Kisses From Death | Book 1

T W E N T Y - S I X

T W E N T Y - S I X
Shame

BIRDS OF A feather flock together, that's how the saying goes. Guilt was the first emotion in which I had felt when Cassiel had revealed, along with Bella's confirmation, that Lucius was the one that had attempted Bella's murder. The feeling of guilt was present due to the fact that it was me that had trusted him in the first place. I knew first hand that Lucius was not a character to be trusted, and yet, I still added him into our little band of merry men, only to have it come one big round to bite me back when I wasn't looking for not learning my lesson the first time around.

The second emotion I had felt was a pure boiling rage. How dare he even pull a stunt like that, and act like he had been our ally, our friend, the whole time? Regardless of our multiple differences growing up, Bella was as good as a sister to me. She had understood me on levels in which I could not even understand myself, and to see her hurt by someone I used to consider as a friend as well made me see a pool of red.

The third emotion was the inevitable disappointment that could be described as sadness, even. It felt horrible to be betrayed the first time around. The feeling cannot be placed into simple words, but let me just say that the term 'a stab in the back' certainly did not justify the sensation properly. It was worse than that. To put all your trust into one person, only to have that said person flip the table over and throw a dagger your way is a pain more intense than a physical wound. And to have that table turned twice due to naive forgiveness felt even worse. I should have listened when they said not to so easily trust the people that had hurt me in the past.

I felt foolish for believing in Lucius. He helped me solve the first orb and as a result also helped to save all of our lives. Foolishly, I had thought that the small action was enough to set aside whatever feud we had and move on to be better people.

As much as I hated to admit my mistakes, there was no denying the fact that I was wrong this time around. Apparently, some people simply could not be trusted. As the saying goes, 'fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me'.

Shame on me indeed.

"We have to move Bella over to somewhere safe. We're in the middle of nowhere and those grim reapers could attack at any moment." As he spoke, Cassiel's eyes glanced nervously around us, as if certainly for any imminent danger.

"You are right." I agreed, eyes peering down at our surroundings in hopes to find somewhere safe. When I spotted a single door at the end of the corridor, I grinned, pointing at it. "What about that room? It's not too far away and we should be able to reach it without much trouble."

"Yeah, that seems alright." Standing to his full height, Cassiel easily picked Bella up in his arms, carrying her bridal style as he waited for me to get to my feet. I struggled a little, the cut on my hand irritating me as I pushed myself to my feet. Gritting my teeth, I ignored the searing pain.

Once I was up on my feet, Cassiel began to lead the way, easily crossing the entire corridor as we stood outside the room. Due to the fact that he was carrying Bella and his arms were occupied, I had to reach forward at the door handle, pushing the door open as I scanned it quickly. Thankfully, it was empty; both of dead bodies and enemy figures.

Immediately after we entered the room, I locked the door behind us, pressing my back against the wooden door as I watched Cassiel set Bella gently to the ground. From where I stood, I could see his tightly pursed lips and Bella's longing gaze set upon his handsome features. I tried hard not to listen to the thundering heartbeat that pounded against my ribcage.

"What now?" With great thanks to Cassiel's help, Bella was healing at tremendous rates. Color was starting to come back to her cheeks as she nibbled on an Oreo biscuit that she had pulled out from her pockets, slowly chewing on it as she rested against the wall. The room had a table in it, along with chairs and a vase of wilting flowers. The said table and chairs had been pushed to bolt the door shut, serving as an additional layer of protection to shield us from what was outside.