by C. R. Jane
"Where are you? I'll come right now," he asks, not grilling me on why I need help, which I'm grateful for.
“The east wing," I tell him. "I'm in the far hallway, in one of the classrooms. I'm not sure which one."
"I'm on my way," he tells me. "Stay on the line."
I hear a whoosh of air, and I know he's using that speed travel thing some of the vampires seem to possess. For once, I'm grateful that he's a vampire with special powers. It would take a human at least twenty minutes to walk over here from where his class is located.
It only takes a few minutes before I hear someone walk in. At first, I'm afraid that it's a student coming into class but the sharp surprising gasp I hear as the person sees my wings sounds more awestruck than surprised. And that's how I know it's Finn.
"Adeline," he whispers, that same worshipful tone in his voice. I haven't looked at him yet, because I'm a little afraid to see his reaction. I don't think I could stand it if he was looking at me like I was a freak show, even if his voice sounds the opposite of that. More voices in the hallway convince me to look however, as I remember that it's only a matter of time before people walk in.
I regret not looking sooner, because I know the look on his face is one that I’ll remember forever. He's looking at me like I'm everything. Like I'm the most precious thing he's ever seen.
My wings start to flutter behind me, like they've seen something that they like. It's weird having something attached to me that's a part of me, but yet separate at the same time.
"Hi," I say lamely, as my cheeks flush under the tender look in his eyes. "I guess you guys were right."
He lets out a chuckle. "I guess so," he says as he begins to approach me in swift strides. He stops short though, and I can tell what he wants based on his hesitation.
"Go ahead and touch them," I say with a laugh.
He throws me a broad grin as he takes the last step towards me and slowly reaches out a hand to stroke one of my wings, moving cautiously like he’s approaching a wild animal.
I shiver in delight as he begins to stroke my wings. I almost feel like purring at the sensation. No wonder dogs like to be petted so much, I think absentmindedly as I enjoy the light touch of Finn’s hands as he worshipfully touches my wings.
Suddenly he freezes, and I can feel the tension building up inside of him. "How will I even begin to get you out of here?" he says frantically. He's to the door in a flash, slamming it shut and pulling a desk in front of it so that no one can come in. He runs his hands through his hair, looking like he's about to throw up.
He pulls out his cell phone, presses the button, the phone to his ear. "You need to get here right now.” I can hear someone saying something back to him, but I can't make out who it is. "Far hallway. Third door on the left," he mutters distractedly as he looks at my wings as if they’re a problem that needs to be solved, before he drops the phone from his ear.
"What's wrong?" I ask him, the panic I had momentarily quelled at his appearance bursting forth once more.
"We can't let anyone see you like this," he says, beginning to pace.
I didn't want anyone to see me like this, but the way he said it made me think that I would be in actual danger if someone did. Was it that serious?
I begin to ask him, but he holds up his hand to stop me from talking, a very uncharacteristic move as he’s always considerate of my feelings.
It only makes me panic more, and my heart is racing now. I awkwardly stand up, the move difficult because of how unbalanced I feel because of my wings.
He stops pacing and stares at me once more, until it seems like he comes to a decision. He’s standing in front of me before I can blink my eyes. And then his lips are on me. I'm stiff at first, but I can't help but melt into his embrace as he puts his arms around me, pulling me to him as close as I can get. All thoughts flee from my mind. There's only him. There's only us. I only come back to earth when a sharp knock sounds on the door to the classroom. The sound is jarring in the small room, and with a loud crack my wings burst out, the momentum knocking me into Finn. Somehow while we were kissing my wings had retracted.
"Fuck," Finn groans as he touches our heads together for one more minute before reluctantly pulling away. I realize then that he had kissed me in hopes that I would relax enough for my wings to go back in my body. I move to kiss him again, but he shakes his head, moving towards the door.
"It's Alexander. I better let him in," he says. A second later the desk is moved, and the door is opened and a frantic looking Alexander bursts into the room.
"How long where you going to…" Alexander trails off as he sees me standing there looking like an extra from a Christmas program featuring an angel heralding the second coming.
"I wasn't expecting this," Alexander murmurs in a dazed tone.
“Surprise,” I tell him in a falsely positive voice.
It takes him a second, but his eyes sharpen suddenly, the same way that Finn’s had when he came to whatever realization he had come to about the presence of my wings. He suddenly slams the door shut behind him, leaning against it, his eyes darting around the room.
"This is bad," he says, flicking his eyes towards Finn who is wearing an anxious expression. “Any ideas of what to do here?" he asks him.
"I found something that worked," Finn answers. "But you kind of scared the wings right out of her again."
"Well, do whatever you did again. We need to get her out of here before someone sees," Alexander barks at him.
Finn just rolls his eyes and pulls me towards him again. And before I can take another breath, he's once again kissing me as if his life depends on it. Or maybe it's my life that is depending on it.
I hear Alexander take a sharp intake of breath at the kiss, but then the whole world fades away again as I soak in the love that is pouring out of Finn. It's so intense and real that it takes my breath away. But all of a sudden, I start to feel lightheaded. It's only after Finn is thrown off of me and I'm caught in Alexander's arms before I fall to the ground, that I realize that Finn had started to feed off me. My wings shoot out once again at the realization. Looks like they don't intend to stay contained any time soon.
I look at where Finn landed. I’m sure surprise, hurt, and horror written across my face. The feeling quickly fades however when I see the pure devastation and agony present on Finn’s features. It appears that he hadn't meant to try and feed on me.
"What the fuck, man," Alexander yells at him angrily, forgetting for a minute that we’re supposed to be hiding in this room and not attracting any attention.
"Adi, I didn't mean to…" Finn exclaims in a harried voice.
"It's okay," I tell him softly, because I know that Finn hadn’t meant to do it. The confusion on his face tells me he has no idea how that just happened.
"It's okay?" Alexander asks incredulously. "Are you crazy? It's the opposite of okay," he continues angrily.
I take a shuddering breath and force myself to stand up. The dizziness is fading, and I feel stronger as each second passes. "Incredible," Alexander murmurs. "You really are something," he says as he watches me.
I quirk an eyebrow. "Is that good?" I ask him.
Alexander just shakes his head and turns his attention back to Finn. "How could you let that happen?" he asks him, fury rolling off of him in waves.
Finn shakes his head, still looking tortured. "I don't know how it happened. I just… I couldn’t stop it once it started."
Alexander takes a deep breath. "We'll figure that out later. For now, we've got to get her out of this room," he says as he studies my wings. "I don't think we’re going to be able to keep her calm enough to get her to Braxton's room quickly.” He thinks for a moment. "Text Nyx," he orders Finn. "Tell him to create a large enough distraction that everyone will be called from their classrooms and into the auditorium immediately."
Finn pulls out his phone again, typing in a few words before setting it down. No one says anything for at least a minute, and I'm about to beg
in asking questions when all of a sudden, a siren starts ringing in the room. I can hear it out in the hallway as well. It's jarring and out of place in this ancient looking castle. Alexander and Finn look pleased at the sound.
"What's that for?" I ask anxiously as my wings start to move about agitatedly.
Alexander looks distracted, as if he's listening to what's going on out in the hallway. And then I remember that they can hear far better than I can.
"Nyx and Dante got some help from a close friend. They created an illusion that made it seem like the school was being attacked. School protocol mandates that all of the students of the school have to be sheltered in the auditorium until the threat is taken care of by the faculty," Alexander explains. “We should be able to get you through the hallways without issue with all the faculty tied up trying to deal with the illusion."
"Okay. So, we're going out there?" I ask anxiously. Alexander nods, before taking off his blazer and beginning to unbutton the front of his shirt.
"Leave the shirt," Finn snaps. "It's going to attract even more attention if someone sees us in the hallway and you're walking shirtless," he says. Alexander nods and buttons his shirt back up. For some reason I giggle at the thought of what we would look like walking down the hall like that. My wings hidden under the school blazer, sticking up from my back awkwardly. And Alexander walking through the chilly hallways, shirtless. That would be quite the sight.
"Juvenile," Alexander says to me when he hears my laugh, but I can see the smirk he’s trying to hide on his face.
Alexander and Finn both situate their blazers on top of my wings. There's no way to make it look at all normal as I don't know how to retract my wings at all beyond getting kissed. So basically, the coats look like they are hanging on an enormous coat rack behind my back.
Alexander looks at the set up dubiously, and then shakes his head. "Hopefully Nyx’s plan worked and there's no one in the hallway. There's no way that we can hide this."
"I could always kiss her again," Finn says slyly, taking a step towards me.
"That will only attract more attention if someone appears in the halls and her wings snap out because they startle her."
I roll my eyes, pretending to be annoyed. But I know he’s right.
"Let's do this," Finn says after listening at the door for another minute. He moves the desk that had been stacked in front of the door. And I once again note how easy it is for him to do that. Looking back, I realize they weren't that good at keeping their supernatural attributes hidden. They had always been smoother with their movements, faster, stronger, better looking than the average human. It's like my mind had blocked out the possibility that they were more than what they seemed. The joke was on me, because I had also missed the fact that I was more than a human as well.
We slipped into the hallway. Alexander and Finn took turns speeding ahead to check out the hallways we are about to pass through. We are almost to Braxton's room, when an uneasy feeling passes over me. I look over my shoulder and think I see a flash of red disappearing around the corner. A flash of red that looked very similar to Clarissa's hair color.
"I think I just saw something," I whisper to Alexander and Finn urgently.
"Where?" Finn asks.
Before I can say another word, Finn speeds away and around the corner. He's back in no time. “I didn't see anything," Finn reassures me.
I nod, hoping that my eyes were just playing tricks on me. Because why would Clarissa not be in the auditorium with the rest of the students? Would she have noticed that the three of us were missing? Probably. But I can't have that bad of luck, right? And would she have been able to get away that quick?
I send up a prayer that I didn't actually see anything, but the rock residing in my stomach tells me otherwise. At least my wings are still covered by the blazer. If someone did see me, they would just be guessing at what I was hiding on my back. Their first thought wouldn't be that I was an angel.
Right?
I feel like I can finally breathe when we’re in the safety of Braxton's room. I pull the blazers off my wings; it's beginning to get uncomfortable with them hanging on them like that. My wings flutter as if they’re relieved to have the load off as well. Braxton isn’t in the room, I assume that he is with the rest of the staff and students, but I could really use his reassuring presence right now.
Alexander fiddles with his phone as we sit there contemplating the fact that I have wings now. A few minutes pass and I hear the lock on the door being fiddled with. I freeze, and a moment later I see why when Braxton walks through the door. His eyes widen in surprise when he sees me sitting on the edge of his bed, wings still extended behind me. They immediately begin to flutter about, almost flirtatiously. Am I actually pretending that my wings have emotions now? I've officially lost it.
Unlike the others, Braxton doesn't wait for permission. He's next to me in just a few steps, stroking the feathers on my wings in wonder. I once again shiver at the feeling.
"Well, this does complicate things," comments Braxton softly. "But they are a beautiful complication."
I blush as seems to be my constant reaction around Braxton nowadays.
"Do you know what to do about them?" Alexander snaps, a hint of jealousy threaded through his voice. Braxton looks at him amused, like he's watching a little boy have a tantrum. I think he's the only one who can get away with looking at Alexander like that. Not that Braxton really can gloat. He's just as jealous as Alexander most of the time, if not more.
Braxton doesn't answer him, and instead he walks over to his bookshelf and grabs one of the volumes on the third shelf. It's an old book that looks like it's about to fall apart at the seams. He begins to flip through the pages, obviously looking for something. The inscription on the binding is in Latin, so I'm not sure what the title of the book is. He finally stops on the page he wants, tracing the lines with his finger as he reads. He nods his head after finding whatever he was looking for, and snaps the book shut. He then walks over to his liquor cabinet and pulls out a bottle of whiskey.
"Pour me one of those while you're at it," Finn says sarcastically.
Braxton sighs, a sound that conveys the fact that he feels like he's in the presence of idiots. He walks over and hands me the tumbler. "Drink this. It will help you to relax."
I look at the glass dubiously. But I guess kissing kind of worked, and that helped me to relax. Maybe this will work even better.
I throw back the drink, the liquid setting my throat on fire. I cough as it burns my throat, but I can already feel myself relaxing as a fuzzy warmth spreads through my limbs.
Braxton takes the glass once again and I look at him in alarm. "Is the goal for me to get so drunk that I pass out?" I ask as he pours another sizable amount.
"I've been doing research since I found out what you were," he explains. “Until you learn how to retract your wings, the only way for us to help you keep them out of sight is to keep you relaxed."
"You know, it's kind of ironic that I'm supposedly an angel and the way for me to hide my wings is to get drunk," I respond wryly. "But I guess kissing didn't work very well, so we'll see if this does any better," I say while taking the glass. Braxton's eyes flash dangerously. "Kissing?"
I snort at his response and toss the drink back. Sure enough, I soon become aware that the weight on my back is easing, and the wings have slipped out of sight. I'm still somehow aware of their presence right under my skin, ready to come out at any moment.
Braxton looks satisfied that it had worked. He's about to say something else when we hear a buzzing noise signaling that his phone is going off. I feel a flicker of unease as Alexander realizes that his phone is also buzzing. Braxton and Alexander look at each other.
"The Council wants to see us," Braxton says in an alarmed tone.
"Clarissa,” I whisper to myself, but of course the guys all hear me with their supersonic hearing.
The guys look at me questioningly.
"That's who was in
the hallway. That's what I saw. Her hair. She must've gone straight to the Council after she saw us." I feel the panic trying to undo the calmness I have been feeling from the whiskey.
I feel my shoulder blades begin to tingle as my wings threaten to make a reappearance. I take deep breaths trying to calm myself down. Braxton sees how worried I am, and he too takes a deep breath. "It will be okay. They're not going to believe Clarissa over Alexander and me. I've got fifty years of loyal Council service. And Alexander's been including Clarissa's jealous behavior towards you in his reports. Everything's going to be fine."
He's trying to sound reassuring, but his voice sounds frightened. I've seen firsthand just how persuasive Clarissa can be. The guys haven't told me just what being an angel means as far as the vampire council goes. But by the way they're acting, I'm quite sure that I don't want to find out.
"They're asking for our presence right now," says Alexander, putting his blazer back on that we had used to help cover my wings. "Finn, stay here with Adeline. Be ready to get her out of here if things take a turn," he tells him seriously.
Finn stands up straighter, and nods, an intense gleam in his eyes that tells me that he'll get me out of here whether I want to leave or not.
"You don't think you'll be in danger, right?" I ask worriedly, thinking about the Council's reaction if they find out that Alexander and Braxton are hiding something from them.
Braxton flashes me a fake smile. "Of course not. We’re more than capable of looking out for ourselves," he tells me reassuringly.
My wings fly out again at his statement, and the timing of it makes everyone in the room chuckle, momentarily alleviating the stifling tension that surrounds us. Alexander and Braxton both give me succinct kisses before leaving the room. I send up another prayer, hoping that the fact that I am an angel meant that whoever is up there would maybe listen and keep them safe.