Courting Death | Book 3

T W E N T Y

T W E N T Y
Angels of Light

THE WALK BACK towards the surface was just as gloomy as the journey toward the golden chalice. Unlike the time when we were headed towards the center of the catacombs, Ida had not appeared even for a single second though the thoughts of what she said were still troubling me greatly. Even when the rays of sunlight had finally graced my skin, kissing just about every crevice exposed, did not wash away my worries for what was going to happen when the time comes for me to take the throne beside who was to be my husband.

One fact remained constant: Ida would no longer exist. Her body, her memory, her very being would be erased from the fabric of reality and away from people's minds. Though it would most definitely mean that Fabian would get the release from pain that he always needed, it also meant that he would never see his first love ever again. On the bright side, with her gone, she might no longer be Fabian's last love as well.

"Remind me why are we walking towards the top again?" I panted, coughing madly when a gust of contaminated air rushed into my lungs. We were almost to the entrance, just a five minute walk away according to the two brothers.

"Entering the church itself, though beneath it, lessened our capabilities for the moment. We only have the power to teleport when we are above ground and away from the holy ground and back to Hell." Calvin answered, speaking stoically with his dazzling electric blue eyes fixated on the road before us.

Just like when we had made our way in, Fabian was ahead of us, walking alone in his chosen solitude. He seemed to be very much content with his isolation away from other people and this made my heart clench slightly just thinking about Ida's words.

'When you become queen and gain immortality, I will cease to exist.'

I dared myself to wonder what life would be like for Fabian after Ida was erased from his mind. Would he be more carefree? Or perhaps he would be more open to the love easily available in this world. Rather, would he remain the same and bear the gloom in his soul for the rest of his life without fully understanding why he was condemned to such sorrow?

For now, only time had the power to tell.

"He will not always be this sad, you know?" I smiled a little, knowing fully well that my jolly expression still held hints of melancholy. "There will be a time in which he can finally regain that felicity he once had before Ida's death."

"I don't think anyone or anything can make Fabian happy again. Ida was singlehandedly both the greatest joy and the greatest heartache in Fabian's life. Nothing can change that." Calvin spoke with a sigh to his words, his shoulders dropping a little with worry for his brother. "I fear for him sometimes, you know? I worry that he will view life as a burden and a sort of torture rather than the gift that it really is. Immortality is a great obligation to bear when one is unhappy."

I bit my bottom lip, pondering over whether it would be a good decision to share what Ida had told me. In the end, I knew my answer.

"She will be erased from everyone's memory in the case whereby a queen ascends the throne of Hell."

"What?" Shock filled Calvin's eyes, his irises lighting up with newfound curiosity over what I had to share.

"She told me that once Dimitri and I are married and I become queen, only I will remember her. She will no longer appear and also be erased from existence. Meaning Fabian will finally be able to move on from his heartache."

"Praise the Lord." Calvin smiled a smile that was so brilliant that it seemed to light up our gloomy atmosphere. "It seems like the end of the war will bring more and more good to us if we reign victorious. I can only pray that what you say is true and that my brother will finally regain the light he once had."