THE SAINTS HAVE FALLEN: CHAPTER 32

The Saints Have Fallen is a YA Dark Romance Fantasy Novel written by Celine Mahadeo.

Novel. Fiction. Genre (Dark Romance Fantasy).

By Celine Mahadeo.

BLURB

After being stripped of his title as a God and turned into a demon in the presence of his brother, Yuri was banished to earth to live amongst the humans whom he hates. 200 years later, a young girl shows up at his doorstep holding both his life and death in her hands whilst not having any idea of the power in which she possesses.

Leave a comment (chapter thoughts) if you want more chapters!

Chapter 32

Ana.

“Yuri?” I trembled. “C-claude!” But he was already near me, helping him up. 

Soft hands touched my shoulders, bringing me up. Loraine.

“Breathe,” she instructed.

I watched as Claude and Byron carried him aside, but she held me with her, “Ana, breathe.”

The word felt like a slap on the face. He needed to breathe more than I did right now.

“Breathe and he will.”

My eyes shot to hers when she said that. “What?”

Loraine paused for a few moments and took an unsteady breath, “You can help him if you calm down. A God or Goddess can get severely wounded, but they cannot die, not unless they are pierced through the heart with a celestial blade.”

“A celestial blade?”

“It’s hard to miss, an onyx-bladed weapon with a scarlet hilt,” she sighed, “But that’s not important. Right now he needs to be nurtured back to health.” Loraine gave a reassuring smile, “I came because your heart was calling me, you were afraid. But I’m here to tell you that he will be alright.”

‘I was afraid’… The Goddess’s words stuck with me throughout the evening as I aided Lou in taking care of the unconscious Yuri in his bed. I prepared the ointments and heated the damped cloth as Claude and Byron guarded the house against the Gods knew what. Loraine had been a great comfort by staying with us and truly it did ease the anxiety I was having. I was afraid… The thought crept into my mind again as I sunk tiredly at the foot of my bed in my room. Was I truly afraid of something happening to Yuri to the extent I was feeling? Why had I reacted so intensely? That feeling… it was gutting and crushing all at once. It was as if the world had created a new gravity and was all at once crashing into my very being. I’d never felt like that towards a person before, not even my grandfather. So why him? He hated me just as much as I hated him. I hated him, didn’t I? And yet, when he fell and held onto me, the relief within his tone was deeply noticeable. Whatever happened in the otherworld, he sent Claude to protect us. And he- he came back for me. Was I thinking too much into this?

I sighed, feeling myself cringe. I was probably overthinking. I had to be. There’s no way he’d care that much for me- a human. And one whom he detests so dearly. A strange hymn came from behind me, and as I turned, I saw the faint glow of the book which was tucked beneath my pillow. All these horrible things that were happening, they all seemed to be getting worse the moment I got this book. Today Yuri was severely wounded. What if it had something to do with the book? What if it was because of me? That snake sorceress said my ‘magic’ was calling those unwanted. What if he was hurt because of me?

How could I be so stupid and naïve? I trusted that Silver Sorceress, Murvista, so blindly in the hopes of getting answers. And even if that book could somehow give me the answer to all my questions, it wasn’t worth putting the ones around me or anyone rather in danger. Hurting someone wasn’t my intention.   

I sat at the side of Yuri’s bed. He had been unresponsive for days and the empty silence was plaguing me. Claude had reassured me that this sort of healing process was normal for the Gods, but I found myself grieving internally. He was not dead, but he seemed to be in an endless sort of pain. Every time Lou and I changed his bandages, he would flinch in reflex. I wondered sometimes what he must have been dreaming of. If he was dreaming at all.

A sense of loneliness washed across me. Today was quieter than usual and extremely overcast. To a point where I felt my mood dampen. It reminded me of the day my grandfather passed away. I’d been so hopeless. For months I’d watch him wilt away. For months, I pretended to be cheerful and happy so that maybe, just maybe, some of that joy could make its way into him. So that he wouldn’t worry about me. But the truth was that I’ve always worried. I was hurting beyond anything I could have ever imagined. And I hid it. I hid it so well. I hid my tears into my pillow every night, and my worry within the shadows of every room. To watch the one person who loved you be taken away so ruthlessly from you. To know that any day he would be no more, my sweet grandpa. I was angry with God, with Mathias. My grandfather was a good man, he didn’t deserve to suffer like that. He didn’t deserve to die like that. But no one deserved that, no one deserves to suffer through cancer. And yet, my grandfather was never angry with Mathias. In fact, he accepted his death more willingly than I ever did.

My heart ached thinking about my grandfather. My gaze remained plastered on the rain-stained window when suddenly a soft sore voice trickled throughout my body, causing my pores to raise. “You look awful, human.”

“Yuri,” I breathed in relief as he shifted slightly on the bed. “Are you in pain? I’ll call Lou.”

“Don’t,” he grasped my hand, pulling me back. “I don’t need her.”

Nodding, I sat quietly next to him as he propped himself in a sitting position. He swallowed his groan as he did so. I reached for the glass of water nearby for him as he stared at me. Slowly reaching for the glass, locks of loose hair fell over his eye as he spoke, “You hadn’t left. You stayed in here for days. Why?”

“You were hurt and I- ” I paused as I reminded myself he wasn’t dead. He must have felt my presence around. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

For a split second, I thought the violet of his eyes softened towards me, but I was tired myself and I could have simply been imagining it. He attempted to get up but staggered as he did. I tried to steady him but found myself closer than I had intended to be. His loose white shirt hung lazily on his body as his black trouser remained low on his hip.

“Yuri, what happened to you back there?” I asked softly, without pulling back.

He let out a shallow breath and tilted his head slightly away from my gaze. I noticed the scars beneath the open part of his shirt were still raw and pink in its healing stage. And the bandaged part of his shoulder needed changing again. These types of wounds would surely kill a human. My stomach dropped just thinking about it- about him being wounded like that. He was holding back, there was something more. Something he wanted to say but didn’t. Something happened back there, I knew it, I felt it through the silence between us. He couldn’t look at me. He didn’t.

I reached out, “Your bandage needs changing,” I voiced, but he held my hand mid-air.

“Don’t,” he said, his voice was soft and chilly, “Please, leave.”

I opened my mouth to protest but I couldn’t. He still hadn’t looked at me. He still didn’t dare to. My heart clenched. I hadn’t expected him to push me away like that. Not when I had been here all this time. Not when I genuinely cared and worried about him. He didn’t want me here right now and I had to be okay with that. And yet, the organ behind the walls of my chest sank to the pit of my stomach with a cold dull ache.

I parted my lips to speak again, but all I found myself saying were two words. “I understand,” I whispered before I left.

I retreated. I sunk myself into the sofa and for days I wondered what was going on in his head. He hadn’t left the room. He didn’t allow any of us up there. At first, I accepted it, but I couldn’t understand why he was pushing us away. Tomai had been trying to get to his master, Claude had been visiting the otherworld and back on a daily basis, Lou and Byron had been their usual non-human selves, and me? I spent my days in the library, wondering, wandering, and reading. I hadn’t touched the book Murvista gifted me. There were days that felt heavy and the book almost seemed to be calling out to me, but I pulled back. Two weeks had passed, and I couldn’t handle a minute further of this nonsense. Tossing a glance over my shoulder, I saw Tomai crying at the end of the staircase and that truly gutted me, he missed his master. From what I understood, he’d never been away from him for so very long.

And me? I tried to push away my feelings. The way he couldn’t even look at me, how he told me nothing but to leave. After I stayed by his side for so very long, for days, to then be tossed away like that. No. no. I deserved a thank you at the very least.

Slamming the book shut, I took a sharp breath and marched towards the demon-God’s room. I had enough. This was childish. With three solid knocks, I pushed the door open and called out his name. The once-wounded exiled God appeared from his bathroom, trousers hung low at his waist and bare chest. His hair was loose, and damp as was his chest. Tiny water droplets heatedly ran down the outline of his carved solid chest. For a moment, a silly little moment, I forgot what I was about to say. He was perfectly healed with not a single scratch on his body.

Yuri arched an eyebrow at me. Before he could have voiced again, I recollected my thoughts and stood my ground, “What you’re doing isn’t right.”

“And what am I doing?” he asked lazily.

“Pushing everyone away. You have no idea how worried we were about you. While you were away, what we felt, what we went through. And when you came back… to see you like that. And now you isolate yourself from everyone not telling us a single thing. I know something happened back there. I won’t push you to tell us, but we’re worried. We’re worried about you shutting yourself away like this.” I fitted my sentences all in one breath, feeling my skin prickle and shudder.

“We?” he murmured, nearing me, “Or you?”

My breath stopped at the base of my throat and formed a rock, “I- ”

He stared down at me intently, studying every inch of my face- waiting for my answer.

“Yuri, I- yes.” I stated softly, bringing my eyes up to his. Its blazing violet shade consuming me. “I was worried about you. And I hate that you pushed me away. It hurt me.”

He blinked. I didn’t think he was expecting my honesty. His expression softened as his fingers outlined my jawline, “I had not realized my absence would hurt you. It was not my intention.”

His sudden touch sent a heated shiver down my spine, around my waist, and shockingly between my leg. I felt the colour on my cheeks bloom when suddenly Tomai bolted through the door. Straight towards his master he went in and wrapped his tiny arms around Yuri’s leg in absolute glee. “I’m so happy you’re awake and alright!” the boy said, keeping his embrace locked on his stolid master.

“I am as well,” I chirped and dived into the hug solely for the satisfaction of Yuri’s dry groan.

“Oh!” the boy pulled away with widening eyes, “There are two women downstairs who came to visit you, Ana.” His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to recollect the names, “Ah! Miss Edna and Miss Claudia.”

***

For visual scenes of this novel, follow me on TikTok! I enjoy bringing these scenes and characters to life, so I hope you do too! Love & appreciate you guys for the support. Here’s the link to my TikTok (hope to see you there!) Something special is coming.

Leave a comment (chapter thoughts) below if you want more chapters! ♡

Your feedback and engagement really helps the blog & motivates me to keep posting more FREE content for you guys!

[mc4wp_form id=”421″]

This is my Instagram if you’d like to connect with me there: @celinekmahadeo

ALSO, as you guys might notice ‘The Catalog by Celine’ is officially a Fashion & Fiction Blog so feel free to browse through and share!

Subscribe to my email list for exclusive bonus chapters of my novels, etc. (Bonus chapters are only sent to email subscribers)

Enjoying this book? Be sure to also take a peek at my other completed novels as well:

Click the link below to Read:

Fatal Alliances by Celine Mahadeo

Damned by Celine Mahadeo

Ophelia by Celine Mahadeo

The Saint Have Fallen by Celine Mahadeo