Chapter 17: Confronting the Truth

I wake up with a sense of déjà vu. I’m in the same bed I was in when I first came to the island. I can tell I’m healed, but my stomach still throbs with phantom pains. Arisen paces back and forth, speaking on the phone with a sense of urgency.

“I’m telling you, Forrester, it wasn’t one of ours!” he barks. “One of your humans attacked my mate!” A pause. “I don’t know! None of this makes sense!”

“Ari,” I whisper, rolling over to face him.

He turns to me abruptly. “I’ll call you back.” He hangs up and hurries over to me, pulling me into a firm hug. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” I mutter. “I have a lot to tell you, Ari. Let’s go take a walk on the beach.” I slip out of bed and realize I’m wearing a white cotton dress. “Did you dress me?”

Arisen blushes slightly. “We had to cut your clothes off so we could remove the dagger,” he answers. He takes my hand, and we head out of the house and stroll towards the beach.

As we walk, I’m silent, trying to figure out how to break the news to him. “I’m sorry, Ari,” I murmur. “What I’m about to tell you is heartbreaking, but true. I need you to believe me. I saw my mom in a vision. She told me I’m the Celestial Heir. She told me the whole story. I know who is committing the murder. I know who is instigating the whole thing.”

“Who?” Arisen asks urgently.

I place a hand on his arm and pull him to a stop. The sky is dark with only a few stars dotting it. His silver hair shines in the moonlight. “Gabriel is the killer and Azriel is the instigator,” I say, holding my breath in fear. I take it as a win that he doesn’t immediately blow up like he did the last time I accused his brother.

He stares out at the water with a contemplative gaze. “How do you know?” he finally asks.

“I saw Gabriel leave the island,” I answer. “I went to find you this morning to tell you about my mom and the vision as well as a couple of dreams I’ve been having, but I found Azriel instead. He was at your secret place. He told me his plan to start a war so he can seize power. He wants control over the world. He wants revenge on humans and Celestials for killing his soulmate. He wants to rule. He told me his plans because he was going to kill me. But then the glamour wore off and I got my wings as well as my power. He still tried to kill me by throwing the dagger at me. Then he vanished.”

Arisen clenches his fists tightly. “He will pay for this,” he vows.

“You believe me?” I whisper hopefully.

He turns to me and gently cups my chin, rubbing a thumb against my cheek. “I do,” he says softly. “I always will. I need to go find my brother. I need to confront him.” He unfurls his wings and flies away before I can protest.

I watch him go, wrapping my arms around my body. I decide to wait for him on the beach. I sit on the sand and lay back, staring up at the night sky. Am I ready to be a part of a war? I thought I would be heading to college around this time. It was the beginning of August, but it felt like we’ve been here for years. I close my eyes and doze off until the flapping of wings startles me awake.

I leap to my feet and watch Arisen land in front of me. “Did you find him?!” I demand.

He smiles thinly. “Yes,” he answers. He lets out a heavy sigh. “It’s him. He’s behind the murders even if he didn’t do them himself. And there are many more than Forrester even knows about.”

My heart sinks even though I knew the truth. “We’ll save him,” I say weakly. “There’s still hope.”

Arisen wraps his arms around me tightly. “We might be too late,” he answers softly. “Azrael has already killed several innocent people. We can’t allow this to continue. I need to face him.”

“No,” I hiss. “We have to find another way.”

Arisen steps away from the embrace and begins pacing back and forth in the water, the liquid lapping at his ankles. “There is no other way, Samara,” he says firmly. “If we continue to allow him to run around, he will keep killing people. Your people, Sam.” He pauses his pacing, face turned towards the heavens as he slowly breathes out. “We started this whole mess by coming to this planet and starting the war, but your people aren’t completely blameless either. They continue to treat us like the enemy even after we helped them win the war. My brother is right to be angry but when he lets his anger control him and turn him into a monster that I don’t recognize…” He trails off, shaking his head and turning back to me. “I have to end this, for both of our people.”

“He’s your brother,” I say quietly.

“Not anymore,” Arisen mutters. “He hasn’t been my brother for a long time. There’s a reason why your people have named the angel of death after him. He is the angel of death and the only way this ends is if he is destroyed. I’m the only one strong enough to do that. This needs to happen. I need your support.”

I suck in a sharp breath before nodding slowly. “You always have my support,” I say seriously. “I love you, Arisen. And I know you can win and save us all. I have believed in you ever since the first day we met, and you fell from the sky into my backyard. Even if I didn’t show it right away. I feel it now.”

Arisen chuckles at the memory. It seems like such a long time ago, but it was only a couple of months. His wings snap out from his back, and he steps up next to me, scooping me up in his arms. “I choose you, Samara White,” he says firmly. “I love you too and I choose you, now and forever.” He rises into the sky with me in his arms and I squeal in delight, wrapping my arms around his neck.

Tomorrow we will begin planning retaliation and ways to fight back. For now, we will love each other, accept our bonds, and cherish our time together.