A World Like That

Chapter XXXI

-Ariel-

He didn't even look where he was going. He ran away from Dante and flung himself down onto the nearest cloud. An inhuman wail left his throat as his heart physically ached in his chest and his stomach twisted. Dante was going to die, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He'd found his soulmate, the one other who truly loved him and saw the world the way he did, and now he was going to lose him in some cruel twist of fate.

He heard his name and felt hands on one of his arms. "Ariel, what is it?" Jael asked, a note of panic in his voice.

All he could do was wail. To speak the words was too painful.

He was pulled against Charmeine and several hands stroked his hair, his arms, and his wings. "What happened?" Raguel asked, the harsh tone in his voice cutting through the air. "Did Dante do something?"

Hearing Dante's name made his body seize with pain, as if he were contacting in on himself.

"Go get Dante," Raguel said to Pravuil. "Take a few angels with you."

"No," he managed to say, the words choked from his lips. "No." He stared up at them, tears streaming down his face. "He's going to die."

"What do you mean?" Jael asked.

Sobs wracked his body. "Being with me and being here is killing him. He can save himself by returning to Hell, but it means we'll lose each other forever, so he won't go."

His friends didn't ask any more questions. Instead, they sat with him and held his hands, stroking his hair and his wings as he grieved. He couldn't think. All he could do was cry.

When his tears began to subside, he pushed himself up and wiped his face. Jael was closest and he could see Jael's face was a mess of tears as well.

"I'm so sorry," Jael whispered. "You told us he was going to get sick, but I didn't know that was going to kill him."

"I didn't either," he said quietly. "He just told me. He knew before he came up here that he was dying and that Heaven was only going to make it worse."

"He kept it from you?" Charmeine asked.

He nodded.

"And he can't go back to Hell because he won't ever see you again?" Raguel asked.

"That's what he said. He could save himself, but he refuses to because it means losing me. But I don't want him to die," he said, his voice breaking again.

This time it was Raguel who pulled him into a hug. "I'll see if there's anything I can do."

-Dantalion-

He lay curled on the bed, covering his ears as tightly as he could. When he'd heard Ariel's despair, it felt like he'd been shot through the heart. He couldn't stand to hear Ariel like that. The last thing he'd ever meant to do was cause him pain.

He knew he was being selfish, but he couldn't convince himself to let Ariel go. It was his pain versus Ariel's, and it seemed like they were both going to get hurt regardless of the outcome. He kept telling himself that Ariel would be okay someday. The pain of losing him would fade with time and Ariel would continue to have an amazing life surrounded by friends who loved him.

But if he spared his own life and went back to Hell, never seeing Ariel again, he wouldn't ever be okay. Hell wasn't a beautiful place, and he wasn't surrounded by love. He'd be going back to a life that he'd never enjoyed and he wouldn't have Ariel to make everything better. It wouldn't be a life worth living.