Page 17 of Her Fallen Angel

"And you think you have the right to make that decision?" His fingers flex, but don't tighten.

"No." I meet his gaze. "But I choose to help anyway."

Something flickers in those violet depths - confusion, intrigue, anger. His wings tremble slightly, betraying inner turmoil his face won't show. Blood continues to flow, staining his skin in rivulets.

His hand drops from my throat. He steps back, wings settling against his spine. "Make it quick."

I dip the cloth in warm water, keeping my movements measured as I clean around the wound. His muscles coil beneath my touch, but he remains still. The gash runs deep - Vhex's blade found its mark.

"This needs stitches." I reach for the needle.

"Just bind it."

"It will scar worse-"

His hand shoots out, grabbing my wrist. "I said bind it."

I nod, wrapping the bandage tight around his shoulder. His skin burns beneath my fingers, magic crackling just below the surface. When I finish, he shoves me away, wings snapping out to their full span.

"Go."

I gather the bloody cloths and supplies, keeping my steps unhurried as I leave. His violet eyes follow my movements, predatory and uncertain all at once.

I don't see Kai for the rest of the day. I keep busy cleaning and even prepare dinner he never comes for. So, I slip out in the courtyard for my evening prayers, not wanting to disturb him.

Even if a part of me aches to know what's wrong. I shouldn't care. I really know I shouldn't. Maybe it's the part of me that has always tried to help others, but I hate not knowing what's going on with him.

Instead, I focus on my prayers as I kneel. Moonlight spills across the stone tiles, painting silver paths between patches ofdarkness. My hair falls forward as I bow my head, hands clasped before me.

"Grant me strength to be his light," I whisper, the familiar words a comfort in this strange place. "Let me pierce the shadows that bind his heart, as you pierce the darkness of night."

The words flow differently now, altered from their original form. Where once I prayed for deliverance, now I seek understanding. Where I begged for escape, I ask for patience.

"Help me understand the pain that drives him. Show me how to reach past his walls without breaking them." My fingers tighten around each other. "He provides shelter when he could cage me, offers protection when he could harm me. There must be light within him, however deeply buried."

The night breeze carries the scent of night-blooming flowers, their sweet perfume mingling with the metallic tang of weapons practice from earlier. Such contrasts define my life now - beauty and violence, mercy and cruelty.

"Guide my steps as I walk this path. Let me be strong enough to weather his storms, yet gentle enough to soothe them." I touch my forehead to my clasped hands. "Help me be what he needs, even if he doesn't know what that is."

A shadow falls across the moonlit tiles. I don't need to look up to know Kai stands in the doorway - I've learned the weight of his presence, the subtle shift in the air when he's near. My prayer continues, softer but unwavering.

"Grant me wisdom to see past his armor, courage to face what lies beneath. Let my faith be a beacon in his darkness."

His wings rustle in the silence that follows. I risk a glance upward, finding his violet eyes fixed on me. His expression remains carefully blank, but his wings betray him - twitching slightly at the tips, a tell I've come to recognize as uncertainty.

He doesn't speak. Doesn't move. Just watches with that unreadable mask, while moonlight catches on the scars crossing his ash-gray wings.

9

KAI’RIN

The clash of steel against steel echoes through the training yard as I face off against Vhex. My mind drifts to Aren kneeling in prayer, her dark waves cascading down her back, and Vhex's blade nearly catches my shoulder.

"Getting soft already?" Vhex's scarred face twists into a sneer. "Or just distracted by your little pet?"

I bare my teeth, wings flaring wide as I strike back with brutal force. The impact vibrates up my arm. "Fuck off."

Mykael circles the sparring ring, his calculated gaze taking in every movement. "He's right. Your form is sloppy today."

---