"Come on, we'll get the rings first. Is there anything in particular you want?"
"Just a simple silver band is good enough for me." I said. "Maybe with a matching chain for it."
"You can touch silver? I thought you said it messes with your healing abilities?" Will asked, looking at me briefly.
"Only if I'm injured with it."
There was about a fortnight left before my wedding with Lin. I had seldom seen Will and had yet to tell him that Lucifer knew about us, or more specifically about him. I was worried telling Will would only put him in more danger. After all, what if my identity had been discovered and they were merely biding their time until they caught Will? At the time, it seemed best not to tell him.
It was warm in the Human World that day, the sun shining brightly. Birds were chirping cheerily in the trees. Will grabbed my hand and we walked quietly down the trail toward the town. He had summoned me by the portal rather than his house. I concerned him when the first thing I did was kill what appeared to him to be a common snake but was in fact one of Lucifer's spies.
"What was that about?" He had demanded, upset by the creature's death.
I muttered sheepishly about disliking snakes and asked for his forgiveness. With a roll of his eyes and a stern order of not to do that again, he gave it to me. We then began to bicker about rings. He wanted to get me something nice but I was content with a simple band. In the end, I won out.
He nodded politely to any human we came across, both on the trail and in the town, but I inched closer to him, looking at my feet.
"No need to be nervous, Mel, no one will hurt you." He soothed, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. I squeezed his hand back in response.
"That's not what I'm worried about," I mumbled, "it's my eyes. They don't exactly look human, you know?"
"Damn, I didn't think of that. Maybe it would be best for you to look down then until we can figure something out." He said.
We were stared at in the town, some of the humans probably intimidated by Will's height. They were curious about the tall red haired man and the teenage girl with the bowed head beside him. No one said anything to us, though.
The town had grown since I had last been in it. The hay roofs were now made of something stronger and wood had been replaced with stone. Some signs that used to use pictures of what they sold now had words to accompany the pictures.
"How much time has passed?" I quietly questioned Will. "The last time I was here they were still using hay roofs."
"Humans adapt quickly. I'd say it's been about a decade since then." He said nonchalantly.
I was mildly surprised by the amount of years that had passed but for me a decade was a blink compared to a human. What I had a hard time believing was that I had been in friendly terms with Will for ten years.
We stepped into the jewelry store, the door jingling merrily to signal our entrance. The Jeweler greeted us warmly when we approached the wooden counter.
"How may I help you this morning?" He asked, rubbing his hands together.
"My fiancée and I are getting married later today and would like to look at your rings. Just two silver bands with a matching chain if you have it." Will explained, releasing my hand.
"Ah, congratulations! What sizes?"
"I'm a twelve." Will answered. The Jeweler looked at me expectantly.
"U-um, a four, I-I think." I stammered.
"Let me see what I have..." He ducked behind the counter, muttering to himself as he searched through his merchandise.
I stood on the tips of my toes to look inside the display case. There was a gold necklace with an emerald inside, looking like it would cost an arm and a leg. Father had gotten Mikayla and me something like it just a few years ago.
"Here we are!" The Jeweler exclaimed, straightening up. He placed the two rings with their chains on the counter in front of us.
"Thank you very much." Will said, reaching into his pocket and dropping a small satchel of coins on the counter while grabbing the rings. He stowed them in his pocket and led the way out of the store with the Jeweler thanking us for our service.
"Alright," Will said once we were out of the store, "Now we just need to get married by the priest."
My heart pounded. "A-are we doing that today?"
Sensing my nervousness, he shook his head. "No, I think it would be best if we wait a few more days. I still need to speak with a priest who would be willing to wed us without any family being present."
As he spoke, movement behind his shoulder caught my attention. In one of the alleys, glowing yellow eyes caught my attention. I frowned and moved around Will, heading toward the alley.
"Mel? Mel, where are you going?" Will called, puzzled, as he jogged after me.
The eyes turned and disappeared down the alley. I broke into a run, half aware of Will following me, and saw the large black shape sprint toward the forest. The shape was reminiscent of a black dog, a shape wholly familiar to me.
The whole time I chased after the dog Will trailed after me, calling out questions I ignored. My whole attention was on the dog.
It abruptly stopped in a clearing several hundred meters away from the portal. The dog had shaggy charcoal colored fur, its tail long and bushy. A human would mistake it as a wolf and not a demon in disguise. Will stopped behind me, eyes narrowing as he stared at the dog.
"Melanie? What's going on?" He asked suspiciously.
"That's what I would like to know." I replied. The dog curled its lip at Will and growled low and deep in its throat. Will took a cautious step back.
Then, the dog began to contort. I heard bones snap and pop as they rearranged themselves, some elongating and others disappearing altogether. Of us three, Zane's transformation was the most painful.
Will exclaimed something incoherent and shoved me behind him. In place of the dog, Zane stood before us, his eyes glowing with dislike as he stared at Will.
"Archangel. Been a long time." He greeted curtly.
Will spared him no response as he walked swiftly over to me and shoved me behind him. "What do you want, demon?"
"The name's Zane, William. And I'm not here for you, I'm here for my sister." Zane snarled.
I peeked around Will to blink at Zane. He was dressed in his Royal Guard attire. He had graduated from the Academy and was ranked as an Officer Cadet. The sun glinted harshly off his steel armor, which looked as heavy as Amnon's. "What do you want, Zane?"
"Just thought you'd like to know Lucifer knows about your fraternizing with the enemy." He jutted his chin at Will.
I felt Will stiffen. My heart stopped. He and I exclaimed simultaneously, "What?!"
Zane shrugged. "Well, he doesn't know it's you specifically, but he knows which Angel and I figure it's only a matter of time before he realizes who the demon is."
"I already knew that." I confessed.
Will rounded on me, a mixture of fury and worry in his eyes. I poked my index fingers together as he growled, "You knew about this and didn't think to tell me? Melanie, what were you thinking?"
"I didn't want you to worry...and I feared it would only place you in more danger." I said in a small voice, my shoulders bunched around my neck.
"That's not something for you to decide on your own! This affects me as much as it affects you. We'll hurry along the wedding. I'll send you back before anyone notices-"
"Too late for that." Zane drawled. "Lin and Tavor have noticed how often Melanie disappears and have grown suspicious. They sent Mikayla after you."
My heart plummeted. Mikayla could turn into a scorpion and was so small she was near impossible to find. If she was nearby she would report back to Father and Lin like the loyal dog she was.
"Why are you warning me, Zane?"
He stared at me without blinking. His face was blank but there was a nuance of concern. "Because I don't want to watch you get executed. Mel, I am begging you; end this thing you've got going on with the Archangel. Just marry Lin and hate him as much as you want but at least you will live!"
You should listen to him. It's only a matter of time before you are discovered. Rayi beseeched.
I looked helplessly at Will. He was clenching and unclenching his hands. A muscle in his jaw twitched from his ire. "It's your choice. You do what you think is best and I will support you."
Zane came closer and held his hand out to me. "Let's go, Melanie. I'll say I took you out to eat before escorting you back to the palace."
Rayi filled my head with doubts. You've been living in a fantasy. Marrying an Angel and hoping it will all work out in the end? You are not that foolish, Melanie.
I worried at my lip. She did have a point; I had been so determined to get out of marrying Lin, I didn't think of the problems that would likely arise being married to Will. But, more importantly, was he really worth dying over?
Closing my eyes and taking a cleansing breath, I looked at Will. He stared back at me with steely resolve, his jaw set firmly. The words I had been planning on saying died in my throat. Even though he knew the consequences, he knew he had made his bed and was fully intent on lying in it.
I opened my mouth. "Send me back, Will. Summon me when you have the last of the details worked out."
Zane sputtered, "Have you lost your mind?!"
Yes, have you?! I mean, really, Melanie! Rayi snarled.
Will, who seemed just as shocked as Zane and Rayi, grabbed me by the shoulders and lowered his head to stare at me. "Are you sure you want to do this? I won't hold it against you if you want to back out."
I smiled humorlessly at him. "Will, I've been a coward my whole life. I'm not marrying Lin. I'm marrying you."
He smiled slightly and released my shoulders. "Alright. Rayi, I send thee back to the depths of Hell."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lin was waiting for me when I returned. He was seated on my bed, his legs crossed and his fingers linked together. His expression was unreadable but Amnon's body language told me all I needed to know.
He was not happy.
"Lin! I apologize, I had a contract to complete. I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long." I curtsied.
He didn't respond. Instead, he got to his feet and slowly crossed the distance between me and him. I tensed my legs to keep me rooted when my instincts urged me to flee. He leaned close and sniffed me. With a hum, he leaned back and hid his hands behind his back.
"The Human World, eh? You smell of soot and," Lin leaned in again, "cinnamon. Curious."
Rayi hissed at me when I twitched like I wanted to run. "I cannot disclose the information regarding my contracts, Your Grace."
"Oh, I'm well aware of the rules. Anyway, about why I'm here. Lucifer will be joining us for dinner in three nights. I was also hoping you'd care to join me and your father to watch the hellhound fight." Lin requested, an unidentifiable gleam in his eyes.
"I would be honored, Lin." I smiled like my life depended on it, which it very well did.
"Wonderful! Your shadow will escort you in two hours. In the meantime, perhaps you should freshen up." With that, he whisked out of the room.
Amnon came over to me, reaching out a hesitant hand. I allowed him to rest his heavy hand on my shoulder. "My Lady, are you alright?"
I nodded and released the breath I didn't realize I had been holding. I replied hoarsely, "Yes, Amnon, thank you for asking. I am fine."
He shuffled from foot to foot, looking like he had something he wanted to say but wasn't sure if he should say it. I heard him swallow and he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. His sign of nervousness.
"If you have something to say, then say it." I said, passing a tired hand across my face.
"I followed you the first night I came into your service."
Before he had even finished his sentence I turned on him. I lunged at him, knocking him to the ground with a loud thud and pressed my fingers to the one opening in his armor: between his helm and breastplate. My nails dug into the flesh there, which was rough to the touch. Streaks of white lined my vision and I growled, "You what?!"
Despite the obvious ease he could throw me off, he didn't. He lied prone beneath me, still as a statue. He repeated calmly, "I followed you."
"And what did you see? How did you follow me? I was summoned!" It was hard to keep my voice level.
He blinked owlishly up at me as he considered my questions. "I am not like you. I know your scent and went to portal. From portal I follow your scent where I found you with the red haired Angel. I saw you...embrace."
I cursed and got off him. He hastily got to his feet and said, rushed, "I told no one! You told me not to so I didn't! I am in your service, milady!"
At those words, he dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead against the stone floor, exposing the back of his neck. I stared at his vulnerable body, perturbed. "So, you didn't tip off Lucifer?"
He brought his head up quickly, his eyes determined. He sounded disgusted as he shook his head vehemently. "Never!"
"...Alright, get up, Amnon. I believe you." I stated awkwardly. He stood back up and looked at me expectantly. "We're going to keep this between us, okay?"
"Yes, milady." He said as eagerly as a puppy.
I sighed and rubbed my temples. "This is becoming more and more troublesome."
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