Continuation from His Dark Obsession by Moonlight Muse to
His Fated Obsession (Book 2) Chapter 45. Selene’s Warning
EVANGELINE.
Nothingness wraps around me like a cloak. There’s no feeling of anything here. It’s not cold, warm, or windy. Everything is just… still.
There’s no light, and even with our vision, I cannot see anything.
This place is indeed empty.
I tighten my hold on Zedkiel’s hand as we walk through the emptiness, side by side. The only sound that I can hear is the Eternal God’s footsteps ahead of us and our heartbeats.
My aura is radiating off me, but it is just swallowed up by this place. Almost as if we could scream, but it would not travel.
“Kind of extreme, to put her in a place like this for simply falling in love.” Zedkiel remarks.
“She broke a divine law.” His cold reply comes.
Zedkiel is about to reply, but I give his hand a gentle squeeze, and he frowns.
‘He’s arrogant, and he grates on my nerves.’
‘He is a God. Perhaps the power has gone to his head.’ I tease lightly. Zedkiel smirks but says nothing for a few seconds before he kisses me.
‘Well, if you let that god stuff get to you, you know I know of a good way to punish you, take you to heights past heaven and then right down to earth.’
He murmurs through the link before kissing my neck.
My cheeks heat up, my stomach fluttering at his words, and I rest my head against his shoulder.
‘I’m tempted to misbehave just so I can experience that.’ I reply with a smile. He yanks me close, kissing me hard. I kiss him back quickly before moving back, feeling the glare of the Eternal God upon us.
‘He’s just jealous.’ Zedkiel remarks through the mind link.
I smile as we continue, blushing once when Zedkiel squeezes my behind.
After a short while, the Eternal God slows a little and whispers a few words in a language that even I don’t understand, and since being here, I have picked up on a few different tongues, that have come to me with ease.
A flicker of embers appears in the darkness before two towering stone pillars begin to materialise, set twenty metres apart and tower far up, disappearing into the darkness above.
I step back, watching as the engravings covering the pillars begin to glow.
Thick chains materialise, pulled taught and I turn sharply to see that in the middle of the two pillars, is a woman, suspended far up.
Her head is hanging, her arms stretched painfully on either side as the chains wrap around her arms. Her long silver-white hair covers her face, and she’ s wearing a white dress that flows to her feet.
My heart clenches at the state she’s in, and I am shocked at the fact that this is how she has been for thousands of years…
“How cruel.” I can’t help but say, my heart thudding.
“Punishment is not meant to be easy. Falling in love with someone she should never have fallen for, is the cause of this… remember that.” The Eternal God says coldly. “The price of love… it really isn’t worth it.”
My chest heaves as I try to calm myself.
“Her acceptance of her crime, if you can call it that, shows she loved him deeply.”
His anger is potent in the air as he turns sharply to me. “Blinded and weak. We are gods. We do not need love.”
“Need, desire and want are different things!” I counter.
Zedkiel’s hand tightens around mine.
“Everyone’s opinion may be different, but this punishment is indeed cruel.” Zedkiel says quietly.
The Eternal God simply turns to Selene and my heart aches thinking, this is my mother…
And here she is being treated like this, and Raziel… he’s stuck on earth… unable to do anything…
“That is the aim.” The Eternal God replies arrogantly to Zedkiel.
I bite my tongue, despite the rage I feel.
“You promised us a second chance for a price… that means her freedom too.” I say quietly.
He doesn’t respond for a moment.
“I did… but her freedom will be limited… after all, she is no longer a goddess, but simply an immortal. A shamed one at that…” He begins to circle her. “Grant her, her freedom, and she will stay in the Palace of Moonlight as my mother, not as a goddess. But all charges against her should be dropped.” I say.
He stops next to her, turning to face us and smiles coldly.
“By freeing her, nothing will come of it.” He tells us.
“For you perhaps, but an act of compassion and kindness will not be forgotten… I ask you, as her daughter, please forgive her sins and requite her of her crimes.”
I may be a goddess, but I am also someone who was raised on earth. I will do whatever it takes and so I go down on my knees and lower my head to the man before me.
“Evangeline!” Zedkiel growls.
I don’t get up, placing my hands on the ground before me.
“Please, forgive her sins and have mercy on this child who has never had the chance to know her mother for long.” I say, closing my eyes as I touch my forehead to the ground.
The moment I do, a blinding wave of power emanates from the ground. The entire place trembles violently, and I jolt upright. Staring up at the Eternal God.
“I didn’t do anything.” I exclaim, my heart thudding as he stares down at me, his face unreadable.
“No, you did not…” He says quietly, a blinding white light fills the room, the sound of chains clanging at the rumbling of the pillars.
‘I wonder what gift he wants that he is agreeing to something he didn’t want to agree to at the start…’ Zedkiel murmurs, making that same sense of unease fill me.
“You have faith in love, and I in law… We shall see who will ultimately succeed… One chance is what I shall give you Goddess Evangeline… use it well…” The Eternal God’s voice makes the very ground beneath me tremble, before he begins to disappear from sight, but his powerful voice still rings around us, echoing in the distance “Remember, I shall return to collect when the time is right… One chance … is all you have…”
His voice fades away, and then he’s gone.
I look around. It’s still dark but not as empty as it was moments ago. The chains are released from the pillars and Selene drops. Zedkiel is beneath her in seconds, catching her before her body hits the ground. Her head falls back, and I freeze as I stare at her, my heart thumping.
Her face looks so familiar… almost as if I’ve seen her somewhere…
A wave of nostalgia washes over me, but I cannot place it.
Zedkiel lowers her to the ground as she begins to stir. Her eyes open slowly and instantly they find mine.
For a few moments, time stands still as we simply stare at one another before Zedkiel places her down and she stands, she’s taller than I am, she looks young and she’s beautiful with grey eyes and a dusting of freckles just like my own across her nose. “Evangeline.” She says softly.
She stretches her arms out to me, and I find myself walking towards her without any hesitation.
The moment I’m within her reach, she steps forward and wraps her arms around me tightly. I close my eyes, her scent fills my nose and instantly I ’m hit with a feeling of home.
My eyes fly open as a memory of long-ago flits through my mind…
(FLASHBACK)
“Eva… you need to get ready for school…” Mama says. The sun is shining brightly, casting a beautiful golden glow across our small house.
“Yes, Mama!” I exclaim as I hurry over to her. She’s wearing her chequered pink and white apron with strawberries on it. I wrap my arms around her slender waist, thinking she’s lost so much weight recently.
But of course, she would be tired, she works so hard to keep a roof over our heads. Her black hair is pulled into a messy bun, and she’s still wearing the clothes she was in yesterday underneath her apron.
She smiles and looks down at me, despite how exhausted she looks. Her eyes and smile are full of life.
“I love you, Eva…”
“I love you more, Mama! ”
(END OF FLASHBACK)
My heart thunders as I pull away and stare at her. “How is it possible…” I whisper.
She smiles softly. “I couldn’t leave you both completely… even if my essence was not enough to last for many years, I made sure that there was a part of me in the mother figures you have had over your past lives.” She explains.
A past I have blocked out, but that one memory has awoken a storm of emotions within me.
My mother loved me…
My gaze snaps to Zedkiel as I try to control my emotions and he comes over, wrapping his arms around me. Understanding what I need without me saying anything.
I close my eyes, taking a deep breath as he holds me close. He caresses my back for a few moments before I turn to Selene, who stands there watching us, a soft smile on her face.
“You have grown, over the years, the snippets that Eshe has shown me… showed only despair and failure… I am proud of you daughter…” She says softly.
“Eshe?” I ask.
“The Eternal God. Thank you to both of you for freeing me.” Selene says quietly, her attention now falling on Zedkiel. She is no longer the goddess, but she still has a powerful aura around her.
Her eyes soften, and a wave of sadness washes over her.
“Forgive me for the mistakes I have made…”
She only loved… that is not a mistake.
“Can you offer us any advice that can help us to end this once and for all?” Zedkiel asks.
She frowns as she turns her head away for a moment.
“I am no longer the goddess, but I can offer you words of wisdom. We all have evil within us… we just need to open our eyes to it. I never realised what I was creating all those years ago… I was simply a new goddess with the ability to create life … and I created a monster… Identify the monster and destroy it. Only then will this curse be broken.”
Evelyn… no!
“She isn’t evil, Evelyn is-” I begin.
“A victim, I know… find the real monster, find the one whose life force was tainted before it was even breathed into its body. Find the monster and destroy it.” She repeats.
It’s frustrating when they talk so cryptically and I know we won’t get more.
I feel a sense of unease wash over me and scan the darkness.
“Do you feel uneasy, child?”
“I… yes…”
“Your people need you. You must both return to earth, and do not discuss what I have said, not even to one another, nor what has happened up here. Remember that.” She warns, her soft eyes sharpening, and I know she means it.
I can feel Zedkiel’s confusion mirroring my own. “That’s… interesting.” Zedkiel frowns, but Selene doesn’t explain herself further.
“Open a portal and return to earth, for now…”
“For now…” I say quietly, feeling my heart squeeze.
She smiles sadly. “You are the goddess now… but fear not, child. There will be a way for you to be with one another. Remember, you cannot use an extreme amount of power on earth. It will upset the balance.”
“Understood.” I say.
I nod, wishing I could ask her more, but if she said there is hope, then there must be.
The feeling of foreboding is growing and I know we need to return to earth immediately.
I frown in concentration, focusing on opening a portal.
“And Evelyn… what justice will she get?” Zedkiel asks quietly.
A blinding portal opens, yet I turn to look at Selene, wanting an answer to that question too.
Selene smiles sadly.
“Only the Moon Goddess knows…” She disappears, her last words echoing around us.
“Don’t ever do that vanishing trick on me alright, these gods,” Zedkiel mutters in irritation.
I know he’s frustrated because we found no answer for Evelyn and I reach for his hand.
“I will do everything in my power to make sure she gets her happy ever after, I promise you.” I whisper.
He may not see it, but he does love her and we both want to see her happy.
He takes my hand, kissing it gently before we both turn towards the portal and step through…