Chapter 81: The Demon's Second Chance

BELLA'S POV

This must be heaven. I have never felt more at peace.

There are no exquisite paradises yet. Everything is still dark. But I love the smell of whatever is next to me.

I am warm, safe and my heart feels happy. The kind of "happy" that I only get when my mate is really close.

He however can not be close. We are in two different worlds now.

If what is written on the secret records is indeed to happen, I will see him again after many, many years. Will he still be waiting for me?

I hope he conquers the pain that comes with loosing a mate. A part of me is scared that once his heart heals, he will meet someone else and fall in love again.

They will be happily married and with kids by the time I am old enough to start searching for him.

How long will I be in the grand palaces of heaven before I am born again?

Being here feels just as good as being in his arms. Then comes the sounds of jubilant celebration, like angels are welcoming me.

All I need is to open my eyes and I will see the splendid paradise and all the stunning angels.

Working my eyelids open feels little harder than usual but I do manage to finally crack them open. There is a nice scene in front of me, just not as breathtaking as the one I was imagining.

"Oops!" I mutter soundlessly.

Why am I in an infirmary if I died? There is a crowd around me but they are not angels.

My parents and the Prophetess are at the front, smiling happily with tears in their eyes. It's so confusing. I doubt doctors treated my wound, unless they can perform miracles I didn't know about.

How do you treat a shredded heart? It has never been done before.

A hand gently touches my right cheek, the sensation is alluring. I turn my eyes in that direction and meet his gorgeous face.

"Hayden?!" I whisper, astounded. He smiles radiantly and his eyes glow with what I know is pure joy.

I am actually back to being alive? Did he save me again?

"I knew you would come back to me." He whispers back. "I don't know if there is a thing I could have managed to do with you gone."

That is unbelievable. He was an adored prince even before I showed up. I am certain he could have been able to move on and be the great King people were expecting.

"You saved me again?" I ask. It's always him saving me, saving my family. I will owe him too much if this trend continues.

"You don't mind, do you?" He asks.

"No, I just can't repay you well enough." I answer. His smile broadens.

"You repay me enough by simply being alive, being my queen." He leans down and pecks me on the lips.

"You two are now more strongly connected than any other mates." The Prophetess interrupts. "You can also save her sister as long as you don't plan on getting officially married to Bella." She says and we all look at her in confusion.

"What do you mean? Why does he need to save Usher?" I ask.

"He killed her. But like I said, he can save her just like he saved you." She answers.

He killed her? I didn't think he can get that brutal.

"What was that you said about our marriage?" Hayden asks.

Hmm! He isn't interested in saving Usher? Well, neither am I.

The old woman walks forward and takes a seat one edge of the bed. I see the curious crowd is very attentive. Usher's short servant appears most interested.

My parents gets closer to listen and at the same time hold my hand. I would be hugging them if I had the energy. But I feel weak.

"You can use your feathers to save another person. You'll also have some kind of a bond with that person, not as strong as the one you have with your mate." She pauses. "But once you declare Bella as your one and only companion, all other bonds will be broken and Usher will die." She explains.

If Usher is dead, who needs Usher back?

THIRD PERSON'S POV

A very pale and wounded body of Usher lays on a bed. She is still in the white wedding dress she had won before her death.

Her mother sits on a chair by the bed, lost in a world of sorrow. She uses a wet piece of cloth to wipe the blood that stains her daughter's neck and chest.

"I love you because you're my daughter. But your actions has made even my closest friends hate us. You have left us with no one to call a friend or family!" She says to the unconscious body as if she believes Usher can hear her.

"I should never have given Bella away, perhaps you could have learned some good morals from her if you grew up together." She sobs, picks Usher's injured hand to clean it as well.

The door suddenly bursts open and she jumps. The cloth drops from her hands as she stands.

"You cannot knock?!" She snaps at a puffing Anna who has just entered the room. The servant smiles as if she hasn't heard her.

"I know how to bring her back, I can make your daughter come back to life again!" She screams.

The other woman purses her lips, feeling irritated by the mad servant. "Take your craziness outside!" She snarls.

"But I just saw the Prophetess and and Hayden heal his mate and she came back to life!" Anna protests.

Usher's mother stares at her with a gaping mouth. "Bella came back to life?!"

Anna nods her head vigorously. "Yes, her wound is healed and she is breathing and talking again."

Usher's mother glances at the body of her dead daughter with a little hope in her eyes.

"How did they do it? How did they heal bring her back?" She asks the servant.

"They burned one of Hayden's golden feathers and dropped the ash into a glass of water. Then poured that water on the wound." Anna answers.

Usher's mother appears crestfallen again. "We have no golden feathers, Hayden would never give us one if he knows it's to save Usher." She says, drops back down on her seat and buries her face in her palms.

Anna reaches her hand into the only pocket in her servant's uniform and pulls out a golden feather.

"I don't know where Usher had gotten this one but I found it in a drawer in her room." She announces.

Usher's mother smiles happily as she gazes at the feather in Anna's hand. Anna walks forward so the other woman can take a closer look.

"She had Hayden's feather? Where would she have gotten it from?"

"I don't know. But I am sure it's his because she was keeping it very safe." Anna answers. "Do you want us to bring Usher back? All I want is to continue being her servant so I don't end up becoming a beggar."

"Of course, I will get the water and a candle."

Usher's mother rushes out of the room. She later return with a glass full of water and a burning candle.

Anna quickly performs the same procedure she saw the Prophetess perform. She carries on to pour the water on the massive wound on Usher's neck.

The wound fill with new flesh. Anna carries on to pour the rest of the water on the cut on Usher's hand, it heals as well.

"That's magical!" Usher's mother exclaims. "But why isn't she breathing?"

"Wait a few seconds." Anna says excitedly.

The two sit by the bed and watch delightfully as Usher's pale skin returns to it's original state that is neither too white or dark.

"Yeeeeh!" They scream simultaneously when Usher suddenly takes a deep gulp of air.