The Angel Trials- The Complete Series

by Michelle Madow

  I had no idea who was leading me on this journey. It could be the voice I’d heard in the cavern, Annar, or someone else I hadn’t met yet. But they hadn’t led me off track so far.

  I needed to stay the course.

  Eventually, the arrows led me to one of the doors on the right side of the hall. This door didn’t look any different or more special than the others. But the arrows pointed toward the door and under it. Like they were telling me to enter.

  I opened the door and walked into a bedroom. There was an ornate canopy bed in the center of the room… and Noah was lying on it.

  34

  Raven

  There was a man sitting beside the bed, and a cradle next to him. But I didn’t care about either of them.

  All I cared about was Noah.

  I called out his name and ran toward him. His eyes were closed, his skin paler than normal. But the imprint bond pulled me toward him, the connection between us pulsing like a living thing.

  “Noah,” I repeated his name as I sat down on the bed next to him. I took his hand in mine, but he didn’t wake. He didn’t even respond when I tried reaching out through the imprint bond.

  His body was here, but it was like he wasn’t here at all. There was something wrong with his soul. It was dim. Unreachable. I didn’t want to feel it before, but now that I did, I couldn’t believe I’d missed it.

  My gaze shot up to the man sitting at his bedside. He looked to be in his thirties, and he was watching me patiently. He hadn’t said a word this entire time. He was just watching… like he was waiting.

  Creepy.

  “Who are you?” I asked, continuing before he could answer. “And what did you do to Noah?”

  “I’m Dr. Lake,” he answered calmly. “And I can assure you, I didn’t do anything to Noah. I’m here to take care of my patients. Both of them.” He motioned to Noah and the cradle on his other side.

  A baby girl slept in the cradle. She was just as pale and still as Noah. It would have been easy to mistake her as a doll instead of a living creature.

  I gripped Noah’s hand tighter, hoping this was just a dream. His body heat normally ran hotter than normal. But right now, his hand was so cold.

  “This isn’t real.” I shook my head, not wanting to believe that this—whatever this was—was happening. “The last time I saw Noah, we were getting into the rowboats to go to Avalon. He wasn’t sick. He shouldn’t be like this.”

  “Since then, he’s been cursed,” Dr. Lake said. “A witch cast a deadly dark magic spell on him. He only has a few hours left to live.”

  “What?” It was too much for me to take in at once. I wasn’t used to seeing Noah like this. So weak. So helpless. Everything he wasn’t. And we still hadn’t mated. We had our entire lives ahead of us. I refused to believe this was the end. “Don’t you have a cure?” I asked. “Some way to save him?”

  “Yes.” The doctor nodded. “I have an antidote pill for the curse.”

  Relief rushed through my chest. Noah was going to be okay. “How long will it take to kick in?” I asked.

  I couldn’t wait for Noah to wake up so he could tell me how he’d gotten into this mess with a dark witch in the first place.

  Knowing him, it would be a good story.

  “I haven’t given it to him yet,” the doctor said.

  “Why not?” I looked up at him in confusion, my entire body tensed in anger. “You said he only has hours left. Give him the antidote pill. Now.”

  “I’m afraid it’s not that easy.” The doctor studied me, his expression grim. “You see, there’s only one antidote pill in existence. And both Noah and this young girl Selena have been put under the same curse.” He motioned to the baby in the cradle—Selena. “A trustworthy prophet has declared that Selena is destined to be a savior to the supernatural community, and the world at large. Her death will have dark consequences.”

  I looked at the golden haired child in the cradle, understanding what the doctor was saying. “You’re going to use the antidote pill to save Selena.” I was devoid of emotion as I spoke. “Not Noah.”

  “The decision isn’t mine to make.” He pulled a pink tablet out of the pocket of his khaki pants and held it up so I could see it. The antidote pill. “It’s yours.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “I’m too biased to use the pill to save Selena,” he said. “Saving her is the logical choice. You, on the other hand, are in love with Noah. Which makes you better equipped to make this decision than I am.”

  “What about Selena’s parents?” I looked around, as if her parents might appear at any moment.

  “Her mother died while giving birth to her,” he said. “And her father isn’t of this world. He won’t be a part of her life until she’s come of age. So what’s your decision, Raven Danvers? Will you save the man you love? Or will you save the child who’s destined to save the world?”

  I looked at both Noah and Selena, the gravity of this decision weighing heavily on my chest. I knew what my instinct was telling me to do. But I had to make sure of it.

  “What will happen if Selena dies?” I asked, focusing on the doctor again.

  “The future is never set in stone,” he said. “But it’s likely to be a much darker future without Selena in it. Many will die. It won’t be a world that any of us will want to live in.”

  Likely. Not definitely.

  If I saved Noah, it wasn’t definite that the future would be as bleak as the doctor claimed. Noah and I would do everything we could to fight against evil. The future would still have a chance to be a good one without Selena in it.

  But not a likely chance.

  I let out a frustrated breath. The noble choice was to save Selena. To put my selfish desires aside and do what was best for the world.

  But what about what was best for me? Because a future without Noah wasn’t a future I wanted to live in.

  And the doctor had said it himself—the future wasn’t set in stone. There had to be something we could do to stop this bleak future from happening. Prophecies were important, but we still had free will. Choosing Noah didn’t mean I was cursing the world to darkness.

  But choosing Noah meant I was ending the life of a child.

  Could I live with that decision?

  No. It would haunt me forever.

  The truth was, I couldn’t live with either decision. But a future without Noah… being ripped away from him so soon… that wasn’t a life I could live with. It wasn’t even a life I wanted to imagine. It hurt too much.

  Losing him now would break me.

  “Save Noah.” The words were out of my mouth before I could analyze the decision further.

  “Are you sure?” the doctor asked.

  “Yes. I’m sure.”

  He nodded, and the entire room—Noah and Selena included—dissolved in front of me. Everything dissolved except for the doctor and me.

  No, the room wasn’t dissolving. It was transforming.

  Seconds later, we were in a dark, medieval style room. There were stone walls, stone floors, and stained glass windows. I was standing in the center of the room, staring up at the doctor.

  Except he was no longer dressed in the khaki pants and button down top he wore before.

  He was in robes and a crown.

  And he was sitting upon a majestic throne.

  35

  Raven

  “Raven Danvers,” he said my name in a familiar voice—the voice that had spoken to me in the cavern. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet your acquaintance. I’m Arthur.”

  I blinked a few times, halfway expecting everything to dissolve around me again. But the room stayed the same. Down to the wooden round table in the center of it and the man sitting on the throne in front of me.

  “Arthur,” I repeated the name. “As in King Arthur?”

  “One and the same.” He raised his arms, motioning around himself. “Welcome to my throne room.”

  “I don’t understand.” I shook my head, still
trying to make sense of it all. “What happened to Noah? And Selena?”

  “They’re both fine,” he said as if it was no big deal. “They were never here at all. They weren’t cursed in the first place. Noah is still in his rowboat on his way to Avalon, and Selena hasn’t even been born yet. That situation was just a test to see whose life you’d choose to save. To see where your true loyalty stands.”

  “Seriously?” I glared up at him and reached for my sword, but it was gone. Dissolved along with everything else. “One of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make in my life, and it wasn’t even real? It was just a test?”

  He might be a king, but I couldn’t help it—I was angry. Who wouldn’t be, after what he’d just put me through?

  “Everything since you woke up in the cavern has been a test,” he said. “Your soul is here in my realm, but your body is still on that rowboat headed to Avalon.”

  “So this is all happening in my mind,” I realized. “It isn’t real.”

  “Just because it’s happening in your mind doesn’t mean it isn’t real,” King Arthur said. “Think of it like a simulation. Every decision you made on your journey from the cave to this room with me was evaluated to see if you’re worthy of entering Avalon.”

  “I failed. Didn’t I?” I asked. “That’s why the test ended after I saved Noah instead of Selena. I made the wrong decision.”

  “Neither decision was wrong,” he said kindly.

  “By saving Noah, I let Selena die. I most likely doomed the world to darkness. How’s that not wrong?”

  “By saving Noah, you look a leap of faith,” he countered. “A bond like the one you have with Noah is rare. By choosing him, you showed you’d do anything for love. That’s not a bad thing.”

  “But I still failed the test,” I said. “That’s why it ended so suddenly. Right?”

  “On the contrary,” he said with a knowing smile. “Your performance in the simulation was one of the best I’ve ever seen.”

  My mouth dropped wide open. “You can’t be serious,” I said once I got ahold of myself. “I mean, I didn’t even need to fight anything. I barely did anything.”

  “You made choices that led to peace,” he said. “That’s far more valuable than fighting. Don’t you agree?”

  “I guess.” I shrugged. “But I still don’t feel like I did anything spectacular.”

  “Let me walk you through the aspects of the test.” He looked around and chuckled, as if amusing himself. “Assuming you don’t have anywhere else to be?”

  “Sure.” I reached for one of the chairs around the table, figuring we’d be here for a while. Then I realized it might not be acceptable to sit without the King Arthur’s permission… especially since it looked like I was inviting myself to sit at the legendary Round Table itself. “Is it okay if I sit?” I asked.

  “Make yourself comfortable.”

  The chair was one of those big wooden medieval plush types. I turned it around to face King Arthur’s throne and took a seat.

  “Let’s start from the beginning,” he said once I was situated. “Choosing a weapon. Three of the weapons were created with light magic, and one was created with dark, evil magic. So only one weapon in the group of four was the ‘wrong’ choice.”

  “The trident,” I said instantly.

  “Yes.” He nodded. “It was the most powerful of the four. But a person who naturally leans to the side of good would be repulsed by it.”

  “I could feel the darkness in it when I used it,” I told him. “It made me feel icky down to my core.” I shuddered again just thinking about it.

  “You threw it down in the middle of the field because you didn’t want to touch it anymore.” He chuckled. “Your soul doesn’t resonate well with dark magic. Which is, obviously, a good thing. And it’s what caused the ‘icky’ feeling you had while holding the trident.”

  He paused for a moment, snapped his fingers, and a glass of red wine appeared on the arm of his chair. He raised it and took a sip. “Do you want a drink?” he asked. “I can whip up anything you want.”

  “Hot chocolate?” It had always been a favorite of mine. Especially after a rough day.

  He snapped his fingers again, and a mug of hot chocolate appeared on the table next to me.

  I took a sip of it, cautious in case it was too hot. But it was the perfect temperature. And it was delicious.

  “This is the best hot chocolate ever,” I said.

  “One of the perks of this realm.” He smiled. “Anyway, as for the other three weapon options, they simply show what type of fighter you are,” he continued. “Offensive, defensive, or distance. Your choice of the sword showed a preference to the offensive. You like to be in full control of the situation around you. Sound about right?”

  “It does.” I nodded. I was one of the first to admit that I could be a bit of a control freak.

  Nothing wrong with that. It was better than being a flake.

  “Next, you followed the path through the woods, walking through blisters and thirst,” he said. “Many get frustrated and angry at this point. They don’t know anything about where they’re heading, and that path can seem endless. But not you. You plowed through with sheer determination.”

  “I thought Avalon would be at the end of the path,” I said. “I need to get to Avalon to save my mom. And to be reunited with Noah and the others.”

  “So your love for those close to you kept you going.” He paused, as if sizing me up, and continued. “After stopping for a well deserved drink of water, you had to choose between the unicorn and the wyvern.”

  “Dragon,” I corrected him.

  He raised an eyebrow, surprised I’d interrupted.

  I was surprised myself. “Sorry.” I hung my head, embarrassed for interrupting a king. But I wasn’t going to pretend like I was stupid, either. “But I definitely had to choose between a unicorn and a dragon.”

  “Dragons and wyverns can easily be mistaken for each other when one doesn’t know how to distinguish between the two,” he said. “For simplicity sake, dragons have four legs and wyverns have two. A wyvern’s arms are fused to its wings, whereas a dragon’s wings are a force of their own. But most importantly, dragons are shapeshifters. Wyverns are not.”

  “You mean there are people who can shift into a dragon, just like Noah can shift into a wolf?” I asked, shocked.

  “There are,” he said. “Although dragons are a unique species of shifter, thanks to their connection with the elements. And they retreated to their own realm many millennia ago. They haven’t been seen on Earth since.”

  “Oh.” I deflated, disappointed.

  “You wanted to meet a dragon?” he asked.

  “It would be cool,” I said. “But more importantly, it sounds like dragons would be helpful in fighting against the demons. If the dragons are on our side, of course.”

  “They most certainly would be helpful,” he agreed. “But only fate will tell when they return. Anyway, we’re getting off course from my explanation of your performance in the simulation. Where were we?”

  “My choice between the unicorn and the wyvern,” I said.

  “Yes, yes.” He smiled and sipped his wine. “Typically, a person will make their choice. The animal they didn’t choose will be insulted about not being picked, and will attack.”

  “Even the unicorn?” I couldn’t picture Annar being so vicious.

  “You should see what they can do with those horns,” he said. “Anyway, when the creature not chosen attacks, it’s up to the person being tested to defend themselves and survive. You, however, made your choice with grace. You treated both creatures with the respect they deserved. You gained rapport with both of them and the wyvern flew off peacefully. Needless to say, you aced that portion of the test.”

  “I love animals,” I explained. “And I didn’t want to get on the wyvern’s bad side.”

  “You succeeded.” Pride shined in his eyes as he looked down at me. “Then you continued onto my perso
nal favorite part of the simulation. The encounter with Grendel.”

  “The giant?” I asked.

  “Yes.” He nodded. “He’s unfortunately vilified in the stories told on Earth, and he can be scary if need be. But his soul is inherently gentle. As you saw today.”

  “When I freed him.”

  “By freeing him, you demonstrated a keen sense of observation and empathy,” he said. “It earned you and your unicorn golden apples.”

  “Without the apples, we would have been attacked in that forest,” I said.

  “Many times,” he confirmed. “Those who kill Grendel pay for it in the forest. They have to face off against many dangerous creatures. Only strong fighters make it through.”

  “So I got a free pass.”

  “Not at all,” he said. “By showing Grendel compassion, the creatures of the forest showed you compassion in return. It was earned, and well deserved.”

  “Thank you.” I blushed and sipped my hot chocolate. Inwardly, I was glad I didn’t have to fight the creatures of the forest. My fighting skills weren’t there.

  Yet.

  “After the forest, your choices showed more about your character,” he continued. “You chose the palace next to the sea, showing you have an affinity for water. Choosing the knowledge vial showed your wisdom, or potential for it. And then, your final choice to save Noah demonstrated your willingness to do anything for those you love. Congratulations, Raven—you’re continuing onto Avalon. Your determination, empathy, and unwavering love for those close to you will be a blessing to us all.”

  “What about the others?” I asked. “Are they continuing onto Avalon, too?”

  “You’ll find out when your boat arrives to the island,” he said. “But for now, I must wish you goodbye. And good luck. You have many trials ahead, but after your excellent showing in the simulation, I have no doubt you’ll succeed.”

  I opened my mouth to ask him about the upcoming trials, but the room dissolved around me before I had a chance.