From heaven and hell, a new world will come, On the fated day when two become one, The angel without wings will have no fear, For she will be saving all those she holds dear. Aziel's family are born of angels, bound to protect their realm and everything within it. A millennia of war between the angels and the demons is close to boiling point, and soon the heirs to the realms will need to decide their course of action. The only issue being, they're destined to be bound to each other, heaven and hell as one.
From heaven and hell, a new world will come,
On the fated day when two become one,
The angel without wings will have no fear,
For she will be saving all those she holds dear.
Five years, that's how long the prophecy had taunted me every night at the end of my dreams. In a world that was so filled with light, my mind had always been plagued by corners of darkness.
Looking out of the window, the sun was just starting to rise, its golden hues lighting up the hills and rivers of Deltora. I watched as every home in the city began waking up, slowly lights turned on and the cogs of another day started to turn. Every second of life here was designed to be perfect - almost as if the Goddess herself had designed it. He hadn't though, my father had. King of the Angels, and every bit the man you'd think him to be.
My door began to creep open "Is my little angel awake?" my mother called, sailing through the room gracefully in her floor length, gold trimmed dress. She was always the picture of grace and beauty, I just hoped I'd look half as good as she did when I finally turned of age and took my true angel form in a few days time. "We have much to discuss, Princess." She continued to coo "Like about the ball, where we'll find out who your true fated soulmate will be."
The ball of anxiety that choked my throat every time she mentioned me finding my soulmate, I had never told her about the prophecy. My grandmother was the only one who knew, and everyone already thought she was too crazy to believe her if she did tell anyone.
"Mum, we don't know that I will find my soulmate straight away yet, I haven't even seen my true angel form yet..." I sighed. In our realm, as soon as an angel turned of age, they would undergo a form of a transformation. In our day to day forms we still appeared like humans, but we would gain the ability to shift into our angels. The purer the angel, the purer their angel would appear.
Everyone in my family had golden angels, their skin shone like armour and they acted every bit as heavenly. Non royal angels could appear as any colour they liked, there was only one forbidden colour. Red. Red angels were seen as having the devil entwined with their souls, and so they were cast out as demons, walking the path to the fallen realm alone.
The war between the fallen realm and ours had gone on for longer than a millennium. Dark angels, or "demons" as my father called them, only wanted to be known as equal to us. They didn't want to do harm, but when you force an entire race of our species underground... it doesn't take a magician to tell you it was never going to end well.
"Shanara, stop terrorising our poor daughter, she has her dress fitting for the ceremony in an hour." My father bellowed down the marbled hallway of our home.
"The man lives in a castle and I still can't find a way to escape him." Mother grumbled beneath her breath. My parents had always loved each other dearly, but marrying the King of the Angels certainly had its drawbacks. She was never alone, and never allowed to do as she pleased. There was always some kind of an agenda for the day, and always someone that needed her help, normally more than me. "Get washed and put on a clean dressing gown Aziel darling, meet me in the dressing room in half an hour." With that, my mother kissed my forehead and left the room. No doubt to chase her manic husband down for her list of tasks for the day.
Slipping out of my silk sheets, I walked into the en-suite and stepped into the cold shower that definitely needed a few more minutes to warm up. The cold blast was welcome, finally bringing me to understand the reality of what was planned for the day.
A dress fitting for an angel ceremony didn't happen very often. Girls were seldom born to the angel royal families anymore. The last female that had been born into my family turned out to be a dark angel. My aunt, Naeth. I was only six when her ceremony took place.
She stood at the angel's altar, looking as equally royal as my grandmother. Twenty five suited her, and we all knew her looks would carry her for the hundreds of years that angels could live. But then, without warning, she began to scream as she shifted. Her skin grew dark and tight, bursting into flames of scales and her hair turning black as night.
"RED ANGEL!" the crowd shouted angrily, and I hid behind my fathers hand. His other hand covered his face, and I felt him tremble. He knew what was coming next. Naeth shifted back into her human form, blackened tears running down her cheeks. Without a word, she took off the family crest ring, down the aisle, and onto the road that connected our realm to the one below it.
Nobody spoke a word about the day after, my grandfather had to abdicate and pass the throne onto my father. Siring a demon was frowned upon, and he knew he would no longer be seen as fit to sit on the Deltora throne. Days later he passed, and everyone blamed the grief of losing his only daughter to the realm of demons.
Shower finished, I pulled on the fluffy white dressing gown that hung from my door. This is the most comfortable I would be all day, I knew that the pulling, prodding, poking and squeezing was still ahead of me. We might be angels, but vanity still consumed us, even on the most important of days.
The walk along the hallway was surprisingly quiet. Normally you would find hordes of servants milling around, catering to my fathers every whim. Today there were none.
What on earth were they all doing?
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?
"Is it considered betrayal to develop feelings for your best friend's boyfriend? What about when fate intervenes, and he turns out to be your destined mate? You might think it's luck and thank the moon goddess for such a twist of fate. That's what I believed until the love of my life uttered those dreaded words: 'I want a divorce!' As I stared at the pregnancy test in my hands, I realized it was better to keep my secret to myself. My name is Violet, and this is my story."
After three loveless years, Neil's betrayal deeply wounded Katelyn. She wasted no time in getting rid of that scoundrel! After the divorce, she devoted herself to career pursuits. Rising to prominence as a top designer, skilled doctor, and brilliant hacker, she became a revered icon. Neil, realizing his grave mistake, tried in vain to win her back, only to witness her magnificent wedding to another. As their vows were broadcast on the world's largest billboard, Vincent slid a ring onto Katelyn's finger and declared, "Katelyn is now my wife, a priceless treasure. Let all who covet her beware!"
Three years ago, Cecilia was left battered and alone by the man she loved most, Alston, yet she bravely completed the wedding ceremony while pregnant. Three years later, although they were married, they grew apart over time. Cecilia focused on her career, no longer foolishly believing in love. But her transformation instantly threw Alston into a panic... And what is the secret from 11 years ago that Cecilia has always been reluctant to reveal? *** "She went to a law firm, met with a lawyer..." A lawyer? Is Cecilia suing someone? Who? Is there any recent litigation against the company? Alston suddenly chuckled coldly, "Who could she sue? I'm the CEO of this company. How come such a matter doesn't come to me first?" The assistant swallowed nervously, speaking softly, "Sir, there's no litigation against the company. She met with... a divorce lawyer."
My boyfriend called, "Baby!" as he jumped out of bed and scrambled to pull his pants off the ground. "Please, I can explain my love." Shutting my eyes, I inhaled deeply and tried not to cry when I realized that my dream of the man not being my boyfriend had been dashed. "What?" I asked, "What do you want to explain?" How did you lie about having a business meeting while you were in bed enjoying yourself with my best friend, even though I told you I was in serious pain, is that it?" I stood there, my heart pounding, and tears streaming down my face...
Kara Martin was known as Miss Perfect. She was a beauty with good personality and successful career. Unfortunately, her life changed at one night. She was accused of adultery, losing her job, and abandoned by her fiance. The arrogant man who slept with her did not want to take responsibility. He even threatened to kill her if they met again. What's worse, Kara was pregnant with twins and she chose to give birth to them. Four and a half years later, Kara returned to work at a large company. As the secretary, she would frequently face their notorious CEO. Kara thought it wouldn't be a problem, but as it turned out ... the CEO was the father of the twins!