Chapter 164   - 41

Zamiel took her up on a tree to watch the ocean from above and far away. It shimmered, reflecting the starry night. It was a beautiful sight.

"Did my father allow you to take me out?" She asked, as they sat on a thick branch.

"I never asked for his permission." He said.

Heaven was surprised. Considering his personality, she thought he would ask.

"Heaven, I need this night with you. I have left my suffering, but it has not left me. I want to spend time with you so you can know the person I am, the person I have become, and decide if you still want to be with me. You still have the choice to walk away."

Heaven didn't want to push him, so she took the easy rode.

"Just don't try to make me dislike you. If I still choose to be with you, will you choose me back then?"

"I have already chosen you." He said.

Heaven smiled. As long as he had chosen her she could show him she had no intentions of walking away.

Ever.

"What else did my father tell you?"

"He asked me what I could offer you. If I could make you happy?"

"What did you say?" She asked.

"I told him I would do my best, that I would let you decide if you want me in your life or not."

"Do you think my father approves of you?"

He smiled. "I don't think he dislikes me even though he pretends to."

Heaven was glad to hear that. Now she would only have to convince the rest.

"Can you jump to that tree?" She asked, pointing at the one in front of them.

"Ladies first." He said.

Heaven couldn't believe him. For someone who has been worried about protecting her, she expected him to ask her to not do anything dangerous.

Turning to the tree, she tried to measure the distance with her eyes, then decided she could do it. Standing up on the branch, she looked ahead and prepared herself.

"Alright, I am jumping." She warned.

He just nodded.

Heaven jumped and caught the branch before climbing up. A smile lit her face as she felt proud of herself for being able to do it.

"Your turn." She called.

He easily jumped and climbed next to her.

"I want to try it again." She said.

There was an excitement in the danger.

"Go on." He smiled.

Heaven jumped from one branch to another now only catching the branch with help of her claws and jumping to the next one without climbing up on it. It felt like she was flying. She became too excited and missed catching the next branch. Suddenly she was falling, so she closed her eyes and embraced herself for the pain to come.

This would hurt, she thought, since the trees were very tall, but before she could hit the ground Zamiel caught her in his arms.

A gasp escaped her lips.

"Easy. You are getting to excited." He smirked.

"I thought I would break some bones tonight." She breathed.

"That can be exciting too. But let's not try that while you are with me or your family might think I did it."

Heaven threw her head back and laughed. The thought of Zamiel taking her back home with broken bones was ludicrous.

He put her down gently. "I should take you back home." He said.

"No! The night has not ended. We can watch the sunrise together." She felt like a child. "I have never seen the sunrise."

"You should at least get some sleep before the morning comes." He told her.

Heaven shook her head. "I am fine. I can stay awake."

Zamiel shook his head at her stubbornness. "Alright." He said taking her hand and drawing her into his arms.

Suddenly they were somewhere else. Looking around, she found they were in a stable.

"What are we doing?" She asked.

"Going for a ride."

"But these horses don't belong to us." She whispered, noticing an old man sleeping on a bench nearby.

Suddenly the loud bark of a dog startled her, waking the old man up. He looked around and took notice of them.

Oh no, Heaven thought.

The old man sat up and rubbed his eyes before staring at them grimly.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, approaching them.

Zamiel reached inside his pocked and took out what looked like a gold coin. "I need two horses." He said.

The old man snatched the coin out of his hand. He looked at it closely.

"Are you trying to fool me, young man?" He said looking at Heaven's clothes. She was dressed like a maid.

Zamiel reached inside his pocked again. This time he held up a gold necklace. "Is this enough?" He asked.

The old man's eyes gleamed, and this time he took the necklace gently from his hand. He stared at it, touching it as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

Heaven wondered where Zamiel got all this from. Did he steal?

"Take the ones you like." Said the old man without tearing his gaze from the necklace.

Zamiel took her hand and led her to the stable where the horses were locked. "Pick the one you like." He said.

"Zamiel. Where did you get the gold from?"

He could see through her. "You think I stole it." He said sounding hurt. "Don't worry. It's mine."

Heaven wanted to ask him how. He had been locked for so long. What had he been doing during the ten days he was gone?

"Heaven," He grabbed her shoulders and turned her toward him. "I did not steal anything. As someone who is used to go into a deep slumber, sometimes for many hundred or thousand years I have somewhere safe to store my wealth so when I wake up I can continue living like I did before." He explained.

Where could be safe enough to store wealth for so many years? She wondered, but she trusted his words.

"I believe you." She said.

They went on to look at the horses. "Take this one." He told her clapping a white horse. "She is healthy and strong. "

Heaven looked at her. She was beautiful. "Alright." She said.

Zamiel chose a black horse.

"How fast can you ride?" She asked him as she climbed her horse.

She wanted to challenge him.

"I don't think you can keep up with me." He smirked, easily hopping on the horse.

"I'll take it as a challenge then."

Without giving him a chance to respond, she kicked the horse and rode away. She jumped over the fence and continued riding into the woods as fast as she could.

Zamiel was fast and already behind her. Heaven kicked again, and the horse picked up the speed. She could feel the air whipping her hair back as trees flew by.

But she wasn't fast enough, and Zamiel had already caught up to her, riding beside her. He seemed to enjoy the ride.

Challenging him was absurd, but she still liked it.

Abruptly her horse halted and reared. Startled, Heaven held onto the ropes and tried to calm her horse, but it reared wildly, causing her to lose balance and fall off.

Something had scared the horse. Looking around, Heaven found a snake in the dark very close to where she fell.

"Heaven." Suddenly Zamiel's arm came into sight, preventing the snake from biting her.

Instead, the snake bit his arm before he could break its head off. Heaven gasped in horror.

"Zamiel." She hurried to him, grabbing his arm. The snake bit his wrist.

She turned to him. He seemed horrified, his eyes fearful as he looked at his wrist. She could see how his face turned pale.

It was the poison. He did not like poison. Heaven could feel his panic. His body trembled.

"Zamiel. Look at me." She demanded.

But he refused. His gaze stayed fixated on his wrist.

"Zamiel!" She grabbed his face between her hands. "Look at me!" She commanded.

This time it worked. He lifted his gaze to hers and she stared him in the eyes, firmly.

"You are an ancient demon. The strongest being on this earth. You went through horrible things, yet you are here today. Stronger than yesterday. Humans, demons, witches, they all fear you. A little poison can not harm you."

He looked at her, the fear in his eyes slowly fading away. His body stopped shaking and he let out a deep breath.

Still holding his face, "you will be fine." She assured him.