Page 101 of Dark Angel

“Thank you all for coming.” Lewis begins, clearing his throat as his golden eyes scan the confused faces of his friends. His gaze stops on Jordan’s, whose arms are crossed, and a brow is raised on his forehead. He already knows why Lewis wanted them all to come.

Swallowing the growing lump in his throat, Lewis holds his hand out for Valarie to join him.

She jumps off the stone seat to stand in front of him, her younger face lit up with excitement. He’s not entirely sure she’s aware of his plan. Taking a moment to focus solely on her, Lewis grins, his leg stilling as he takes her hand in his. It’s soft and small, yet perfectly fits into his rough one.

“Ari. I still remember when I first laid eyes on you at the Oxford Ascendancy. In the library, in fact. I strolled in, needing a moment to myself after spending the entire morning listening to Matthew complain about how bumpy the carriage ride was from London…”

“You were complaining as well!” Matthew calls out from his seat. Clarence shakes his head in his direction, a smile threatening to spread across his face.

Lewis shoots him a glare, but Matthew just smirks at him encouragingly.

“I saw you in there, reading quietly to yourself beside the fireplace. The first thing that caught my eye was your fiery hair.” His fingers reach up, twirling some of her golden-red stands around, enthralled in its silkiness. “I didn’t want to bother you, so I went to the shelves, pulling off a book about herbal medicines and sat on the floor, leaning against the bookcases. You must have heard me, because you called out, telling me to join you on the lounge.

“I sat beside you and couldn’t help but think you were the most exquisite thing I’d ever seen. Your deep blue eyes. Your golden skin and puffy pink lips that smiled at me so pleasantly. And so, we read beside each other for hours until you finished your book.

“And I just knew at that moment I needed to learn everything I could about you. And I’m so glad that I did, Valarie, because I think you are the best person I’ve found in my life.”

He reaches into his trouser pocket as Daisy grabs onto Kora’s arm, gasping softly.

Lewis pulls out the small golden ring that shines in the evening light.

Kora bites her bottom lip as her mouth curls upwards into an unabashed smile, her single dimple showing.

Valarie’s gaze follows his down, her delicate hand covering the bottom half of her angular face, eyes glassing over as Lewis holds out the delicate emerald gilded ring between his fingers.

Lewis clears his throat, his words shaking with nerves as he asks her, “Valarie Carter. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife and making me an incredibly happy man?”

34

The Sacrificial Seven

The familiar white ambience flows around her again. Eerie silence fills the air. Colourless sand covers the ends of her toes. The white glow radiates around her in a veil of brightness. Tiny hairs covering her deep skin prickle like ice as Daisy spins around. Chills run down her spin in droplets when she sees a body lying in the sand a few feet away from her.

Running up, she sees the deceased body of Clara lying at her buried toes. Eyes open wide, hair mattered with blood and essence. Her skin still seeping deep ruby blood.

Daisy crouches beside the girl, pressing her fingertips against the flesh of her neck, trying to find a pulse. A sign of life. But there’s no steady heartbeat.

She’s gone.

Sitting back on her heels feeling completely useless and devastated, a warm salty tear slips down her cheek as Daisy holds onto the cold stiff hand of Clara. She’s lying in the same dress she wore to the opening ball, now torn and ripped apart like someone’s clawed at her.

“She needed to be killed.”The recognisable masculine voice calls out behind her.

Rising stiffly onto her feet, Daisy sees him approaching her. Russet hair brighter and neater than normal, his eyes focused solely on hers.

“You-you did this?” Daisy breathes out, looking down at Clara’s mangled, bloody body at her feet. “How could you?”

He lets out a wicked chuckle that scares her down to her bone marrow. “You will come to understand soon, Petal.” A grin spreading across his clean-shaven face. It’s chiselled and square, perfectly shaped.

Daisy steps backwards slowly, not wanting to be close to the man, “I amnotyour Petal,”she articulates clearly, “stop calling me that!”

He’s only a few feet away from her now, blinking himself closer in an instant. “You have been mine for a while now. Helping me with my… plan.” He purrs out like he’s enjoying this too much.

“I will never helpyou.” Spitting out at him as her forehead creases with anger.

This only makes his grin grow wider, his pearly whites fully on display, “Petal. I chose you to help me. I thought you’d trust me by now.”

“I willnevertrust you.”

---