Solace (Asteria Trilogy Book 1)

by Alaina Katherine

  On one of my many trips to the kitchen Nathan found me.

  “Sage, you look amazing.” I watched as his eyes glided smoothly over my body, taking in the view.

  “Thanks.” I gave a flirtatious smile; by this point I was already pretty tipsy.

  “We should dance.”

  “We should,” my voice was low and seductive as I took his hand.

  On the dance floor I pressed up close to Nathan. As we danced his hands slide all over various body parts of mine. I normally wasn’t the type to dance like this at a party. I actually wasn’t usually the type to go to this type of party period. But I had decided that I deserved this. Soon I was going to be taking on a huge responsibility and I wanted to have tonight. I allowed Nathan to trail kisses down my neck as my eyes wandered over to where Gabriel was standing. A girl was standing close to him, and though he smiled at her flirtations, his gaze kept flickering over to me.

  “Too bad you are leaving so soon. We really could have had a lot of fun this summer.” Nathan’s eyes were half closed as he spoke to me. He clearly was drunk as well and he was probably enjoying my seductive dancing a little too much. Eventually, I broke away to get more to drink. When I returned to the living room that girl was still flirting with Gabriel. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me jealous and just to prove how jealous I was I marched over to Gabriel and grabbed onto his arm.

  “Excuse me,” I put on a sickly sweet smile. “But he owes me a dance.” I dragged Gabriel away from the girl and over to the dancers. I threw my arms around his neck and mashed my body up against his. He just stood rigidly as I danced against him. I grabbed his hands and put them on my hips, making him feel every time I swayed them.

  “Sage,” His voice was stern and I looked up into his eyes.

  “Just have fun with me. Just for this one night Gabriel, please let me have this.” I continued to slither against him.

  “It’s one thing for you to have this fun but a completely different matter for me to participate in it,” Gabriel protested, but I noticed he hadn’t dropped his hands from my hips nor had he taken a step away from me.

  “One night Gabriel,” I whispered as I inched my face closer to his.

  With that he reached up and tore my hands from around his neck and stalked off, leaving me looking stunned in the center of the dance floor. I was the single motionless object in the pulsing wave of bodies surrounding me. I didn’t allow myself to stand there for long though. I found my way back to the kitchen where Danielle was.

  “Why do you have to leave so soon!” she wailed as she drunkenly grabbed at my shoulders to pull me in for a hug. Since neither of us was sober we tripped over each other’s feet and fell to the floor. We immediately broke out into hysterical laugher and neither one of us made any attempt to stand up again. “It’s not fair that we didn’t even get a summer together before you abandoned me.” Her words were slurred.

  “I know, I suck.” I pouted, picking at the hem of my dress.

  “And you’re going so far away!”

  “I know, Aether is like super far. You can’t even get there unless you have an angel!” my eyes went wide as I told her this.

  “I thought you were going to Washington?”

  “I’m going to tell you a secret,” I leaned in close to her. “But you have to promise not to tell anyone.”

  Danielle nodded her head vigorously, to others she probably looked close to snapping her neck.

  “I’m going to live in Heaven with the angels!” I whispered excitedly. “But remember shhhh.” I placed my finger over my lips to emphasize her need to keep it a secret. Suddenly I was jerked to my feet. Gabriel had grabbed me by one arm and effortlessly pulled me to a standing position. He didn’t give me much time to regain my balance before dragging me away from the party to outside where very few people were.

  “Ow.” I pouted, rubbing my arm once he left go of it.

  “What were you thinking!” he demanded.

  “Don’t yell at me!” I yelled at him, though he hadn’t actually been yelling. He was just being stern.

  “Here drink this.” He handed me a bottle with clear liquid

  “Is that some magical remedy for alcohol from the angels?” I asked in wonder.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, its water.” He rolled his eyes.

  I took a large gulp of water and let out a small hiccup, which lead to me giggling uncontrollably.

  “I think it’s time I got you home.” I actually agreed with him but only because I was suddenly feeling nauseous. I turned to walk around the house to the car but I must have spun around a little too quickly because I found myself bent over near some bushes. Gabriel came over and pulled my hair out of my face as I emptied the entire contents of my stomach. When I was done I rinsed my mouth out with water from the water bottle Gabriel had given me. Gabriel, always the gentleman, carried me to the car, drove me home, and carried me inside my dark house and navigated to my bed, where I stayed until early afternoon on the next day.

  I groaned and rolled over in my bed as I remembered the events from the previous night. I sat up and saw Gabriel sitting in his usual spot. I groaned again and placed my head in my hands as I remembered the way I had danced with him. I was beyond embarrassed.

  “I am so sorry. I know I acted inappropriately last night. Actually inappropriate doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

  “It’s alright, you were just having fun. Even though, it was a little reckless.” His brows furrowed together.

  “I know. I swear I am not normally like that. I think all the pressure just got to me.”

  “I understand. You should probably get up soon, you have to start packing. We leave tomorrow remember?”

  How could I forget? Tomorrow Michael and Raphael were going to act as movers and load up all my belongings into a small U-haul to “drive” to my new home. Thankfully my parents were not coming with me to move all my stuff. This saved us the unnecessary step of actually going to Washington and setting up the apartment. I imagined the angels carrying boxes of my things while flying and laughed. I’d make sure not to pack anything too heavy.

  The image of the angels carrying all my stuff was just as humorous as I had imagined it to be. Although, I did feel kind of bad about the fact that they were doing all this physical labor for me. Michael and Raphael had driven the truck about an hour away from my house with Gabriel and me following in my car with Storm. We drove to a farm that was fairly secluded. Of course the owner of this farm was a prophet.

  We stashed all my furniture items in his shed until the angels felt like moving it to my fake apartment. Only boxes of my belongings and Storm were being moved up to Aether. Watching Gabriel carry a whimpering Storm in his arms was the highlight of my day. I guess my dog was just as afraid of heights as I was.

  That morning I had had a tearful goodbye with my parents and Danielle and my eyes were still puffy. All I really wanted to do was sleep and as I sat against the base of a tree I was very tempted to doze off. But thankfully moving all my stuff didn’t take nearly as long as I had thought it would and soon enough the only thing left to be moved up the Aether was me.

  Chapter Six

  I couldn’t sleep during my first night in Aether. I tossed and turned at every sound. I knew it was ridiculous to be frightened up here. After all, I was surrounded by angels. Literally. It wasn’t even really that I was afraid. I was anxious. I contemplated going to find Gabriel, but I wasn’t really sure that I wanted to be wandering about alone in the dark. I didn’t have to entertain that idea for very long though because there was a soft knock at my front door. I immediately knew who it was and was grateful for our connection.

  “Now why can’t you sleep?” Gabriel asked as I opened the door and hugged him tightly.

  “Home sick, nerves, I don’t know. A million things are going through my mind. I just can’t relax.” I pulled away from him. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

  “Of course, I’ll be here for as long as yo
u need.” Gabriel sat in the chair in my bedroom, just as he had spent every night prior. I felt selfish for asking him to do this for me. I know he deserved a proper night’s sleep in his own bed as it had been weeks since he had that. But Gabriel would never even consider taking that luxury as long as I needed him. It kind of sucks that I can’t hide my emotions from him. I will always be a burden to him.

  The next morning I woke up to birds singing a serene melody. I definitely could wake up to that sound every morning, I thought to myself as I rolled over in bed. Gabriel sat in the chair, but his clothing was different from last night.

  “Good morning. I hope you don’t mind that I left you alone for a little bit to get ready for the day. I came back here though to wait for you to wake up.”

  “Of course I don’t mind,” I said a bit groggily.

  “You should know that Azrael is going to be coming over soon. She wants to get you ready for the ceremony tonight.”

  “That’s tonight?”

  “Yes, Metatron wanted it to happen as soon as possible.”

  “And of course he couldn’t wait like a week or something to give me time to adjust,” I grumbled. I knew Metatron was really excited about having his Asteria back but he needed to seriously relax. If he clung to me too much tonight there was a very good chance he would find my fist in his face.

  “What is that look for?” Gabriel laughed.

  “I don’t know what you are talking about,” I huffed as I ran my brush through my hair. “Should I even bother to shower or should I wait for Azrael to get here?”

  “It would probably be wise to wait for Azrael. She will have very particular instructions for you, try not to challenge her too much. It won’t work out well.”

  “You aren’t going to leave me alone with her are you?”

  “I am actually. You’ll be fine. Though she is a bit assertive, she is very easy to get along with,” Gabriel explained.

  “What time is this thing happening?”

  “Before sunset.”

  After Gabriel left, I spent the rest of my day reading while I waited for Azrael’s arrival. I would be going with her to the ceremony but Gabriel promised he would meet me there.

  “Hello!” I heard someone sing and there was Azrael, inviting herself into my new house. Not like I felt like it was truly home yet. She dragged a giant brown trunk on wheels behind her which she immediately opened. “Here,” she said, handing me various bath products, “Shower and use these.” She plopped herself on the couch and I did as I was told.

  I observed the products as I began undressing. Most of them had very specific instructions. There were four bottles for my hair, two for my body and three for my face. I wondered if Azrael would notice if I just used my normal products. Given Gabriel’s warning she probably would.

  As I was applying the third hair product the door to my bathroom suddenly opened, swirling the steam around as it eagerly escaped out of the now open door. I let out a small shriek as Azrael stuck her head into the room and ordered, “Make sure you shave.” Before popping back out again.

  Thankfully, my shower door was made of frosted glass so I’m pretty sure she didn’t see anything. It wasn’t that I was embarrassed about my body; it was just that we weren’t at that point in our relationship where I would be comfortable with her seeing all of that.

  I had just met the girl and she thought it was okay to, not only invite herself into my house but, also to risk seeing me naked. I was beginning to debate the sanity of angels.

  Azrael pounced on me as soon as I opened the bathroom door. She began slathering a cream into my hair and scrunching sections of it in her hands.

  “What are you doing?” I hesitated to ask.

  “I want you to have wavy hair. Like beach hair you know?” She continued her pawing. She then shoved a bottle of lotion into my hand and instructed me to rub it everywhere. At least she left me alone to do that. Before I applied the lotion I brought it to my nose. The bottle said it was pear scented but sometimes labels can be deceiving. This lotion actually did smell like a juicy pear at least. And boy was it strong. I guess that was Azrael’s intent. She probably wanted the scent to cling to me for the entire night.

  When I emerged once again from my bathroom I found that my living room had been converted into a mini salon. Azrael had turned my coffee table sideways so that she could use it as a work station. It now held various tools, polishes, and brushes. On the floor next to the table was a footbath and Azrael sat on a low stool in front of the footbath. She patted the couch in front of her as an indication for me to sit there. Once I sat down, she gently set my feet into the foot bath’s warm water.

  She began scrubbing and trimming away at my feet.

  “What should I expect from tonight?” I asked, not wanting to sit in an awkward silence.

  “It’ll be fun. You’ll get up in front of everyone and Metatron will say some stuff in Latin that you won’t understand. It’s just a traditional speech to welcome the Goddess back. You’ll just need to stand there and smile.

  “Once that’s done with there will be food, wine, dancing, and socializing. Everyone will be there.”

  “Everyone? Jeez, no pressure or anything.” I sighed.

  “Don’t worry. You won’t be expected to give a speech or anything. You’ll be fine” Azrael smiled. “Even if you were supposed to say something I doubt you’d ever get a word out with Metatron there.”

  “Is he that bad?” I wasn’t looking forward to having to see him from now on.

  “Not horribly. He can just be a bit controlling and very stuck in old ways.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, like how we are only allowed certain modern conveniences up here. He likes to keep things simple, like the old days. That’s why we have gas appliances still, since after a certain time he cuts off the electricity. The party tonight will only be lighted by candles and gas lanterns. It’s romantic sometimes, but other times it’s just an annoyance.”

  “Is that why there’s no internet or phones, because Metatron won’t allow it?” I wondered.

  “Not really. It’s more complicated to include that stuff up here. We would need to build huge towers and get signals in. I don’t think anyone really wants that to happen anyways. Part of Aether’s charm is its beauty and serenity. I think you can understand how cell towers and satellites would disturb that. It’s not bad. You’ll get used to it.”

  “Yeah, it just sucks I won’t be able to communicate with any of my friends or family.” I sighed.

  “That’s a problem the rest of us don’t have to worry about. I definitely don’t envy you for it. But you’ll make new friends and family up here!” she consoled.

  “How did you all become friends; Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Sera, and you?”

  “Don’t get excited. It’s not a crazy story. Raphael, Gabriel and Michael knew each other through school. They were all in the same class. And Sera and I were always friends because our parents were close. Our schools are segregated; we have two separate schools, one for boys and one for girls. The only reason Sera and I met Michael and Gabriel was because of my brother always having them over our house.”

  “Wait, Raphael is your brother?” I made the connection in my head and Azrael nodded.

  “Once we all outgrew being grossed out by the other sex we all became good friends. Of course being girls, Sera and I reached that stage first and annoyed the boys with our presence. We had just started realizing how good looking the boys were at that time.” Azrael smirked. I guess some things between angels and humans were the same.

  “What do you guys learn in school?” I questioned.

  “A lot of the stuff you guys learn in school but add in some angel history. Also, our Physical Education classes were always fighting practices.” She shrugged as she finished applying a light pink polish to my toes.

  Azrael gave my fingers a French manicure and moved on to doing my makeup. As she applied various creams and powders to my face, she w
ould occasionally reach up and scrunch my hair, making sure it was getting the perfect “beach-y” look that she wanted. Azrael finished my hair by French braiding a vine with small light purple flowers into my hair on my left side, leaving the rest to cascade down my back and over my right shoulder. I was going to have to ask her to teach me how to French braid. It was something I had never been able to figure out on my own.

  She let me take a minute to look at her work in my mirror. She had done an amazing job. She had used various shades of shimmering grey eye shadows and included a thin purple line that winged out on my top lid. Instead of using a blush, Azrael had just made my cheeks glow golden and finished the look with a soft matte pink on my lips.

  “I might have to hire you in the future.” I smiled when I rejoined her in the living room.

  “You really like it?” She beamed and I nodded my head. While she was clearly pleased that I had liked her work I doubt she had any fears in her abilities. “Now the only thing left is to get you dressed!”

  “I don’t have that many formal dresses,” I commented as I began walking to my room.

  “You don’t wear normal dresses to a ceremony,” Azrael laughed, following close behind me. “You have to wear a traditional robe.”

  “Oh, well I don’t have any of those.”

  “Lucky for you, I went ahead and stocked up a drawer full for you before you moved here.” She walked over to my top drawer and revealed rows of colorful pieces of cloth. “The only option for you tonight is a royal purple.”