Death's Serenity (Sequel to Luna's Revenge)

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Ophelia wore a simple summer dress with thin straps as she ran her fingers through her damp hair, having decided to let them air dry for the moment.

Even though she was in the lost palace of Brannion city, she couldn't believe that her room had every single electrical amenity known to the world— and then some.

She was surprised that the closet was filled with all sorts of clothes and she was more than certain that Ezra had been the one who brought them all for her. She wondered why he would go to such lengths to ensure her comfort. He was the god of death, caring for partial faes was not exactly in his job description.

Thinking about him and his magnetic obsidian eyes, Ophelia made her way out of her room and for the first time in two days, did she see the outside of the chambers that she had been cooped up in.

She felt a lot better today and hoped to see more of the castle and then talk to Ezra about how he had brought her here, how he had managed to find her, and lastly, how she was to return to Escalara to finish off what Jenna started.

She roamed through the empty halls, barely decorated with a few antique pieces at maximum. Unlike the lavish rooms, the corridors looked like they had been robbed.

However, the more she walked through them, gazing all around at the slightly aged paint or the rustic decor, she realized that this too, was telling a story— a broken, but stunning story.

Considering that Ezra had accepted being responsible for restoring this palace according to his own taste, Ophelia wanted to know what his thought process had been when he was setting things in place. The more time she spent with him, the more curious she got about him.

The mysteriously melancholic aura that always shrouded him, the way his eyes flashed with crystal clear emotions around her, telling her almost everything that was on his mind and yet, hiding so much away, intrigued her to no extent.

And it was not long before all she could think about was the way his lips had felt when he had kissed her and the way her core had heated up because of his acts. She thought of his arms holding her small body with such control that it nearly sent her to her knees right then.

But that was when she collided with something and almost lost her balance as she finally looked up and found Ezra looking down at her with a blank face.

"Ophelia." He addressed her, a little too formally for her taste as she blinked a few times to get her mind out of her lustful thoughts for the god in front of him.

Like usual, he adorned a crip black dress shirt with the sleeves folded up to reveal his forearms and black pants. She even caught a small glimpse of black ink peeking from his elbow. His hair was pushed back in a sleek manner which only accentuated his high cheekbones.

"Ezra." She replied in the same coy tone as she lifted her chin to look at him. He was so much taller than her!

He allowed a playful grin to slip onto his lips as he looked at her, "I see that you are feeling much more in control of your bearings. You're not going to faint on me again, are you?" He asked quirking his brow.

Ophelia narrowed her eyes as she pouted slightly. She knew he was only trying to rile her up but the truth was, she was embarrassed of having someone else take care of her. Especially a stranger, out of everyone.

Ezra could practically see her exact thoughts flashing through her face. And while she stood there thinking of how to reply to him, he took his time to admire the way she looked.

Her brown hair was darker because of the moisture in them and her skin was void of any signs of tiredness. Her crystal blue eyes were clear of any storms and he wondered what was more beautiful, her eyes or the actual ocean surrounding the palace.

He mentally rolled his eyes at himself. Of course her eyes were prettier! He reminded himself.

"Well, I suppose that anyone would feel better after sleeping for thirty-six hours straight, especially after you put me under your magic to get me to sleep." She quipped, raising an eyebrow and he looked at her with pursed lips.

"You found out...." He said sheepishly.

She glared at him, "I'm part fae too, remember? Not to mention that my werewolf senses are pretty darn good. So, I do believe that I would know after someone has tried to put a spell on me. Especially a god!" She was furious when she had come to this realization that she had been asleep for so long. However, she had to admit that she felt a lot better than before.

Ezra raised his hands in surrender, "I know that you are extremely strong and capable of taking care of yourself, darling, but after your panic attack and constant nightmares, I figured that it was better to let you rest. I know I should not have done it without your permission but you looked so...."

"What?" She snapped, crossing her arms, "what did I look like?" She asked a little too defensively.

He sighed, knowing that her anger was not misplaced. So, instead, he replied honestly. "...done." He mumbled, "you looked exhausted and utterly done with all those feelings and I knew that you were on the brink of falling ill if you didn't take any rest." He said with a genuinely regretful tone. "It was the only thing I could do, but I promise that I won't make these decisions for you ever again."

"No you won't." She declared and he nodded obediently. She stared at him for a few more moments before uncrossing her arms as she sighed. "But, you did the right thing. Even if you could have asked and I would have said yes instead of just knocking me out without telling me." He hid his sheepish grin as they began to walk together. "I did need the rest, and also to be rid of the nightmares." She muttered running her fingers through her hair.

He looked down at her, almost nervous to ask his next question but still he mustered up the courage and said. "Can I know what these nightmares are about?" He asked cautiously.

Ophelia looked at him, almost as if she was searching his face until she let out a sigh and said, "multiple things." She muttered, "there are these whispers in my dreams all the time, these songs in forgotten languages that I don't understand. And aside from that, it's the good old combination of me dying at my sister's hand in the most gruesome of ways."

A shudder ran through her spine when she thought of Jenna once again and realized that she was never going to be rid of her.

Ezra scowled deeply. "Your sister?"

Ophelia waved her hand dismissively, "she's not my real sister....more like, a best friend that I grew up with."

That was when Ezra remembered the black haired woman he had seen in his first vision when he had realized that Ophelia was in danger.

"Is she the one who left you in the state that I found you in?" He asked quietly, his fists clenched by his sides as he remembered her condition and it angered him that someone had betrayed her trust.

Ophelia stopped in her tracks and so did he as they stood facing each other while standing right beside a huge window in the spire beside them.

"That's what I've been meaning to ask you," she mumbled, fidgeting with her fingers, "what state did you find me in? And how?" She asked curiously.

This was the question which had been bugging her the most.

This was the question that he had been afraid to hear.

He knew that he would have to lie in the most believable manner if Ophelia was to believe him. He knew how well her instincts were and he certainly didn't wish to reveal that she was his mate and that was how he knew how to find her. He didn't deserve to be her mate. She was the opposite of everything she was. He was Death incarnate and she was the very definition of what life was like. She would hate him if he told her the truth about their mate bond.

"Well, if you must know...."

|Flashback|

Ezra mentally travelled through space, time, and the entire cosmos to find Ophelia until he finally saw a clear location and then scrunched his eyes shut and willed his magic to overtake his body as bellowing winds of volcanic ash covered his entire frame from head to toe and he disappeared from the middle of his room.

When he opened his eyes once again, he saw himself surrounded by heavy trees and that was when he saw a figure standing in front of him.

Almost as tall as he was, the creature was something straight out of a nightmare.

A beast, with obsidian pelt and deadly talons, big enough to gouge out Ezra's eye. It's back was hunched over in a weighted manner and it seemed to be staring down at something.

Ezra, knowing that in his current form, the creature could neither hear him nor sense him, moved to step aside and his eyes finally saw what the creature was greedy for.

There, lying in the mud and twigs from ferns and grass staining her clothes, was his mate— battered and bloodied beyond repair. Her eyes were closed shut and her breaths were getting slower and slower by each moment.

That was when rage flashed through Ezra's body as he raised his eyes to stare at the disfigured face of the strange beast who almost looked to be waiting for Ophelia to take her last breaths.

Ezra closed shut his fists and instantly, the creature disintegrated into dust and volcanic ash and he was the only one left standing, staring at his mate approaching death at a furious pace.

|End of Flashback|

"...so, to answer your question, I don't know where I found you but I sensed your death because you know....it's kind of my job, and then I realized that I did not wish to give Selene another reason to hate me so, I brought you here to heal you." Ezra finished, carefully skipping over the parts that would tip her off about his real reasons.

Ophelia stared at him with her eyebrow raised. "Yeah, I don't believe that." She mumbled.

Ezra raised his eyebrow, challenging her. He knew that she was inquisitive but he would be damned if he let her think that he was truly hiding something.

"Selene is a very scary being, Ophelia. I did not want my realm to face her wrath, so I saved you. Simple as that." He said with a shrug.

She hardened her glare as she shook her head, "that creature you saw, that's called a Bloodmare. And it takes a lot of power to kill it. So, forgive me that I don't believe that you killed it just to save yourself some trouble."

Ezra didn't let a single emotion flicker on his face as he stared at her. "Okay, two things," he said raising two of his fingers in the air, "one, I am a very strong god, Ophelia. You just don't know it yet." He said with a casual shrug, "and two, letting you die meant centuries of constant war with Selene which would have only ended in me letting her resurrect you and that would have caused an imbalance in all of the cosmos that would have been difficult to contain." He gave ger a small grin, "so, you're kind of an important person to keep alive, darling."

Ophelia rolled her eyes. She wondered if she truly believed his words or not. He did sound genuine to her but that was when he glanced up at him and found him watching her with anticipation.

"Ha!" She exclaimed with a grin, catching his expression, "I know that there was another agenda of yours involved in this! And trust me, I will find what it is."

The conviction with which she promised him that, almost made Ezra groan.

This was going to be much more difficult than he imagined.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello, lovelies!! How are you all today? I had almost decided not to upload since I'm literally running on 4-5 hours of sleep in the last 24 Hours, but I hope that you liked this chapter. Please vote for Luna's Revenge if you haven't already!! Love you all.

Don't forget to comment.

With Love, Devu.