Page 10 of Wings of Death

He steps back, and I spin around as he releases his wings and jumps off the castle roof.

My hands tremble, and I grip the stone for support. I need to speak with my father. The fountain must have made a mistake. He can’t possibly be the right second for me. He is a monster.

His voice fills my mind.We could’ve been good together. We still can be. You do not want me as your enemy.

Stay out of my head!I all but yell through the mind link.

I close my eyes and focus on my training. They taught us to close off our minds at the academy. Maybe I could do that to Finlay. I visualise the link in my mind connecting the two of usand mentally disconnect it. I slowly open my eyes and wait, but it’s silent. It may not last, but it’s all I can do for now.

I touch my cheek; the blood is sticky against my fingers, but it doesn’t hurt. My foot feels better too, and I stretch it out, moving it around. It feels completely fine. I’ve healed myself already? That’s incredible.

I release my wings and fly back down to the ceremony, my robes fluttering around me as I make the descent. Lacinda and Demetros are outside on the steps, pacing around. I land before them both, allowing my hair to fall around my face to try and mask what has just happened with Finlay.

“Where have you been?” Lacinda asks, rushing to my side. “Is that blood?” She reaches up to my face.

Clearly it’s worse than I expected, and my feeble attempts to mask it have failed. I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around her.

“Gods above, you’re shaking.”

Shoot. Why couldn’t my body cooperate just this once? “It’s just cold, that’s all.”

“What happened to your face?” Demetros demands from behind.

I lick my fingers and wipe the blood away. “It’s nothing, see? I’m fine.”

Lacinda narrows her eyes. I know she isn’t buying it, but we’ve got to get back inside, so she lets it go, for now at least.

“Come on.” Demetros ushers us towards the doors. “We’ve already missed some of the ceremony. We need to get back inside.”

We hurry back to our seats, and I can’t help but glance back to see Finlay glaring at me. He winks at me and sends me an air kiss, and my skin practically crawls. If he wasn’t such a disgusting prick, he could actually be a decent angel. He isstunningly gorgeous, but none of that matters when he is rotten on the inside. He, without a doubt, gets it from his father.

His father is one of the nine angels on The Throne, responsible for upholding the angel laws of our Kingdom. I have no doubt in my mind Finlay would love to tell him I disobeyed angel law and refused him. Despite Finlay being a second, because of who his father is, he’s feared by almost all of the angels in our Kingdom. His father is cruel and will stop at nothing to protect his son. Even my father, the King, can’t stop him from upholding the law, however he sees fit.

“I will now call forth our next guardian angels to the stage. Demetros Salvon…” My father’s voice booms through the Hall, and I completely shut off to the other names being called out as I grab Demetros’s hand and give it a squeeze.

“Good luck,” I whisper before he rises and makes his way through the crowd to the stage, along with the other nineteen angels.

My father guides Demetros to the fountain where he is bonded to his human. I’m so proud of him. He looks older somehow as they guide him back to the centre of the stage, and my father announces him as a new guardian. And then he is bonded to his second. Lacinda.

Lacinda heads to the stage, totally and utterly ecstatic. I can’t help it as tears slide down my cheeks. I am happy for them both, of course I am, but I’m sad that the gods didn’t bond me to her. Instead, I’m stuck with a condescending, self-obsessed asshole.

Wow, tell me what you really think of me, why don’t you?

Crap. I let the mind link reconnect. I really need to get a better hold on blocking him out.

Or you could just go with it and let me in, you know, as your bonded second. This mind link is fun.

I take a deep breath before responding.Make no mistake, I will do everything I can to sever this bond. It is a mistake, nothing more.

He laughs in my mind, and I cringe at the sound.

Good luck with that. In the meantime, I will see you around real soon.

I focus on the link and put everything I have into severing it once more. He will not control or manipulate me.

Pain like nothing I have ever experienced before crashes into me, and I wince, pressing my hands into my head. The emotions are overwhelming—sadness, loss, emptiness. It takes a moment to get them under control as I realise these are Kyle’s emotions. He’s hurting; he needs me.

I frantically scan the hall, unsure of what to do. They haven’t shown me how to leave the Kingdom yet. Instinct takes over, and I rush out of the ceremony, releasing my wings as I fly up into the air. The need to get to him now is overpowering. I head for the Kingdom gates, somehow knowing that’s where I’ll be able to leave the Kingdom and cross over down to Earth.

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