Page 21 of Wings of Torment
Students stare as we walk through Power house. With Theo and Raph in front, and Zeke at my back, I almost feel like royalty. But I’m not getting escorted to my inaugural ball, and I’m anything but nobility.
We find a quiet corner and sit, though Zeke hesitates at first before taking the seat at the table across from me, next to Theo.Still hoping we’d talk in private, huh, big guy?
To my surprise, it’s Theo who breaks the silence. “You said you had news, but so do we. An article went out today about another attack, one at the same time we were under siege. None of us think it’s a coincidence, but the article didn’t mention where it was, so we can’t look into it further.”
“Do you know anything that could help?” I ask, trying not to get my hopes up but feeling them inflate regardless.
Zeke straightens, and I almost sense that he’s trying to strengthen himself. Against what, though, I’m not sure. When he speaks, I forget trying to decipher it.
“It would seem we’ve been following a similar lead. I don’t have the location, unfortunately, but I was coming to share that it wasn’t just another attack. From what I overheard at the Guild, it’s possible the attack at SCU was just a diversion, along with the influx of calls and demon sightings in the city that day. A few Guild members mentioned there being a theft, but I wasn’t able to gain insight into where it was or what they stole.”
“That’s quite a diversion for a little theft,” Theo wonders out loud.
“Whatever it was must be important,” Raphael agrees.
“I agree. But I think somehow, you’re at the center of it.” Zeke looks at me, eyebrows drawn low.
“Me?” I stutter, my heart rate picking up.
“You can’t truly think the way they targeted you was just a coincidence. The way they all pivoted toward you, it was like you called to them on a level that no one else could hear. I can’t brush that off as happenstance.”
Theo looks like he might agree with Zeke, yet I still can’t wrap my head around it all.
“But what does she have to do with whatever they stole?” Theo asks.
“I don’t know yet. I’ll try to find more at the Guild, but in the meantime maybe I can find something about demon theft in the Fallen library. It’s possible this isn’t the first time they’ve coordinated something like this.” There’s an awkward pause after Zeke’s words, and he turns to leave.
I panic. An odd response, sure, but I just don’t want him to leave yet. After everything he’s put me through, I should hate him. I shouldn’t want to spend time with him or hope for a glimpse of the guy I let paint me during that first party. Yet I can’t stop those feelings any more than I can change the color of my wings.
“Wait. You’re here now. Why not stay and look through the library?”
His back stiffens briefly before he looks over his shoulder at me, gaze panning to the guys. It feels like an eternity before he does anything, and I’m almost positive he’s going to walk away.
“Fine. But only because I’m already here.”
Theo stays seated while the three of us make our way through the stacks, piling books onto a cart before heading back to our seats. When we return, Theo looks concerned as he scrolls through the comment section of the article he’d read earlier.
Placing my hand on his shoulder, I say, “We’ll figure it out, Theo. I know we will.”
“I sure hope so, firefly.”
Zeke’s gaze is on me, heavy and brooding, but I only meet it for a second, offering a smile before diving into my book. Or trying to, anyway. There’s too muchnoise.And it’s not chatter or the scraping of chairs. It’s here, between the four of us. As much as I want all of us to get along, what if too much has happened for us to move forward as friends? Is friendship all that I even want? Fuck. Maybe this is just a lost cause.
That thought is confirmed twenty minutes later when Zeke and Raphael reach for the same book.
Raphael snatches it up before Zeke can, earning an angrily whispered, “Hey!” from Zeke. “You have an entire stack of books to choose from. Why don’t you pick from one of those and let me read that one? It’s the last of my pile.”
“Oh, stop complaining. Here.” He hands Zeke a random book from the cart. “We’re all here for the same reason. Why don’t you flip through this one and I’ll let you know when I’m done?”
If Zeke’s eyes were angel blades, the glare he shoots Raph would kill him. I’m grateful they aren’t. Sparing a glance toward Theo, I find him watching the exchange with me. I wonder what he thinks of all this. Does he want everyone to get along just as much as I do? Or is he on mine and Raphael’s side no matter what because of our friendship?
“Fucking Pures,” Zeke whispers under his breath, ignoring the book in Raph’s hand and grabbing another one altogether.
To my surprise, Raphael doesn’t respond, and our little group grows quiet again. Ten more minutes pass until Zeke shuts the book and leans back in his chair, clearly displeased.
“Look, dude. If you need extra time to read, why didn’t you just let me read it first?”
“I don’t needextratime, asshole. This is important. Just because you’re willing to skim doesn’t mean I am.”
