"I couldn't." Cassius shook his head back and forth. "She was innocent."
"So one of you will take her place." Sariel nodded. "One of you will take her place, and balance will be restored. It's as simple as that." He turned his head to me. "Choose, human."
"Wh-what?"
"Your destiny. You must choose."
"I don't understand."
"Who lives? Who dies?"
Ethan
Adrenaline pulsed through my body as madness overtook me. All I knew was that I had to kill him — kill him for taking something important from me. But what?
"Kill, kill, kill," the voice whispered in my head.
Cassius wasn't fighting back. His eyes were white, haunted. It didn't register that he was giving up. I just wanted him dead.
"Dead, dead, dead," the voice continued to chant.
"Ethan, No!" Genesis screamed.
I wrapped my hands around Cassius's neck, ready to snap, ready to kill. When his eyes met mine, something had me pausing.
Why was I strangling him?
Why was I so upset?
I looked down at my hands, the same hands gripping his neck. Blue blood trickled from my fingertips.
"Damn it." I pulled back, chest heaving as my hands shook.
Aziel's blood was poison.
"Kill, kill, kill," his voice whispered. "He took from us."
"No." I fell to my knees, the blue blood continued to drip from my fingertips. I quickly bit into my wrist, letting more of the blood fall out of my system.
"Choose," Sariel said from behind me.
Cassius shook his head slowly. There was a piece I was missing, a piece of the puzzle that wasn't fitting together.
A daughter.
My mind replayed back the images. The baby was wrapped in a blanket — he or she wasn't human.
Half-angel?
A Dark One.
"Mine," Aziel whispered in my head.
"No." I choked out a hoarse cry. "You destroyed her."
Aziel would live until the last of his blood left my body. Images flickered in front of my eyes as if I was watching a movie.
Aziel crooked his finger at Ara. She didn't need any more encouragement than a flick of his wrist, a smile in her direction. Ara had been lost to him before she even took the first step in his direction.
"Wanted her," the voice whispered in my head. "So bad."
"You killed her." I hung my head.
"You killed her."
"Because it had to be done." I was arguing with a dead angel, arguing with the last of his lifeblood.
Cassius reached for me.
I gripped his hand and helped him to his feet. His face was covered in bruises. His lower lip bled blue. Dark hair mixed with blood caked on his cheeks.
"You didn't kill her?" I asked.
"Well done," Sariel said from behind us. "Didn't think a vampire could control himself, and now I see him touching a Dark One. Impressed, but this is going a bit too slowly for my taste."
The room went black.
A chill filled the air.
The last thing I heard was Genesis scream before the room flashed again.
Everything was in black and white.
The house around us faded to an apple orchard.
A little girl with bright blue eyes was climbing a tree, giggling as she went faster and faster.
"Keep up!" she yelled. "You can't catch me!" She laughed harder.
Cassius was standing beneath the tree, his hands on his hips. "Get down! You'll hurt yourself."
"Nope!" She hung upside down, her long hair nearly sweeping the grass beneath her.
Cassius grinned and grabbed her, setting her on her feet. "Remember to take your medicine."
She crossed her arms. "It tastes funny."
"I know," Cassius said in a low voice. "But it won't always be this way."
"Promise." Her eyes filled with tears, the blue flashing with such ferocity that it turned white.
"Promise," he echoed.
The scene changed.
The girl looked to be around twelve. The apple orchard was the same, only this time it was fall. Leaves were scattered around the grass, and she was reading a book.
"Boo…" Cassius stepped around the tree. "I've come to say goodbye."
"No!" The girl threw her book onto the ground. "Why? Why would you leave me?"
Agony crossed over Cassius's face. "You hardly see me as it is."
The girl hung her head. "It's my favorite part of the year. When you visit."
Cassius sank to his knees so he was at eye-level. "It's for the best. Besides, you have a brother to take care of."
"Yeah." She wiped her nose with her sleeve. "He's cocky though."
"Heard that," a voice said from behind the tree.
Alex stepped into view and shared a serious look with Cassius.
"Please don't go." The girl wrapped her arms around Cassius's neck. "I'll miss you. You belong to me."
"I don't." Cassius choked out the words. "Now, run along and help your mother with dinner while I talk with your brother."
"Will I forget you?"
"No," Cassius whispered.
"You'll come back? One day?"
"Yes."
Satisfied, she ran off, leaving Cassius with Alex.
"You lied," Alex said, leaning against the tree.
"It's best this way." Cassius waved his hand into the air.
The girl staggered forward, scratched her head, and then kept running toward the house.