Page 55 of A Love of Wrath and Rapture

I forgot my vulnerabilities. And at that moment, I made an error.

How dare they take advantage of a lapse in judgment like that? I should bring my vanquishers back to life just to kill them again.

I look at my bare chest, noticing the white cloth stained bright red, and realize that I’m still weak. I will have to take care not to worsen my condition.

I consider waking up Evangeline, letting her know that I’m okay. But the more soundly she sleeps, and the louder she snores, the more certain I become that she needs to rest.

These series of ropes appear to have been fashioned in an effort to lift me into the bed. My heart swells with pride.

Perhaps she’s even more capable than I gave her credit for.

I pull on the rope bound to the hook on the ceiling, and immediately, it unravels and falls to the floor.

I guess it served its purpose if it got me into bed, I think, glad it didn’t send me careening to the floor.

I push against the bed and leverage my weight, attempting to bring myself to my feet. Perhaps, in some feeble bid for my safety, Evangeline would be telling me to rest right now, but she would be wrong.

My feet touch the floor, and immediately, a sharp pain shoots upward through my leg, the pressure alone straining my left knee.

Briefly, as I watch her sleep, feeling a slight smile cross over my face, I consider staying here for my own safety. It would be nice to wake her up, bringing her up to the bed so that I can take solace in her warmth.

But I will sleep far better knowing that this forsaken settlement is safe from the invasion. Not necessarily out of concern for their safety, but for my own effectiveness as a warrior.

Limping, I approach the front door, watching behind me with every step. Evangeline will not know that I’m gone. By the time she awakens, I will be back with food.

The door creaks open slowly, and I wedge myself through the threshold, feeling a dull pain in my wings as they scrape against the wood. Looking out at the dark settlement, it seems empty but intact, which tells me that we were successful after all.

Occasionally as I limp forward, seeing the settlement in an entirely new light, I notice a curtain drawing open, revealing a frightened child or an angry villager. Torchlight flickers against the walls of houses, showing me my winged shadow.

In the dreamscape, they often failed to show me my shadow. It was one of the constant reminders that my world wasn’t real.

I try not to let their late-night gazes disturb me. How can they possibly understand my species, in spite of many of their claims of solidarity?

But it is disruptive. And without Evangeline’s presence, the gazes are much more frequent, reflecting their clear mistrust.

A surge of relief fills me as I see the gate in the distance, marking where I can find a much less complicated and unsettling relationship. The food I’ll bring home for Evangeline won’t betray or belittle me. At least the creatures in the wilderness are honest about their fear, and scramble at the sight of me.

I don’t long for their acceptance in quite the same way.

A fountain sputters behind me.

The wind roars.

And I hear the clashing of metal, as it scrapes against the pavement and whips through the air.

I turn suddenly and notice two shadows, vibrating wildly with the wind-swept dance of torchlight. In the light, they climb the walls, appearing larger than even my own.

A woman I faintly recognize looks out her window before closing the curtain.

“Let’s show this fella what happens when monsters come into our town!”

A malicious laugh sounds nearby, and I find my senses weakened, my mind unable to track the source of the noise as my vision goes blurry once more.

The sounds of metal grow louder.

And I suddenly double over in pain, feeling something very sharp and heavy collide with my wing.

Blood decorates the pavement in front of me, a long metal chain clanging against the cobble street.

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