“Isn’t it obvious?”
I didn’t reply.
He let out a breath, and in two strides, he was standing in front of me, his alluring wings stretching out from his back with each step.
“I have lived, I am life, and I am death. I have seen the suffering, the sickness, the torment in life’s pain, but I have also seen the selflessness, enjoyment, and devotion in love. I have experienced pain, and I have loved before. I thought I knew what pain and love was. I thought I had experienced the very depth of that emotion, that was, until I met you.”
He held his hands in my face, his eyes swallowing me whole.
“I am angel, Lila. An angel who has spent over a thousand years watching from a distance what love can do to a man and a woman, a true form of life itself. I was at peace with what I did, my role that I play in this world. I was never to experience the emotions of a human again after my death; we are not designed that way. The moment I saw you in the forest that day… it was like everything I had ever known to be true, suddenly changed, and I began to question everything. I tried endlessly to stay away, to keep my distance, but the more I stayed away, the more I wanted… I needed to be near you. I don’t know what will happen next, but I won’t deny my feelings for you any longer.”
There wasn’t any doubt in my mind what I felt for James. Even after he revealed his true identity to me, my feelings for him had not changed. If anything, in that moment, they had grown even more. I yearned to be with him, to see him in every waking moment. I was calmed by his presence, and lost by his absence.
Was it even possible to feel that for someone I’d just met? Was it even possible to love an angel?
My brain urged me to see sense; to see reason, but I couldn’t. So I kissed him, defying all sense of logic and common sense. A life with James couldn’t be possible, it couldn’t be real. Yet, my heart and soul ignored it. I wanted to be with James.
A fire burned within me as I breathed his perfect scent in. My lips chased his as a sense of urgency beckoned me.
My body gave way when I felt one of his hands wrap around my waist tightly, while his other hand brushed his fingers through my hair.
James didn’t surrender to my kiss. Instead, he kissed me with an unyielding force; a kiss that literally swept me off my feet. He kissed me as if he would never kiss me again, as if he would never breathe another second of this life on earth. I could feel the urgency within him. Yet, his lips remained soft and smooth against mine.
I thought I had kissed before, but how wrong I was. Nothing in my life could ever compare to the way I felt in that moment. I knew right then and there that I, Lila Sophia Kingston, would never kiss another soul again. James had taken my heart, and I had given it to him willingly. I heard of great love before, a love that consumes every part of you, but I never thought I’d ever feel it, until I kissed James, and that kiss changed everything.
As our lips parted, he pressed his forehead against mine and breathed, “You will be my undoing.”
And you will be mine, I said in my head, not brave enough to say the words out loud.
Although my fear of the demons still dominated my thoughts, the fear of losing James seemed now to outweigh any other fear, and the fear of the unknown. Could a human and angel ever love without consequences?
***
I woke to the smell of bacon and eggs drifting upstairs from the kitchen. I jumped up from the bed and changed into a long baby blue coloured maxi dress, running my hands through my hair as I skipped down the stairs. Yes, skipped. I was losing my mind.
“That smells amazin…” I stopped short of my sentence as I rounded the corner and spotted Hayley sitting on a stool watching James cook. Their eyes met mine and all words were lost. I had no idea how I was going to explain this to Hayley.
“Morning, Lila,” Hayley smirked. “It’s a lovely morning, now isn’t it?”
“Uh, yeah,” I said not even looking at Hayley, but at James.
“James, here,” Hayley said nodding towards James, “was just making some breakfast for you when I came home early.”
James made eye contact with me, shrugging his shoulders and smiling.
I’m glad you think this is amusing, I thought.
“He did scare the living shit out of me though. I thought someone had broken in, but when I saw it was James, I knew it was fine. Although I’d love to know when you two started hanging out? I do hope the guest bedroom was okay. We haven’t had anyone stay in it for a while.”
Hayley held back a giggle as I quickly went and grabbed her by the arm.
“Why don’t we eat outside? Can you help me setup?” I didn’t wait for her reply, as it wasn’t really a question.
I pulled some plates and utensils from the drawers quickly, and lead Hayley out onto the back patio.
“Oh. My. God.” Hayley quietly squealed. “Are you and James a thing?”
“Look, Hayley,” I said seriously, “I didn’t mean for you to see that.”
“Clearly,” Hayley chuckled.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know what we are, if we are even a ‘thing’.”
“He stayed over, slept in your room, and I’m guessing on the bed, not the floor? You must really like this guy!”
“Maybe,” I said shaking my head, a smile creeping up onto my lips. James was the first guy to sleep over, and although he did sleep in my bed, that was all that happened. After what happened with the demon, I didn’t feel safe by myself.
“Awww!” Hayley swung her arms around me, hugging me tightly. “I’m so happy for you, Lila, and who would have thought? James freakin’ Taylor! How did this even happen? I had no idea you were into him!”
“Righto, Hayls. Time to be cool now,” I said pulling myself from her embrace. “I’ll tell you all about it later, but right now, he’s standing in there making breakfast, so I don’t want to make this awkward.”
“Okay,” she smiled, “but don’t you dare leave out anything! I want every single detail, okay?”
“Okay,” I agreed.
I had no idea what I was going to tell her. I knew I couldn’t tell her anything about who he really was. Thank God, I had time to think about what exactly I was going to say to her.
James had continued to surprise me with breakfast, and I was quickly convinced he must have been a chef for royalty in his past life.
We all sat under the morning sun eating breakfast; conversations flowing freely.
Centuries of practice had made James very good at disguising the fact he didn’t eat. If I hadn’t known the truth, I doubt I would have picked up on the way he shifted food on his plate, always saying something just as his fork hit his mouth so he didn’t have to eat and pretending to drink.
Although Hayley continued to open up conversations about James and me, James was able to steer her in another direction easily, herself and her friends becoming the topic of conversation instead.
I found myself unable to stop smiling and laughing. I felt so utterly content being around James and Hayley. It felt so right. James didn’t have to try to fit in, because he just did, and so easily.
I stole a glance at James and he smiled in return.
“Anyway,” Hayley said, “I’ve got a ton of homework to do.”
Subtlety was never Hayley’s strong suit, and neither was her ability to lie.
“Homework, hey?”
“Yeah, loads. Better get to it,” she said standing up from the table. “It was good chatting, James. See you again soon.”
“I hope so, Hayley,” James replied.
When Hayley was out of earshot and back inside the house, I turned to James. “Well…”
“What are your plans today?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Plans? Pretty sure all my plans went out the window when you entered my life,” I laughed.
James smiled, “I want to take you somewhere.”
“Okay?”
He stood up and put his hand out to me.
“What? Now?” I sai
d looking around.
He nodded.
“What about all this?” I said pointing at all the plates.
James quickly piled up all the dishes and took them inside, putting them all in the dishwasher quickly and effortlessly.
“Now, would you like to go?”
I waved my hands and laughed, “I guess.”
“Perfect. Come with me,” he said, entwining his hand in mine.
He gathered my keys from the hallway table and we walked outside. I was taken aback when he opened the car door and ushered me in the passenger side.
“So where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
I loved our summers. There was so much life around. Everywhere you looked people were laughing and having fun. Although there was still a lot of rainfall at summer time, it made the trees look luscious and green.
It was a decent drive, and I was unfamiliar with the area when we turned off the motorway and onto some back roads.
“I was thinking…” I said slowly.
“Yes…”
“There are a few things that happened that you still haven’t explained, like when we first met, when I touched you, our hands glowed.”
James nodded in thought. “I have no explanation as to why that happened.”
I frowned. “What about the pool then. The way I saw all the colours around me, was that you?”
James sighed. “I can’t explain that either. I saw the colours as well, but nobody else could. As much as I would like to say I have the answer to everything, I cannot explain why those events happened. I’ve never witnessed anything like it before. The moment you hit the end of the pool and went unconscious, the colours disappeared. I was able to pull you out and heal you quickly, but when I went back to the pool, the colours were well and truly gone.”
“Mmmm. What about the lightning when we were at dance class, it came out of nowhere.”
“That,” he said, “I can explain. I told you we can manipulate the elements. Well, that was Mark sending out a warning to keep my distance from you.”
“He couldn’t just come and tell you?”
James shrugged his shoulders, “Mark likes to keep things interesting. It also wasn’t just a warning from him, it was a warning that The Creator was watching.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, oh.”
I didn’t ask any more questions after that. I was starting to think it was better that I just didn’t know the answer to everything.
I felt his hand wrap over my hand that had been nervously tapping the middle console.
“We’re nearly there,” James tried to reassure me.
“Where is that exactly?”
“I told you, it is a surprise.”
I huffed, “I don’t like surprises.”
“Be that as that may, I’m still not revealing any more information to you.”
I stifled a laugh. “Be that as that may? You really are old.”
He squeezed my hand. “Would you prefer I acted like the boys your age?”
“God no!”
“Well then, Miss Kingston, no complaining.”
I smiled and looked out the window. “Believe me, I wasn’t complaining,” I said quietly.
James pulled the car up at the edge of a national park. We both got out of the car and I followed James as we took one of the walking tracks. He held my hand tightly as we moved through the forest, helping me only when the track became uneasy.
“You know, I would have worn walking shoes instead of sandals if I thought we were going for a hike.”
“It isn’t a hike,” James chuckled.
“Maybe not for you. You do remember I’m merely a human being and not an angel?”
“All the time, but I’ve got you, so you won’t fall. Would you like me to carry you?”
“No, I’m not that useless,” I laughed.
I continued to trek, or should I say stumble through the forest until we reached its edge. I could already smell the sweet sea air before I even stepped out onto the rocky edge of the cliff.
“I’ve heard about this place,” I said, looking out at the endless ocean ahead.
James smiled and guided me towards the edge. I hesitated, but he pulled me closer towards him. “Trust me.”
I cautiously stepped forward until we were right on the edge. The wind swept through my hair as I looked down. The drop was easily over a thousand feet, and I was scared out of my mind.
“Did I mention that I’m not really good with heights,” I said clawing my hands into James’s body for safety.
“I want to show you something.”
I looked up at him. “This isn’t it? There’s more?”
“Well,” he said smiling, “it involves jumping off this cliff.”
“Are you crazy? We will die, James!”
“You keep forgetting. I’m angel, Lila. Give me more credit than that.”
“But what-” I flustered. “What. Jump? Where?”
James lifted his hand and touched my cheek. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered, leaning in and kissing my lips tenderly.
The warmth of his lips steadied me, and I relaxed in his embrace.
When he pulled his mouth from mine, he looked down at me, waiting for my seal of approval.
I nodded my head, knowing I could trust him.
He moved my body so my back was against his chest. He wrapped his hands gently around my waist. I rested my head on his chest, taking in each rise and fall of his breath.
“On the count of three,” he whispered in my ear.
“Oh God.”
“One, two-” but we didn’t get to three. He’d launched our bodies off the side of the cliff and I screamed. I screamed bloody murder.
“James!” I screamed as we dove headfirst down the steep cliff face and for a second, I thought for sure we weren’t going to survive, for we continued to fall, the rough waters below welcoming us with open arms. Just as we were about to hit the rocks, I clenched my eyes shut, feeling the sea spray hit my face. I felt the air rush underneath me as our bodies soared upwards. I opened my eyes and saw what could only be described as something magical. When I was a kid, I imagined what it would be like if I was a bird, at the pure joy and freedom as you glided through the skies. I was now getting to experience that. How I felt because of that was one word: breath taking.
I looked over my shoulder at James. His wings stretched out in all their grandeur, moving with such grace and ease.
I looked at James, a broad smile across my face. “This is amazing!” I squealed, looking back as he manoeuvred us down so I was able to reach my fingertips out and skim the water’s edge. I laughed in complete joy. We climbed the skies until there was nothing but James and me. I rested my body against his and took it all in. Every last second.
***
“You can stay here again, James. I don’t mind,” I said standing at the front door of my house.
I didn’t want the day to end. Today had been perfect. I didn’t think anything could top James taking me flying. Flying! I had to pinch myself every time I thought about it.
“I know, Lila, but there are things I need to attend to. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay,” I said reluctantly.
James leaned forward and kissed my forehead.
I said goodbye and as soon as I opened the door to walk inside, Hayley was by my side.
“So!” she said excitedly. “Shall I get the popcorn ready?”
“Popcorn? Oh,” I said remembering. “Sunday arvo movies.”
“Yes, that, and the fact you’re going to tell me everything about you and James! I’ve barely been able to think straight since this morning!”
I laughed. “Fine. Get the popcorn and I’ll get the movie ready.”
I was true to my word as I spent the afternoon telling Hayley about James, leaving out minor details like the fact that he was an angel, and that we didn’t just look at the cliff, but in fact, ju
mped off it.
It was nice to talk to someone about James, even if I couldn’t speak the whole truth. It felt good to share in my happiness.
“So, do you love him?” Hayley prompted.
I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my lips. “Maybe…”
“That so means yes!”
I shrugged my shoulders and looked back at the TV, smiling to myself. Life was pretty great.
***
I was tempted more than once that night to go out on the balcony and call out for James, but then I convinced myself I was acting like a fool and he might not even respond to that anyway, so I reluctantly refrained from doing anything.
I couldn’t get ready fast enough for school and as I drove Hayley and myself to school, I was feeling more and more like a love sick puppy.
Get hold of yourself, Lila, I told myself, but I didn’t think I could. I was completely infatuated with James.
I said goodbye to Hayley, as she continued to make sly remarks about James. I’d give it by the end of the day before the whole school knew James was at our house.
I picked my textbooks up from the backseat of the car and set off to find my locker before first period, but as I walked along the school path, it dawned on me how strange this all now was.
I watched the way people interacted with each other; their smiles on broad display for all, and I couldn’t help but think how life was nothing like I thought it was. I lived a normal, simple life, and now… now, I had no idea what life was.
“I heard a little rumour about you.”
I spun around from my locker to see Jackie smiling at me.
Hayley really did work the gossip mill fast. I quickly replied, “I was going to tell you, Jackie, but it all just kind of happened with James…”
“James?” Jackie said stunned.
I shook my head, confused. “Isn’t that what you’re talking about?”
“Um, no, but that’s a story I’d like to hear!” She laughed. “The rumour I heard was that Dale is going to ask you to the formal.”
I was silent. “The formal?” I rubbed my temple.
“Please tell me you didn’t forget about the fact our grade twelve formal is this Saturday?” When I didn’t reply, she continued, “Oh, my God, Lila. You did!”
Angels of Moirai (Book One) Page 10