He gripped the handle in one big fist, eyes lifting to her face.
“I love you, Obsidian.”
Resigned to her fate, Penelope squared her shoulders, steeled herself for the blade to pierce her heart. She managed to keep her eyes open despite the fact she was now trembling uncontrollably.
He stood there, unmoving, a pleading look in this eyes that broke her heart.
Penelope could hear the seconds ticking away.
“You have to do this,” she said more firmly, needing him to pull himself together.
His silver gaze began to glow even more until the room was awash in a brilliant light. The enormous wings at his back spread wide, as though he needed the power they would provide him.
She drew on her internal strength, her love, because she knew she had to show it to him, to allow him to know this was what was necessary for them to be happy, to be safe, to live an eternity together. It was no longer about her fear, it was about her love for him. Her need to protecthim.
“Obsidian,” Penelope snapped, eyes darting over to the clock, then back to his.
He held still, eyes boring into hers. Another tear fell, triggering a few of her own. She hated that they fell, but she couldn’t stop them.
“Obsidian!” she screamed.
His trembling hand lifted, his voice a rough rasp when he said, “Close your eyes,ayreme.”
She did.
Aware of his deep inhale, she braced for impact, but nothing prepared her for the blade as it pierced through skin and bone. Her breath escaped as searing pain ignited in her chest cavity, blinding. She forced her eyes open, wanting to see his beautiful face once more. Just in case.
She was vaguely aware of Obsidian holding her, tears pouring down his face, ragged sobs escaping as he gently lowered her to the floor. Those enormous wings curled around them, shielding her. She gasped for air, and even that hurt. Her lungs no longer worked to send oxygen where it needed to go. This wasn’t pain, it was white-hot agony scorching her. Penelope couldn’t stop the tears, though she tried as hard as she could. She didn’t want Obsidian to hurt any more than he already was.
“I love you,” she rasped, her vision going white as she struggled for the air that never filled her lungs.
Then finally, after what seemed an eternity, the pain eased, a strange warmth overcoming her. It was almost pleasant, erasing the torment her body had endured.
She stared up at Obsidian, smiled.
The last thing she saw before her vision faded completely was his beautiful, tormented face.
The last sound she heard was Obsidian’s ferocious sobs and the thunderous growl of him calling her name.
Just when Penelope thought the moment would never end, everything went black.
But only for a second.
In the next instant, she was surrounded by a sea of endless white. Blinding yet soothing as it chased away the cold that had filled her bones.
“There you are, my blessed child.”
It took a moment to orient herself, but Penelope realized she was lying on a bed, a feather-soft pillow beneath her head, sheer curtains swaying softly in the soft, comforting breeze.
“Who’s there?” she asked, glancing around, trying to find the source of the words.
The curtains were drawn back slowly, moving of their own accord, and the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen appeared, the light shimmering around her as though she was the source of it. Probably not a woman, she thought. An angel.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Penelope Jane Calazans.”
“We?”
Two more angels appeared, equally beguiling, almost too perfect to be real.
