

Lilith’s head fell further, “I turned him down and told him it couldn’t be. I wanted another. I didn’t mention any names.” She took a few deep breaths before continuing, “For years now Daniel and I have been meeting in secret, even during his training. I was sent to kill him, but I saw potential in him. I wanted him and that potential. I wanted him to join my ranks. I started becoming obsessed with the idea of him becoming one of us. He was so easy to talk to, strong, an amazing flyer... he… he was perfect. During the battle the other day, Daniel and Christoph were battling each other. Christoph was winning. It looked as though he was about to make the final blow when I stopped him.” Pausing, she stared down at her hands before continuing, “I didn’t like the thought of Daniel being killed, so I intervened.” Running her hands through her hair, she anxiously said, “I hadn’t seen him in so long and I didn’t want the last time that I saw him to be of him being killed by one of my own.”

Wrapping her arms around her body, Lilith whispered, “Christoph confronted me after the battle. He asked if Daniel was the one I wanted. I couldn’t answer him or look him in the eye. Then he suddenly stormed off. He was acting suspiciously today so I followed him and came across them fighting. I didn’t realize he had been following Daniel until it was too late.”

She stood up and walked over to Daniels still form. As she looked down at him, she crouched down to rest her hand on his face. Tears flowed down her cheeks. One of her tears landed on Daniels cheek before slowly making its way to the ground. As Yelena watched the tear travel down his face, it looked as if he were crying himself. Lifting her head in an attempt to postpone more of her own tears, she glanced across the clearing and stumbled across Daniel's soul hovering at the edge of the woods.

Disappointment filled Daniels' ghostly face. She turned her head back to Daniel’s empty body and whispered “I’m sorry” to the open air as she felt his presence evaporate.

Yelena walked over to Lilith. Above her, the clouds moved in the wind, causing the sunlight to shine down over Lilith. An ache twisted her heart for her sister. Could they ever mend their bond? Was there a way to turn a Mara back into a Seraph? Maybe it was her own desperate hopes but when the light hit Lilith’s wings they didn’t seem nearly as dark as normal.

“I’m sorry Lily. He loved you.” Yelena whispered to her sister.

Lilith’s body stiffened before she jerked away from Yelena’s hand. Lilith's wings started twitching as she said through gritted teeth, “What?”

Yelena repeated herself, not understanding Liliths reaction, “He loved you, he has for years. That must be why he started transforming into a Mara, to be with you.”

Lilith jerked around to face Yelena. Her eyes were such a deep color of red, “No. He never loved me. At least not the way I wanted him too. For years, for as long as I can remember, he’s loved YOU.”

Yelena was in utter shock. There was no way that could be true. “Me? He’s never even liked me let alone loved me. He barely spoke to me, he didn’t even like being in the same room as me.”

Lilith laughed, her laugh was different, it sounded more high pitched… almost deranged, “Oh, you are so wrong dear SISTER. For years, I watched from afar as he looked at you. His eyes followed you, always looking in your direction. I would follow him to the earth below where he would sit for hours. For years he’s been fighting off the Mara influence trying to take over. He was so desperate to stay near you but couldn’t help the sadness and pain he felt that you didn’t love him back. To the damn tree stump where Joseph proposed to you. And yes, I was there when he proposed.”

Yelena responded, “No, have you ever considered he did love you but you being a Mara stood between the two of you? Maybe he didn’t want to acknowledge his love because it meant leaving his family, forsaking all he knew for a forbidden existence..” Yelena felt rather disturbed by the idea that Lilith had been watching Daniel for so long and that she had invaded in on their special moment near the tree stump. It had to be the Mara blood talking.

Lilith's wings jerked backward, “Yelena, I know he loved you because he told me. After so many years, I finally built the courage to tell him how I felt. When I confessed how I wanted him by my side, he turned me down. When I asked, who else would he say but YOU. Of course he said you. I tried to tell him it was a lost cause and that I would help him, that I would be there for him but he said no. He’d loved you since before you had come to live with Joseph and their family. But Joseph and you grew close and his feelings were unrequited and grew cold..”

Next to her, Lilith took a shaky breath as she turned to walk away. What could Yelena say to her?

Lilith's wings twitched as she jerked around again, “Why couldn't Daniel have loved me when it was so obvious that YOU loved Joseph. It’s always been so unfair that YOU got to be the GREAT Seriphiel, from the moment your wings emerged. The reason his transformation into a Mara escalated recently was because the news of your engagement killed him on top of losing his sister. It wasn’t MY fault he’s dead.” Lilith jumped into the air toward Yelena, as she finished, “It’s YOURS!”

At that instant, a strong wind wrapped around her body and pulled her backward at the same time Lilith was pulled to the ground. Yelena looked over to find Joseph, red rimmed eyes, tears streaming down his face, his arms outstretched in the open air. His deep voice echoed in the clearing, “ENOUGH!”

Lilith threw out her arm and the wind wrapped around them dispersed, “No, not enough. This discussion is not over. In fact, you should be involved. Joseph, were you aware that your brother held feelings for Yelena? Your twin brother, who not only looked like you but held feelings for the same woman. Did you propose to Yelena, fully aware of what that would do to your brother?”

Joseph stood silent and still. His head lowered, as if allowing Lilith’s accusations to continue, “I see, so I am correct. You were aware for all these years. So you are no better than Yelena. YOU are just as responsible for his death. Well, I wish the both of you a happy life together. May you ever hold the weight of his death upon you. And don’t worry, I will remind you every chance I get.” With that Lilith flew off over the trees and was gone from sight.

Yelena felt an impending doom that this was not over. She felt a heavy fate weighing down on her body. Something very bad was about to happen. . .