Love you Both, Love me Too

Dash: Awakening

How?

How had Conner survived the fire, only to become....this?

What was he, exactly?

I remembered the photographs in Uriel's bedroom, and I knew...

...Conner had been one of those who were meant for death but had been spared for some unknown reason. His black wings fanned out behind his back, and his skin still smoldered with the fire that had taken his life. My heart ached at seeing my friend like this, but even in my pain, I knew that he was a danger to us all.

He wanted Sela for himself, and though I could not fathom the full extent of their connection, I knew I couldn't let him have her.

Sela belonged to Thomas.

Sela belonged to me.

I was ready to fight with all I had, and I felt a surge of energy grow inside me that threatened to rip me apart. I was afraid of my own power, and I worried that I would lose myself the way Conner had.

No, I could not use this power against him, for fear that I would become him.

"Sela! Thomas! Run!" I knew his eyes were on me, and at that moment the others had a chance to escape.

Thomas grabbed Sela and ran out the front door, but he refused to leave me behind. I could see him lingering there and it angered me that he would risk himself and Sela for me.

"Keep going, you ass! I'm right behind you!"

I could see the hesitation in his eyes, and I knew in my heart what I had to do in order to ease his fear. I looked at him and called forth the energy I felt welling just below the surface of my skin, and at once the great white wings sprung from my back with a force so great that the door blew shut between us.

I was now alone with Conner, and I was no longer afraid.

"Conner, why? Why are you here? What do you want?"

He smiled at me, but I could see the uncertainty in his eyes. He was afraid of me and what I was now capable of.

"Sela belongs to me, Dashiel. I will not stop until I have her by my side again."

But it didn't sit right with me, as his intentions were clear.

"You aren't here to claim her, Kokabiel. You're here to kill her, and I can't let that happen."

And at once he knew...the recognition in his eyes was plain to see.

"You're in love with her. You want her for yourself, but you have no idea what she is. She's a danger to us all, Dashiel. She will doom us all if she does not die and be reborn as the rightful Demiurge."

I didn't want to hear anymore, because there was no way in hell I was going to allow him to hurt her, Demiurge or not.

I didn't even know what that meant, but I knew that Conner could not capture Sela, no matter the cost.

I lunged at him and my wings propelled me forward with a terrifying strength that I struggled to contain. My skin glowed with blue fire and as my hands closed around Kokabiel's forearms, the flesh burned there and he cried out in pain. It was clear that despite his determination, he was no match for me.

"I don't want to hurt you, Conner. I don't want to kill you, but if you come for her again, you'll leave me no choice."

I struck out with the back of my hand, colliding with his jaw as he tumbled backward from the blow. He did not move from where he lay, and I could see the blue fire that engulfed me begin to burn away at the red fire that had been ignited within him.

I left the apartment behind, determined to find Sela and Thomas and get as far away from Conner as we could go, but he was not finished with me yet.

I felt something grab onto my wings before I could take flight, dragging me down and pinning me to the cold, hard ground. I looked up to see Kokabiel, his red fire ignited and burning even more furiously than before. His hand closed around my throat, and I knew at that moment that he meant to kill me.

I fought back as hard as I could, using my wings to push me back onto my feet even as his grip tightened around my throat. I couldn't breathe, and I knew that soon I wouldn't even be able to fight back.

With a mighty yell, I allowed the strength that was welling within him to be set loose, and as the wave of energy left my body, it collided against him and everything else in the vicinity of our battle. The house that Thomas and I had shared crumbled away in the background and the trees were blown down and shredded into nothingness. Kokabiel was finally dislodged from me, and his body collided against the trunk of a shattered tree with a dull thud.

This time, I was certain he would not move to follow me. I took to the sky, my wings moving with ease and with memory that I did not know I possessed. For the first time in my life, I felt complete.

For the first time, I felt exactly how dangerous I was to the world that had existed around me, oblivious to the possibilities and the dangers of the unknown.

What would Thomas think? Would Sela fear me as she had feared Conner?

I did not have answers, but I knew I had to find them before Kokabiel did. I knew in my heart I could protect them both from the demon that had claimed her life and heart as his own, despite my love for him.