A slow exhale of breath came out of my dry lips at the words that came out of Azrael's mouth.
I should have expected it, because I know how Isaac is in the novel. A person who acts on his whims. Ruthless and unapologetic, and the kindness that he rarely displays comes from a distorted perception of the world that others would often misinterpret as goodwill.
When I read the last chapter of the novel, I cried. The ambiguous thoughts of the Prince that were written led me to believe he regretted realizing his loneliness, but now I know, I was just one of the fools he played in the palm of his hands.
I thought maybe the novel was wrong. I thought I shouldn't judge him from a book that described only the qualities of the perfect killing machine because of the convenient violent setting. That maybe in a time of peace, there might be a gap in his heart that is genuine kindness. And maybe, despite all the uncanny similarities, the person I met was a person entirely different from 'that' Azrael.
But I was wrong. How could there be a person too similar to someone? There should not have been any other explanations other than being the person himself.
He truly is the Issac Ivan Vanderbilt, and he is as unfeeling as he is in the novel.
Despite the times we spent, he couldn't see me as something even remotely close to a human being... Not even a gullible girl, but a mere piece of bartering item to be discarded. The pain from the scratches I've gotten from the shards stung and my eyes started to feel hot.
I swallowed the lump in my throat as I pushed back the annoying hair that pricked my eyes. The white color reflected the light, making me squint against the glare. No longer was it clean and shiny, as splotches of red smudged against the blank canvass.
He said he liked pretty things... He willingly protected me... Laughed at all my witty remarks. And he rushed to save me in times of danger. Even getting hurt... For this.
From the moment we met, he planned everything, and played out a character I desperately needed for a nefarious purpose. My breath hitched. I could feel my heart thumping painfully slow, as if it was on the verge of bursting. My breath slowed down as I reached for a glass around me.
With shaking hands, I raised the glass and chopped the long strands without as much as a blink. I watched them all sink in the pool of blood under my feet. My grip tightened, and the cracked shard broke in two. The glass fell out of my hands and crashed on the floor, the sound escaping through the panels.
I raised my sight and looked through the hole in the cracks. It was too late to conceal my presence. Everyone's eyes turned to my direction including a striking pair of amber irises that glowed ominously. And for a moment, it seemed like we locked eyes despite the distance.
"Sierra..?"
I exhaled a weak breath as I stared at the familiar figure, standing at the center of the room. It became an unrecognizable blur, and I didn't realize I was crying until I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision.
"Ha... Ha-ha-ha..." I laughed, feeling funny all of a sudden.
He stepped forward and the smile was erased from my lips. I shakily reached in my pocket and searched through my satchel for the transportation scroll. A creaking sound came from above, but I didn't remove my eyes from Issac. Even as the panel in front of me lost its supporting frame. Even as it tipped away, seemingly being pulled out of it's frame. And even as the hinges gave out a final roar before flying elsewhere, I did not pull my gaze away.
Now that the wall separating us was removed, I probably look pathetic as I stared at him with wet cheeks, dyed with traces of blood from when I furiously wiped the tears away.
