Page 57 of Wings of Death

I let out a sigh. A part of me knows he’s right, but the other part wants to hide out here in my quarters with Kyle forever. But I know we can’t. Unfortunately, reality requires us to face things we may not like. Things that need to be solved before wecan have any chance to rest. But first, I’m going to make it my mission to get Kyle his wings back.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Over the next few days, I teach Kyle everything I know about the Angel Kingdoms and our history, most of which I learnt at Guardian Angel Academy. He teaches me about his Kingdom, what he can remember at least, and it both shocks and amazes me. Shocks me that we were barely taught anything about Zarquon growing up, and amazes me what angels from his Kingdom actually do.

They’re called Archangels. That much I knew, and their purpose is to prevent humans from committing acts of violence against other humans, which I did not know. We were taught a very skewed version of their purpose growing up, one that left us condemning them as our evil and dangerous enemy. Although, after hearing about what their purpose really is, it makes me feel as thoughwemay just be the evil ones.

“So let me see if I’m understanding you correctly,” I say as I watch Kyle slice up various vegetables in the kitchen. “If a human is committing a terrible crime against another human, an Archangel will step in and try to stop it. But the guardian of the human committing the crime will fight to the death against the Archangel to prevent them from harming their human, regardless of what their human may be doing?”

Kyle stops dicing the carrot and scoops the pieces up and into a bowl. “Yeah.”

I scratch my head. Although I don’t condone violence, or murder for that matter, I can understand it. The Archangels are simply trying to restore the balance to Earth and protect humans from evil, not create it. And we are preventing them from doing that.

Kyle moves around the kitchen to where I am sitting on a barstool next to the bench and rubs my back. “I know it’s a lot to take in. But it doesn’t make guardians evil either.”

I nod, knowing he’s right. A guardian’s sole purpose is to guardian their human. Of course they will prevent another angel from trying to kill them. How many watchers have I killed to prevent them from harming Kyle? The thought sends a shiver down my spine. Kyle hadn’t been trying to commit an act of violence against another human, though, I remind myself.

“It makes sense, and I guess I can see why we view one another as enemy Kingdoms.”

Kyle pulls me up into his arms, and I wrap myself around him, his touch instantly settling the feeling of unease inside me. And then it occurs to me. Now that I know Kyle isn’t human, will my father force me to bond with another, to carry on with my guardian duties? The thought twists my stomach. I can’t bear the thought of being away from Kyle, even to guardian another.

Kyle presses a kiss to the top of my head and moves back into the kitchen to continue making our dinner. The scent of onions sizzling in a pan on the stove makes my mouth water, and a low growl rumbles in my stomach. I can’t remember the last time I ate.

I slide back into my seat and take a sip of the red wine Kyle poured me.

“How about we forget about all the angel stuff for now, and just enjoy each other’s company?”

Relief washes over me, and I clink my glass to his. “Agreed.”

Although Kyle’s memories have been coming back in bursts here and there, there are still gaps that he needs filled. It bothers me I have no memories of him, and after hearing about some of his memories from when we were young, I find there are other gaps in my memories that shouldn’t be there. Someone has deliberately taken memories from me, too, and I’m going to find out who did it and get them back.

We enjoy dinner together and then head out into the yard to practice our powers. It’s just as well Kyle lives in the middle of nowhere so we can practice without freaking the neighbours out. There isn’t much I can teach him about his powers, considering I only recently harnessed my own, so we spend the time practicing together.

I find if I concentrate specifically on what I want to do with my powers, I can do it. Whether it be a sudden burst of power, a controlled ball, or tendrils that I control and wrap around objects. I feel there is probably more to my powers I haven’t yet discovered, but I’m enjoying learning about them with Kyle.

He creates a large, dark, smoky ball of power between his hands and throws it across the yard. It moves faster this time than the last, and I’m proud of his progress in just a few short days.

“I don’t know that I’ll ever get used to that,” he says before glancing at me. His eyes lower to my daggers. “Did you learn how to use those at the academy?”

I remove my daggers and flip them around in my fingers. “They taught us how to handle many weapons, but I only just got these before I became a guardian,” I say, showing him what I can do.

“You’ve got to teach me how to do that,” he says as he watches in awe.

I hold them out to him, but he hesitates.

“Something tells me those mean a lot to you. Are you sure?”

He’s right, but Kyle means a lot to me too, and I’ll be dammed if he can’t defend himself in combat.

“I’m sure,” I say.

He takes them and tries to flip them like I did, but he ends up cutting his hand and then dropping them. I rush toward him to see his skin is already healing.

“I’m okay, see?” he assures me, holding his hand up.

I pick up the daggers and slip them back into the holders on my thighs. “Maybe we could try that another time.”

We both laugh, and then there’s a shift in the air. Em lands on the other side of Kyle, her long red hair blowing up around her face. She truly is beautiful, and the thought sends jealousy coursing through me. I don’t like her being near Kyle, and I hate the fact that they grew up together.

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