Chapter 1 – The Trial
Serena
“Move it!”
One of the guards shoves me forward. Anger surges through me as I turn my head just enough to fix him with a sharp glare.
The silver chains around my wrists clink softly as I move, a constant reminder of where I stand now, and how quickly everything changed.
“Watch your tone,” I say, my voice steady and cold. “Even in cuffs, I still outrank you.”
He doesn’t answer.
His eyes remain fixed on the massive gates towering before us, as if I’m nothing more than a shadow beside him.
Coward.
The word lingers in my mind just as the gates begin to open.
Blinding white light floods the corridor, forcing me to squint, as my eyes struggle to adjust. For a moment the world is nothing but brightness and silence.
Then his voice comes crashing on me like thunder.
“Serena Lightwood.”
I know that voice. The High Elder.
My stomach tightens painfully.
I step inside the auditorium anyway, my chin raised high, as if I’m entering a ceremony of honor rather than a trial.
The hall is enormous. Rows upon rows of angels fill the chamber, their white wings glowing faintly beneath the celestial light. Their whispers ripple through the room like a soft wind.
Some stare with curiosity, others with judgment.
For a fleeting moment, my gaze drifts across the vast crowd, searching despite myself—until it finds them. My family.
The sight hits harder than the chains ever could.. My mother’s hands are clasped together, trembling. My father stands beside her, rigid and silent, his expression carved into something unreadable.
My chest tightens painfully, but I force myself to look away before our eyes can meet.
I’m not strong enough for that.
Instead, I walk forward until I stand before the three judges seated behind their marble desks.
The Council.
Their presence alone shifts the air, making it heavier, harder to breathe.
“Do you know why you are here?” the High Elder asks.
His voice echoes through the chamber, calm and measured.
He stands unmoving at the center of the Council, his presence commanding without effort.
There is a quiet grace in the way he holds himself, something almost gentle—yet his eyes betray him. Calm on the surface, yes… but beneath that stillness, I can feel it—the weight of storms, of power, of judgment waiting to be unleashed.
“No,” I answer calmly, even if I know it’s a lie . But I hold his gaze anyway.
He sighs softly, disappointment shadowing his features.
“That is even worse,” he says. “Because it means you are not remorseful.”
My heart begins to pound harder in my chest, a quiet tension building beneath my ribs.
“You are here because you committed the ultimate sin.”
The words cut through the room, firm and unmistakable, carrying a weight that feels both heavy and unyielding.
Before I can stop myself, a bitter laugh escapes my lips.
“I saved a life,” I say, anger rising inside me like a storm. “Isn’t that what angels are supposed to do?”
“You gave life,” he corrects sharply. “You gave the Kiss of Life to a human. You did not save her life. You changed her destiny.”
His aura surges outward like a crushing wave and my knees nearly buckle beneath the force of it, but I force myself to remain standing.
I refuse to fall—not before him, not like this—so I steady my breath and hold my ground, even as the weight of his power presses down on me.
“I am her guardian angel,” I shoot back, my voice trembling despite my effort to stay strong. “It was my duty to protect her. To make sure she lived a happy life.”
“Yes,” he says calmly. “You were meant to guide her. Protect her. Even save her when necessary.”
His eyes harden, the last trace of warmth fading into something far more resolute.
“But The Fates decided she must die.”
A dense, suffocating silence settles over the chamber, pressing in from all sides.
“And you interfered.”
The words strike with undeniable force, leaving no room for doubt or denial.
“You crossed the line of no return.”
Tears sting my eyes before I can stop them.
“I gave her what you coldn’t… a choice.”
“I stopped her when she wanted to end her life. I helped her believe in herself again when she got her first job.”
My voice cracks under the weight of my emotions, but I try not to break into pieces in front of them.
“And you expected me to just watch her die?”
I wipe my tears angrily. “I couldn’t.”
The High Elder watches me carefully now, and I can almost see pity in his eyes.
“You changed her destiny,” he says quietly. “And with her destiny, you changed the paths of countless others. We cannot interfere with The Fates.”
“The Fates,” I repeat bitterly. “Who are The Fates to decide who lives and who dies? Doesn’t free will exist anymore?”
A wave of shocked murmurs ripples through the hall, growing louder as disbelief and unease spread among the angels.
“You dare defy The Fates?” he asks slowly.
I lift my chin, steady and unyielding, refusing to let their reaction or his question make me falter.
“Yes.”
My voice carries clearly through the chamber, steady and unwavering, leaving no trace of hesitation behind.
The elder folds his hands together, leaning back in his chair as he studies me in silence, as if weighing far more than just my words.
“We hoped you would show remorse,” he says. “We hoped you would accept responsibility for your actions and take back the Kiss of Life.”
“Undo it?” I whisper, as I look at him in disbelief. “Erase her?”
“Never!” I shout, clenching my fists.
How did it come to this? Yesterday I was Heaven’s golden child, the miracle angel blessed with 2 virtues, the one younger generations looked up to. Now i am nothing but a sinner.
The three elders exchange a quiet glance, then the High Elder rises slowly to his feet.
“Very well,” he declares.
His voice carries the full weight of judgment, steady and undeniable as it settles over the chamber.
“Serena Lightwood, the Council of the Nine Gates Realm finds you guilty of the ultimate crime.”
My breath catches, the air suddenly feeling too thin to hold.
“You will be stripped of your powers. Your wings will be taken from you. You will be banished to the human world you cherish so much.”
Each word sinks deeper than the last, pressing heavily against my chest.
“You will live as a human.”
A tremor runs through my body, subtle but impossible to stop.
“And you will die as one.”
A broken cry escapes from somewhere within the crowd, fragile and unmistakable. My mother.
“You will never return to Heaven.”
The world tilts slightly, as if the ground beneath me can no longer hold steady.
“Your punishment begins now.”
A beam of blinding white light descends from the ceiling and crashes into me like a tidal wave of energy.
Pain explodes through my body as I scream, the sound tearing from my throat while something deep inside me begins to rip apart.
My wings.
Agony burns across my back as if fire itself has wrapped around them.
I can feel them tearing away, ripping from my soul.
The pain is unbearable.
Then—everything stops.
Silence and darkness envelop me.
For a moment, I think I’m dead, because there is no pain, no sound, just… emptiness.
Then panic slams into me, and my shoulders jerk backward instinctively, searching.
My wings.
They were always there, a part of me.
My light and my soul.
But now—there is nothing.
A broken gasp leaves my lips.
“No…”
My legs give out beneath me, and I collapse onto the cold marble floor as the chains around my wrists crash loudly against the stone.
For the first time since entering the hall, I look at the crowd again.
Hundreds of angels stare at me, some with pity, others with cold satisfaction.
But my eyes search for only two faces. My parents.
My mother is crying openly now, her hands trembling as she covers her mouth. My father stands beside her, rigid and silent, his expression carved from stone.
He doesn’t look at me, but the sight hurts more than the punishment.
A hollow laugh slips past my lips.
“So this is justice?” I whisper.
“This is mercy,” the High Elder replies calmly.
Mercy. The word tastes bitter in my mouth.
“You could have been erased,” he continues. “Your essence returned to the Source.”
My hands curl into fists against the cold marble.
Erased. Completely gone.
Even knowing that… I would still do it again.
I force myself to stand as my legs tremble violently, but I refuse to kneel before them.
“I don’t regret it,” I say quietly.
A murmur spreads across the hall again, like they cannot believe that, after everything they heard here, I can still shock them.
The elder studies me.
“Even now?”
“Yes.”
The word echoes like a final verdict.
“So be it.”
He raises his hand, his eyes never leaving mine.
Power gathers above the chamber, swirling like a violent storm, and fear finally crawls into my chest.
Pain surges through my body again as something deep inside me begins to tear away.
My power. My light. My divinity.
I scream as the energy rips through my veins, the pain too much to bear even for me.
The world tilts violently and the floor disappears beneath my feet.
Wind roars around me like a raging storm, and last thing I hear before everything fades into darkness… is my mother screaming my name.
“Serena!”
And then— I fall.
