Angelraised 17 Epilogue: Week

We had escaped to h.e.l.l's main realm, yet I still couldn't find anyway to calm my fear of what happened to us. I squeezed my eyes shut at the memories of magic and weapons. And blood. Lots of blood everywhere.

A single tear rolled down Rose's cheek as she whimpered. She hadn't woken up since her mom died in her arms, yet I couldn't find any reason to blame her for abandoning us to fight like that. I wiped her tear away and sat up, gripping her hand in mine. A steady pair of breaths was all that could be heard in the small infirmary room.

Lucifer had been keeping Grace's original body alive in this dark room, just like he was doing to Rose's right now. Both of them were holding on by thin pieces of string, barely clinging onto their lives.

I didn't realize it at the time and if I had, Rose would be smiling at me right about now instead of being this lifeless vessel in front of me. Grace had transferred her spirit back to her old body, but Rose had no such luxury, all she had was the life she almost left behind.

That blast had turned out to be infused with her very life force and it caused many archangels outside the room to lose their lives along with completely wiping out Michael as he clung to a string.

I felt a tiny squeeze on my hand as Rose groaned. I felt my eyes widen as she fluttered her eyes open. She stared at me with bright silver eyes, but she hadn't said a word.

"Rose?" I asked, pulling her hand to me. She remained still and only stared at me. I released her hand and ran to the hallway, screaming for someone---anyone---to hear me. A single cry rang in the room behind me. I turned to see Grace fluttering her eyes open from her bed. She whimpered and gripped her right side where Rose's sword had slashed her in her old vessel three weeks ago.

I looked back at Rose who was still only staring at me. Her eyes were searching me for something, yet I didn't know what. Her eyes flashed blue before they fluttered closed again and she fell back onto her bed. Sadness gripped me, but I pushed it down as I moved to Grace.

"How are you feeling?" I asked and earned a scoff from her.

"Like I was dragged to Heaven and back," she replied with a chuckle under her breath. I chuckled in response.

"Did you know that she would end up like this?" I asked, motioning to her daughter in the other bed. I received a nod and a sigh.

"My future vision never went way, but, when she was born, I knew she was destined to end the tyranny of the Heaven realm. I asked you to protect her to try to keep her away from that," a tear slipped out and she quickly wiped it away. Rose let out a strangled whimper before her features smoothed back out and her body relaxed. "Then the vision became Angel, and I was scared for her so I helped her escape." She paused.

"You sent her to her sister," I watched her nod again as she watched Rose with an admiration I had never seen before.

"It became them both that night so I had gone to find her. When she told me that the vision was already underway, I knew I was too late to save them and that I couldn't delay destiny anymore," she sighed and turned to me. "I knew they were going to die, so I jumped in front of them, but even death is better than one ending up like this, isn't it?"

We sat in silence for a while. Angel ran in soon after with her face a mess and her cheeks tearstained from her own nightmare.

I felt guilt watching her stare at her sister like this, like she had every night since we got here. I felt I was the cause of this, if I hadn't stopped her like that, she could have controlled it on her own. I knew that, but I had to play hero and look where that got us. She noticed me staring and turned to me and her mother.

"Hi, Mom, how do you feel?" she asked, looking genuinely concerned, yet I could tell she wasn't in as good of a mood as she was trying to portray.

"No, Angel, how are you feeling?" Grace asked, cupping her daughter's cheek. Angel broke then and started sobbing. Grace pulled Angel into her and tried to comfort her. Guilt ate at me again as I turned to Rose as she let out another strangled whimper. I stood up and sat on the edge of her bed and grabbed her hand again. Her features relaxed again at my touch and I noticed a small smile gracing her lips as she slipped back into an easy sleep.

"She only does that with you, Week," I heard Angel say between hiccups. I looked up at her as she smiled at her sister. "She seems to be having the same nightmare whenever I come in here. I try to get into her mind to figure out what it is, but she locks me out. My touch doesn't calm her like that at all."

Grace smiled before opening her mouth to speak. "Just like Kai is your promised and your soulmate, I think Week is the same to her." I shook my head at that.

"No, Elizabeth is her soulmate, we know that," I replied, before tucking a strand of Rose's wild hair behind her ear.

"Soulmates can change, Xaphan," I winced at her use of my real name as she continued. "Your sister broke her heart if I recall, so her angel half could have taken that as a rejection and gave her a new one."

"She is right, Week. Lizzie was torn when she and I spoke. She said the same pull she felt towards Rose was gone. I can tell you feel it. Whenever she's in pain or when she released crazy power like she did, you rush in to save her and comfort her. Lizzie used to do that too."

"How do I get rid of it without hurting her?" I asked, squeezing her hand a bit harder as I studied her.

"You can't, Xaphan."

"She doesn't want me to even be her promised, how would I make her want me as her soulmate if she doesn't even want me as something that can't change?"

"Show her you love her, Week," Angel said as she grabbed my free hand, causing me to turn to her. "Prove that you are willing to take care of her and love her, then she'll change her mind. I know my sister well, Week, and she does feel the pull, but she didn't understand it with LIzzie and she doesn't understand it with you either."

Levi walked in then. He had been acting strange since we escaped a few weeks ago, yet no one had called him out on it yet.

"I didn't know you all were in here. I'll come back later." With that he was gone.