Death Angel (Death Angel Series Book 1) (20 page)

Chapter Twenty Six

Gabrielle’s head was spinning. She had been utterly flattered by Mr. Black’s proposal the night before, but in all honesty she hadn’t really considered it all that much. She didn’t know what there was to consider. Whenever she was around him, he had this way of clouding her mind, of making her flustered and turning her stomach into knots when he looked at her the way he did. But she loved Kasen. Even though he hadn’t been entirely honest with her.

She wasn’t even in a terrible rush to get married, but with her situation the way it was, she realized that it would be the best thing for her. If she went back and had to go through the Academy, there was no guarantee that she would make it through. And even if she did, it would be a hard life for her. Even harder than her life was now.

She flopped back onto her bed and let out a huge sigh. How was the afterlife so damned complicated? She had paced around her apartment for the better part of the morning, really not knowing what to do with herself. She wouldn’t be here for much longer, whatever the outcome of her life, but as she looked around, she realized how much she would actually miss the place. It had really become her home over the last few weeks. She checked the little screen that sat on the desk in her living room. There were no messages and she started to chew on the side of her thumb. She had messaged Kasen again last night before she went to bed. After Mr. Black’s proposal, she knew she had to speak to him. She had expected him to answer her by the time she woke up, but there was still no response. Now it was in the early afternoon, and he still hadn’t messaged her back. She debated on whether or not to message him again, but she finally decided against it. If he hadn’t answered all the other messages, he wouldn’t answer this one.

Finally she decided she’d had enough waiting. She would just go over to his home and talk to him. This sort of thing was better done face to face anyway.

She started to get herself dressed when she heard a loud knocking on her front door. Her heart soared as she raced to answer it, thinking that it must be Kasen. She was only mildly disappointed to find Aracella standing there. She offered her a small smile that told Gabrielle that she had heard about everything that had happened.

“So…I guess you know what’s going on?” Gabrielle said, forcing a small smile back at her.

“Are you kidding?” Aracella said with a half laugh. “You’re the talk of the Death Angel Society. Dating two Generals, that sort of things goes around pretty quick.”

“I’m…I’m not,” Gabrielle shook her head. She just didn’t have the strength to voice the truth of her situation. She sighed heavily and stepped to the side. “Do you wanna come in?”

“I know,” Aracella said, stepping into her place and putting a hand gently on her arm. “I was just trying to lighten the mood. I know what’s going on. My brother pretty much filled me in.”

“Great,” Gabrielle said with heavy sarcasm. She walked over to the couch in the living room and plopped down on it. Aracella joined her, sitting right beside her.

“He thought you could use a bit of company,” she said. Gabrielle didn’t really know what to say to that. She hadn’t thought that she wanted company, but now that Aracella was here, she realized how nice it felt to have someone she could talk to.

“Look,” Aracella said, seeing the troubled expression on Gabrielle’s face. “I know you’ve been through a lot, and this is kinda a messed up situation. But it’ll get better. I promise. Besides, there are worst things than having to choose between two of the most eligible men in all the Death Angel Society.”

“Did you know?” Gabrielle asked, looking up at Aracella.

“Know what?”

“Did you know all along? Did you know who he thought I was?”
Gabrielle asked. She wasn’t mad at the thought of it. She supposed of all the things that had been kept from her, this would probably be the least of it.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I knew that he had feelings for you. Not because he told me, but more just a guess based on the way he was treating you. I know Sebastian, and it wasn’t exactly in character for him.

“His wife died when I was just a baby. I never got to meet her. But I do know how much he loved her,” she continued. She cocked her head to the side as she looked back at Gabrielle. “So, are you considering his proposal at all?”

“Did he send you to ask me that?”

“No,” she said with a little chuckle. “I was just curious. I’ve honestly never seen my brother like this before. He really cares about you.”

“It’s just so weird,” Gabrielle said, hugging her arms around herself. “I mean, I barely even know him. Hell, I barely even know Kasen. And apparently even less than I thought I did.”

Aracella laughed a little and placed her hand on Gabrielle’s shoulder, trying to lighten her up a bit. “I know it’s all kind of strange. Things just sort of work that way here. You’ll get used to it.”

“I guess so,” Gabrielle shrugged and looked away. Maybe this was like everything else here seemed to be. With a little bit of time it all became second nature.

“Sebastian asked me to come see you,” Aracella said, her tone turning a bit more serious. “But I wanna talk to you as a girl to another girl.”

“Okay,” she said, turning a bit so that she was facing Aracella more fully.

“I’m sure you know that it’s odd for someone from the Light Ranks to see someone from the Dark Ranks,” she started. “And there is a reason for that. To be honest, I’m not surprised that you and General Kasen got so close so fast, especially since you’ve been assessed as being part of the light ranks.”

“Yeah,” Gabrielle said, her face pulled a bit tight. “That was the weirdest test I’ve ever taken.”

Aracella laughed lightly again and fixed her with a knowing look. “I know, right? But it’s not so much about the answers you give, it’s more about how you take the test. How you react to it. That’s why they watch you so close when you take it.”

“Oh,” Gabrielle said. It sort of made sense now that Aracella explained it to her. “But I don’t really get it. With the Light Ranks and Dark Ranks things. What’s the big deal? I mean I know the jobs are different and all, but they both essentially work towards the same end.”

“Well, yes,” Aracella said, speaking carefully, “but it’s a bit more complicated than that. And, while I would like nothing more than to have you as my sister in law, and I want so badly for my brother to be happy, I think you should forget about his proposal.”

“Why?” Gabrielle asked, and she knew the word came out sounding more hurt than she wanted it to.

Aracella took a deep breath and looked up to the ceiling as she spoke. “Gabrielle, we are chosen for the Dark Ranks for a reason. We are fighters. The sight of blood has never bothered us. Fear isn’t really something that we experience. We are just…different from the Light Ranks, and we all have a darker side.”

“I still don’t understand why that would make you tell me to refuse his proposal,” Gabrielle said. She sat back into the couch. Everything was just so confusing and jumbled in her mind. She wished she could wipe everything away, like the details of her life had been wiped away.

“I just…” Aracella shook her head, then looked up at Gabrielle with a smile. “You know what? Forget about it. I was just talking.”

Gabrielle wanted to press her more, she could see that there was something she was leaving unsaid. Something about the way she had said that they all have a dark side made her skin tingle a little bit.

“To be honest,” Gabrielle said, “I wasn’t really planning on saying yes. I mean, I sort of already accepted Kasen, so…”

“I know,” Aracella said, patting her on the arm. “But I’m sure it just makes things a bit more confusing, and I was just trying to help it be less confusing for you.”

“Thanks,” Gabrielle said, smiling back at Aracella. She really had felt like talking to her had made her feel better. Nothing in her life had been resolved, but just talking to someone else made her feel like it eventually would be.

“I should get going,” Aracella said, “It looks like I caught you as you were heading out anyway.”

“Yeah,” she said, looking down at her clothes. They were all black, so they matched in color, but it was clearly a hastily put together outfit.

Gabrielle showed Aracella out the door and left shortly there after. She oddly felt much better now about talking to Kasen. Talking to Aracella had made her feel better about turning down Mr. Black. She hadn’t realized it, but the idea was causing her some hesitation. Now that she knew she would do it, she felt like a little bit of weight was gone from her shoulders.

She had never been to Kasen’s home before, but she knew where he lived. It was in the same section as Mr. Black, though she hadn’t realized that until after she knew he was a General. Now so many things made more sense to her about him. All the places he had taken her, the way he knew so much about the Death Angel Society, his special treatment. She supposed it was sort of stupid that she hadn’t figured it out before now.

Gabrielle came to the door of his home and she felt her stomach fluttering. She didn’t know why she was so anxious. Maybe because he hadn’t returned her messages. She also wondered if he had heard about Mr. Black’s proposal. She calmed her nerves as best she could and reached out to knock on the door.

There was only a short wait before the door cracked open and a man she had never seen before appeared at the front door. His beady eyes glared down at her, moving from her face to her neckline before he grimaced at her.

“What do you want?” he asked, rather gruffly. Gabrielle was a little taken aback by his rudeness.

“I… I want to talk to Kasen, is he home,” she said, her voice smaller than she’d like it to be.

“General Kasen,” the man corrected her with an angry gleam in his eyes. “And he doesn’t care to speak with you.”

Gabrielle felt her heart jolting to a stop. For a second she thought she had misheard him. Then she thought that maybe he didn’t know who she was.

“I’m Gabrielle,” she said, hopefully. “Maybe you could just tell him I’m here, and that I just really need to talk to him.”

“I know who you are,” the man said, his words clipped. “And I already told you, Master Kasen doesn’t wish to see you. Not now, not ever.”

“I…there must be some sort of mistake,” Gabrielle said, shaking her head as she felt the tears starting to rim her eyes.

“There’s no mistake,” the man said. Then his lips parted into an almost sadistic smile. “Except the one Master Kasen made in dating you. He has come to his senses and wants nothing more to do with you.”

Gabrielle felt her heart shattering. The words hit her like a concrete wall. Her mouth flopped open and closed as she tried to form words through the tears that started to run down her cheeks. She didn’t want to believe it.

“Please leave,” the man said, raising his chin as he stared her down over his nose.

It took Gabrielle a moment to process his words. The pain of his earlier statement had made everything else blur. So it must be true then, everything she had with Kasen had been a big lie. He had just used her to get what he wanted. Her tears flowed freely down her cheek as she turned to walk away.

“Wait,” the man said, his words suddenly turning softer. Gabrielle whirled back around, her heart leaping as she looked hopefully back at him.

He reached up towards her and in one sweep, snatched the necklace off her that she had nearly forgotten about, the one Kasen had used to propose to her. With that final gesture, the man said nothing else and slammed the door in her face.

Gabrielle crumpled to the ground, crying loudly at the humiliation and sorrow that she felt. She thought she had made her choice. She thought she knew what she would do. She thought that her life would get better. But it had just gotten so much worse.

Chapter Twenty Seven

Gabrielle felt numb. She had sat outside Kasen’s home for a while, crying until no more tears would fall. She had hoped that he would come out at some point and tell her that it was all an awful misunderstanding. That he did love her and still wanted to marry her, but he never came.

Finally, she picked herself up off the floor and began walking. She didn’t know where she was going, she just walked. Her mind felt disconnected from her body. A thought passed through her and for a while she seriously considered it. She could just kill herself. It was an odd thought, considering she was already technically dead. But she knew people in the Death Angel Society could die. It was a tempting idea. She didn’t really know what she had to live for here. She had no job, no real friends, no lovers, she had nothing. Worse than nothing, she was about to be shipped off to the Academy.

She was so lost in her own thoughts and misery that she didn’t hear someone calling her name. A strong hand on her shoulder snapped her out of it and she turned to look up into the dark eyes of Mr. Black. She didn’t say anything to him, just stared up at him with her wide eyes on the brink of another round of tears. Without a word, he simply pulled her into his warm embrace and hugged her gently as she began to sob into his chest. After some time, she composed herself and pulled back to look at him.

“I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head and not knowing what else to say.

“Walk with me,” he said simply, holding his hand out to her. Gabrielle was confused for a moment, but she put her hand in his and let him lead her away. His grip was soft but firm and Gabrielle found strength in it. He didn’t say anything for the longest time and his pace was slow and casual. They seemed to be walking aimlessly and finally Gabrielle felt well enough to speak.

“Where are we going,” she asked, wiping at the dried tears on her cheeks. He gave her a sidelong glance.

“Nowhere,” he said simply as if that explained everything.

“Why did you ask me to walk with you?”

“You were upset,” he said, as if that would make everything clear. He sighed lightly and turned his head to look at her. “A walk usually helps to clear my head. I thought you could use the same.”

“Oh,” she said, not knowing what else to say. It was odd, but she did find that she felt a bit better. Though she couldn’t say if it was the walking, or his comforting presence.

“Do you mind me asking why you were so upset?” he asked. His steps slowed a bit as he turned to face her a bit more closely.

“I…um,” Gabrielle looked down at her feet and stopped walking. She debated on whether she should tell him, whether she could tell him. “I went to talk to Kasen,” she said finally, her words trembling as she got them out, “I thought…he…,” she shook her head, trying to organize her thoughts. “I guess he decided he wants nothing to do with me…”

Her words trailed off and she couldn’t look at Mr. Black. She shifted her weight, suddenly uncomfortable and regretting that she had said anything.

“That’s peculiar,” he said, snapping her eyes to him. “I know he cared deeply for you.”

Gabrielle looked at him with her brows furrowed.

“Why would you tell me that, when…,” Gabrielle looked away unable to say the words to him while looking directly at him, “when you want me to marry you.”

“I want you to marry me, and not marry Kasen,” he said very matter-of-factly. “But more than that, I want you to be happy Gabrielle. I honestly never thought you would choose me.”

Gabrielle looked up at him with clear shock. “Why would you ask me if you thought I would say no?”

“Because you can’t say yes if I didn’t ask you at all,” he said. A smirk appeared on his lips.

“Well, yeah…” Gabrielle shrugged. It felt so odd to talk about a marriage proposal in such a way. But that was sort of par for the course here in the Death Angel Society. “You’ll always be like this, won’t you?”

“Pardon?”

“You’ll always tell me the truth, and say things just how they are, won’t you?” she asked. She knew he would say yes, and it was comforting to know that he would.

“Why wouldn’t I?” he said, looking down at her with a bit of confusion on his dark brows.

“It’s refreshing. The way you are,” she said, and to her surprise, there was a small smile on her lips when she said it.

“I think you’re the only one in the Death Angel Society to think so,” he said, and she heard just the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice. She laughed a little bit. She felt like she was so privileged at that moment. She knew that no one ever saw this side of Sebastian. Whether he hid it from the world on purpose, or whether she just happened to bring it out of him, she wasn’t sure. She realized right then that she wanted to find out. She wanted to know him better and she knew there was only one way to do that. Perhaps it was a rash decision on her part, but that was nothing new for her.

“Yes,” she said, looking up at him with a smile. As soon as she said the word, and had decided it in her mind, everything felt all better. She still loved Kasen, and she was still heartbroken over him. But Mr. Black knew all of that. He knew and he didn’t care. He just wanted her, and he wanted her to be happy. Somehow she just knew that he would be able to help her with that.

“Yes?” he said, confused by the sudden shift in their conversation.

“Yes,” she said again, biting at her lip. “I will marry you.”