Epilogue

Hel

Still bound physically and magically with Hela's ropes and magic, Rose continued to scream and sob as they crossed through the black portal; leaving the castle, her clan, and her dying mate behind. Entering through the portal felt like she was falling deeply into one of her nightmares again, but this time, this was a nightmare that she would never wake up from. For a moment, it felt like she was falling in endless darkness, until she, Hela and Kevin suddenly stepped out into a world that was as horrible as she remembered dreaming about.

The air was dense, thick, and full of ash and smoke. The vegetation was all dead, pokey and full of thorns. Nothing thrived here and nothing grew. The world they stepped into was all red and black, like her magic, Hell was full of smoking red smoking hills, red sand, red rocks… but then black vegetation. High above the red atmosphere, a black and starless universe loomed above them, giving her the sense that she was truly sitting on the edge of the world, far, far away from the world she once knew. She hated this place already, and couldn't believe that she was being dragged here against her will.

Hela stood her up to her feet, glanced over at her with wary eyes as the shock of crossing through worlds shocked her into not crying or screaming anymore, then began walking along the dead grass.

"Can I smack that stupid look off her face?" Kevin grumbled.

"No," Hela snapped at him, grabbing onto Rose's ropes and bringing her closer. "You may not."

Since she was still bound, Rose couldn't fight against Hela as they walked towards a very large, sharply edged, black and terrifying castle in the distance. The more Rose looked around, the more she couldn't feel her body, her mind was lost, and nothing felt right. Ever since crossing through that portal, the light within her bond to Brooklyn snuffed out and went dark; like someone blew out a candle. But worse than that… it was silent. She had no idea if it was Hel's magic stopping her from feeling Brooklyn, or if he actually died…

She couldn't bear to think about that. He wasn't dead.

He wasn't.

He couldn't be.

Rose silently looked around the awful world of Hel and felt like she had stepped into a furnace. It was uncomfortably hot, but then they would hit pockets of unbearable cold and ice, which were caused by the hundreds and hundreds of Draugr flying and sitting around them. Her eyes then went wide as she caught a cliff and saw more of the distant land of Hel, and gasped.

Not hundreds.

But hundreds of thousands of black skeletal figures lined the land, and were roaming aimlessly, waiting for their purpose to take life from Avalon and the Mortal World.

Watching. Waiting. Hungry.

For some reason, she could feel their intensity from where she was, even with Hela's magic protecting them. The Draugr they did pass, shocked Rose, because instead of snarling at her; they bowed and gave her respect. She wasn't sure if it was because Hela was holding her at her side, or if it was because she was their daughter and had finally come home.

Home.

Her eyes filled with tears and that word made her want to rip her brains, and the remaining parts of her soul and heart out. She didn't want to think about her real home… about what Brooklyn did for her and her unborn child to live… didn't want to think about where she was now and why she was there.

Rose closed her eyes and let tears fall down her face, as her, Hela and Kevin walked silently towards the huge black castle. The closer they got to it, the worse she was feeling; and the longer she stayed in Hel, the weaker and more deeply pulled into her depression she felt. Kevin walked ahead of them, up the large cobblestone steps where two Draugr were standing guard, and motioned them to move away.

Seeing him and their Queen approach, they bowed, then quickly opened the heavy black oak doors.

Rose flinched and recoiled slightly, and tried again to run from Hela's grasp, but she guided her forward still. As the doors opened, the cold, blackness that was greeting her felt like she was walking through the jaws of a monster.

No, don't make me go in there! She screamed out in her mind, and knew deep down in her soul that if she entered through those doors, that she would never again be able to leave and see the light of day. Hela felt her flinch and begin to fight, and held onto her tighter still. Yet, when she turned towards Rose; and their two hazel eyes met, Rose was shocked to see that they were softer than they were before. Less… fearsome.

"Come, Rose… there's nothing to be afraid of, my dear. You are a Daughter of Death, Princess to this world. This is your new home now…"

"No…" Rose begged her, barely able to breathe. "No, please!" But Hela led her through them anyway and into the dark space of the castle, she could only close her eyes and keep them shut as the doors shut behind her, with a loud and booming, BANG.

When she opened her eyes again, it took some time for them to acclimate to the darkness as the castle was dimly lit with only a few fire torches. It was an empty shell of a place, with no comfort like Castle Wyvern had, and was truly fit for the world of the dead. Hela kept her hand tightly gripped on Rose and together they all continued to walk down the dark hallway, going nowhere familiar.

"Where… where are we going?" Rose finally mustered to ask. Kevin stayed silent, but Hela answered her with a soft voice.

"Why... to meet your father, of course. Lord Demetrius has been anxious to finally meet you."

Rose's eyes widened and could only continue to be dragged towards another set of large oak doors, where more Draugr were standing outside of. Their iciness hit her soul, and it was something she didn't think she could ever get used to. But remembering Titania's treatment here of being thrown in their dungeons, surrounded by Draugr, she had a feeling she was in for a very deadly, and tormentous remainder of her life.

The Draugr saw them approaching and instantly opened the large oak doors, where they walked into a very large and open throne room. There, in the center of it, sitting on his throne was a Third Race male…

A Lord, a very powerful one.

Rose could feel the dark magic flowing off of him and wanted to fight away from Hela's grasp to try to escape again, even more now, but she couldn't move nor keep her eyes off of him. The man was tall and muscular and was not at all skeletal as she imagined the Lord of the Dead to look like. He was relatively young looking, had smooth light tan skin, like hers and Hela's, and elven, pointed ears.

As she approached him, she gasped and knew where her looks came from. Yes, she had magical properties like Hela and the same hazel eyes as hers, in human form, but nothing else was inherited from her mother physically.

But this man… this man looked just like her.

He had long, straight deep red hair which was half pulled up and braided. He had a very muscular and strong jawline, a slightly pointed nose, and eyes that glowed like two burning golden-yellow ambers. He was extremely handsome, and when she glanced over at Hela once more, she saw why they both were attracted to each other. Hela was an incredibly gorgeous Fae, but so was her father.

Seeing his glowing amber eyes, her Fae form shown to her in her dream, suddenly made sense to Rose, and why she too had glowing eyes of amber which looked to be made from fire. This Lord of Death didn't have wings that she could see, and Rose was sure that she probably inherited those from her mother, before she cut them off. Or so Puck said the story went.

Both of them were very powerful Gods of Death, but even over Hela's incredible powers, Demetrius was reeking of dark power.

Lord Demetrius was wearing black armor mixed with black leather that looked like dragon or snake scales, a long black cape that came out from the shoulders. He was holding a staff that had a crystal ball of swirling white and red power in his strong hands, and wore a crown of thorns, that had red fire burning over them, on top of his head.

He stared at Rose the entire time Hela was guiding her through the long room towards him, and studied her carefully. When they stopped, Hela gently pushed her forward and forced her to be on her knees before his throne. Still unable to use her magic, or be free of the chains holding her bound, Rose hated every second of this, but had no choice but to comply and kneel before this Dark Lord. She closed her eyes and held her breath, waiting for his evil treatment of her. Titania had said that he was a force much more evil and dangerous than Hela was, and she hadn't forgotten that.

Silence passed between them all for a few seconds, so much so, that Rose slowly peaked her eyes up through her hair and saw him still staring at her with great interest.

Studying her.

"Why is she bound?" He finally asked in a voice so deep, silky and chilling, despite its warmth richness.

"She was a bit… difficult to bring in." Hela answered him smoothly.

"Aren't all children difficult?" He mused quietly and lightly, and Hela shrugged.

Rose gritted her teeth and already hated them both. Of course you wouldn't know. You murdered the people who RAISED me, you bitch!

Demetrius snorted suddenly, and when Rose looked up at him, he looked extremely amused… as if he read her thoughts in her mind…

She returned his expression with a glare of deep hatred, making him smile even wider. He then clicked his tongue and broke away from Rose's gaze, and she suddenly felt like her mind was free somehow.

"Who brought her in? Kevin or you, my love?"

"Technically, I did." Hela answered darkly, turning to Kevin with a cold expression. He had found a wall in a dark corner to fold his arms and lean against, and looked bored. "His attempt was… admirable before he let his emotions get the best of him."

Kevin threw her a nasty look, but still didn't say anything.

"I would still say that he has accomplished what he's been instructed to do." Demetrius said lightly, now completely ignoring Rose. They were talking about her, as if she wasn't in the room, which was making her even more angry.

HELLO!? I am still here! Aren't you going to perform your evil little spells of torture on me?!

She just wanted all of this nightmare to get over with, but again, to her shock, an amused smile split across his face and then his amber eyes went down to her hazel ones. Rose's eyes narrowed at him, then decided to test something.

Can you read my mind?

Demetrius suddenly winked once, making her jolt in horror, and then looked back up at Hela. "Has she complied with you since bringing her in?"

"Yes, for the most part."

"Then unchain her, my love. She is growing most impatient to show us her spark of fight that she has left in her." He said quietly, and Rose still didn't dare to raise her head and look at him. "But she'll soon learn that there is nowhere she can go now."

"And her… magic?"

Demetrius chuckled lightly. "I dare her to try to use it against me. She'll quickly learn her place…"

Bastard.

He grinned again, showing off his bright white fanged smile, making more rage flow through her.

He thought this was amusing…

Suddenly, Rose felt a force of dark magic flowing through her from Hela, and the ropes, holding her hostage, snapped free and her magic was allowed to flow through her, once again. Relieved to be free, she took a deep but gasping breath, and was able to bring her hands together and hold them. Anything to hold onto, was a blessing for her in that moment, as she was shaking so badly. She felt more unsafe than ever before because Hela and Demetrius could both penetrate her mind, like a knife through soft butter, and she refused to become their slave.

Now that her magic was set free, she instantly shielded her mind from him, as best as she could; as well as her child, which incredibly, never faded.

Demetrius' large black boots suddenly moved against the stone floor near her face, and then his knee landed on the other side of her, as well as his staff. He gently brought his hand forward, touched underneath her chin and slowly raised her face up to look into his.

Her hazel eyes met his and she couldn't seem to breathe properly.

Like Hela, he felt strangely familiar to her but in the worst way, and the moment his skin touched hers, it was like fire and she could feel him in her mind. His touch so far was gentle and was as if he was the one nervous to break her. His glowing yellow-amber eyes pierced through hers, and he was digging through every inch of who she was; her experiences and memories.

Mind control and reading.

That was what he could do… and that's where she had gotten it. To him, it was as easy as a touch, and as easy as a glance into her eyes before she was hooked to him and his control, unable to fight away from his hold. His power was so cold and dark, she didn't breathe the entire time. She tried to mentally push him back, but the more she tried, the more dizzy she became, and he was even more amused.

"Interesting…" He suddenly whispered and more silence passed between them as he dove down deeper into her mind. Though she was weak against him, she still pushed against his mind as hard as she could, having never done so before, but he was toying with her and testing her strength. His face remained calm, while she started to sweat in fighting against him. Puck had never taught her how to do this, and had no idea if it could be done, but she was trying. Anything to fight for her right to be in control of herself and her mind.

But suddenly, his dark magic struck against her mental shield, like icy fire, and instantly made her world grow fuzzy and weak.

Then, he took it down, and all of her mind was in the palm of his hands.

Gasping out, she was suddenly frozen by him as he got to know her by looking through the images in her head like a photo book. Then he went deeper into her soul, touched the soul-bond that was dark and silent. She felt his hungry interest, scooped through her mind more, and then saw images of Brooklyn. He then went deeper into her soul, stroked the dormant dark magic within her and at his dark touch, the dark magic burst to life inside of her like a flame of icy darkness.

"Hmmm… yes." He whispered in approval, finally releasing her. She gasped out a breath and collapsed at his feet, as he stood up. "This is indeed our daughter. I can feel her great power within her; she is strong. But her human form is weak and is nothing compared to ours. I could barely look into her mind without almost losing her to unconsciousness."

"I will remedy that very soon, my love." Hela whispered, coming up to stand next to him. "She will soon be the daughter I gave birth to, very soon."

Demetrius stared at Rose, who remained silent and gasping, and then started to flip through her mind like a private diary. She tried to fight and push him back, but he smiled a very white, straight and fanged smile at her and started pushing buttons.

"Hmm, yes. I see… she grew up quite ordinarily a human, something we'll fix right away. Then.. she was married and abused by Kevin… something not quite in my taste, but if that's what my Queen believed was right to turn her heart and soul dark, then that's what needed to be done, I suppose. Oh, and she's found out the truth about her adoptive parents' real deaths… hmmm… oh… and her Gargoyle mate. Yes, I see him… aren't you two so sweet together?" He said this last part in a sneer, which brought rage into her being. She knew he was trying to egg her on, for a reaction, and he was about to get one.

"Brooklyn… is it?" Demetrius continued, stirring through her brain like a stew and finding every intimate detail surrounding him, rubbing in her face what she was separated from. "Oh… you two had such an… interesting relationship, didn't you? A soul-bond of pure love and light from Allfather Aesir himself, how wonderful. He bestowed this gift upon you two to protect you… from myself and my Queen. But we've still won… which tells you which kind of magic is stronger."

Rose felt herself truly panic, but he chuckled darkly then continued, "Your bond is now silent, because that kind of magic can't flourish here." He looked more into her mind against her will, and continued to expose her. "Ohh, yes…there was a lot of love-making between you two, I see… a lot of light and love shared… hmmm, Brooklyn was fighting away the darkness within you, Rose." He paused again, then clicked his tongue. "Well… it's a good thing Hela took you when she did, then. Had you stayed near him much longer, our plan would have surely failed."

He stroked her mind again- making her gasp out in pain- as it was growing increasingly, horribly painful. It felt like he was now scraping a sharp knife against her brain, which is the treatment she had been expecting from her first visit here in Hel.

"I see that Hela stabbed your beloved… oh well… how terrible for you. Don't you worry, with him gone out of your life, you won't miss him. You'll get over it soon enough, love is so overrated..."

"Get the HELL out of my head!" Rose snarled and pushed against him mentally as hard as she could, hating him for even bringing up Brooklyn and dangling that image in front of her. She still didn't know if he was alive or not, but she was trying not to think about it and instead was trying to fight off the demon standing in front of her.

Demetrius did as she said, smirked at her, and then slowly stood up.

"So much potential…" He whispered, looking down at her hungrily. "So much raw power, darkness and anger... it's so beautiful… Hela… look at our daughter! Can't you sense her great powers?"

"I can, my love…"

"Rose… our little thorned flower… you shall be our salvation!" He said, lowering himself down to his knee in front of her again. "We shall hone your inner darkness and all of the hatred you have for us, all of that fiery rage, we'll use against all of those who have betrayed us and bring them to their knees." He paused, then looked deeply into her eyes. "Just think… if you are this powerful now, as untrained as you truly are, imagine what you'll look like when you submerge yourself into pure evil… and into my teachings."

Rose stared back into his eyes and let her mind go numb, emotionless. But deep down, she knew that she needed to find a way back home to Brooklyn. She needed to get back to her real home, and into the safety of her mate's arms.

"Oh, my darling daughter." Demetrius suddenly whispered, reading her mind again. "You are home now."

Prick! You scaly, disgusting, slimy bastard!… Then again, that smile from him that she already hated more than anything, flew across his face.

Why thank you… His deep voice slithered into her mind, making her entire body seize with disgust. She didn't want to share her mind with anyone accept her mate. This was wrong, this felt so unnatural and wrong.

"Will killing someone turn me evil?" She suddenly asked him in a numb voice, and he grinned darkly.

"It might." He then raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do you ask? Are you already willing to dip your toes in the waters of evil?"

"I might be willing…" she whispered. "Just to do… this!"

With a lightning quick reflex, she whipped out a sword from her magic and shot it at him with all of her might, screaming in rage as she went. He, Hela and Kevin were going to die for what they did to Brooklyn, and for tearing her from him. The room exploded with light and power, and Demetrius' hand suddenly raised up, stopping the sword inches from his face, and his powers bound hers like ice, and again, she couldn't move or use it any longer.

To her side, Hela held her own hand up and power shot out, the same time Demetrius' did, and was freezing Rose, even more. Both looked angry, and she was gasping in breaths, trying to fight away from them, but she couldn't move an inch and was frozen by so much ice and darkness.

Demetrius tisked his tongue in disapproval, shook his head at her and then looked over at Hela.

"My dear? It would appear that our daughter needs to learn a lesson and some manners of respect first, before we use her for our use. Kindly take her to her bedroom, where she will remain there until I feel like she's been thoroughly humbled, and begins to act like a lady."

"Yes, my Lord." Hela said, nodding her head, and instantly bound Rose with rope again. Demetrius ran a long finger down her face, and she wished that she could have moved her head to bite his finger off.

"Rose… my dear… the sooner you learn humility, the better off you'll be." He whispered softly, dangerously. "So, on top of staying in your bedroom and remaining in isolation, to further teach you humility… you shall be Kevin's pet once again. He, perhaps, can teach you a few lessons in humility… once again."

Rose gasped, and behind her, Kevin moved off the wall, his attention fully on his Lord now. Hela froze and looked up at her husband with disapproval.

"But…" Demetrius raised a finger up, looked at Kevin, dangerously and said, "There will be absolutely no beating or raping allowed. Do you understand me? You shall get your reward of a new body for bringing her into us, as we've promised you, but you'll find other means to make her humble."

Kevin stared over at him with a very dark smile and nodded.

"It'll be my pleasure, my Lord."

Demetrius nodded, then flicked Rose away with his hand and she went tumbling away from him and landed on the floor in front of Hela's feet.

"Get her out of my sight."

Hela immediately picked her up, but Rose was able to speak again.

"SO THAT'S IT?!" She instantly screamed as Hela began dragging her away again. "That's your master plan and why you took me away from my mate? It was to lock me away in my bedroom like a child!? And for WHAT? DISRESPECTING YOU!?"

"Yes. Simple as that." He mused, sitting back down upon his throne. "Pray that I don't punish you further, you'll remain in your room until you learn your place, then, yes, we shall see if you are mature enough to handle a simple conversation without trying, so pathetically, to try to assassinate the Lord of Death. Later, we shall discuss more pressing things that you are here for. I shall see you soon, my daughter, and hopefully the next time we speak you'll have learned more humility before your father and Lord."

"You're NOT my father!" Rose seethed.

"Oh…" He laughed darkly. "But I am. I helped create you, you know, and what a fun time that was."

Rose flipped him off in her mind, gritted her teeth at him in pure rage, and swore she saw another smile split across his face.

She then looked over and saw Kevin, and the same stupid smirk. One she wanted to rip off. But worse than that, he looked triumphant. Demetrius said that he could play with her… teach her humility again, and whatever he was planning would not be a good thing. She planned to cut his hands off every time he tried to touch her, regardless if he could put them back together, but she was going to cut him apart and make him hurt.

"See you soon... babe." He whispered mockingly, as the doors slammed shut in her face.

Rose was beyond enraged, but had to follow Hela, who was already bringing her to another room across the castle. When they reached the room, Hela opened the door, shut it behind her and then released Rose. The room was larger than her bedroom back at the castle, had many windows- which were draped shut- and in the center of the dark room was a very large four-poster bed. Across the bedroom, was a very large, walk-in bathroom, and closet, but she didn't care about any of that.

She fell to the ground again onto her knees and instantly whipped herself back onto her feet and faced Hela.

Seething.

"WHY DID YOU BRING ME HERE!?"

"Because you are our daughter and are needed here." Hela answered simply, un-phased by her anger. Rose growled, gritted her teeth, and then went to activate her magic against Hela to attack her, but with a snap of her fingers, Hela held her magic hostage again. Screaming out in anger, she struggled against the invisible ropes of magic, gnashed her teeth at her and suddenly started seeing bright red, as her eyes glowed.

"I hate you!"

"One day, my sweet daughter." Hela whispered. "You'll realize what I've done for you, and you'll thank me for it."

"Don't hold your breath, you murderous, conniving, narcissistic bitch!"

Hela flinched slightly at her words, and then her eyes and facial expression went cold and hard.

"I hope you enjoy your stay with us because it will be for a very, very long time. So, you best be getting used to it." She turned to leave, then stopped at the door and looked back at her. "The bathroom is there for your use, and has all of the accommodations that you had in the mortal world as well as running water. We have servants here that'll attend to your laundry needs. Meals will be served every day, three times a day, and I'll either come and get you, our servants will, or Kevin will accompany you. Until then… get some rest. We have much to do and it'll be best if you would cooperate with us. Your father has a temper I don't wish for you to truly witness…"

Rose continued to struggle against her magic in rage and then watched her start to leave and then, against her pride, she cried out in desperation, "WAIT! Wait, please. Just… tell me one thing!"

"What?" Hela snapped, pausing with her hand on the door.

"Why haven't you told Demetrius about my baby?" Rose whispered, not understanding how he didn't see that in her mind, but she was thankful for it.

Hela froze, then slowly turned to face her. "He shall find out soon enough, and since I saw that he couldn't see that in your mind, I will wait to tell him."

"Why?" Rose asked suspiciously.

"Because your child might be of some use to us, after all. So, I suggest that you try to be grateful that I'm letting it live inside of you longer."

"Why did you try to kill it before then?"

"I only pretended to kill your pregnancy, so that your mate would jump in the way and sacrifice himself for you and your child." Hela explained darkly. "I knew Brooklyn was going to do it and I needed that sacrifice to be made to teach you another lesson… which is the most important one of all."

Rose froze now and stared at Hela with wide eyes

"You… you what?" She gasped. "You… planned for him to do that?"

"I did." She answered coolly. "Brooklyn was so easy to read, and of course because I am the Goddess of Death, it was my way of showing you that life…" she paused, and then turned away from her and whispered, "... is so fleeting sometimes."

Tears filled Rose's eyes and she felt like she was going to fall… and keep falling. She hated asking this, but she needed to know… she had to know…

"You… you tricked him into sacrificing himself for me?" She whispered through tears.

"I did." Hela whispered back, then turned and stared at her without emotion. "I had to teach you one last lesson before bringing you here, my darling. Everything I've done has been for your development and dark magic nourishment. First, with your adoptive parent's deaths… I taught you grief. Then, through the abuse with Kevin, I taught you darkness and hatred… but you truly didn't love Kevin. Not like how much you loved Brooklyn." She paused, then breathed. "So that's the third lesson I had to give you. I had to let you experience and lose all that tied your soul to the light, to feel the extreme loss of lost love. In order to truly become who we need you to be, you had to lose him."

Rose was falling… into forever darkness, into hatred, into all that she had left within her dark soul. She gripped her hands into fists and whispered through gritted teeth.

"Is Brooklyn alive?" She hissed dangerously. Hela remained silent for a few seconds and she snapped; shrieking, "TELL ME! IS HE ALIVE!?"

"No, he is not." Hela whispered, and stared at her without emotion. Through all of her hatred and rage, Rose gave out a dry sob, covered her mouth and stared at her with wide eyes. This all had to be a trick, a cruel… evil… trick.

"No…" She breathed through ragged breaths. "No… y-you're l-lying."

Hela suddenly walked through the doorway, turned back and stared back at her.

"I am not."

"YOU'RE LYING!"

"No. I'm not."

Rose stopped, gasped in more air and sobbed, "H-how could you do that to me?! H-how could y-you be s-so evil and cruel? He... BROOKLYN WAS MY MATE!"

Hela stared at her hard and cold, without emotion and then whispered, "Well, he isn't anymore."

Rose clutched her heart, backed away from Hela and couldn't breathe. She swore that this pain was going to kill her right on the spot.

Hela watched her begin to collapse, and then said, "Rose… I am the Goddess of Death. Death is what I do… and that is exactly what needed to be done to finish our work on your soul. I killed your adoptive parents and now I've killed off your mate, Brooklyn, and your soul-bond to him. That's why it's silent and dark… it's because your mate is dead. He died to save you from me… but it all went to waste." Her eyes flowed bright red and then sneered in a cold tone. "Which is a shame and such a pity, but he's gone. His spirit has moved on without you, he lost, and so have you. Your soul is now… ours."

At her words, Rose's world crumbled all around her, a roaring exploded in her ears, and she suddenly couldn't feel or see anything. Without another word more, Hela shut the door, locking her in her room, and instantly her panic and loneliness crept in… threatening to devour her…

"No…" She whispered to herself, in complete denial still and her magical ropes faded as Hela walked away. "No… she… she... she's lying! Brooklyn… he… he's alive! He HAS to be… he has to be!"

She started crying and hyperventilating while she looked around the room and then suddenly went to grab the door, but a shield of magic stopped her from grabbing the door handle.

A thick layer of a wall was shielding her in this room, locking her in.

Trapped... she was trapped.

"NO!" She gasped, then ran all around the room, pushing at every wall, door, and window.

Locked in. She was locked in.

"No! No! NOOOO!" She screamed out, her mind was spinning, and Brooklyn…

Brooklyn…

"No!" she suddenly began sobbing and crying. "Brooklyn… isn't dead... No… no… he can't be! NOOOOO! BROOKLYN!"

But the truth came crashing down upon her, and the image of him throwing himself in front of Hela's sword to save her and her unborn child played through her head, over and over again. The gurgling sounds he made, his gasping for shallow breath… all of the blood… Rose looked down at her bloodied outfit, most of the blood being hers, but she saw the dried blood that was left on her arms from when his blood sprayed her, and she felt herself falling again, spinning into madness.

Brooklyn was dying before she was forced through the portal. She had felt him fading in their bond, his heart was giving out and when she came through, their soul-bond went dead and silent; which couldn't have been a coincidence.

Hela was telling her the truth… which meant that her mate was dead.

Brooklyn was dead.

Oh God! BROOKLYN!

The truth crushed her into nothing… after everything she had endured, everything she had put up with, this was it. This was the last straw. She was broken, shattered, and completely dead inside as well. A life without Brooklyn was not a life she was willing to live.

"Brooklyn… no…!" She moaned out in complete grief, and red, electrified magic suddenly encompassed her entire body. Her eyes lit up brightly, bright red, her body shook, and dark magic boiled through her, like a bomb. She hated Hela, she hated Demetrius and Kevin… with a raging loathe that was consuming her. They were going to burn for what they've done…

The love of her life was dead and gone, and it was all of their fault.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, BROOKLYN, NOOOOOOOOOOO!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as tears streamed down her face, then fell. She collapsed to her knees on the cold stone floor and kept screaming, shaking the stone walls all around her. Bright red magic exploded out of her entire body, the second her knees hit the ground, like an explosion and engulfed her in fire. It bounced off Hela's shields and she willed it to break down the castle and take down the shield locking her in, trapping her, but nothing moved it.

She was still locked in...

However, the castle shook, and so she kept screaming, and screaming, and screaming, and screaming to let every creature, dead or alive, know that she was here. To let them know that she was going to destroy them all...

Brooklyn was dead… her mate was gone…

Dead… he was dead...

And soon, she hoped to be as well… because without him, she didn't know how she was going to breathe again.

He was her air. Her life. Her light.

And now, it was all gone.

From down the hallway, Hela stopped, and turned in the direction of her daughter's screaming, and internally felt herself fighting her own tears of grief and pain away. Rose's magic was pushing through the walls and touching every surface- burning it. She secretly hated that she lied to Rose and was the cause of her intense and great pain… as necessary as it was… it still tore her apart.

In truth, she saw that Brooklyn was currently in surgery for the sword she stabbed into him, but he didn't die. He was alive… but as long as Rose believed that he was, then they could turn her soul dark.

But that change came with a heavy price, one she hated watching her daughter pay.

Hela's heart shattered… and with a gasp of horror, she didn't realize that her heart was still there… and could be affected in that way.

It wasn't all taken away when Oberon took her soul...

Demona glanced up from the potion in the dungeons, and knew that scream. She gasped, and realized what it meant. The girl was here in the Castle... and then she heard the echoes from her screams that Brooklyn was dead… she was surprised and shocked. Horror flew through her at the news and she instantly thought of Goliath and Angela… were they okay as well? She hated them all to a point, minus her daughter, but they were still her Clan… and Brooklyn… yes, he hated her the most out of them all… but he was a fellow comrade, and she still cared.

She dropped the ladle on the cauldron of the potion, grabbed at her heart and closed her eyes in grief. The pain, all too familiar to her, as there have been too many Gargoyle lives lost.

Too many losses she's endured.

In the throne room, Demetrius looked up from what he was doing, saw and felt his daughter's powerful dark magic flowing through the castle walls, and grinned darkly. Her screams of grief and rage were like music to his ears. He had read Hela's mind and that she told their daughter that her mate was dead, and a dark smile split across his face. Her mate was dead! Their light soul-bond was broken… and now his daughter was his to control.

This news was too delicious to him… too perfect…

He laughed at his daughter's continued screams for her poor, beloved, and now dead Gargoyle mate, and rejoiced that Avalon would soon be his.

In just a short time, all of the world would soon be bleeding and bowing before him because the princess of Hel was awake, her soul has been darkened and pulled down by grief and hatred, and she has fallen from grace. Now… it was time for the curse to be activated, using Rose, and soon he would have his revenge. Finally, after all of these eons of waiting and enduring endless torment, his brother, Lord Oberon, his wife, Queen Titania, and their magical Children were going to be his to control.

And all of Avalon was finally… going to burn.

-The End

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! 2nd book down! WOW! It's been fun!

Thank you for reading and for all of your reviews. I appreciate them all, and hope to become a better writer. This is the end of this story, of 'Heart of Darkness,' but Rose and Brooklyn will be back. I'm so excited and happy to announce my third and last book, in 'The Heart Of Everything' series of Fan Fiction will be my third and final book for Rose and Brooklyn's love story.

Their story will continue in, 'Gargoyles: The Heart Of A Warrior,' by 'Sunmoonlight.'

I'm currently writing the last book now, and will be posting new chapters very soon. A lot of my process, right now, is brainstorming my ideas out and organizing myself. So, please be patient, and 'follow' my pen name.

I'll have chapters posted soon for 'Heart Of A Warrior,' and it'll be a good one! Promise!

Thank you so much again for all of your time and support.

Be kind and as always,

Shine on.

~Sunmoonlight