The Trailokya Trilogy, Book One: The Shadow Soul

Chapter 28

Yet there was another choice. If she jumped, the deadly gate would send her straight to Jahannam. Once there, the weariness in her limbs would give way to strength of another kind. Determination would never carry her back home from there, but Morgentus would never lay a hand on her. Tears filled her eyes, knowing such a choice was too dangerous a thing to attempt. Just as likely the fall would render her helpless: she'd be placed right into his hands and no one would ever come to her  rescue. The princes, after all, declared all her kind the enemy of Jahannam. With their help, Morgentus had hidden his stolen bride for thousands of years in the deepest parts of his labyrinth. Not once had  any mission discovered the woman. There were also the other missing, like the guardian Gamael, for  whom the alders claimed active missions. He had yet to return to Zion. Of course, none of them had given themselves to the dark and yet had hope.

Raising her arm before her eyes, Maiel saw that her sattva was nearly mortal, so pale and fragile. If she jumped now, the gate might refuse her. Thus, she would not fade, but remain trapped in a sattva irreparably broken. Her hand slid down the smooth surface of the metal covering her abdomen. The brilliant sheen of the cobalt armor faded to blackish midnight. The shine was muted, like the glow of the atman in her sword and in her eyes. Rusty feathers blew out before her on a gusty wind. The penannular would be dead in no time, and her armor gone with it. The dangers facing her then were far worse than anything she'd faced yet.

Lighting flashed in the sky above. The clouds rolled violently with the  thunder. The delicate scent of home mixed with the sulfur of the shades. How could she consider giving into her enemies, even as a means of defeating them? Hissing rain fell from the black clouds in torrents. The drops touched her skin, chilling and soaking her. Unable to bear the judgment of her failure and the weight of her hopeless thoughts, she embraced the storm, letting her tears at last fall in a silent farewell to what was lost.

Boot steps on the planks behind roused her from her acceptance of fate. She turned her chin. A dark figure stood on the dome catwalk. It wasn't Morgentus, as she'd expected. Instead, the golden-haired soul responsible for all this stood there. Turning her face from him, she frowned. Below them, the ground lit on fire. The danava came to collect a prize. The pits of Jahannam opened, promising she would fall. The last thing she wanted to see before her fall was him. Her stomach twisted at that thought. Never in the ages of their ketu had she ever felt so. Setting her eyes on the far horizon, she  knew it was the loss of favor that twisted her feelings. As her atman grew dim, so would her love. In the dark, affection would be a sentiment to be met with the utmost derision. Incapable of ending such attachment, she would delight in denying her husband, who would be incapable of parting from her.

"Maiel," he called to her.

Maiel turned her head, but wouldn't look at him. Loathing tugged at her sinews.

"Maiel, no."

Maiel rolled her eyes back to the distance. He climbed over the rail and carefully moved down the slope to where she stood. Even a fall to the next roof would kill his human form. She looked past the edge, thinking of helping that along. His movements distracted her as he knelt down to pick  something up. It was one of her feathers, pasted to the roof by the rain. He spun the sodden plume between his fingers, frowning at it. She recalled how much he had enjoyed the red feathers of her wings. The emotion turned over and over, until she considered smashing his face into the back of his skull. Her fists squeezed tightly. With a tremor, she pushed back the thought. In a moment of  vacillation, happy memories crept in and begged her to fight to preserve them instead.

Dominic dropped the feather and came to stand behind her. He didn't touch her, but she felt the heat of his dark presence at her back. She blinked the tears from her eyes, hating him for following her there, hating him for so much more. The emotion opened the way for the dark to take deeper roots.