Page 5 of Wings of Torment
His face scrunches up slightly, like it physically pains him to say yes. “Perhaps your friends can finish cleaning up those books while we talk.”
Without waiting for a response, he steps away, and I follow. Oh goodie. More time alone with this joyful professor. Except I’m not alone. Zeke follows along beside me, and I let his presence bolster my confidence.
Noticing that we aren’t alone, Professor Uriel laughs it off. “Ah! A Guild intern. Please send my gratitude to your superiors for their fine work today. Things would have been a lot worse had they not shown up and taken care of our little demon infestation.”
Neither of us correct him. I’m not sure why Zeke doesn’t, but I’m grateful for it. Rumors are bound to spread about what really happened on that hill, but I have zero intention of confirming those. Let them wonder. The change in my wings has already caused enough of a scene. I’d rather not add fuel to that fire.
Something shifts behind his eyes when we don’t respond, and I wonder if he can feel the tension coiled tight around us. We already knew he wasn’t on the battlefield, but does he know he’s just given himself away?
Instead, he says, “So, what did Principal Cael want you to speak with me about?”
Here goes nothing.“Well, there’s been a sudden development with my wings, and he thought you might know something that could help.”
“I see. And what is this sudden development?”
Under his attentive gaze, I feel like an insect being examined beneath harsh light. Maybe this was a mistake. I can always go back to researching in the library, right?
A warm hand grips my palm. He doesn’t say a word, but Zeke’s long, nimble fingers entwined with mine is enough to break the spell I’d been trapped under.
“You’ll be happy to know that my wings are no longer gray,” I start.
“Oh?”
“But I’m afraid they still aren’t exactly normal. Ever heard of gold wings before, Professor?”
His forced smile vanishes, turning into a frown. “Excuse me?” he asks incredulously.
Of course he’d make me repeat myself. What is it with this guy? “None of us really know what happened, but I have gold feathers now, I guess? The gray is completely gone.”
“Hmm. Very strange indeed.” His eyes flash with something unreadable before settling back into his signature look of unhappiness. “We’ve all been through a great ordeal today. I think it best if you go back to your dorms and focus on healing.”
I share a look with Zeke, blown away by the obvious dismissal. Yet I really shouldn’t be. It was dumb of me to think he’d help at all.
Raphael, Theo, and Dina head over to us, having finished clearing the books from the floor. My voice doesn’t seem to want to come out, so all I can do is stare at Professor Uriel and hope that maybe this was all some joke, but he continues to say nothing.
“Professor Uriel,” Zeke says, his voice demanding every ounce of attention. “We came here for answers, not to be sent off to bed like errant children up past their bedtime. If you have any insight into what the change in Hayliel’s wings mean, we, and I do include the principal in that, would appreciate the information.”
The professor’s face morphs into something ugly. Clearly he doesn’t enjoy being talked to like that by a student, especially not one who appears to be my friend.
“I knew nothing when her wings were gray and I certainly don’t know why her wings are now gold. There hasn’t been a case of gold wings since before the Archangels saved us from the plight of God. How would—”
“So therehavebeen golden-winged angels before?” Theo asks, his face contorting into an expression of confusion.
“What? No. What I mean is, this case is highly unusual and I don’t have any answers for you. Now”—he checks his watch—“I have much left to do, and I will see you all when classes resume.”
Striding past, he rushes out the door and leaves us with even more questions than we had before.
3
Ihadn’t liked that professor before, not after what he did to Hayliel on her first day, but now that asshole is even higher on my shit list.
What the fuck even was that?
My hand shakes a little as I play through the conversation. My gut tells me this guy wasn’t heavily involved in protecting the school. He looked far too polished to have been fighting demons. The five of us had been in the thick of it, and only Ezekiel made it out unscathed. Somehow, I doubt Professor Uriel had the matching skill of a Guild intern.
My hands continue to tremble, so I tuck them into my pockets and hope the others haven’t noticed. Now isn’t the time to let my memories in, so I do my best to shove them down. I’ll likely regret it later. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that ignoring itonly means it will come back with even more force. But at least then I’ll be alone.
Hayliel droops a little. Today can’t have been easy on her. Not that it was easy on any of us, but she’d taken the brunt of it. A physical change like that was bound to be exhausting. Especially when no one seemed to know a damn thing about it.
