by A. Catherine
I offered her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry. We’ll get you back as soon as we can.”
Kaleus snorted, causing us to both look at him.
“If being human will even be enough once you’re done with us,” he joked. Though his tone was humorous, his expression was cold—disconnected even.
Heather looked down sheepishly, a distant memory flashing in her eyes.
“We’ll see, I guess,” she muttered.
I reached across the table and touched the back of her hand with my fingers.
“You may turn out to have an immortal lifespan, and if that is the case, we can find a way to make it just as enjoyable as your mortal life would have been,” I offered.
Heather looked up at me, the skin of her cheeks reddening slightly. I resisted the irrational urge to touch them, instead just broadened my gentle smile for her. She nodded and smiled back.
I heard Kale’s barely audible scoff followed by his muttering, “Bâlbâi-mă.” Romanian. Gag me. His favorite language since I first met him.
Heather must have heard it too, cause her eyes shifted to his for a second and back to mine. Then they scanned me up and down, pausing at my shoulders.
“Do all of you have wings?” she asked suddenly.
The room stilled for a moment as they all registered her question.
Jade scooped some rice into a bowl and handed it to Duma before replying first.
“Angels do. Though they’re much smaller and less vibrant than the archangels’. And we don’t use them often. Most of us find winnowing to be much faster. We really only use them in combat situations,” she explained.
“Can I see them?” Heather asked bluntly.
The angels all exchanged glances, “I suppose. After we eat, we can go up to the roof.” Jade agreed. Duma and Iaoel nodded in agreement.
Heather hesitantly smiled and stood to clear the records from the table so that we could eat on it.
Before I stood to join her, I turned to Kaleus, feeling a strange emotion vibrate along the connection that was still open between us.
His expression was unreadable as he observed the Nephilim, and it was no easier to understand what he was feeling internally. But whatever it was, it triggered to the surface bits of those images Chamuel had shown me.
An image of Kaleus laughing in the reflective blue water, splashing it towards Heather’s gleeful face and then at me with just as much excitement.
Maybe Chamuel’s vision wasn’t just a possibility for me, but also for the Heir Inferno. Perhaps the Prince also had a buried longing for friendship—for peace and normalcy.
Maybe the two of us weren’t as different as we thought.
Thinking of me, feathers? I’m touched.
I rolled my eyes mentally. And you’re snooping.
You had the connection wide open, my friend.
The rest of the group was grabbing a plate of food while the Heir and I conversed mentally. Heather was watching the whole exchange from the corner of her eye.
What kind of naughty positions do you think she’s got of the two of us going through her head right now? I can think of a few fun ones.
I grunted in exasperation before abruptly cutting off the connection and putting up a sizeable wall for good measure. But I could still hear Kaleus chuckling from the corner of the room as I went to join Heather at the table.
THIRTY-ONE
Kale
RELUCTANTLY DAEVAS AND I followed Heather and the rest of the angels up to the roof after dinner.
Keeping our distance, we stayed on the opposite side of the building while they all lined up along the edge of the other side a few feet apart. Gabriel remained next to Heather, facing them.
First Duma loosened his wings, simple and white with hints of pale blue in the feathers. Then Jade unfurled hers, which were slightly smaller, her feathers were ombre, turning from white to a light orange color. Iaoel’s were different, theirs were dark gray with speckles of white and brown and equal in size to Duma’s, stretching out past their arm spans.
Once all three had spread their wings out, Heather went to each one and looked them over with admiration and awe.
Angels were beautiful creatures. How could they not be? Even the creepier Cakti and Ophanim had beauty. Sure, demons did as well, but only in their humanoid forms. If humans saw demons in their raw form, they wouldn’t be able to collect souls.
Our attractiveness was a mask, a glamour to lure in prey. Angels were beautiful naturally, even when their personalities were dull and often irritating.
Once Heather had seen her fill of their feathered ailerons she backed away.
“What is it like to fly?” she asked.
Jade rustled her wings, feeling them out as if she hadn’t had them out in a long while.
“When we’re first learning, it’s terrifying. But eventually it becomes very freeing,” she explained. Jade extended her hand towards Heather. “Do you want to see?” she offered.
Heather’s eyes bulged and she retreated back a step. “What? Like, fly with you? Oh no, I don’t want to fall.”
I snorted, but Daevas and I were too far back for her to hear. As if they’d let her fall. Although she could definitely use a good long drop to scare her a bit.
Daevas had his arms folded, leaning against the edge of the roof, he was observing the exchange with indifference, but I knew better. He was aware of everything, always ready to step in if needed.
Gabriel touched the small of Heather’s back when she backed away from Jade. A comforting touch, but irritatingly gentle to watch from here. “You’d be completely safe. If you’d prefer, I can take you for a flight around the block. I think you’d like it,” he offered.
Ugh. Gabriel’s golden kindness was disgusting sometimes.
When Heather turned to look at the archangel, he unfurled his gold/white feathered wings. They were nearly twice as wide and large in comparison to the lower-angels’.
Her eyes lit up like fireworks at the sight. And for a moment the steady flame beneath my skin burned hotter, threatening to break past the skin barrier.
“You’re sure it’s safe?” Heather asked, taking in every detail of Gabriel’s glorious wings.
Gabriel held out his hands for her, ready to embrace her. The angels behind them already turning towards the edge to take off.
“More than sure,” Gabriel replied.
Heather was hugging herself, scanning Gabriel up and down, his open embrace. Almost identical to the one he offered that first day we brought her to the warehouse.
Even then she was in awe of him, behind all that fear and uncertainty—she trusted him without doubt. But the human couldn’t bestow that same faith in the hellborn. In me.
She nodded, pressing her lips together in anticipation as she stepped into his embrace. Gabriel gently spun her so she would be able to see, then wrapped his large arms around her waist, lifting her feet on top of his.
The archangel looked almost as excited as her. Like this was his first time flying for enjoyment with another person. The two looked positively giddy.
Gross.
He leaned down to whisper something in her ear, and when she nodded, he lightly beat his wings—lifting off of the ground. Heather clutched close to him as they slowly rose.
The angel was taking it slow to ease her nerves. And then his grip tightened around her before he flew horizontal, following the other angels who had already taken to the skies.
Daevas and I stayed grounded, watching the ethereal beings fly around in circles a hundred feet above the city. I could hear Heather’s surprised shrieks and excited giggles from where I was standing.
Lightning sparked from my hands to my feet, barely staying contained. I had to focus on my breathing to keep the churning magma from escaping my shell as I watched them.
“You alright?” Daevas asked coolly.
He was watching them too, but as someone who never missed a thing, of course he noticed the small bursts of energy coming fr
om me.
I swallowed down the ash that had started to build in my throat.
“I’m fine.”
He nodded and tapped his foot on the ground. “I know better than to push you—”
“Then why does it sound like you’re about to?” I snapped.
Daevas continued, unflustered. “Seere told me about Sytry’s visit.”
“What about it?”
“Is it something we need to be worried about?” he asked.
I shrugged. “No more than usual. I’ve been ignoring Lucifer’s nagging; he’s feeling left out.”
Daevas nodded once. “And Lillith?”
I suppressed my growl. “We keep her in the dark. Don’t give her important information unless it’s something Lucifer would guess on his own,” I instructed.
“I’m assuming that includes the locations of relics?” he clarified. I nodded. “We have a long way to go from where we are now. This isn’t going to be an easy task. Not to mention the Guardian’s killer may be well-ahead of us.”
“We’ll make do.”
Daevas glanced at me then, his eyes contemplative. I met his gaze.
“What have you observed from our heavenly compadres?” I asked.
Daevas’ straightened; a trained warrior ready to give his reports.
“Jophiel is distant, she will never fully trust any of us. We should tread lightly around her.”
I nodded. Information I had already gathered myself, her general disdain for us was clear enough the first day of our alliance, but it hadn’t improved over the last week.
“Iaoel has dealt with demons before, they have an open mind. I can see them being a potential ally. Jade is almost as open minded. Her position makes her an influencer, and her priorities are in the safety and protection of those she cares for. Duma is one we would need more time with. Right now I would say he’s loyal to Gabriel, he would follow his every order,” Daevas explained.
I had Daevas on assignment to assess whether these angels could be trusted and if they could potentially help us if we needed it. We may never need them, but I wouldn’t be the son of Lucifer if I didn’t plan for the potential future.
“Gabriel is a tough one to measure. But his Guardian bond with the human is making him vulnerable and possibly pliable.”
“If we managed to get him on our side, would he be able to influence Jophiel and some of the other archangels?” I asked.
Daevas shook his head. “Possibly. From what I’ve heard, his older siblings see him as the unexperienced child among them. Only a few actually take him seriously and value his input. But maybe after this alliance, if we succeed, that will change.”
I took all the seeds of intel Daevas had given me and pocketed them for later. Locking them in the vault of my mind where no one, including Seere, could access.
I watched the four pairs of wings soar and bank in the air around each other. Leisure flying. I’d seen them use those wings in combat, the flying was much sharper and more precise.
Some of them could weaponize their wings, adding armor that could cut through stone sharper than a laser.
Maybe it wasn’t necessary to learn all I could about these halo-wearing immortals. But from the moment I saw Lucifer convening with his entire inner circle following the death of the Guardian, I knew that he was plotting something. Using the chaos and confusion to find a weakness in the heavenly realm that would aid his schemes.
Which could only mean that he would find his use for me soon. And I wasn’t about to fall into his control again anytime soon. So, we needed allies. People we could call for aid when the time was right.
Possibly, if we played our cards right, we could be helpful enough to earn ourselves some favors. However we chose to play it, every moment counted. So that when the time came, we wouldn’t be alone when we freed ourselves from the devil’s grasp.
“Spend more time with Duma. Get to know him, discreetly. Do what you have to, to gain his trust,” I instructed.
Daevas remained calm, but I knew his micro-expressions well enough to know that he wasn’t thrilled with the order.
“Go with him tomorrow to Dalekaya Skala. Search the archives yourself, don’t expect a Scribe to know what we’re looking for,” I ordered.
He bowed his head. “Of course.”
We were quiet for a moment, watching as Iaoel and Duma landed back on the roof. They retracted their wings once more before heading back inside, paying us no mind. Gabriel, Heather, and Jade had stopped flying around, instead just hovering and talking with each other in the air.
I was able to narrow my vision to see them with better accuracy. Well enough to see Heather’s flushed skin and the now more obvious golden glow coming off Gabriel’s skin. Clearly, he had enjoyed himself to let loose some of his hold on his power.
“What about the Nephilim?” Daevas asked.
“What about her?”
He nodded in her direction. “Are we to befriend her as well? A Nephilim is a decent weapon to have in our armory should we need it,” he stated.
A weapon.
That’s what they had begun to see her as the moment we realized she was Nephilim. That she was a weapon to be wielded against our enemies.
To be wielded for power. White-hot anger began to surge in my core, I could feel its churning liquid bubble and hiss against its restraints.
“No,” I growled. “We leave her alone.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, regardless of her potential power or the advantages that it would give us. She is half-mortal, and she wants to return to that life. Who are we to deny her that? Leave her be,” I explained.
My eyes remained on her from my distance. It didn’t matter if she could make the difference between us succeeding in our separation from Lucifer or failing—only to be bound in chains until Lucifer found use for us.
The idea of using her as a weapon, the same way Lucifer would use me, wasn’t going to happen. I would not do that to another person.
If I had the chance to live a normal mortal life, I would take it.
Gabriel, Heather, and Jade turned towards us and began to fly closer.
Daevas cleared his throat. “You know I’m here if you ever need to talk,” he said quietly.
I gave him a side-glance and nodded in response. He dipped his chin back before heading back into the warehouse.
Jade landed first, smiling from ear to ear as she approached me. Gabriel and Heather landed seconds later, Heather stumbling to regain her footing.
“You should join us next time, Kaleus,” Jade suggested with a wink, gently elbowing me in the side.
I offered her a small smile in return that didn’t fully reach my eyes. “I don’t think you’d be able to keep up with me.”
Jade laughed lightly. “That sounds like a challenge.”
“If you want it to be.” I winked. She chuckled and started for the roof door.
Heather was catching her breath from the whole excitement when she looked at me confused, having just caught me and Jade’s short conversation.
“You have wings too?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I can fashion them if the situation calls for it. They’re nothing like the angels’, not as aesthetically pleasing,” I replied.
When her eyes locked on mine the molten core churned hotter. But I kept my expression neutral. A vast improvement from the death stares I’d given her recently.
I still felt the sting of her earlier words, the implications of them. Still saw how easy it was for her to fully trust an archangel but be so dissentient towards me after learning what I truly was.
It was truly disappointing—we were similar in so many ways. We were both the only ones of our kind, for the moment at least. Neither one of us really fit in anywhere, and we both could be used as weapons.
Maybe that was what actually bothered me.
I finally found someone who could relate to my situation. And she so quickly hated me like everyone else.
; I was so lost in thought that I hadn’t realized we’d been just staring at each other in silence for a while. It was Gabriel putting a comforting hand on her shoulder that broke our eye contact.
“Jade and I are being requested to return to our division to help with some crowd control,” he said.
“You gotta leave again so soon?” Heather asked.
I almost rolled my eyes from the disappointment in her voice.