PENRYN

I stare at Laylah in shock, my whole body pulsating with anger. Seconds ago I was immersed in the happiness of being free; but now, not so much. Raffe turns to me, his dark hair sweeping across his forehead. "You did what?" He asks with such rage that I can't bring myself to look at him. I hastily push my hair in front of my shoulders, trying to hide the heat rising into my cheeks.

In front of me Laylah laughs a high pitched, squeaky squeal that makes me cringe like she has just run her nails down a chalk board. I bite my raw, fleshy lips and stare at Laylah. I want to hate her, to tell her that I owe her nothing; but she's right, I made a deal with her. She smiles at me with straight white teeth, and for a second I seriously consider knocking them out of her pretty mouth.

I turn to Raffe and shrug, my eyes low. "She helped me find you, and in return I promised that I would keep my distance from you." When I glance up his mouth is set into a thin line, and he seems unsure whether to be happy that I rescued him or mad that I made a deal with Laylah, of all people. He shakes his head at me and then, while still watching me, tells Laylah "Maybe Penryn is capable of keeping away from me; but at this point, I honestly don't think that I am capable of staying away from her."

My expression softens as his words sink in, and I stand there for a moment wishing that I could reach out and touch him, knowing that I can't. Laylah breathes heavily and furiously, nostrils flaring.

"That's irrelevant." She snaps. "She needs to stay away from you- that was the deal." She says stubbornly, and I sigh in defeat. Even though it hurts, deep down I know that it doesn't matter anymore that I can't be with him; I rescued him, he's safe, and that's all that matters. Besides, I need to focus on finding my mother and Paige again. There's no doubt in my mind that my mother will be up to some mischief, and I still owe her an explanation as to my dead-but-not-actually-dead scare. Actually, come to think of it, I still owe Raffe an explanation as to my dead-but-not-actually-dead scare.

Raffe shakes his head vigorously, his eyebrows furrowed. "What is the point of this Laylah? What are you trying to achieve?" He takes a step forward so that he's up in her face, and when he speaks his voice is strangely calm but menacing. "Do you honestly believe that something as insignificant as distance is going to stop me from being in love with her? Do you think that if I can't see her or talk to her I will stop caring? Do you honestly think-"Raffe throws his head back and laughs a short, non-humorous sound, "that I would ever fall for you?"

For a split second I am stunned. Raffe has never said he loves me before- ever. The last time I checked he 'didn't even like me'. I brush my fingers through my hair and watch the two people in front of me. Laylah looks as if she's just been slapped, but she redeems herself quickly.

"You know, Raphael, you should really be more grateful to me, since I rescued you from Hell." She says wryly, and I can't help but give her a sassy look, my inner teenaged girl shining through momentarily.

"What are you talking about? I don't recall you coming down into Hell with me to save him." I point out, and Laylah rolls her eyes daintily, as if she is the only intellectual amongst a group of uneducated fools.

"Oh, sweetheart," She chuckles, "all you did was get there- I did all the hard work. Trust me; down there maids don't just suddenly decide to help out strangers. Let's just say I have a friend living in the one of the cells whom I managed to convince to show Sarai the secret passageway. And then I had to rely on Sarai to do the rest of the dirty work, but she had been one of the original human's smuggled into Hell and turned into a demon, so she was one of the more compassionate ones." Laylah pauses for a brief second as if to make sure that we're taking it all in, but I stare at her like she's crazy. I guess to some extent, she is. "Anyway I knew that once she saw how miserable you both were she would use her new knowledge of the passageway to help you both escape. And now, here you are." She finishes her story with a little hair flip, and I glare at her in disbelief.

"Why would you help us?" Raffe asks, taking a step away slowly.

Laylah smiles sweetly, and it's exactly that kind of sugary sweetness that makes me want to be sick. "Well, I couldn't have my little Raffe down there forever now could I? That wouldn't have been fair for me, if I helped out Penryn and got nothing in return. So the only way I could assure that she held up her part of the deal was if I rescued you. In the beginning I had assumed that she was killed in the caves like the red-head boy, and then I found at who she really is. I was willing to leave Penryn down there, but I knew you wouldn't leave without her so I had to make sacrifices." She sighs, and then stares at me with pure hatred and repulsion. "Besides, she's easily disposable."

Raffe clears his throat, and reaches out his hand for me. I take it hesitantly, and Laylah's eyes blaze. "Well, thank you for your aid." Raffe says quietly. "But I'm afraid it's not possible for you to receive your end of the bargain." He tells her, and then turns to walk away, dragging me with him.

"I was afraid you might say that." Laylah trills out from behind us, and I watch her slowly, feeling tired physically and emotionally. The gentle pressure of Raffe's hand on mine is enough to keep me sane, but only barely. "This is why I had to concoct a Plan B. To escape Hell you had to cut your demon wings off, correct?" She asks, and Raffe and I both nod, even though this doesn't really involve me.

'Well then I shall give you a choice. You can keep the bargain, stay with me and leave the girl alone for good, or I shall call Beliel right now to come and kill you both." She grins evilly. "And he will come, because when Penryn stabbed him with the sword he became very angry, and he is looking for revenge. Now, last I heard, it is extremely hard to fight an angry demon without any wings or a sword, Raffe. So make your decision. Me or Beliel." Every fibre of her being screams smug and I want to kill her, I want to have her blood on my hands.

Raffe's expression is practically the same as I feel- ferocious and blood-thirsty. Laylah waits patiently and Raffe walks over to me, pushing my dark hair behind my ears. "Go and find your family Penryn. I have to go with her, to protect you." He whispers, leaning his forehead against mine. I close my eyes as he speaks, feeling his cool breath on my lips. "I'll be back for you, I promise." Raffe says solemnly, and then his voice is even more hushed and I have to strain my ears to hear him. "This isn't goodbye." He swears, and I nod, even though I don't completely believe it. He leans forward slowly and kisses my cheek, pressing his soft lips to my cheekbone.

"I love you, Penryn Young."

And then he's gone without a trace, as if he never even existed in the first place.