Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Tarek

I’ll kill her. I’ll end her. The number of years I’ve survived on top of the soul I hold from being a son of Enoch, someone who walked with the Creator, someone who knew things he should have never known...

Someone who helped the Fallen Angels before they were sent to the Abyss.

I see it all. I see it clearly.

The Creator locked up the angels. They sent them to the corners of the Earth. And for the select few?

Chained in the Euphrates.

I look at Lilith. I watch her sleep, knowing I’ll soon die, and she’ll remember nothing. And then I wish.

I remember.

Stars.

They chose to fall.

The power of a star could save us—the power of a sacrifice. A tear runs down my cheek. I don’t want to ask. I don’t want to, but then I look at Lilith and know she’s my destiny. I realize I can stop all of this with one wish, one whisper.

I’m no hero.

I’m a son of Enoch, I have his blood. I’m a werewolf prince. I walk this Earth, knowing I was put here for a purpose.

Maybe this is it.

Saving the first.

Saving Lilith.

I’m so weak, I can barely breathe. She lays across me, my blood all over her face, the look in her eyes unreadable.

“Tell me a story,” I rasp.

Her head lolls to the side. “What’s the point? I’ve found the one person I’ve been searching for since he held my hand in Pompeii, only to kill him. Seriously, what’s the point? You’ll die, and I won’t remember this. Danu will take care of that.”

“Then look at me.” I use the last of my strength to reach for her face. “Kiss me goodbye. Make sure to bury me…well, I mean, if you remember.”

“That’s not funny.”

“I’m not laughing. But you’re really pretty. And don’t worry, I don’t need you to be my hero. I don’t need a rescue. Sometimes, the best stories end in sacrifice.”

A tear slides down her cheek, passing by her glorious blue hair that’s sticking to the blood on her skin. It falls to my chest, and I whisper in my head, worth it . It was all worth it because I found the one who held my hand and stood by my side. The one that was there when angels fell, when we were taken advantage of, when the world was destroyed.

She never left me.

I might have Enoch’s blood, I might be a werewolf, but nobody is coming to save us now—and they shouldn’t.

But I can save her.

I can save her from this Hell.

I can make sure she wakes up tomorrow remembering everything. I can give her the gifts given to me. What I always thought were curses and isolation, over and over again. I can give the last of me to the first of Creation.

I can finally breathe.

It’s like my soul knows it’s time to flicker out.

It’s like my body realizes that, in the end, maybe the best way to survive is to become the person who doesn’t.

I smile up at her. “Thanks for the orgasms.”

She shakes her head. “Again, not funny.”

“I thought it was funny. You know, good story. I’m a werewolf prince.”

“I know.”

“And we control the Earth, we protect it, we have special powers. I mean, I do since I have the blood of Enoch and that creepy angel dude. But do you know what else?”

Tears keep streaming down her face. “What? What else?” She presses her lips to my neck and starts sobbing. “What else, Tarek? Tell me.”

“We”—I look up at the dark ceiling—“can control the stars.”

She jerks back. “Nobody ever told me that.”

“You are Lilith.” I cup her face with my shaking hands. “You’ve been cursed to roam for too long without any sort of rest. It’s time, daughter of the Creator. It’s time to go home.”

“I have none.”

My hand drops against my chest while the other covers her face. “Of course, you do. It’s right here.” My heartbeat is off, but the gesture is the same. I always wondered what death would look like for me. All I saw was darkness, but now I know why it was dark.

Because I had to search for the star.

I had to look for her light.

I hold both hands up to the ceiling, close my eyes, and whisper, “I need one to fall. Choose.”

The room begins to shake as most of my strength leaves my body, and my essence pulses in mourning.

A bright light cracks through the ceiling and drops next to the bed, crashing into tiny little crystals. Then a beautiful woman with ebony skin and bright blue eyes walks toward us and kneels. “It is my honor to give you my light.”

Danu runs into the room with a blade.

But all I focus on is the beauty of the star of the light that pours out of her. Her willingness to give of herself no matter the cost. I know that once they fall, the Creator has a special place for the stars. And she does, too.

There is no war. There is no division. There is only sacrifice, followed by honor, love, joy.

Peace.

The world could be healed by someone like her. And now the first will be.

The star smiles and reaches for my hand. “Blood must always be spilled. A sacrifice must always be made.” She grabs Lilith’s hand and squeezes it. “It has been an honor to watch you.”

The blade Danu has goes directly into the star’s back.

As the first drop of blood descends, I grab it and press it to Lilith’s forehead.

My last deed.

My final sacrifice.

Everything goes dark as I hold the star’s hand.

Everything goes black as Lilith is finally filled with light.

Purpose.