Page 47 of Her Fallen Angel

"Listen to yourself." Gabriel's hands tighten. "This isn't you speaking. It's whatever spell he's put you under."

"No spell." I pull away, my voice steady despite my racing heart. "Just the truth. I belong here, Gabriel. With him."

The horror in his expression cuts deep, but not as deep as the thought of leaving. Of never again feeling Kai's presence fill a room, never hearing him call me 'little flame,' never watching his wings spread wide against the morning sky.

Gabriel runs his hands through his hair, a gesture I've seen countless times when he's frustrated. His fingers catch in the tangles, evidence of his desperate journey here.

"Can't you see what's happening?" His voice rises. "He's gotten into your head, twisted everything around until you can't tell right from wrong anymore."

"No one's twisted anything." I move between him and the weapon rack, though I doubt he'd know how to properly wield Kai's specialized blades. "I chose this path with clear eyes."

"Clear eyes?" He barks out a harsh laugh. "You're defending axaphan. The orcs might have been bad, but they are worse. Or are you just going to ignore what happened as soon as we got here?"

"That's other xaphan, not Kai. You don't know him." My fingers trace the pommel of the nearest sword, drawing strength from its familiar weight. "We work together, Gabriel. He teaches me things about faith I never understood in those underground temples."

"Works together?" Gabriel's face flushes red. "He's a xaphan! They see us as property, as things to be owned and controlled. Nothing more."

"Then why am I allowed to pray freely? Why does he feed me and give me a bed to sleep in? There is no one here forcing me to do anything." I lift my chin. "If you want to run north, hide in another settlement, that's your choice. But I won't spend my life running anymore."

"This isn't freedom, Aren." He gestures at my simple clothes, at the weapons I maintain. "This is Stockholm syndrome at its finest. You're his slave, cleaning his home and doing whatever he asks-"

"I serve him because I choose to." Heat rises in my cheeks. "Every morning, I choose this path again. Every prayer strengthens my conviction. This is what our gods have blessed me with."

"You're delusional!" He huffs, trying to calm down. "Look, we can talk about this on the way. Let's just go."

"You don't understand what you're asking." I grip the sword's pommel tighter, the metal cool against my palm. "Leaving here would be like cutting out part of my soul."

Gabriel paces the length of the weapons room, his boots leaving dirt marks on the polished floor. "Listen to yourself! This isn't the temple girl who stood up to raiders. Who inspired others with her strength."

"That strength came from fear." I trace the blade's edge, remembering how Kai taught me the proper way to clean each groove and fuller. "Now it comes from choice."

"Choice?" Gabriel's voice rises. "You have no choice here!"

"You don't know what you're talking about." I shake my head. "You want me to just what? Just leave? For him to come home and find me gone?"

"Yes!" He clutches his hair. "Come on, Aren. These are same beings who?—"

The temperature plummets. My breath catches as frost creeps across the windows, crystalline patterns spreading like spiderwebs. The weapons on the wall rattle in their brackets, metal singing against metal.

Gabriel's words die in his throat. His face drains of color as shadows gather in the corners of the room.

"The same beings who what, exactly?"

Kai's voice cuts through the air like winter wind. Quiet. Deadly. The kind of calm that precedes a storm.

My heart plummets to my stomach. I hadn't heard him return, hadn't sensed his presence until this moment. But now his power fills the room, pressing against my skin like ice.

I turn slowly, already knowing what I'll see. Kai fills the doorway, his massive wings spread wide, blocking any escape. His violet eyes burn with an inner fire that makes Gabriel stumble back.

"Please," I whisper, though I'm not sure who I'm pleading for.

25

KAI’RIN

Iround the corner to my townhouse, still feeling conflicted. I know I said I would get rid of Aren, but I doubt that I will. I can't imagine letting her go, ever. She settles something restless inside me, even if I'd never admit it aloud. But as I approach the doorway, voices drift through the open window.

"You want me to just what? Just leave?" I'm stunned at Aren's words. "For him to come home and find me gone?"

---