THE DEVIL'S BRIDE
Episode 42: The Name Beneath the Flame
By Rapwizzy Debaron
The wind whispered through the blood-stained valley.
Kael, bruised and breathless, stared at Evelyn—not as the frightened girl from a cursed village, but as something far more terrifying.
And beautiful.
"Your eyes," he murmured, "they burned like the sun… just like that day."
Evelyn frowned. "What day?"
Lucien stepped closer, his expression unreadable. "The Day of Sundering. The day the angel fell. The day Kael died."
---
Evelyn staggered.
Images flashed behind her eyes.
A cathedral suspended in clouds.
A sword kissed by divine fire.
Her wings spread wide, casting golden light over burning cities.
Her scream echoing across heaven as she fell—dragging Kael's soul with her.
A name echoed from the abyss:
Auriel.
That was her name once.
---
Seraphina watched from her tower.
"She remembers," she whispered.
The chained boy stirred again.
Tears slipped from his eyes.
"I tried to save her," he mumbled.
"You tried to save yourself," Seraphina corrected coldly. "You left her to fall."
The boy clenched his fists. "Let me go."
Seraphina tilted her head. "Soon. When the mirror shatters. When she becomes what the heavens feared."
---
In the valley, the ground pulsed.
A spiral of black vines erupted. From its center, a figure emerged.
Cloaked in crimson.
Face hidden.
But its voice was cold as ice.
"Evelyn of the Flame. Auriel of the Fall. The gods remember you."
Kael unsheathed his blade. "Who are you?"
The figure laughed softly. "I am the Archivist. Keeper of the Forbidden Book. And I have come to offer the bride… her true name."
---
The air went still.
Lucien narrowed his eyes. "You're not of this realm."
"No," the Archivist replied. "I was sealed between the stars when she fell."
He looked at Evelyn.
"Do you wish to know why the Devil chose you?"
Evelyn didn't breathe.
"Yes," she whispered.
---
The Archivist's hand ignited in flame, and from the void, he drew a golden scroll.
"Then remember this: You were not his bride by accident. You were his sentence. The heavens cursed you both to fall, bound together by betrayal, by love… and by blood."
Kael took a step back.
"What do you mean… blood?"
The Archivist smiled.
"Because before you were king, and she was light…"
"You were brothers."
---
Silence.
Thunder cracked across the sky.
Evelyn collapsed to her knees, the truth fracturing inside her like glass.
---
To be continued…
They were bound before time, cursed to love and destroy each other.
But what happens when love and blood collide?
Vote if that twist broke your brain.
Comment:
Is Evelyn ready to face the truth of Auriel?
Follow @RapwizzyDebaron — Episode 43 will dive into the Book of the Fallen.