20 XIX

I opened my eyes when I finally smelled the smoke. I sat up and the fires around me started to fade. I tried to stand and let out a small scream as I did. One of my legs was definitely broken. I decided to look around where I was while I slowly supplied magic to my leg to allow it to heal quickly.

The room I was in was completely destroyed. The wall was blown out. Fire was slowly spreading but it was staying away from me completely. All of my stuff was blown across the room. I slowly stood up as my leg finally stopped bothering me.

I walked to the edge of the ground and noticed all of the damage that had been done to the city around me. There were people laying on the ground below, surrounded by their own blood as if the blast killed them in an instant.

"Rose!" I heard call out behind me. I turned to see Kai with his white wings unfurled as he took me into his arms and hid my gaze from the outside world. "I'm so glad you're okay! Are you hurt, love?"

"No, Kai, I'm okay. Where's Levi and Angel?" I asked, trying to pull back only to realize his grip on me was tighter than I had anticipated.

"You'll see them when we get to where we're going. Hold on tight, okay?" As soon as the words left his mouth, I felt the ground disappear from under my feet. The wind blasted against my back as he flew with me in his arms. Not long after he had taken off, we landed and he let me pull away from him, his eyes cold and hard.

"Rosie!" I heard and slowly watched Kai's eyes soften at the sound of her voice just like they always did. I felt arms grab me, yet they didn't go all the way around my waist. I turned in the grip to see Angel with tears in her eyes. I wiped her tears off her cheeks and held her as close to me as I could. I looked up to see Levi and another boy watching us closely. Once Angel backed up from me, Levi took her place and held me while laying his cheek on my head.

"I missed you, Rose. Don't you ever do that to me again," he said, pulling away and let his eyes search me, looking for injuries. I nodded my head and looked at the boy behind him.

The boy was kinda tall, just not as much as Levi was. His hair was blonde and his eyes seemed distant as he watched us as if trying to understand what was happening around him.

Our reunion was cut short by the sound of someone heading right for us and then we noticed the beam of brightly colored power heading right for us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I blinked back my own tears as I closed the portal after leaving Rose at her home. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve what my sister constantly had done to her. She didn't deserve the fate that awaited her if she had stayed now that father knew what the girl was.

I felt the tug back towards her only sting a little bit, so I ignored it as I walked into her room. Everything was bare as she had taken anything she could get her hands on and that could fit in the box. I had left a little of my magic with her in case she needed it, and I hoped she wouldn't. Not now, and hopefully not ever.

The rug back to where she was hit me all at once and just as soon as it had come, it faded away from me. I blamed it on me missing her as I picked up the one picture she had left behind. It was a picture of Grace and Rodrigo. In it, Grace's eyes were haunted as she looked at the camera. Rodrigo looked happy, but Grace's happiness looked forced, as if she really didn't want to be there. I knew when I was younger that she didn't. She told mom all the time that she'd rather be with her lover than her promised.

I felt a sharp pain shoot through my body at that moment and I dropped to the ground grabbing my head. Rose was in trouble, and I wasn't there. I was ignoring her tugging on the bond asking me for help. I ran through the house and a stern voice stopped me.

"She shouldn't exist, Week," my father said, yelling at me from the kitchen. His eyes were turning yellow as he watched me leaving.

"What did you do?" I asked, my voice coming out low while my demon started clawing to the surface. I held him back while I spoke, but just barely.

"I sent someone to take care of the problem, son. Without her in the picture, you can get a new promised. One who is loyal and loving, not like her at all."

"Watch your mouth."

"Oh, am I supposed to be scared of you, Week? You're my son and I can stop you from going back, just like I did all those years ago."

Without thinking, I let my demon slip into control. All I saw was the darkness inside my mind as I tried to reach out for Rose. I needed to see where she was and who was threatening her. Nothing but inky blackness met me as I tried to reach her. She was alive, but barely. I could feel her consciousness trying to grasp the edge of her mind.

I was slammed back into reality as I stared down at what I had done. My father was dead, he laid in a puddle in the floor as my mother stared down at me. Her eyes were red, she was shaking me into awareness and helped me stand up.

"Run to her, Week. She needs you," she said. Pushing me towards the door. "Go!"

I wasted no time running to the portal opening and running blindly through it. I had no idea where I would end up, all that was on my mind was Rose.

I reached the outside of what looked to be a massacre. The bodies littered the streets and all of them were long gone, nothing could possibly bring them back now. I ran through the streets screaming her name. I reached the edge of the city before I saw them.

An angel was standing before the group, his wings unfurled and one stream of blood coming from his forehead. Levi stood next to him, I could feel the power from the duo. Behind them was a boy with honey hair and a girl with brown hair, who was holding someone in her arms. My world stopped as I recognized the girl she was holding.

Rose.