35. Rhys

Chapter 35

Rhys

" W here is she?" I shout, rushing into the dorm room, which I share with my brother. I'm panicked, and the more I panic the angrier I get. Arabella is in trouble and I need to find her now—more than anything in the world. I can sense her distress, or maybe it's mine I'm not sure. Our emotions have been blending lately it's hard to tell the difference. When we were dancing at the club I had no idea that she was my mate. She belongs to my brother, never in a million years would I have thought she was mine, I never wanted one. I thought if I just touched her, got her out of my system I could forget she existed until I accidentally cut her when I bit her and taster her blood. The second her blood hit my tongue the bond between us snapped into place for me. Until she takes my blood and completes the bond it will only be one sided. I can feel everything but she can't feel anything from me. It's both pure bliss and utter torture. She flipped my life on an axis and she has no idea. I can't hurt her, or lose her. It makes me hate myself, and question everything I've lived for but deep down I know that I'll only find what I'm searching for in life if I have her. It's confusing.

"She went to meet with the Council members for her final test this semester. You should have passed her depending on what way you came from. She wasn't here when I got back the room. Why?" Phoenix questions slowly keeping an eye on me as he cautiously approaches me. He can tell my emotions are everywhere and is doing the best he can to remain calm when it's clear that I can't.

"Fuck!" I snarl, turning and running out of the room. There's no time to stand there explaining. I have to find Arabella. I know who is behind the trashing of her dorm and all the stalking. It took me a month but I finally figured it out. If I don't get to her soon something bad is going to happen. Something that I don't think most people can come back from and I won't let her be a victim of it. I can't. Not my Angel.

"Rhys! Wait!" Phoenix shouts from behind, trying to catch me. "What's going on? Let me help."

Ignoring him, I pull my wings out the second I reach outside and take off into the sky. Maybe I can see her from up here.

Come on Arabella. Where are you? Please, Princess. Show me where you are.

To no avail, I can't sense her anywhere which is even more concerning. I should be able to but it's like she is all over this campus so I can't pinpoint her. FUCK! Ever since I made the mistake of cornering her in the bedroom before she left with her friends to go dancing I knew I was screwed. Especially when I followed her to the club and even danced with her! I never told her who I was, she never asked, but the second I tasted her blood by accident I knew. She is mine and I can't let her go despite how much I want to.

Come on! Where are you?!

I can sense Phoenix behind me. He either needs to keep up or back off. I can't wait for him.

With nowhere else to go, I head to the main academic building hoping that Arabella is exactly where she was supposed to be and he didn't find her. If he lays a finger on her, I will tear him to pieces. No one will be able to tell who he is. And I'll get the Shadowborn Wolf that Arabella became friends with to help as well.

"Rhys, you can't just go in and interrupt the testing," Phoenix calls out the second we land as I rush into the building. Still, I ignore him, focused on just the path ahead of me.

Please, Arabella. Please, Princess, be here. I call out to the Divine. The very person I've spent my whole life cursing. If there was ever a chance to make me believe, it would be now.

"Rhys! Stop!" Phoenix grasps my shoulder, forcing me to a stop the second we make it to the chamber doors. "Think this through. If you interrupt her test, you could fail. Is that what you want?"

I shake out of his hold and reach for the door handle once more, and he grabs me again. "Think about Arabella. This could cause her to fail. If you don't care about yourself, then do it for her. Just wait." His reasoning is flawed. I am doing this for her, but he just doesn't know it.

"This is for her. She's in danger," I ground out, shaking out of his hold and shoving the door open. A small part of me is surprised it even opened, but an even bigger part of me is thankful that it did. "Where is she? Where's Arabella?" I call out as I step inside, moving to the center of the room. It's clear she isn't here, and if she isn't here then that means he has her. FUCK!

"She isn't here. We sent Guard Noah to escort her to the final test," Councilwoman Talia answers calmly. The only sign she's worried is the rise in her eyebrows as she takes in my distressed appearance. "Is something wrong?"

"Is something wrong?" Councilman Louve Lupe laughs. The woman is in charge of the wolves, and even though people say she's nice, she is also very firm. "Yes, he interrupted another student's test. It is an automatic failure for both of them."

"Hush, Louve," Councilwoman Talia demands all too calmly, not even flinching at the growl the wolf beside her lets out at being dismissed. "What happened, Rhys?"

I can't help the cackle that escapes me as I answer. "What's wrong is the guard you sent to escort her is the very same guard that broke in and destroyed her room twice and has been stalking her all over campus, and now he has her in his clutches thanks to you all. What path were they taking?"

"Are you sure?" she asks calmly but seriously.

"One hundred percent. I have proof, but I don't have the time to get into it."

"Don't have the time? Boy, we don't have to deal with your antics," Councilwoman Louve shouts. "Guard! Apprehend him!"

"Don't touch him!" Talia shouts. "He was to escort her from the dorms to here. No in-between. They should have been here by now."

"Uh, I think I know where she is," Phoenix mutters in shock as he stands next to the window and points. Rushing to his side, I see exactly what he is talking about. There is a large twister forming right next to the lake, larger than I have ever seen before.

"That's here," I shout, rushing from the room.

"Someone bring Angel Harper to us!" Talia shouts from behind me. I can feel others presence behind me but I don't bother to look to see who is behind me. No. Arabella needs me and I am going to get to her. Even if it's the last thing I do.

With a tornado up in the sky, I can't take flight, even if it would be the fastest way to get to her. Instead, I'm stuck running on foot as fast as I can. Even pulling my wings out to give me a burst of speed behind me would only cause me to get caught up in the wind. Trees and brush blur by me as I run like my life depends on it. At this point, all of our lives may depend on it. The closer I get, the harder it is to run. The wind is literally pushing me backward with every step I take to the lake. By the time I get close enough to the edge of the forest, I'm literally using trees to push myself forward.

Don't stop Rhys. You can't stop. She needs you. I keep chanting to myself with every push. Ahead of me, I can see a male, more specifically Guard Noah, standing defensively right in front of where the tornado is spinning. Well, standing is a loose term, he's more hiding behind a very large boulder and is most likely scared for his life. Him, I will deal with it later. Right now, I need to get to Arabella.

"Where the fuck are you, Princess?" I mutter, looking around the area trying to find her. Right when I'm about to drop to my knees, I see her. She is in the dead center of the tornado where streaks of what I think is lightning but could be pure energy are twisted within the clouds. Her hair is whipping around her, her shirt is torn in multiple places, and her school uniform skirt is in tatters around her waist.

Fuck, Princess. No!

"ARABELLA!" I scream, hoping she can hear me over the wind, but knowing that it's useless.

"RHYS! STOP!" Phoenix shouts from behind me. His voice is barely discernible over the wind as well. Turning to look back at him, I see him bracing himself against a tree, trying to hold himself in place and almost failing. Councilwoman Talia isn't faring much better and is only about two trees closer than he is.

"I have to!" I shout back, shaking my head. I'm the only person who can stop her. It's one of the reasons I have so much sway with Talia. She knows the true power I keep hidden from everyone. The one power no one but me has ever had. I always questioned why me. Why did I have this power and no one else? I had no one to teach me. Lucifer tried his best, but even he couldn't guide me at times. It took all my concentration to learn how to control the power when I was young. This is why. I'm the only person who can stop her.

"WAIT!" Talia shouts, reaching out a hand toward me before holding back onto the tree. "Take Harper with you! She can help!"

"It's true! I can!" Harper shouts as she joins our group. Compared to the others, she is easily walking up toward me. She doesn't even have to brace herself against the wind much. Every once in a while, I see it push her back, but she just waves her hand, and the air around her clears once again.

"How are you doing that?" I ask when she gets close enough that I don't have to scream.

"I have power over the air. More power than Arabella, who's only using it in response to something that triggered her if I had to guess by her appearance. This storm she created won't hurt me. If you want to get to her, you are going to need to hold my hand," she explains as she reaches her hand out to me. She doesn't force me to take it. Instead, she waits on me to make the decision.

Fuck, this better be the right choice. "Okay," I nod. "Let's go. Get me to, Arabella, but when you do. You need to let go of me and control the storm she created. I can stop her, but I don't know if stopping her will contain the tornado."

"I'll handle that. You take care of my best friend," she demands.

The second my hand touches hers, the winds around me die away, and I can stand without using the tree to hold me still. "Holy shit, you are powerful!" I gasp, looking around us as we walk forward. "I thought you were just some little angel with baby powers. Why the hell did your mate reject you? And why the hell are you with that lame-ass angel Stark? He can't match your power level."

"Because I don't show the scale of my powers to just anyone. Only Talia knew, now so do a few others," she shrugs. I can see in her eyes it slightly bothers her so out of respect for the help she's giving me I drop it, mostly.

"Well, your secret is safe with my brother and me, and I'm sure Arabella will keep it, too. When you need a friend, you have us. It's the least I can do for you to help me save her." It's the nicest thing I think I've ever said to her, and if anyone asks, I'll deny it, but for now, I mean it. She's helping me save Arabella and putting her life on the line for it. I won't forget that good deed, and I know she won't either.

"Why are you saving her? Just answer me that. I won't tell anyone, but I would like to know why I'm helping my best friend's archnemesis save her." We stop walking just inches from the outer rim of the tornado. I already know that if I don't give her an answer, the truth at that, she will leave my ass here and try to save her herself.

Fuck. I've barely admitted the truth to myself, and now I have to tell someone I barely know and don't even trust. I reach up and grasp my hair. Turning to stare at her, I give her my I'll fuck you up look and begin to answer. "She's my mate."

"Oh shit," she gasps, lifting her free hand to cover her mouth. "Oh, this is going to be good. I can't wait for her to tear you to pieces. Just don't hurt her. That is all I ask."

With that, we start walking forward in silence. I hold my breath as we push through the tornado until we reach the calm center just to the left of Arabella. In the time it took us to reach her, she's dropped to her knees, her head hanging down in her hands, and she sobs. The wails from her break a piece of me that I didn't know I had. Trying to drop Harper's hand to rush to Arabella, I'm tugged backward until I come to a stop. Turning to look at Harper I snarl, trying to yank my hand away again. Arabella is in pain and needs me, and this damn angel is stopping me from getting to her.

"Not yet," Harper grunts. "She's stronger than I realized. I'm not sure I can control this until she is calm. If I let you go, the wind will take you."

Looking between Arabella, Harper, the Tornado, and through to where my brother and Talia stand, I know my decision. "Let me go," I state calmly. "Get me right next to her, and then let me go."

"Rhys, no!" Harper shouts. "I can't let you get hurt."

"It's me or her, and I will always choose her. Now, let me go," I bite out, my decision made. I know the risks, and they are worth every single one. She is worth every single one.

Harper nods, moving us closer until I'm a breath away from Arabella. Dropping to my knees, I reach out and hover my hand over Arabella's shoulder. Once I'm in place, I nod for Harper to let go of my hand. Seconds it takes for me to feel the power of the wind trying to force me out of the center. At the same time, I wrap my arms around Arabella and let my power go. It takes a moment to answer my call, but when it does, I can feel my magic coating her skin, dimming her power and pulling it away from her slowly. I don't want to drain her magic too fast, as it causes some sort of damage that I'm unaware of. I've never used it on this sort of scale, so I'm scared to hurt her. The only thing holding me in place is that I'm holding on to her. I know the second I were to let Arabella go, I would be flung into the walls of the tornado.

"Princess, I'm here!" I shout, hoping she can hear me. "I'm here. Let me in. It's going to be okay. I promise." I know it's a lie. Nothing about this is okay, but it's the only thing I can think to say in hopes she will hear me. "I know who is after you, and I promise he will pay. He will pay!"

"It's not going to be okay," she wails. "He…," she chokes over a sob. "He hurt me."

"He will pay!" I snarl, holding her tighter to me. Slowly, her body begins to collapse into me as the fight begins to leave her. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Harper nod and mouth "keep going" as she finally begins to gain control over Arabella's storm.

"He touched…," she sobs again, unable to finish the sentence.

It takes everything in me to stay calm and not demand her to finish that sentence. By the look of her attire, I have a feeling I know what happened, but I'm going to wait for her to say those words when she is ready. Until then I'm going to hold her and then exact revenge on her behalf on him. He signed his death warrant today.

"I got you, Princess. He can't hurt you ever again, Arabella. I'll make sure of that," I murmur, running my hand down her hair trying to soothe her. "No one will ever hurt you again."

Finally, Harper gains control of the storms and collapses to the ground next to me. Arabella is barely holding onto consciousness in my arms as I finally let my power pull back into me and I'm unable to reach out to the unconscious angel beside us. Within a minute, Talia, Phoenix, and a few others are surrounding us. A few begin working on Harper as Talia, Phoenix, and Warrick drop to their knees in front of me.

"Is she okay?" I ask, nodding over to Harper. I owe that Angel a debt. I'll never forget what she did for Arabella and me.

"She will be," Talia answers softly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "How is Arabella?"

"Not good," I growl. She shifts her body against me and grimaces in pain, I take a deep breath to calm myself. I don't want to disturb her. "She can't stay here. None of us can stay here." I look directly at Talia so she knows how serious I am and exactly what I'm saying.

"Are you sure?" she questions at the same time Warrick begins shouting.

"You aren't taking her away! This is the safest place for her! The only place her father can't get to her!" Warrick screams, trying to reach out and forcibly take Arabella from my arms.

"Warrick! Enough!" Talia snarls, grasping his arm and yanking him back. "She isn't safe here. Seraphim Cassiel will come demanding answers after this, and when he hears how powerful she is, then she will be in more danger. There is only one place safe for her now."

"Are you sure?" Phoenix asks softly, looking between Arabella and Talia. "She may hate us for taking the choice away from her."

"Rhys is right. It's the only place she is safe," Talia sighs before looking at Harper. "Can you take her too? I don't want anyone getting to her and trying to use her power against her."

"I owe her a debt. I'll keep her safe with us." I nod giving the only available answer. At least this way Arabella will have a friend with her as well.

"If we're taking Harper we should take Isis too. The three of them are a package deal. You know Arabella will be mad if we leave her behind," Phoenix explains before any of us can question his logic.

"Anyone else?" I ask sarcastically, already knowing taking anyone extra with us is going to be dangerous. I trust the Fallen with my life, but bringing angels there, especially ones that no one knows and haven't been vetted will cause utter chaos for everyone involved. Their lives won't be safe. Arabella is the only one with safety thanks to Phoenix and myself.

"Me," Warrick demands. "I go where she goes. She's my mate."

"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me," I snarl, pulling Arabella against me tighter.

"About time you came out and said it," Talia laughs. "The six of you need to leave in the next ten minutes. Don't worry about packing much just take what you can't leave behind or wait for me to send it. Warrick, go get Isis but do not tell her what is going on. Phoenix, grab what you need, and Rhys you carry Arabella. I'll get Harper. You can use the portal in my office." Talia stands and moves to where the healers are working on Harper before she reaches down to lift her up. She turns to give me a pointed stare and tells me to hurry up.

"Let's go," I ground out, lifting Arabella in my arms as I stand. "Phoenix you know what we need to grab, make it fast." I nod right before he takes off into the sky to fly back to the dorms. We don't have a lot of time. "Warrick, don't fuck this up," I demand, right before I take off into the sky and make my way back to the main building. I trust my brother to grab everything that we need. He knows where Arabella's journal from her great-grandfather is hidden. As well as a few items I brought as just in case. It looks like my parents and Lucifer are about to have a party dropping on their doorsteps. This is about to be the start of something that could very well change the Angel world as we all know it. Now I just need to figure out how to keep Arabella safe through it all. If she's related to Lucifer as I suspect the world is going to thrust into disorder as an uprising will begin. Especially when Seraphim Cassiel finds out where Arabella really is. Talia is risking herself and her position by helping us but that's what family does.

Less than ten minutes later all of us are piled into Talia's office as she finishes opening the portal to the place we Fallen call home. It isn't much but it's all I've ever known before coming here. If it wasn't for Talia, most of us wouldn't have even had the option to attend this academy. She's been a firm believer in the Fallen being given a chance and fighting to ensure that happens. Thanks to her determination and her mating my brother she was able to fight for us. It's the only reason she is able to create this portal. She is the only angel who knows where our city is, and now we are about to expose it to four other angels. I really hope I'm not making the wrong decision doing this. I trust that if I was, Talia would be stopping me, but even she supports it which helps my confidence that this is the right choice. Arabella won't ever be truly safe until her father and the Seraphim Council are dealt with but at least in my home there are more people who can protect her, and hopefully fewer enemies. No one would come after my family to get to her, it would be a death sentence and they know it.

"You ready?" Talia asks stepping away from the portal.

"As much as we can be," I grumble, stepping forward. Before I step foot through that portal I need to get my head straight. Questions are going to be asked and I need everyone to believe me that there was no other choice. "Thank you for this. And if anyone asks…"

"I have no idea where you all went," she finishes with a smirk. She hands me a letter, placing it under Arabella's hands that are folded across her stomach in my arms. "There is one for Arabella and one for Lucifer make sure they both get them and read them."

"I will. And Guard Noah?" I question. I need to know what they plan to do about him. When the other guards went to check behind the rocks when the tornado cleared he was gone. The asshole got away but I would be back to hunt him down. He won't get away with this.

"The second I hear anything or have him in custody you will know. The Wolf council already knows his life is forfeit and belongs to the angels. Despite how much Councilwoman Louve would like to debate the subject," she answers with all the authority of a councilwoman.

"Very well," I nod. It's the only answer I can give. I'm not happy about it but I need to get Arabella to safety at my family home first. After that, I can return to R.I.S.E. and begin the hunt for the dead wolf. I will have his blood on my hands for what he did to Arabella. If she wants to also help then I'll allow it if she thinks it will help her move past this trauma. "Phoenix, you go first with Harper. Warrick and Isis will follow and I'll bring up the rear with Arabella." I thought about sending Warrick in first but I know if an Angel appears in the middle of the throne room without Phoenix or I there it will be a blood bath and I don't mean for the fallen. Actually, that's sort of tempting.

"Warrick, you'd do well to heed what Phoenix and Rhys tell you. You are in Fallen territory now. As Arabella's mate, you will be safe but you will have very many an enemy surrounding you. Keep your guard up," Talia tells him right as Phoenix walks through the portal. "Good luck you all."

I take a quick glance to see Warrick nod his head in agreement before he steps up to the portal with a terrified Isis by his side. She got a warning the second she was brought into the office. We told her quickly what happened and she agreed to be on her best behavior as long as it meant she got to stay with Arabella and Harper. She was more worried about both of them being unconscious than about the fact we were about to become fugitives and were fleeing to hide with the Fallen.

"Thank you," I tell Talia earnestly right before stepping through the portal. Letting the magic engulf me, I don't fight it, instead allow it to guide me to where I have always belonged. In what feels like seconds but I know in actuality it's about twenty minutes the magic of the portal falls away. Blinking my eyes the view of the throne room comes into sight. Before me Warrick, Isis, and Phoenix still holding Harper stand as several guards are behind them, their eyes never once leaving the angels.

Taking a step forward, I stop when I feel Arabella stirring in my arms. I didn't think she would be awake this soon. Shit! I was hoping to get her into her room and a bed before having to explain everything to her.

"Where are we?" she mumbles, rubbing her eyes as she looks up to me with panic and then around the room.

Before I can answer, another voice calls out. "Welcome to Evermore. I am Lucifer and it is lovely to have you all here with us. Especially you, my great-granddaughter. Welcome home, Arabella."