Fallen Angel

Chapter 78: Emily

My thoughts of Brannon and the dreams that I had wished for us were the last things that I thought of. All that I wanted was a life with him. Letting go seemed easy, even if my heart wanted me to fight.

Desperate for air, I did the unthinkable and opened my mouth. Believing that my lungs would be filled with whatever it was that I was plunging down into, I was surprised to feel the relief of air. Something gripped my hand tight and I opened my eyes to see a rather happy man.

"Hey," Brannon said softly. "Welcome back."

Instantly I sat up, wrapping my arms around him. He hugged me back, holding me as I tried not to cry. It was pointless, I was just so relieved that I was alive and with him that I had to let go.

When I opened my eyes, I looked around at our surroundings, thoroughly confused.

"Bran, where are we?"

Because I happened to note there was a rather large crucifix on the wall. 

Brannon loosened his grip, shrugging as he sat onto the stone beside me. I looked at it too, it was an altar. We were in a church.

"It's just a building next to the castle. I don't know why it's here, I've asked my father and he's never really given me a straight answer. My mother said it was built just after I was born, she never questioned his motive and never asks him about it. He comes in here on occasions, the doors at the inner sanctum are locked. He stays for a while and that's it."

His gaze lifted to me, curious to the building as well.

"Any thoughts?"

I smiled softly as I shrugged.

"Maybe it's about connection. Your father might be fallen but that doesn't mean he isn't loved. And for anyone of the greatest of powers to step into hell, I guess it would be difficult. We all know what an angel can do to this world, imagine what the one and only could do."

"But this isn't holy ground."

"Isn't it?"

Brannon looked at me, more curious than ever.

"You don't need a priest to bless a building to make it holy ground Bran, not when the man who created it is an angel. I think you need to ask yourself why would the devil create a building that he doesn't need? A building that is supposedly against his very nature. You know the answer, don't you Bran?"

He nodded, offering a slight smile.

I had to say, the devil was perplexing. He had the façade of a handsome man, one that could wield a panty dropping smile with little effort. Beneath the mask was a beast that was frightening, he was a menace that was almost uncontrollable. And aside from those, he was a husband and father, a good man that loved his family and protected them with everything he had. If Brannon was even an eighth of his father in terms of his love for his own, then he would be a great man.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired." I offered.

Brannon nodded as he stood from the altar, he pulled me into his arms and walked up the aisle.

"We could marry here." He said with hope in his tone.

"If you want that then I am okay with it. So long as it happens then I don't care where we marry."

He chuckled and gripped me tighter.

"We're going out into the light, you might want to shield your eyes for a little bit. Give them time to adjust."

It was bright but not unbearable, I had covered my eyes momentarily but stopped when it seemed unnecessary.

I could feel the warmth slide over me as we left the cool stone building. Brannon walked around the building with me still in his arms, my head resting on his shoulder. As he walked up the grand steps of the castle to the front door, I wondered why we weren't going to the island layer.

Cerberus and the wolf came bounding after us, looking happy. As they passed us, they growled and nipped at each other, playing and chasing each other.

"Bran, where are we going?"

"We're going to stay here for a while, dad said he's going to make a few changes to the layer and then we can go down there. Besides you need to rest and I'd rather he was close by to watch over you."

"I'm okay." I said sleepily, snuggling into him.

Brannon laughed lightly.

"I'm sure you are. But for my peace of mind, we're staying here."

"Okay."

As we passed through darkened corridors and up the stairs, I could hear the soft whispers of a child. Peeking one eye open, I looked at the little girl who was hiding behind a tall black marble statue. Her eyes watched me, deep red and vibrant. Long black hair had been twisted into two pigtail braids, a raggedy doll was held at the side of her pretty blue dress.

I smiled and waved my fingers at her, shyly she retreated behind the statue but never did she stop looking at me. I'd seen this gorgeous child before, snuggled into her father as he took her to school and in her parent's sitting room as her brother shook this world with his anger. Delaney was sweet and I wondered how long it would take for me to win her over.

As we passed a room with an open door, I looked in and saw Cara sitting on her bed with her phone in her hand. She might be closer in age but I knew that winning her over wasn't going to be easy. No amount of relating to her and the things she liked was going to work. Time was the only thing that was going to bring her around.

The door ahead of us opened, the room was large, done in tones of blues and white. All very cool and relaxing. As Brannon drew closer to the bed, the door behind us closed gently.

"Sleep." He said softly, placing me onto the bed. "You're going to be tired for a long time Emily but if you sleep as much as you can, it will lessen the strain."

I nodded, closing my eyes. When his lips pressed to my forehead, I smiled and fell into a blissful sleep.