Page 191 of Crimson Promises
“I can leave.”
“If the castle gossip is to be believed, and it always is, it is restricted to within the castle walls. Unfortunately.”
My fingers tingled with anticipation as I approached the door. Stretching out my hand, I grasped the know. “Please, open,” I requested.
It shuddered in response and, with a quiet click. The lock disengaged. The door creaked open, revealing the corridor beyond. It was a small victory but ignited a fire in my chest.
Gratitude welled up inside me. "Thank you, Angela," I whispered, stepping out.
She responded with a quiet, "Stay safe, Aurora."
Freedom, even within Lucifer’s dark palace, tasted sweet.
* * *
The dimly lit corridor seemed endless, my footsteps whispering against the floors as I moved swiftly, aiming to get as far from my chambers as possible. So far, each foray into another passageway has led me to a dead end. It was as if the hallways moved, altering the floor plan occasionally. When Lucifer had led me to my chambers from the atrium, he had taken a direct path, nothing like what I had encountered so far. Just when I thought I had reached another dead end, my fingers brushed against a chrome doorknob, contrasting with the solid blackness of the attached door. It turned effortlessly, Angela’s theory was right, revealing an entrance to a space that felt as if I had walked into another realm altogether.
Before me, an immense expanse stretched out, infinite and shimmering in silvery starlight. I blinked, trying to make sense of the sight: books, countless in number, suspended in mid-air, their pages fluttering softly like the gentlest of heartbeats. They danced and swirled, ascending in spirals before settling on iron shelves. Once a row of books had settled, another would join the invisible symphony.
I stepped tentatively into the room, the ground cushioning my feet. Tentatively, I reached out and let my fingers graze one of the floating tomes. Its cover, warm and pulsating, opened itself to me, revealing words that shimmered and shifted, molding into a language I recognized. Histories of battles between angels, their sacrifices, their victories, and their defeats played before my eyes. Another book, glowing with a soft blue hue, whispered tales of humankind's resilience and dreams, their passions, and their undying spirit.
But as wondrous as the sights and sounds were, an underlying current of power pulsed through the place. There was something about it that felt intimately familiar. It hummed along my skin and sent goosebumps skittering along my shoulders, traveling down to my bare toes.
Drawn in deeper by the allure of floating books, I wandered with awe, my fingertips brushing the spines of countless volumes. The scent of old parchment mingled with something more earthy that I couldn't quite place.
Every so often, I'd pause, letting a book open before me, absorbing fragments of narratives.
One volume, bound in deep indigo leather with golden filigree, seemed to pulsate with an energy that beckoned me. Drawn by an inexplicable force, my fingers grazed its spine, and suddenly, I was no longer a passive observer. The world around blurred, and the library's vastness faded into obscurity.
Istood at the edge of a cliff, overlooking a vast, tempestuous sea. Silver moonlight bathed everything, turning the waves into a frothing expanse of mercury. A grand city rose to my left—its tall spires and intricate architecture glowing under the night sky.
In the heart of the city, on a balcony of the tallest tower, stood a figure—a young woman with hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall of midnight. Her eyes, a shade of violet so deep they seemed to contain galaxies within, held a mixture of determination and sorrow. She was an angel, her once radiant wings now marred and torn, evidence of a battle recently fought.
She raised a crystal vial that shimmered with a light of its own. Within, pulsating energy seemed to be alive—a captured star. Though I was a distance away, her voice reached me clearly, singing an ancient lament. It was a melody of sacrifice and hope, a tune that felt haunting and familiar.
As the song reached its crescendo, she released the energy within the vial. It soared upwards, exploding in a cascade of shimmering light, bathing the city and calming the raging sea below. The destructive force threatening her homeland was dispelled but at a grave cost.
The energy's release took a toll on the angel. Her form started disintegrating, becoming a cascade of stars that began ascending, joining the night sky. Her final gaze, filled with relief and melancholy, was cast towards the horizon, perhaps searching for a love lost or a future that could never be.
Then, as suddenly as it had started, the vision released me. I was back in the library, the indigo volume now closed before me. My heart raced, and my eyes were wet with unshed tears. The weight of the angel's sacrifice, her story, settled in my chest.
A tantalizing warmth began to breathe down the curve of my neck. Every instinct screamed that he was behind me even before the deep, silken voice confirmed it.
“Why am I not surprised that you wandered into my library?” Lucifer murmured, his voice sending shivers down my spine.
I steeled myself and spun around, confronting the deep wells of his eyes—so red they seemed to swallow all the light around us. I wondered if they were a different color before he was banished from Heaven.
"Your library?" I challenged, trying to ignore the intimate proximity. “You don’t own knowledge.”
He smirked, leaning in until our noses nearly touched. “It's my realm, and everything in it belongs to me... Including you."
I tilted my chin defiantly, our breaths mingling, the electricity palpable. "Then why does it feel like you're caught in my web?"
His fingers lightly traced along my collarbone, sending a cascade of goosebumps in their wake. "Maybe I enjoy being ensnared," he murmured, voice huskier than before.
I couldn’t help the soft gasp that escaped me, and he seized the moment, leaning in to nuzzle my neck. My heart raced, every inch of my body becoming hyper-aware of his proximity.
"Is this all just a game to you?" I managed to whisper.
